Day 32, Houlton on the Border

Ever heard of Houlton, Maine? Neither had we, until this trip. Nevertheless, that is where the end of today's travels has brought us. Houlton is on the border between Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. Tomorrow, we will cross the border into Canada, as we begin our travels through the eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

(Map of Maine showing the town of Houlton on the border with New Brunswick, Canada)

However, I am getting ahead of my tale here.

We began this day at the Wild Duck RV Camp in Scarborough, ME. Scarborough is a suburb of Portland. We had decided yesterday, to see Portland, while we were here, since it is the most populous city in Maine. That was a good decision, which Patrise encouraged. So we left Wild Duck, made our way to Portland, in time to catch our 10am tour -- "The Real Portland" tour.

(The camp where we stayed the evening of May 16.)

(Wild Duck is adjacent to a marshy area.)

(Approaching Portland on I-295)

(Approaching Portland on I-295)

Our tour immediately embarked with seven other people in the tour van with us. A few interesting tidbits about Portland.

> Portland,Oregon got its name from Portland, Maine. (Two early settlers from the east flipped a coin to decide what name to give to the settlement. One of them was from Boston, the other from Portland. You can deduce the rest of the story.)

> The first chewing gum in the nation was created in Portland. It was spruce flavored.

> The nation's first soda was made in Portland. It's named Moxie soda. As the guide described it, "Moxie tastes like Dr. Pepper with dirt in it." (He's a native Portlander!)

> The first doughnut was created in Portland.

> Portland is a foodie town and was recently named by Forbes as the "most livable city in

the USA."

> Portland has experienced four major fires in history. As a result of the last fire, all the buildings downtown are required to be built of brick.

> Also as a result of the fires and its return from them, the city symbol is the phoenix! That should be very familiar to Atlantans, as we have the same symbol.

There is a lot about Portland that is appealing. Of course we are not here in the winter. Derrick, the guide, says Portland only gets 60"-90" of snow. Still, a very interesting, walkable, visually appealing city. The following are a series of photos from Portland, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth -- all of which we covered in the 1hr-45min tour.

A lighthouse in Casco Bay, as seen from shore. This one is now privately owned. It was bought at auction for $190,000. In the market for a lighthouse?

The first of three lighthouses we visited, the Portland Head Light.

View of Casco Bay

The first lighthouse we visited. The site and its surrounding park is maintained by the local city, Cape Elizabeth. It is neither a state nor a federal park.

Selfie at the Portland Head Light

Casco Bay. (These pictures are so much better on my Nikon, but don't have a way to quickly transfer those photos.

Casco Bay

A plaque designating the Portland Head Light as the nation's first federally constructed lighthouse.

A private home overlooking the Casco Bay coast.

This statue is the "Lady of Victories" a monument to Portland sailors and soldiers. It is modeled after the Roman goddess, Minerva, who is the goddess of wisdom and war.

The third lighthouse we visited, known as "The Bug Lighthouse."

Our tour guide, Derrick. He also works as a librarian for Southern Maine Community College.

Monument dedicated to firemen, as warranted by the four great fires in Portland's history.

This building downtown was used as a signal house, not a lighthouse. When the keeper(s) would see the flag of the ship approaching the harbor, they would fly that flag. In this way, the dock workers would know the right people to be on shore to unload the ship. Different workers specialized in loading and unloading different types of cargo. This method prevailed until electrical ship-to-shore communications came into being.

After the tour, we had lunch at a downtown flatbread restaurant.

At our lunch table, awaiting a delicious vegan meal.

The view of the harbor from our luncheon table

The view of the harbor from our luncheon table

After lunch and a short bit of shopping in downtown Portland along Commercial Street, we got on the road to our ultimate destination for the day. During the trip, we pulled over to a scenic overlook and what a great decision that was. (Another Patrise decision for the day.) We pulled over to see the Katahdin, which is the highest peak in Maine; one that has been a sacred site to the indigenous peoples in this part of the state. The Katahdin is 5,268' above sea level, and due to the foresight of a previous Maine Governor, Percival Baxter, it is surrounded by over 200,000 acres of natural reserve called Baxter State Park.

Scenic overlook description of Katahdin and the other peaks in view

The view of the lake at the foot of the peaks.

Katahdin in the far background. It looks more impressive than this photo conveys.

Rainbow after the rain. It was a beautiful sight.

Scenes from the long wooded drive in central Maine heading to Houlton.

Arriving at our final destination.

After setting up, we had a nice dinner of leftover flatbread (from lunch), beets, and asparagus.

Doug worked on the blog entry, while keeping an eye on the Miami Heat-Boston Celtics game 1. Patrise continued reading her Obama book. She was finally able to finish it.

See you tomorrow from Canada!