Leaves, Lighthouses, and Lobster: My Journey to Maine

Fall is my favorite season. I have a romanticized fascination with this time of year. Although it’s known as the transitional time as leaves begin to fall and we lose the warm weather of the summer for the cooler temperatures, it represents a new beginning for me. The Fall season begins in September and this month holds a few important memories for me.

I moved from Detroit to Virginia on 6-September. I began my career working with the Federal Government in September. It’s also the beginning of the NFL season. As a long-suffering Lions fan, minus the two times we made it to the NFC championship game, this is typically the most optimistic that I am that we’ll get to the Super Bowl.

My passion for outdoor photography reaches a crescendo with the fall colors. Ever since I returned to the US after spending two years in the UK, I wanted to travel to the Northeast to photograph the rich tapestry of colors. I also wanted to photograph lighthouses. I captured some during my Cape Cod visit nearly 20 years ago. I traveled with a photography group, we visited a few spots. However, we missed some of the peak light periods. So, I wanted to do a trip where I visited the places when and where I wanted. Lastly, I’ve become a fan of lobster rolls. Panera Bread carries a seasonal one that is served chilled and is quite good. There’s a spot in Georgetown I visited and the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck serves a good lobster roll.

Maine represented the defacto spot for all three, fall colors, lighthouses, and unlimited lobster rolls. The next decision was when and with whom. I’ve traveled a few times with my homies (DC and Abu). However, they had other plans. Surprisingly, Michele was interested in going. However, there was a conflict. How would we travel? I like driving. I wanted to drive and see the region as I traveled. Flying would get us there faster. Yet, it would be more expensive having to rent a vehicle once we arrived. For the longest time, I drove my 2011 Altima all over the region. It’s been to Detroit multiple times, Boston, North Carolina, Georgia, and other places. She’s gotten older and I wasn’t as comfortable taking her on such trips any more. This would be an eight to ten hour trip. After obtaining a newer vehicle, this provided a new opportunity for traveling without renting. The next hurdle was how to travel with the Mrs. She’s not trying to be in the car for more than three, possibly four, hours. We chose a win-win option. I’d drive and she would fly in later.

I decided to stay in Portland, ME. It represented a spot with lighthouses, and a variety of restaurants. For seeing the fall colors, I would travel further inland. Once I made hotel reservations, it became real. I used Claude to build an itinerary. It researched the parks, lighthouses, and seafood restaurants within an hour drive of Portland and provided recommendations.

My first day included a stop at Mount Agamenticus, a park approximately 30 minutes from Portland, to capture some images. Since it was south of Portland, it was an easy stop prior to visit prior to my hotel arrival.

After this stop, I went to experience my first lobster roll at Portland Lobster Company.

I considered going to the hotel. However, I had some daylight remaining. It rained a bit and now the sun was appearing. These types of days bring a unique mixture of clouds. The Portland Head Light & Fort Williams Park were a few miles away. So, I took a chance to visit and it paid off!

After grabbing several sunset images, I was ready to pack it in for the day. I just drove approximately ten hours, visited a park, got a bite to eat, and photographed a lighthouse. Day one was in the books.

According to weather reports, day two represented the most clear day. Therefore, I use that day for the other lighthouses. Spring Point Ledge Light and Bug Light Park are walking distance to one another. However, it would be a lot of walking…so I drove. 🙂

Spring Point Ledge Light sits at the end of a breakwater. “What’s a breakwater?” you ask. It’s an approximately 900 foot long rock structure. It’s built of huge granite blocks with gaps. You navigate/jump across them to get to the lighthouse at the end of the structure. So, my anxiety has gotten more aggressive as I’ve gotten older. After approximately 50-100 feet of this, I turned around. I pulled out my zoom lens to get an up close image.

Bug Light, a mile or so from this anxiety generator of a landscape, was much easier to access. After I captured the following images, I visited other areas around the city.

The next stop was Cape Elizabeth. As I was driving to the lighthouse, the directions took me to a residential development with the lighthouse nearby. There was no place to park. I drove to a nearby park and attempted to walk to the lighthouse. As I searched for a trail or walking path, Google admitted the lighthouse wasn’t publicly accessible! So, I grabbed a another lobster roll at a The Lobster Shack restaurant and took some shots after I ate.

I head back to the hotel to regroup and figure out dinner plans. After some rest, I ventured out for part two of day two.

UPDATE: Michele was on her way when a family emergency occurred. We discussed it and she decided to stay home and handle business.

Confession: Part of my appeal to Maine has been my love of lobster rolls. As a Maryland resident, there is no place to experience a crab cake as good as what you’ll get in Maryland. Many places serve crab cakes. However, they all pale in comparison to the local establishments such as G&M or even Timbuktu. With that in mind, I assumed if they were good in Maryland, they’re probably amazing in Maine. After two days of lobster rolls in Maine, I realized…not so much. The ones I had from the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck were on par, if not better, than the places I visited. So, I put a pin in my lobster roll pursuit for dinner. I decided to visit Gilberts Chowder House. I chose the seafood chowder in a bread bowl and my faith in Maine seafood options was restored. It was amazing and the amount of seafood was on point.

Day three, Friday, represented a wash. It rained all day, visibility was low and there weren’t any landscape photos to take. I traveled to Hacker’s Hill Preserve for a test run. When I arrived and got out my car, a fellow visitor encouraged me to come back tomorrow because the views are spectacular. Knowing that I was considering leaving a day early, that was the motivation I needed to stay. The following images are from Hacker’s Hill with low visibility and the next day.

The last spot was Bradbury Mountain State Park. It required a brisk 0.2 mile hike up a steep incline. There were alternate routes, but those were one to two miles long. Once I got to the top, the views were nice. However, it was unidirectional versus the panoramic view available at Hacker’s Hill.

Once I left the park, I returned to Portland to make sure I captured images of the waterfront as well.

Harbor Fish Market is an amazing spot selling a variety of seafood delicacies. The friendly staff allowed me to photograph their store and the workers. I decided to purchase lobsters during my last day. They packaged them and gave me cooking instructions.

After a couple of lackluster lobster roll experiences, I decided to give Luke’s Lobster Portland Pier a chance after viewing the menu. They provided three 2-ounce lobster rolls with different seasonings. This was delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it and returned the next day. However, it was an hour wait and I was leaving for home later that day. So, I went elsewhere instead.

There were other images of the city I wanted to capture and this building was intriguing.

There was an Annapolis-like vibe to Portland. There were plenty of seafood restaurants. Parking was much more expensive than I expected. I enjoyed my time and was able to accomplish my goals of capturing the fall colors, photographing lighthouses and enjoying the local cuisine. I look forward to taking the Mrs. However, I think I’ll fly next time.