First Lighthouse and First Bull Moose Sightings! And a Submarine!

Maine Vacation Day 1

When we do not need to make good time, we go “shunpiking” (local roads rather than highways,) so we can get a sense of the place.

So, after fighting traffic through some of the most touristy places on the Maine coast, when I saw a place on the map with the interesting name of Biddeford Pool, on an appealing looking little peninsula, we decided to take a detour.

It was certainly off the beaten track. And by off the beaten track I mean without a Gift Shoppe within at least 15 miles. At the end of the road, after miles of mansions, facing the ocean, was the East Point Sanctuary with views of our first Maine lighthouse.

Wood Island Lighthouse and East Point Sanctuary

Now lighthouses are a dime a dozen, but have you ever seen a Monumental Day Beacon?

Stage Island Monument, one of two nineteenth century Monumental Day Beacons in Maine. A structure for navigating during the day.

Bull Moose Sighting

So what if it was in a Cabella's. Given our track record of seeing bull moose in the wild (never) this may be the only sighting we get.

Submarine

Right at the border between New Hampshire and Maine, we unexpectedly drove past a submarine in a concrete cradle just at the side of the road. Did we just see that?!? We immediately made a U-turn, and went to the USS Albacore Museum. 

Who knew Russian subs were within 12 miles of the US coast during the Cold War?

Normally I am not at all claustrophobic. But I was starting to feel uncomfortable with the stuffiness in there. I cannot imagine living on land inside that sub with 44 other people (crew size), let alone under water with the hot, noisy engines running. These photos were taken with a wide angle lens so the space looks a lot bigger than it is.

Amusing story about how the sub got here. The story starts off - "They waited for the highest tide of the year, and started floating her in. It took longer than they thought it would, and the tide started going out"… For an abridged continuation of the story see USS Albacore/about, starting from the section “In May of 1985” …