Distances
- Biked: 44.7 miles
- Walked: Not Tracked
With a full day to explore the city I decided I would bike out in the morning to visit two lighthouses, the Portland Headlight and the Cape Elizabeth Light. I figured the round trip travel would be about 2 hours plus time at the lights and I would be back for a lunch in the city and an afternoon to hit up a museum and ride around. I had discovered that the Portland Museum of Art would be free after 5pm on Friday and that Portland was home to the only Museum of Cryptozoology.
I lightened my pack, setting aside all my extra clothes, toiletries, and the couple souvenirs I had grabbed. I had actually got very accustomed to the load and putting the lightened version on felt like nothing. I headed down to check out the continental breakfast that was provided and kind of as expected it was the normal economy motel fare. I grabbed an apple and a bottle of water for my pack. I ate a bowl of plain instant oatmeal with some raisin bran on top and drank a few cups of coffee (which was decent much to my surprise). There was a very friendly guy, Will, straightening things up and winding the clock in the lobby. I asked him if they made their own baked goods (the muffins, croissants, and bagels set out) and he informed me they bought them at Sam’s. I lied and said that they were very good (I had not eaten one suspecting that to be the cased). We chatted about biking and he suggested additional lighthouses closer to the city than the Portland Head light and highlighted a bike trail out that way on the lobby computer. I thanked him a lot for his help and made sure to get his name.
Standard Baking Co.
Since I still wanted a Maine baked good for breakfast, I headed out and stopped in the Old Port (Portland’s Downtown) at Standard Baking Co. (The most yelped bakery in the city). There I got a blueberry oatmeal scone and a small cup of coffee. Both were excellent. I discovered the coffee was roasted by Coffee By Design, a local micro roaster. From there I headed out to South Portland across the river to find my first lighthouse of the day.
Blueberry Oatmeal Scone with Dark Coffee
The first lighthouse to hit was Bug Light, closest to the city at the mouth of the river. It was pretty small, maybe 20-30 ft. It had odd greek features and good views of the city. From there it was a short ride to the Southern Maine Community College campus where the second light was, the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse. This one was much larger, 40-50 ft. It was out on the end of a stone jetty that was a pathway assembled of huge boulders. I parked my bike on land and strolled out.
Me @ Bug Light
Me @ Spring Point Ledge Light
While strolling I was marveling a bit at how well I felt physically. I had been traveling 40-50 miles a day in a combination of biking and a good amount of walking for several days. Yet I wasn’t sore and really at no point did my legs feel like they were done and couldn’t go on. I felt a whole body tired when I was low on fuel or sleepy at the end of the day, but felt good enough to go as long as I drank water, ate food, and slept.
Lounging on one of the boulders was a woman, presumably a community college student a bit younger than I, with a fishing pole. I asked her if she had caught anything, but she hadn’t had any luck yet. We chatted a few moments about fishing we were both inexperienced sea fishers (her first time, and I have never done it). I wished her luck and carried on. Out at the light there were a few other people chatting amongst themselves. I grabbed pictures up close of the lighthouse and noticed that I could see both the previous lighthouse, Bug Light, and the next one on my list, the Portland Headlight. There was also a fort like structure on a small island out in the bay I noticed (I learned later that this was Fort Gorgeous). I took more pictures and panoramas with my cell, then headed for the Portland Headlight.
The GPS on my Note 3 was acting up, randomly stopping navigation (I’m guessing because it was losing cell service). Largely I did my biking by looking at a map and the navigated route and remembering it. For more intricate directions (like navigating a lot of turns in towns/cities) I would turn on navigation just at the end and listen to the directions on earbuds. I wear my note 3 in a sleeve on my arm when biking/running. If I stop it provides easy access to check directions, modify playlists/audio, or check my activity tracker. However it is not easy to glance at while moving so I rely on it telling me what to do. So it dropping out took the form of it stopping talking as it normally does after it gives a direction without prompting me at the next turn. So a couple times I went through a turn or noticed an intersection that seemed appropriate to turn at without receiving direction. I was trying to hug the coast which had me winding a little bit on residential streets because it was more pretty and using the audio nav to help. The side effect of this was it was draining my battery faster than usual.
Portland Headlight
I made it to Fort Williams Park which surrounds the Portland Head Light. The park is large and has some “ruins” in it. Remnants of an army installation that was in service until the early 1960’s which included a gun battery just to the side of the lighthouse used during the WWI and II. The Portland Light itself was a decent sized lighthouse comparable to Nubble, which I saw down in York. There was a museum and gift shop adjacent which I didn’t visit, but I did drop a couple dollars in the donation box. I snapped lots of pictures. There were lots of kids running around, presumably a school field trip. I asked one of the parents to take some pictures of me with the light in the background which they very kindly did
Me @ Portland Headlight
.I munched the apple and water I had snagged from the hotel then rolled on down to Cape Elizabeth. Along the way I had to stop for several minutes to sort out my phone again. I stopped at a real estate office parking lot at the junction of 77 and I was there long enough that a lady came out to ask if I was alright. I thanked her and assured her that I was.
Rocks @ Cape Elizabeth
I arrived at the Cape Elizabeth Light and found another rocky protrusion into the sea that you could walk onto to get a better view of the light house. Again I parked my bike and walked out. These rocks however were not boulders. They were slabs all at angles and they had a layered appearance. I couldn’t tell if it was just sedimentary rock layers or if it was some how petrified wood. I assume it was the former, but it really looked like trees turned to stone. I took lots of pictures, including a small metal seal placed in the rock that said “US Coast Guard” on it. I’m not sure what the significance of the marker was.
Coast Guard Marker
Me @ Cape Elizabeth Light
There was a small lobster shack and gift shop here that I quickly perused. Then as I headed back I went down a little street that provided more direct access to the light, which is not open to the public, but I grabbed pictures from up close and of the beautiful houses along the road. I then headed the rest of the way back on 77, a straight shot back to Portland through South Portland. South Portland had a cool little main street area that I slowed down in to take in all the details, but I kept rolling for the Old Port of Portland.
Lobster Mac & Cheese @ Gritty’s
I stopped at Gritty McDuff’s Pub in Old Port. They brew their own beer and I believe have a few locations in Southern Maine, but I picked them because they were the only affordable place I could identify selling Lobster Mac and Cheese. I had spotted it on the menu at many other places farther south but either wasn’t that hungry at the time or not in the mood to eat a huge plate of cheese pasta. Gritty’s, I was pleased, offered a half plate option so I went with that and got another Maine Root Beer. It was good and tastes pretty much like you would expect. Delicious cheesy noodles with delicate pieces of tasty meat. It also came with a small piece of cornbread and some fried slices of jalapenos, these were not very good in my opinion. While there, a fellow at the table next to me was approached by a TV news crew and asked for an interview. Apparently they were the second crew to do so while he had been at the restaurant. I surmised he had something to do with local sports, but I had no idea who he was. I snapped a “covert” picture of the interview, maybe someone else will recognize him.
Sports Guy? Do you know who this is?
After lunch I strolled around the Old Port seeing if anything struck my fancy for dinner later and looking at some of the local shops. I settled on getting ice cream at Beal’s, a home made ice cream parlor in the Old Port. I walked in intending really only to get a scoop but wound up getting a brownie sundae with maple walnut ice cream. Definitely delicious. I definitely recommend them as a good sweet spot to hit up. They had more than a dozen of their own flavors with tons of toppings, different cones, soft serve, floats, shakes, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies (for single purchase or making ice cream sandwiches). Really anything ice cream related you could get.
Brownie Sundae @ Beal’s
From there I rode up to the International Museum of Cryptozoology (aka the study of mythical/hidden creatures like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster). It was an eccentric type of place with a nice guy manning the counter. It had exhibits arranged from the once mythical but now confirmed, to the “possible” but not confirmed, to the fictional. Examples:
- Giant Panda, Komodo Dragon, and Coelacanth. All denied by the scientific community until the 20th century even though indigenous people in those regions have spoken about them for many generations.
- “Possible” is Bigfoot (or other bipedal ape), some large North American cats with manes, and various sea creatures
- Fictional were creatures like the Jersey Devil and Mothman. Also included were hoaxes, like the Fiji mermaid made from stitching a monkey to a fish and displayed in PT Barnum’s traveling circus.
Another Fictional Creature …
One of the interesting things on display was a map of the US with mythical creatures associated with different regions. Almost every state has their own unique one. Also of interest to me were Kappas, which I hadn’t heard of before. The display had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a modern take on the creatures which are actually centuries old in Japan. They are turtle like creates a few feet tall that can walk on two legs. These were classified in the “possible” area. Overall I thought the place was fun.
Display about Kappas
Afterwards I headed over to the Portland Observatory, a tower in the east end, built in the early 1800’s that narrowly missed a great fire that swept through the city near the end of the 19th century. It was built as a signal tower for the town, not a lighthouse. A telescope on top was used to spot ships as far out as 20 miles and then flags would be raised to let merchants and workers in the port see that a ship was on approach. It became outdated in the 1920’s when ship radios became standard equipment at which point it began being opened to the public for people to climb the steps and look out.
Me @ the Portland Observatory
I got there just before a scheduled tour time, but was the only one there so I got a one on one experience with my tour guide Jennifer. She told me all about the history and uses of the tower. It really is a fascinating structure, it is all wooden and was designed, built, and operated by a shipwright named Moody. As a result the tower’s construction does resemble a ship. It is all slot construction (very few metal fasteners) with eight 45 foot timbers running up the sides as the main supports. At the base the thing is ballasted with several hundred tons of granite to prevent it from blowing over in the wind, not sunk into the ground on a foundation. One of the striking things to me about it is that none of the dimensions seems regular. Each floor is a different height and each one of the steps seems to be slightly different in dimension than it’s neighbors. Some of this may just have been workmanship but they have Moody’s plans displayed and the height of the floors is clearly labeled with different heights at each level. Neither Jennifer or I could come up with a good reason for this.
Fog Rolling up through the Old Port
The view at the top was pretty cool. The really crazy part was fog rolling into the city. I noticed some whisp floating just above the roof tops as I arrived and I wondered if it was smoke. A fire engine with sirens had ripped down the street a few minutes prior, but I didn’t smell anything. From the tower it was easy to see a thick fog rolling into the south part of the city rising up to the hill where the tower was. I took video of this. It was moving fast enough that you could really see the motion. Before leaving I spent a few minutes chatting with the elderly lady who was operating the lobby. She was impressed by biking adventure and showed me a map with a trail that ran along the east end of the city (where I was planning on visiting next). I thanked her and went to find the trail.
It wasn’t the easiest find but with some help from google maps, I found it. I decided to head out first on the bridge which crossed back cove (the inlet just north of the city) and then follow the trail back around the edge of the cove to the city, down the eastern promenade ( a row of victorian era housing put up right after the great fire), and back down into the old port. This was a pleasant ride, and I saw lots of other Portlanders riding, walking, and running the trail as well. I also spotted a few boat launch areas for people to rent boats for heading out on Casco Bay (adjacent to the city) and a narrow gauge railway that ran along the South Shore. I suspect this was for transporting cargo coming off the docks at that edge of the city, but it was kind of trippy are narrow the rails were.
View across the cove at Portland
Narrow Gauge Railroad
Finishing this ride I headed up the hill again to the Portland Museum of Art where the evening was free admission. It’s not a huge gallery, but still nice. They had sculpture exhibits from native Portlanders who trained in Italy. One made a sculpture of President Grant for the US Capitol. A prior version he created is on display in a small rotunda in the Portland museum. There were pieces of classical european art, and modern art from around the country. However more fascinating to me were paintings and photographs of areas of Portland that I had visited earlier in the day, and in some regards hadn’t changed much. The photography was largely in the last 30 years, but some paintings were of corners of town from almost 100 years ago.
Grant in his Rotunda
Congress Square, just in front of the art museum I snapped before I walked in
Congress Square, Winter 1925
At this point I swung back to my hotel. I paused for a moment to take in some free salsa dancing going on in the square across from the museum. I didn’t do any dancing, but I found it nice that there were such community events. The fog was thickening at this point. It wasn’t raining but you could feel the moisture hit your skin. I changed my clothes to something a little warmer and started trying to pick a place to eat. I really couldn’t decide as nothing was jumping out at me and the only thing popping into my head was Silly’s where I had eaten the night before. I was also having problems getting my Note 3 to charge at all and it was almost completely depleted from the day. It was getting late and I was angry I couldn’t decide on a place so I went down stairs and got to my bike. It was not long until Silly’s closed, but having nothing else in mind I tore across town on my bike and made it just before closing.
Salsa in the Square
I ordered a mixed green salad topped with grilled chicken and veggies as well as their Gravy Danger, a plate of fries loaded with gravy, cheese, bacon, and scallions. The night before I had been tempted by by their “Poutine-esque Flatbread” special for the week which was bacon, fries, gravy, and cheese, piled on top of a flatbread. I devoured the salad which was a good size and complemented with bits of mandarin orange and craisins. I ate about half the gravy danger, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of bacon. After having a brownie sundae at lunch I was a little leary of ordering another big dessert, not so much because of the calories which is usually what I struggle with, but by the high sugar and lack of nutrients. I had become acutely aware how many empty calories I was eating which I was definitely burning with all the traveling I was doing, but the body still needs protein, vitamins, and minerals to function which I felt was lacking. Plus a diet of all sugar and starch is a bit of a shock to my system at this point which is more used to eating a diet rich in fiber and whole vegetables. ( I think this is the source of some of the un-wellness I felt on some mornings). All that through my head I, I still ordered dessert. A slice of their Hippy Dippy cake, a non-vegan chocolate cake with chocolate frosting coated with M&M’s and pretzels. Very good as well. The waitress at the bar said she hadn’t tried it yet and I tried to insist that she should try some of my slice (I certainly didn’t need to eat the whole thing), but she didn’t go for it. So of course I did eat the whole thing. I took the leftover fries and bacon with me. I got on my bike and decided to swing through Old Port to see what it was like at night.
Salad and Gravy Danger
Hippy Dippy Cake
The fog was thick at this point feeling like a fine spray you were pushing through. Most places were closed but several of the bars were open with loud music coming from within. Some people out walking but not crowded really. One oddity I noticed was a S’mores Cart that seemed to be offering homemade marshmallows and would make them into s’mores for you. The proprietor wasn’t there, just the cart, so I snagged a picture.
S’mores Cart
At this point I was walking with my bike alongside to take things in. My hotel is a mile and a half from the Old Port, but I decided to walk it all the way back. Mostly I guess to help my body digest all the food I had eaten at dinner. When I got back to the hotel I did some more futzing trying to get my note 3 to charge it was saying 1% power at that point. I straightened up some of my things and wound up finishing my french fries before going to bed.
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