New England Trip, Part Two

After we booked our trip to Maine for April, we began to realize that many of the tourist attractions do not open until Memorial Weekend, or May 1^st at the earliest. Kelly, not to be deterred, went on to email several people, inquiring whether we could still visit those attractions. Several were quite accommodating! One of the ones we chose to see was the Pemaquid Point Light in Bristol, Maine, the inside of which we were invited to tour. On our way there, we decided to stop at a free “labyrinth in the woods” in Washington, Maine that seemed out in the middle of nowhere. We had a little trouble finding the place, and once we did, Chris thought it looked like we should pull off the road into the hayfield and park there. Once we got a little ways into the hayfield, there was a handwritten, quite small sign that read, “No wheels in the hayfield.” Oops. We parked in the designated area (just a roped-off section of the hayfield, after all) and let the boys run around the labyrinth in a copse of trees right smack in the middle of the hayfield. 

The Labyrinth in the Woods

Noah, Kelly and Caleb finding a map

The boys begin to find their way out

It was all a little strange, but the boys enjoyed it. On our way back to the car, we saw a lady coming across the field to us, who turned out to be the owner of the property. She started to chastise us for driving across her hayfield, but I kindly pointed out that perhaps the sign instructing people not to do so would be more effective closer to the road and a bit larger. She was glad we had come, though, and had found it enjoyable. 


We then continued on to Pemaquid Point, where we had a quick picnic right outside the car. 

Then a nice retired gentleman named Dana proceeded to show us the inside of the lighthouse and give us a brief history. He allowed us to climb all the way up and stand by the lens, taking pictures and being careful not to touch (or to fall down the steep ladder or narrow, slick spiral staircase)! 

The view from inside the lighthouse, right next to the lens!

He had also instructed us how to trip the sensor so that the lighthouse “thought” it was nighttime, and we could watch the light flash every six seconds. 

This lighthouse was originally constructed in November of 1827. 

The beautiful red fog house and bell were added in 1897, and the tall tower attached enclosed the weights for the hand-cranked clockwork mechanism. 

Another interesting tidbit is that Pemaquid Point Light is the lighthouse featured on the Maine quarter released in 2003.

After descending, we took the boys out and let them play on the safer areas of the rocky granite coast, enjoying our second day of beautiful warm weather. 

Upon our arrival back in Bangor, Joe was just throwing some barbecue cheeseburgers and hot dogs on the grill—what service! The kids enjoyed some playtime and the adults chatted, then Joe and Kelly played guitar and sang after the kids were in bed.