Our LAST full day of Touring

The day dawned grey but no rain, and that is the way it stayed all day.The last day of touring contained the usual suspects.

Three covered bridges.

Blair Bridge

Bump Bridge

Smiths Bridge

A waterfall - Livermore Falls on the Pemigewasset river

Then for something different we go to Laconia to the American Classic Arcade Museum, with a bounty of old pinball machines, plus the old arcade games of Pac-man, Space Invaders, etc.

We stop at Concord to see the State House, an elegant building with a gold dome and an eagle on top. It is not open, but we have a look around the grounds and spy a statue to Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the USA and the only one from New Hampshire.

Our travels then take us to Hillsborough, the birthplace of Franklin Pierce and we tour his boyhood home, where he grew up and later lived near by.

Home

His sleigh

One quirky today, an arch and empty tomb perched on a hill surrounded by trees at Northfield. It was built by a wealthy man Mr. Tilton, who it is believed intended to be interred under his arch, but alas that did not happen. So now it is a park. Funnily enough there is a town called Tilton, named after his grandfather, but because there wasn't an appropriate hill, he built it at Northfield. Hmm.

We are headed to Boston tomorrow, as our tour has come to an end. So a lot of repacking tonight. A few extras are making their way home!

I hope you have enjoyed our journey.

Bye to both the Good Weather and Maine - Off to New Hampshire

We wake to the grey skies and rain.Our day of seeing the sights will be damp!

A couple of quirkies starts the day.

Lenny, the life size chocolate moose

Wine and Cheese store in the shape of a Swiss Cheese round including mouse

We stop at the White Barn Inn, a luxury inn and spa resort with fine dining at Kennebunkport. They have piano music every night to entertain the diners. This place in listed in the 1,000 Places to Visit Before You Die!

Reception and dining room buildings

The piano

We stop just over the border in New Hampshire on the outskirts of Portsmouth to look at a submarine. We decide that it is not really worth doing the self guided tour.

We then head north to see the lakes district, also an entry in the 1,000 book. It is raining and lake, sky and hills basically look all the same, so no grand vistas today. However this is where On Golden Pond was filmed, and we stop at The Manor on Golden Pond for a picture. This is another inn specifically mentioned in the 1,000 book.

Washing day today so it's good to get in a little bit earlier. The weather is not looking good tomorrow, so no blue skies.

PS This week is Bikers Week in New Hampshire. Anywhere from 240,000 to 360,000 bikers from around the country and Canada descend on the area, Laconia, during the week, where there are music concerts, festivals and other events planned. We have seen a fair number here today.

Sightseeing in Portland, Maine

Lets just dial it back a notch today. Just two things on the agenda - a sightseeing tour of the town and a boat tour of the harbour.

We take the local bus into town (catch it from across the road), have a bit of breaky / morning tea, then peruse the shops. We have a town tour on an old fire engine booked. Portland has basically been settled since the 1600's but was burnt by the British, the Indians, the French and then by themselves over the next 200 odd years, so the vast majority of the buildings date from the 1860's or later. But as a result they have been able to reclaim land and build a harbour that accommodates ferries, pleasure craft and big cruise liners.

Our tour bus

Memorial to the Civil War

US Customs building

City streets

We have lunch, and as it will be our last opportunity for Maine lobster, we have lobster rolls (again!). Then we join the mail run cruise around the various inhabited islands off the coast from Portland.This is a great way to see the harbour plus the islands. We only dock at the public docks, but there are a few private islands we pass along the way.

Our ferry

Sailboat in the harbour

Island dwelling

More island dwellings

Portland Head lighthouse

 The day was just perfect for our sight seeing. Tomorrow we must move on. Lets hope the weather stays fine for just a little longer.

Puffins and Shakers

A diverse day today. Our morning is spent on a cruise out of Boothbay Harbor to see the puffins. They have been reintroduced after many sea bird populations were decimated in the late 1800's / early 1900's by over zealous egg and feather hunters. We are, according to our guides very lucky as we see a number of puffins both on the rocks and on the sea around our boat. Many other sea birds have also been reintroduced, such as the tern and laughing gull. These colonies are protected by either the state or Audubon Bird Society groups to ensure their success.

Our tour boat

After lunch, we head for a Shaker Community which is the only Shaker community left in the world. This community has a store, a museum, a meeting house and some of the original buildings from the 1800's. If you would like to know more about Shakers, look up the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community web site.

A quirky today - the largest rotating globe.

The weather was perfect. Not as hot and humid as yesterday. We are staying in Portland for the next couple of days.

Quintessential Maine - lighthouses, harbours and (of course) lobster

Quintessential is a word often used in the marketing of Maine, So, of course it needed to appear here!

Our first stop is an old fort and a new observation tower. The fort was constructed back in the 1800's when the British were still a threat and the rivers and the ports needed to be defended. The observation tower was constructed when the new bridge was erected, and it has a 360 degree view that is excellent. The day is a bit humid so the view is a bit hazy.

Onward we travel. We see some lighthouses and visit harbours that are listed in the 1,000 Places To See Before You Die book. We have lunch at a Lobster shack, a take away store that serves seafood, but especially the lobster roll (lobster is $8.95 a pound so good value).

Fort Point Lighthouse

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

Camden Harbour

Camden Harbour

Lobster Rolls for lunch

We stay on the water front in Boothbay Harbor and partake yet again of the lobster on offer. We can sit on our balcony and watch the sun set and enjoy a couple of wines. It truly is the quintessential Maine!

Lobster dinner