August 14 – 17, 2014
We found a great RV park for a few days close to Portland
Maine. Well it was almost great as they didn’t allow dogs to swim in there
lake. That didn’t seem to bother Izzy too much as they had a nice dog run area
and we could sneak floppy time right behind the trailer during our stay.
My New Floppy
The View
RV Park Lake
We took a drive to the city which has a nice area along the
waterfront. You are treated to two lighthouses close to each other so were able
to do a bit of exploring. Before we got to the first lighthouse we stopped at
the harbor where we discovered a fishing tournament was taking place over the
weekend. So we planned to come back around the time the boats would be coming
in for the final weigh-in.
In the mean time we headed off to the Bug Light which
provides you with a great view of the city from across the bay. Bug Light was
built in 1875 and inspired by fourth-Century Choragic Monument built near
Acropolis in Athens, the unique style of the lighthouse sets it apart from any
other lighthouse in the world.
Bug Light Stands Out
Birds-eye View
Portland Across the Bay
Sailing By
The Stone Guard
Bug Light Park also has a tribute and information about the
Liberty ships that were built here during World War II. As it turns a total of
236 Liberty Ships were built in the shipyards from 1941-1945, which were used
to deliver cargo and troops during the war. Liberty ships were there for D-Day
too. The two shipyards at Portland also built 30 Ocean Class vessels for the
British. It was a booming place back then and today provides the local area
with commercial fishing opportunities.
Liberty Ship Memorial
The other lighthouse close by is known as the Portland Head
Light. There are remnants close to where the lighthouse stands of a fort and as
you look across the bay you see stone buildings that were once upon a time
offering protection to the city.
Barge versus Sail
Osprey Family
After our lighthouse journeys we arrived back at the pier. We just missed seeing a blue fin tuna hanging but we did get to see a picture of it. There was a marine biologist there that was taking samples from all the tuna that were brought in through the tournament for research purposes. He happened to be providing education to us on-lookers about the fish. Did you know that the brain from the blue fin tuna is not much larger than a penny? It just happens that the one in this picture is from a 798 pound tuna that was caught during the tournament. The other tuna we saw brought in weighed 278 pounds. We learned a lot from the biologist that day.
Blue Fin Tuna's Brain
Educating Us
The Small Tuna at 278 Pounds
Our time in the area was great and we found a nice golf
course just a few miles from the RV park. We enjoyed a round of golf and as
always you can’t beat the scenery at a golf course.
We left Maine on the 18th and headed to the coast
of Massachusetts. More to come from SIT along the Atlantic.
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