Maine

Maine Road Trip Part 1: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland

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Day 1 Friday

Madison, Wisconsin, for the night

Leaving early on August 2^nd, I drive south to Hudson, Wisconsin, where I join I-94. Profuse White Pine, Oaks andMaples—sometimes like driving through a tunnel. I spend the night at high school classmate Carole and her husband Dick’s. Always a good reunion.

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Day 2 Saturday

Indianapolis, Indiana, for the night

After a couple cups of coffee and an English muffin with grape jelly, I’m on the road again. iMaps routes me around Chicago and on to Indianapolis. I opt for a quiet dinner at the Fujiyama Steakhouse—shrimp tempura and egg rolls, cheesecake for dessert.

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Day 3 Sunday

Charleston, West Virginia, for the night

Easy drive to Charleston, West Virginia—all ups and downs. Sketch the courthouse in 96 degree humid and sweaty weather. Try theFujiyama again, and order the same thing but with poor result—never expect the same result twice—but it was quiet like last night.

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Day 4 Monday

Reston, Virginia, for the night

Through the beautiful West Virginia countryside which fanned out in the fog like a Japanese painting. In Reston, Virginia, Istay with Janet, a work colleague from long ago. We have dinner with her daughter Joann and grandson Andy.

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Day 5 Tuesday

Baltimore, Maryland, for the night

Miraculously I find my way through the freeway fandazzle of Washington, DC, and down to the Point Lookout Lighthouse at the southernmost tip of Maryland’s shoreline along the west side of Chesapeake Bay.Maryland is almost all shoreline—3,000 miles and more.

#1 Located on the north shore of the Potomac River as it empties into Chesapeake Bay, **Point Lookout Lighthouse** was built in 1830 by prolific lighthouse builder John Donahoo. During the Civil War a prison camp was built on the point and it was filled to overflowing with 20,000 prisoners,4,000 of whom died. All this trauma led to paranormal activities which have been studied by psychologists—24 distinct voices speaking and singing as well as the figure of Ann Davis, the second keeper, dressed in white blouse and blue skirt.

Driving up the shoreline I find Drum Point Lighthouse at the Calvert County Marine Museum. I take a seat at a shady picnic table and sketch the spindly lighthouse. You can tell I haven’t sketched for a while—even sketchier than usual, but they’ll get better with practice.

#2 The 1883 spider style **DrumPoint Lighthouse** sits at the north side of the Patuxent River. The lighthouse was equipped with a 1,400-pound fog bell. A 30-pound hammer struck a double blow four times a minute. During foggy times, the keeper wound up 600pound weights every two hours to power the hammer. The screwpile lighthouse was decommissioned in 1962 and eventually refurbished and moved to a pier within the precincts of the Calvert County Marine Museum.

I drive up to Baltimore and get there just at rush hour. Driving around looking for the Lightship Chesapeake is your worst nightmare, so I head for the Holiday Inn Express. No scratches or scrapes on the Q5—just gotta be assertive and ignore the rude horns.

G & M Restaurant (where the motel clerk used to work) is full to the brim so I take a seat at the bar next to a big guy with big hair out to here. He’s younger than I am, but not by much, and he looks like a regular. When he orders a special kind of Old Fashioned, I say, “I’ll have what he’s drinking.”

Bill and I strike up a conversation and find we both like Lagavulin Scotch. That’s a start. We exchange cards. Turns out he’s a professional photographer—www.focipictures.com. Always nice to have someone you can relate to for a chat over dinner.

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Day 6 Wednesday

Cambridge, Maryland, for the night

In the morning, I drive downtown, and find that unlike last night, there’s no traffic in Baltimore’s tourist district. The Lightship Chesapeake floats right next to the National Aquarium, and I find a parking place on the street. I set up my folding chair and enjoy the smell of freshly mowed grass—especially enjoyable because I didn’t have to do the mowing.

#3 Commissioned in 1930, **Lightship Chesapeake** was the sixth lightship to mark the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. A stationary lighthouse, the ChesapeakeLighthouse, replaced the lightship in 1965. It was known as the ‘Texas Tower’ since it looked like an offshore oil drilling rig. The ship currently rests in the tourist area of Baltimore, Maryland.

Heading northeast out of Baltimore on US-40 it takes 45 minutes to arrive at Havre de Grace, Maryland. I love that name—haven of grace. It’s where the Susquehanna River empties into the Chesapeake Bay. I tour the top-notch museum at Concord Point Lighthouse with its white painted granite walls nearly four feet thick at the base and black painted nine sided lantern room. But storm clouds are looming—Hurricane Debby is on its way.

#4 In 1827 John Donahoo, the consummate lighthouse builder, put up **Concord Point Lighthouse** to warn of shoals near the Susquehanna River. It was his fourth lighthouse out of12. So he’d had some practice, and he did an especially good job because it was in his own hometown, Havre de Grace. The 36 foot granite lighthouse was decommissioned in 1975 and taken over by Friends of Concord Point Lighthouse which runs the magical museum as well.

I’m worried about my time schedule—planning an itinerary for a trip like this is fraught with unforeseen difficulties (UFDs)and not exact—so I bypass the lighthouse at Turkey Run and shoot right on down to Hooper Strait Lighthouse, in St Michaels, Maryland, another hard to sketch guy on stilts.

#5 The first **Hooper Strait Lighthouse** was actually a lightship stationed there in 1827. After the Civil War the Lighthouse Board began to replace lightships with less costly to staff lighthouses. In 1867 a screwpile spider style lighthouse was built to announce the dangerous reef. By 1958 the lighthouse had become surplus property. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum stepped in, took over the lighthouse, and in 1966 had it moved to Navy Point adjacent to the museum.

Back on US-50, it’s just 26 miles to Cambridge and Choptank River Lighthouse. It would be the last of the spider style lighthouses, thank God for that.

#6 The 1870 **Choptank River Lighthouse** was completely destroyed by heavy ice floes in 1918. The name came from a tribe of Native Americans. The lighthouse was anchored by screwpiles sunk into the river bottom. It was eventually replaced, but by1964 it had been dismantled. Using plans from the National Archives, the Choptank RiverLighthouse Society built a replica in 2014. Cambridge, Maryland, now maintains the lighthouse with help from the Choptank Lighthouse Foundation.

Dinner downtown Cambridge at the Blue Ruin, a curious name for a restaurant—archaic slang for cheap homemade gin. I have an amazingly good salad with arugula, feta, watermelon, basil and mint herb oil, and balsamic reduction. Now that’s a mouthful. I also have the crabcake po boy. I’m told Maryland has the best crabcakes, and I can give my affidavit to that.

Part 2: Delaware

Day 7 Thursday

Wilmington, Delaware, for the night

Winding my way on US-50 east for a little over an hour across Maryland, I get to Fenwick Island Lighthouse which sits just across the border in Delaware. It lights the way from the Atlantic Ocean intoDelaware Bay.

#7 The 1858 **Fenwick Island Lighthouse** stands at 87 feet in Ocean City, Delaware. Keepers’ quarters were built on either side. A cage now protects the glass lantern room from birds I presume.

Heading north I decide to skip some more lighthousesbecause they’re out in the bay and pretty inaccessible, or just boring skeleton frames, but Liston Front Range Lighthouse is a cute place.

**#8 Liston Front Range Lighthouse** and its partner **Liston Rear Range Light Tower** guided ships through the upper part of Delaware Bay and into the Delaware River. Designed by Major CAF Flagler, engineer of the Fourth Lighthouse District, the cottage style lighthouse was built in 1908. The skeleton framed Rear Range Tower (not pictured) is Delaware’s tallest at 120 feet.

Inclement weather sets in, but it lets up enough soI can sit in the middle of a residential neighborhood and sketch Marcus Hook Rear Range Lighthouse. If you look closely at the chimney of the house in the sketch, you can see what a raindrop does to my inkwork. The cast in place structure just sits there unobtrusively.

**#10** The 1919 **arcus HookRear Range Lighthouse**, in Wilmington, Delaware, takes its name from a Dutchman, Marrities. One of the early visitors past this bend in the DelawareRiver was allegedly Blackbeard the pirate. Adjacent to the reinforced concrete tower is the brick keepers dwelling, now privately owned. Looks like the lantern room has been removed.

Rain pours down as I arrive at the Holiday Inn Express (HIX) in Wilmington, Delaware. It would be the only one I encounter without a drive under canopy, but I have an umbrella. Dinner at the Olive Garden right next door—Eggplant Parmigiana and salad, just like I’d never left Minnesota.

Part 3: New Jersey

Day 8 Friday

Woodridge, New Jersey, for the night

Now the lighthouse sketching begins in earnest. New Jersey has 19 lighthouses on offer. I’m up at 7:00 and make an executive decision to bypass my reservation at the Court Marriott Beach in Atlantic City—Hurricane Debby is moving up the coast. Instead, I change my booking to two nights at the HIX in Woodridge, New Jersey.

Then I double time it down New Jersey’s Delaware Baycoast and stop at East Point Lighthouse which is maintained by the Maurice River Historical Society.

**# 10** First built in 1849along the east point of the Maurice River, the cottage style **East PointLighthouse** we see today was constructed in 1894. It is now under the umbrella of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society along with ten other lighthouses.The 1894 Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board notes, *… some 500 sailing vessels are engaged in the oyster trade on Maurice River during the season…*

Next in line is the tall Cape May Lighthouse which sits in a state park—luckily there’s no entry fee. It sits at the southwest corner of New Jersey.

**#11** George Meade designed the present **Cape May Lighthouse** in 1859. The first to occupy this site was built in 1823, the second in 1847. This 157 foot lighthouse marks the south side of the entrance to Delaware Bay. In 1933 the lighthouse was automated, and in 1964 it was turned over to the State of New Jersey which established Cape May Point State Park.

The Cape May Lighthouse played a role in the Underground Railroad which helped slaves escape from the slave states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. In 1858 slaves rowed across Delaware Bay in a skiff and 1860 in a Batteau and were guided by the lighthouse.

Just up the coast is the quaint Herford Inlet Lighthouse, in North Wildwood, New Jersey. It has both a museum and a bookstore. I plop down my chair and set up on the sidewalk across the street, sketch, walk through the garden, and tour the museum.

**#12** Designed by Paul Pelz, the Lighthouse Board’s Chief Draftsman, the Carpenter Gothic **Herford Inlet Lighthouse** stands at 50 feet. The 1874 structure marks a gap in the barrier island known as Five Mile Beach. Pelz also designed the St Augustine Lighthouse, Fermin Lighthouse, and East Brother Lighthouse. He later went on to design the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.

In less than an hour I’m in Atlantic City, but Debby is holding off. I set up camp in an abandoned lot well away from the beach and sketch Absecon Lighthouse. The neighborhood seems sketchy, but I sit right next to my vehicle in case I need a quick getaway. Had to kick a couple bottles out of the way.

**#13** Another George Meade design, the 171-foot **Absecon Lighthouse** was first lit in 1857. It looks pretty much just like the Cape May Lighthouse. At the same time two lodgings were built, one for the keeper and one for the two assistants. To prevent erosion, jetties were built in 1876 and 1878. A lifesaving station was added in1884. The lighthouse survived an earthquake in 1886. In the 1900s Absecon Lighthouse began to be eclipsed by tall hotels. It was replaced by a new light on the boardwalk in 1933 and the keepers’ quarters demolished in the 1940s.Atlantic City took over in 1946, and the lighthouse was sold to the State of New Jersey in 1966.

Looks like rain. Strong winds prevail. Just up the road is the replica of Tuckers Island Lighthouse. However, the nearby museum is closed up tight. Not a soul around. I take shelter under the eaves.

#4 Reuben Tucker purchased the end of Long Beach Island in 1765, and he established an inn at what was called Tuckers Beach. In the early 1800s the ocean cut off TuckersBeach from Long Beach Island and it became Tuckers Island. **Tuckers IslandLighthouse** was established there in 1848. Once Absecon Lighthouse was put into operation, Tuckers Island Lighthouse was discontinued. However, it was repaired and put back in service by 1867. In 1869 a square tower was inserted through the roof of the keepers dwelling and the original lighthouse converted to an oil shed. In 1927 Tuckers was again discontinued and it toppled into the sea. A replica of housing a museum was built in the 1980s.

Just up the coast is the seaside town of Sea Girt.There’s a restaurant on the beach side of Sea Girt Lighthouse, so I can stay dry while sketching. Out in the street half a dozen uniforms stand around in rain coats. I ask, “What’s going on?”

“We anticipate some rowdiness at the Parker House.Lots of people celebrate on Friday nights.”

**#15 Sea Girt Lighthouse**—sea girt meaning surrounded by the sea—was placed in service in 1896, but by 1955it had been replaced by a steel tower. The Borough of Sea Grit purchased the lighthouse from the Coast Guard in 1956. In 1981, Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee Inc. was formed and granted a lease which now runs until 2056.

I race on up to Woodridge and check into the HIX.Mulberry Street Restaurant is recommended, and I make a reservation. It’s aneighborhood Italian place—can’t beat that. Everybody seems to know everybody.A Martini is in order to celebrate a long day. The entire Eastern Seaboard isunder a tornado alert due to Debby.

Day 9 Saturday

Woodridge, New Jersey, for the night again

Sunshine! Blue skies! Egg McMuffin with OJ and coffee because there’s no complementary cinnamon roll and coffee at this HIX. I head back tracking down to Navesink Lighthouse which is a double lighthouse with a marvelous museum. I plop my chair down on the sloping grass lawn but not too close to the edge of the bluff. I have a nice chat with the husband and wife who are volunteering in the gift shop.

Part 4: New York

Day 10 Sunday

South Jamaica, New York, for the night

This is a big day. Not only New York City, but also the start of a side trip with my granddaughter Kathryn to visit colleges fromManhattan to Boston.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes as I drive alongmunching a cinnamon roll and swilling coffee from the HIX in Woodbridge, NewJersey. In 20 minutes I’m in Staten Island, a borough of New York City itselfbut separated by the Narrows and the Upper Bay. A long walk takes me up to Princess Bay Lighthouse where I’m alone. Even without the lantern room it’s an impressive edifice, and my sketch doesn’t do it justice. Maybe the walk wore me out.

**#19** The present **Princess Bay Lighthouse** tower was erected in 1864 and the keepers’ quarters in 1868.It replaced the 1828 lighthouse whose first keeper was Abel Rawson from Nantucket. As a young man he’d served on a whaler which was destroyed by a whale off the coast of Brazil. The crew escaped in whale boats and were picked up by a consort ship. Rawson allegedly took his whaling story to PresidentAndrew Jackson who was so impressed he gave Rawson the keeper’s post.

Following Google Maps, next thing I know I’m in a pretty posh neighborhood on Richmond Hill in Staten Island. The nicely designed Staten Island Range Lighthouse sits right between a couple splendid houses, one of which was the keeper’s place.

**#20** The stately 1912 **Staten Island Rear Range Lighthouse** rises 90 feet above the 145-foot Richmond Hill giving it a focal plane of roughly 235 feet. The National Lighthouse Museum inStaten Island now maintains this working aid to navigation. The keepers’ dwelling is now a private residence.

I hop onto I-278 and drive across the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge—when it opened in 1964, it was the world's longest suspension span at 4,259 feet.

I’m in Brooklyn in half an hour as I exit the bridge, light traffic on a Sunday. Getting to the Coney Island Lighthouse isa disappointment, however, because it’s in a tony gated community. The gatekeeper won’t let me in. The lighthouse is barely visible, but I sketch what I can see anyway.

**#21 Coney Island Lighthouse** was built in the late 1800s on the popular beachfront entertainment destination. Plans from Throg’s Neck Lighthouse were used for the tower and the keepers’ lodging used plans from Gould Island Lighthouse. Frank Schubert was the last civilian keeper serving 43 years at Coney Island. During his tenure he rescued 15 people and saved them from drowning.

On to South Jamicia in Queens where I check into afancy Marriott JFK—no HIXs around here. The hotel sits on a plot of ground withtwo other motels right smack dab in the middle of a nice residential area. Wellkept single and duplex dwellings surround the site.

After checking in I drive over to SpotHero SecureParking and drop off my car for safekeeping while I’m on my excursion withKathryn. It’s a pretty dicey place, and I have some apprehension but no other choice. SpotHero shuttles me back to the hotel. I walk into the high caliberrestaurant, The Quimby, and launch into a superb Martini followed by a porkchop with brussels sprouts and other good stuff.

Day 11 Monday

Manhattan, New York City,for the night

My vacation within my roadtrip starts. After breakfast at The Quimby, the hotel shuttle takes me to the Delta terminal atJFK International Airport where I meet Kathryn as she comes in from the Twin Cities. We collect her checked luggage, take the AirTrain to Jamaica, jump on the subway, and are shortly in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, about a block fromWashington Square Hotel where we’ll spend the next couple nights. Public transport is so splendid.

At 3:00 we meet up with the NYU tour group at the corner of Washington Square. After an afternoon of being touted, we take a taxit o Delmonico’s in the financial district. Some of you may remember the Gunsmoke TV series—Matt, Kitty and Chester ate at Delmonico’s all the time.

Kathryn’s dressed to the nines, and I’m in my fancy new safari jacket. Right away, at Kathryn’s suggestion, we save $200 by not ordering the caviar. I have the Faroe Island salmon and Kathryn has the best ever lamb chops.

I remind her that she was only ten when Gram (my wife Sheryl) died, and therefore, she missed some of Gram’s etiquette lessons.So, I explained the intricacies of communal bread and butter—most people don’t respond well to my advice, but she’s thankful.

We share a baked Alaska. What a perfect evening.

Day 12 Tuesday

Manhattan, New York, for the night again

We breakfast at the Waverly Diner, and for a taste of Manhattan, Subway up to 110^th Street and walk past and take a look inside the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine which has been under construction since 1892. The Columbia campus now has controlled entrances at116^th Street, but it’s still my old stomping grounds.

After the tour we walk up Claremont, have a bite, and check out the apartment building where I lived with my family when I was a graduate student here. In the evening, we dine at the Kit Kat Club on West 52^ndStreet and see the best show on earth, Cabaret. I’ve never seen a performance to top this one. Only downside: I forgot to repossess my Leatherman from the box office.

Kathryn in her element outside the Kit Kat Club.

Day 13 Wednesday

New Haven, Connecticut, for the night

In the morning Kathryn follows the subway map we gotat the hotel and routes us to Fifth Avenue. We walk up past what was theTishman Building where I worked two days a week while at Columbia. TheGuggenheim invites us in, but the Met is closed on Wednesdays.

Kathryn suggests a walk across Central Park. It’s a sweltering day walking up and down hill. We stop for a basket of watermelon slices, no drinks offered other than sugar water.

Then a cab down back to our hotel and another to theMoynihan Station. While I’m walking around looking for lunch, our train is announced. Katheryn rounds me up and saves my bacon. We Amtrak to New Haven, check into the New Haven Hotel, and eat at the South Bay Mediterranean Kitchen.Note: If you want good crabcakes, order them in Maryland not Connecticut.

Day 14 Thursday

Boston, Massachusetts, for the night

I’m up early for a walk around the Yale Campus to see Paul Rudolf's corduroy Architecture Building. Rudolph chaired Yale’sDepartment of Architecture for six years. Completed in 1963, his design was one of the earliest and best known examples of Brutalist Architecture. In my view this was one of the worst styles—architecture should be friendly not Hitler-esque.

Unlike Manhattan, a breakfast place is tough to find, but we manage some coffee. Kathryn is delighted with the Yale tour. Infact, it’s her go to college if they accept and fund her. She’ll graduate high school with two years of college and an associate degree under her belt. After hiking back to the station, we board Amtrak for Boston.

Frightfully expensive rooms at the HotelCommonwealth, but they give us free aluminum water bottles. Dinner is right next door at the Blue Ribbon Brasserie. There’s even a plaque on the wall commemorating the architect, Peter Guzy of Asfour Guzy Architects. It’s a lovely last dinner together.

Day 15 Friday

Manhattan, New York, for the night

After touring Boston University I deposit Kathryn atLogan International and Uber down to the docks to look at the Lightship Nantucket. I finally find someone who knows where it is and snap a couple pictures. Not a place I want to hang around and sketch.

I Uber to the SouthStation, board the Amtrak, do some reading and dozing, and before you know it,I’m at the Washington Square Hotel. Excellent black bass dinner just around the corner at Loring Place—Kathi, Mark and I used to eat at the Loring Café next to Loring Park in Minneapolis whenever Mark was back from Seattle.

Rendering of **Lightship Nantucket** which sitsat the dock in Boston.

Day 16 Saturday

South Jamaica, New York, for the night

I have breakfast at a little place attached to the hotel. It’s only open on weekends and nicer than the Waverly Diner—three cups of coffee, three strips of bacon, and three pumpkin almond pancakes with real maple syrup.

Then Uber, this time to Fulton Street and the South Street Seaport Museum where I sketch not a real lighthouse but the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse.

**#22** Now located in Titanic Memorial Park, the **Titanic Memorial Lighthouse** was originally placed atop the massive Seamen’s Church Institute building in 1913 one year after the sinking of the Titanic. It’s dedicated to the passengers, officers and crew who died in the tragedy. It’s now under the auspices of the South Street Seaport Museum in Manhattan. Right next to the lighthouse is a sculpture of a person in a yellow slicker.

A little further on is the Light Vessel (LV) Ambrose, and I’m delighted to be given a personal guided tour.

When launchedin 1908, the135 by 29-foot ***LV Ambrose*** was schooner rigged. She served in five locations under four different names. In 1921 *LV Ambrose* was the first light vessel to receive a radio beacon. After decommissioning in 1966, the Coast Guard gave her to the South Street Seaport Museum, and in 2012 she was restored as a floating exhibit.

I subway up to 181^st Street for a lunch of lemonade and toasted bagel. Lunch is sometimes payment for using the men’s room. What I really want up here is a sketch of Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse—also known as the Little Red Lighthouse—which sits right under the GeorgeWashington Bridge. But alas, my Uber driver can’t get us there. She makes a valiant effort but it turns out the exit we needed was closed off. She doesn’t charge me—New Yorkers can be nice.

This is the **Little Red Lighthouse** that I didn’t see. So cute. New Jersey in the background across the Hudson River.

It’s subway back to the Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue Station, reclaim luggage at Washington Square Hotel, subway to SouthJamaica, Uber to the Marriott JFK, stow luggage in my room, and walk into The Quimby. Whew!

The server remembers me, in part because last time I gave him a card with the Martini recipe on it—I always order Martini’s this way[frosty Martini glass, ½ ounce Dolin Vermouth, 3 ounces Sapphire gin, shake vigorously 25 times, twist of lemon peel] saves a lot of confusion. I order the same thing I did the week before and with good result.

A day of riding around and not much sketching. I reflect on Kathryn whom I’ve gotten to know on this trip, not a teenager anymore. She has the drive, energy and ambition to match her intelligence.

Tomorrow Long Island and Montauk.

Day 17Sunday

Riverhead, New York, for the night

Breakfast at the Quimby where the morning server also remembers me—coffee, orange juice, muffin. Then shuttle to retrieve my Q5from SpotHero. It’s there and unscathed—what a relief! They give me directions to get onto eastbound NY-27, and I’m off and running, but in the rain.

First stop is Old Field Point Lighthouse not far from the Bridgeport Ferry which I’ll be taking in a couple days. I sketch from inside the car due to drizzle. Wet sketchbook doesn’t have much tooth.

**#23** The charming cottage style **Old Field Point Lighthouse** was built of dressed granite in 1869 replacing the 1824 lighthouse. Deactivated in 1933, and the lighthouse was given to the Village of Old Field. During WW II theCoast Guard took over the property but returned it to the Village after the war. The keeper’s quarters from the 1924 lighthouse—to the right in this sketch—took on a new life as the Village Hall in 1963.

I detour past Riverhead, New York, where I’ll spend the night. I want to sketch Horton Lighthouse on Long Island Sound. Tomorrow I can sketch Cedar Island and Montauk Point Lighthouses and get back to Centereach, New York, at a reasonable time.

There are three or four volunteers at Horton, and the rain has stopped. I take the tour and we chat. They advise not heading out to Montauk until after nine in the morning because of heavy construction traffic earlier. Local knowledge is so helpful. I set up out on the lawn and sketch.

**#24** President George Washington commissioned **Horton Point Lighthouse** in 1790, but it wasn’t until 1857 that the lighthouse was funded, built and lit—a 55-foot tower and separate keeper’s house. In 1870 the keeper’s quarters were extended to connect to the tower, and a cast iron lantern room was placed at its top.

I do laundry at the HIX Riverhead but forget thesoap. Can you believe that? Yikes! Dinner at the Dark Horse. Oysters helped along by a brandy old fashion, crème brulée as reward. Chatted with Kathi and Mark on the phone, so nice. It’s not that I’m homesick, but I do miss family—18 days out. The has rain stopped.

Day 18 Monday

Centereach, New York, for the night

This morning, I start hiking out to Cedar IslandLighthouse. My information says half mile hike, but after 45 minutes I pass asign saying ‘Cedar Island Lighthouse one half mile.’ I do an about face andhead back to the car. I’m on the clock here—reservations have been made at theStony Brook HIX and I’d like to arrive by early evening.

The **Cedar Island Lighthouse** I didn’t make it to was built in 1860 and guided ships in and out of Sag Harbor, a major whaling port in the 1800s. It replaced a wooden structure built in 1839. Lighthouse Friends website reports: ‘A Civil War veteran named Charles Mulford, who wore a peg leg after being injured in the war, was appointed keeper at Cedar Point in 1897. Mulford was famous locally for buying up every wooden leg he could find around the community. After a 1974 fire at the lighthouse, firefighters reportedly found a forgotten storeroom filled with wooden legs that had only partially survived the fire.’

I’m eager to get back to Sag Harbor and rejoin NY-27, but at this point my navigation up and quits. I’m going to have to ask for directions. I ask and ask and ask, but continue to get lost in this tangle of back roads. I’m drastically discombobulated, and stomach acid is flowing for sure.

Finally, I hail a guy who says, “Hey, I’m going to Sag Harbor. Just follow me.” He guides me to downtown Sag and signs to NY-27.If he hadn’t come along, I’d probably still be there, just a skeleton slumped over the wheel. Good people out on Long Island.

Montauk Point Lighthouse is only 30 miles from Sag Harbor, and I’m there in a flash. Lots of visitors. I unfold my chair, sit, and make a sketch. A couple Japanese women ask if they can each have their pictures taken in my chair—why not? I got a favor this morning and payback makes me happy. Also, it’s also good for international relations.

The Montauk Museum is world class, filled with storyboards and artifacts—the best lighthouse museum I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot.

Ancestors of the Montaukett Native Americans arrived here 10,000 years ago and domesticated corn, beans and squash. They occasionally hunted whales in their 40 person dugout canoes. They became some of the most fearless crewmen on early 1800s whaling ships out of Sag Harbor.

**#25** Named for the Montauk Peoples who lived on the eastern end of Long Island, New York, **Montauk Point Lighthouse** was commissioned in 1792 by President George Washington. It wasn’t finished until four years later. Built of Connecticut limestone with a seven foot thick foundation that went down 13 feet, Washington claimed it would last 200 years—it did and still counting. John McComb, a New York Contractor, built it and also the still standing Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. By the late 1960s the bank had eroded and the CoastGuard was all set to tear down and rebuild when Giorgina Reid stepped forward with her patented erosion stopping plan. Trenches were dug across the slope and planted with grasses and reeds. This successful system slowed the runoff and captured moisture, and the lighthouse has stood its ground.

As I backtrack two hours to Centereach, the rain begins in earnest. I pull into the Stony Brook HIX at a reasonable time. It sits right next to Stony Brook University, and a lot of the guests here are parents who’ve brought their kids to start school. I chat with Kathi and Mark on the phone. It’s not that I’m homesick, just lonesome. I do miss family.

The parking lot outside the Dark Horse is a lake. I order a prosecco, to celebrate a trying and tiring day, and Mussels Luciano. Last night in New York, sad to see it go and especially my time with Kathryn. Tomorrow Bridgeport Ferry to Connecticut.

The Dark Horse all deckled out in yellow, my favorite color. Love this place.

Part 5: Connecticut

Day 19 Wednesday

Norwich,Connecticut, for the night

The Bridgeport Ferry is easy to find, but I’m the last to board. As we chug across Long Island Sound, I sit in the car and sort out my maps and papers and stuff. Out of the chute I head for Stratford Point Lighthouse. A chain link fence surrounds the entire property, but fortunately I’m sketching and not photographing—so I leave it out but include the picket fence. The tower wears an attractive red waistcoat.

**#26** The story of **Stratford Point Lighthouse**, according to the *Bridgeport Sunday Post* in the late 1800s, is that 12 year old Lottie Lillingston was left along while her uncle, the keeper, and grandfather went off to assist a ship in distress.Lottie noticed that the light had gone out, lit a lamp, climbed the tower stairs, stopped the clockwork, resuspended the lamp and restarted the clockwork. Now that’s a story! The original 28 foot vertical black and white striped octagonal lighthouse was built at the confluence of the Housatonic River and the Long Island Sound in 1822. A new keepers’ residence and 40-foot brick lined cast iron tower with a horizontal red stripe were erected in 1899 to replace the original buildings.

Then a 30 mile drive to New Haven. No campus tour this time, just a sketch of Five Mile Point Lighthouse, looking lonely—not a soul around.

**#27 Five Mile Point Lighthouse**, so named for the distance from downtown New Haven, Connecticut, to the point projecting into Long Island Sound, went into action in the early 1800s. The 35foot tall octagon was clad with white painted shingles. Jonathon Fitch, one of the first keepers, had a sideline—moonshine. He served the lighthouse and the community for 16 years. A new 65 foot sandstone tower was completed in 1847. In1877 the Southwest Ledge Light superseded Five Mile Point Lighthouse.

It's a 50 mile drive on I-95 from New Haven toGroton. Avery Point Lighthouse is embedded in the University of Connecticut Campus and a little tough to locate. I ask an older couple who are walking along the road, probably grandparents of a student here. They don’t know for sure, but their directions are good enough for me.

Under a blue sky with some scattered powder puff clouds, I pull into the reserved parking lot at the Bradford Banquet Hall. I unfold my chair on a well manicured lawn. Down by the lighthouse stands a woman in a white gown with a bouquet of flowers and a man in Navy dress blues. Lots of cameras clicking—must be a wedding. I’ll bet old Avery Point Lighthouse gets in a lot of wedding photos.

**#28 Avery Point Lighthouse** in Groton, Connecticut, was built by the Coast Guard in 1944 and used as a training Center during World War II. The eight sided tower was designed by Alfred Hopkins and Associates ofNew York City. After deactivation in 1967 the lighthouse fell into disrepair, but by 2006 the Avery Point Lighthouse Society had it restored and relit as a private aid to navigation.

A half hour drive and I’m in the scenic seaside town of Stonington. I park down by the beach and walk a short way back up the sidewalk to the stunning stone Stonington Harbor Lighthouse. Locking the door is a lighthouse volunteer.

“Is it too late to get my USLHS Passport* stamped?”

“Yes, it is, I’ve just locked up for the day.”

I give her my Basset Hound eyes, stand quietly distraught, and she relents, unlocks the door, and trudges back inside with my passport. She comes back out after a while.

“Sorry, I had a hard time finding the stamps.”

I thank her profusely. She is so sweet I fall in love, not so much with her, but with Stonington and its handsome limestone fences. As I sketch, several people with little kids walk by on their way home from the beach. They don’t stop to harass me. It’s so pleasant I think I could move here—but wait, no family, no friends. The populations here go back many generations, 300 years or more. I delete that thought.

**# 29** The first **Stonington Harbor Lighthouse** was built in the early 1800s, but its life was shortened due to erosion of the shoreline. The charming church style lighthouse we see today was built in 1840 using stones from the original lighthouse. In 1889 a conical cast iron lighthouse was built out on the breakwater. The 1840lighthouse became redundant and stood quietly until 1925 when it became a museum run by the Stonington Historical society.

That evening at dinner in Norwich, I give myself a pat on the back, four sketches—not bad for sleeping in and taking the ferry. But the rain had picked up, and by the time I reached the Bella Fiore—or beautiful flower in Italian—and I am in the mood for Italian.

*Last Christmas my son Mark gave me a Lighthouse Passport issued by the United States Lighthouse Society, of which I’m a member along with 10,000 others. If you get it stamped by the lighthouse museums where you’ve stopped, a prize of some sort awaits you.

Maine Roadtrip Part 6: Rhode Island

Day 20 Wednesday

Warwick, Rhode Island, for the night

The states are so close together here it’s sort of like traveling in Europe only more so. I barely have time to finish my coffee and cinnamon roll before I’m in Rhode Island and down to Point Judith where lurks Point Judith Lighthouse, well hidden behind another of those chainlink fence.

**#30** The 1810 **Point Judith Lighthouse** marked shoals at the western side of the entrance to Narragansett Bay. The tower was replaced in 1816 and again in 1857. Housed at Point Judith Coast Guard Station, the lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation.

Right next to Point Judith Lighthouse is Point Judith Life Saving Station. I admit it’s not a lighthouse, just looks like one with a watch tower typical of life saving stations.

**#31 Point Judith Life Saving Station** was replaced in 1937 by a Coast Guard building at Point Judith Lighthouse.

The famed Beavertail Lighthouse is not faraway, but I have to get back on US-1 north to RI-138, across Narraganset Bay to Jamestown Island and on to Beavertail Island. Fog signals were first tested atBeavertail Lighthouse—Diboll’s bells and trumpets. Steam powered whistles were also tried, but they sounded just like ships’ whistles and led to confusion as you can imagine.

**#32** Newport, Rhode Island, made rum, which was shipped to West Africa and traded for slaves, which were taken to the West Indies and traded for Molasses and sugar, which was brought back to Newport for rum making. This deplorable commerce was a mainstay of RhodeIsland’s economy for 100 years. **Beavertail Lighthouse** was put up in 1749but burned to the ground in 1753. Cause of the fire is unknown, but could be the keeper was imbibing too much rum and got careless. The replacement, built a year later, succumbed to a hurricane. The current lighthouse was built in 1857. Today it’s part of Beavertail State Park and maintained by Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association.

I Drive back up Beavertail Road, cross the short bridge into Jamestown, get on the Claborne Pell Newport Toll Bridge, finish crossing Narraganset Bay, and drive down to Stalnaker Beach where I find Castle Hill Lighthouse perched high on a ledge guarding the bay. It’s a popular place, lots of beachies walking by, but nobody bothers me.

**#33** After initiating condemnation proceedings against Alexander Agassiz, famed Swiss bornichthyologist, land for the **Castle Hill Lighthouse** was finally deeded over to the Lighthouse Board. The striking 1890 lighthouse, which is built right into the cliff face, is believed to be the design of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, celebrated for the design of Boston’s Trinity Church.

Swordfish dinner tonight at Ironworks, but worst Martini ever. I reflect on the day—four sketches out of the 22 claimed by Rhode Island. Too bad so many are out on islands. Next trip I’ll bring my canoe. A significant day, however, I’ve now been to all 50 states. Hooray!

Maine Roadtrip Part 7: Massachusetts

Day 21 Thursday

Wareham, Massachusetts, for the night

Massachusetts is my treasure trove of lighthouse sketches—18 in all. In New Bedford, Massachusetts, I search for Clarks Point Lighthouse, and out by the water treatment it sits well hidden atop what’s left of the old Fort Taber.

**#34** Sperm oil was a highly profitable business back at the turn of the 1700s. New Bedford merchants put up the first **Clarks Point Lighthouse** back in 1798, but it burned down and was replaced a year later. When the Federal Government took over all lighthouses a new one was built at Clarks Point. To protect the whaling fleet Fort Taber was planned in part by Robert E Lee, but before construction could be completed, the CivilWar broke out. When the fort was finished it blocked the lighthouse, so in 1869the lantern room and keepers’ quarters were relocated up top the fort. By 1871the need for the fort had diminished and construction was halted. The light itself was doused in 1898 but relit by the City of New Bedford in 2001. It now sits inactive in Fort Taber Park.

Out in the Buzzards Bay I spy a sparkplug style lighthouse but I don’t know the name so I simply call it…Sparkplug Lighthouse.

**#35** Sparkplug Lighthouse, New Bedford, Massachusetts.

I bypass New Bedford but note that by the 1850’s it was in close competition with the island of Nantucket for the title of whaling capital of the world.

It’s only a dozen miles to Ned’s Point Lighthouse, but takes half an hour.

**#36 Ned’s Point Lighthouse** on Buzzard’s Bay was first lit in 1837, replaced in the late 1800s, decommissioned in 1952, and sold to the town of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, in1958. Friends of Ned’s Point Lighthouse has been instrumental in raising funds and restoring the lighthouse.

Just across the bay stands Nobska Point Lighthouse.

**#37** The 1876 **Nobska Point Lighthouse**, which marks the entrance to Woods Hole Harbor on the north side of Vineyard Sound, is owned by the Town of Falmouth, Massachusetts.The 1828 version was a cottage style affair with a lantern room poking out of the roof of the keepers’ quarters. In its heyday before Cape Cod Canal opened in 1914, Nobska Point Lighthouse helped guide more than 25,000 ships a year through the rocky shoals of Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. This was one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. After automation in 1985 the keeper’s house became the residence of the Coast Guard Commander of the Southern NewEngland Sector. Today it is a fine museum and gift store operated by Friends of Nobska Light.

I backtrack to Wareham, Massachusetts, and spend thenight at the TownePlace Hayatt, no Holiday Inns around here. I feel prettychipper, really good sketching day—no shutouts—five sketches. Vel’s FamilyRestaurant and Lounge for dinner. Vel isn’t around, but my waitress makes agood Martini and pours the remnants in the shaker into a separate glass for me.That separate glass seems to be a somewhat standard practice around here.

Day 22 Friday

Eastham, Massachusetts, for the night

Wing’s Neck Lighthouse looks occupied so I don’t get too close.

**#38** The 1849 **Wings NeckLighthouse** on Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts suffered greatly in 1878 when the roof of the keepers’ house was being crushed by the lantern room on top—not only that but the place caught fire. Rebuilt in the late 1800s, it’s come up in the world and is now an Airbnb advertised as ‘Lighthouse in Pocasset, Massachusetts, 8 guests, 3 bedrooms, 4 beds, 1.5 baths. One person, three night minimum: $2,511.’

On to Hyannis Harbor Lighthouse.

**#39** **Hyannis Harbor Lighthouse** was built in 1849, and a front range light was added out on the pier in the late 1800s. The lighthouse was discontinued 70 years later and is now privately owned.

I toot on to West Dennis which in fact is just aneighborhood of Dennis, Massachusetts. The West Dennis Light is mountedon top of a massive motel operation. I’m sitting in the parking lot sketchingwhen a fellow comes up to me, “What are you doing?’

“I’m sketching the lighthouse.”

“You know this is private property.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No, just sayin it’s private property.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Finishing up my interrupted sketch, I go inside tothe Waterfront Restaurant, find a nice table on the deck overlooking the ocean,and order up fish and chips.

**#40** West Dennis is one of five villages that straddle Cape Cod with Cape Cod Bay to the north andNantucket Sound to the south. The cottage style **Bass River Lighthouse**was first lit in 1855, deactivated in 1880, reactivated in 1881, and deactivated again in 1914. It was sold to a private party and sold again toSenator Stone. In 1939 he established the Lighthouse Inn which now boasts 68rooms. In 1989 the light was relit and designated as the **West Dennis Light** on the Coast Guard’s Light List.

**#41** In 1808 **ChathamLighthouse** had two lights 70 feet apart to distinguish it from the HighlandLighthouse, and it was known for many years as Twin Lights. They were replacedin 1841 and in 1877 the south light was relocated to put it farther from theeroding bluff. The twins separated in 1923. The North Tower moved to Eastham andbecame Nauset Light, replacing the Three Sisters.

**#42 Three Sisters Lighthouses** were built in 1839 spaced 150 feet apart in a straight line along the coast, but in 1890 erosion caused them to collapse into the ocean. They were replaced two years later, but by 1923 all three had been shuttered—outshone by Nauset Lighthouse. In 1983 the National Park Service placed them in a park setting west of the Nauset Lighthouse which replaced them. Some say the lighthouses resembled women in white dresses with black hats and hence their nickname.

**#43** Constructed in 1877, **Nauset Lighthouse** was originally one of two lighthouses in Chatham, Massachusetts.It was relocated to Eastham in 1923 to replace the decommissioned Three Sisters of Nauset. Sometime in the 1940s the top portion was painted red to contrast with the daytime sky giving the mariners a better chance to see it—after all the light in a lighthouse is only visible at night. In the late 1900s the lighthouse, keeper’s house, and oil house were relocated 300 feet inland to prevent destruction by coast erosion. The light is owned by the National Park Service but maintained by the Nauset Light Preservation Society. The keeper’s house is privately owned.

Tonight and tomorrow night I’m at the Viking Shores in Eastham, Massachusetts. Nothing to write home about, but just down the road is Caroline’s Bar & Grill, a ten star restaurant. Caroline is the seventyish maître d’, and she is hell on wheels, running her legs off. The place is packed on Friday night, but even without a reservation she finds me a booth. I make a 7:00 reservation for tomorrow night. It’s a Saturday.

Day 23Saturday

Eastham, Massachusetts, for the night again

I’m up in the morning and find I’ve got only one lighthouse to sketch today. Planning a trip like this isa bit of guesswork. There are unknowns like the length of time it will take to find a lighthouse, getting lost, weather. I drive north toward the Highland Lighthouse, looking for a place for breakfast, and I find the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had, better than the Holiday Inn Express even. I take a rolland a mug of coffee and go sit on a bench and have a taste delight while I watch the waves come in. My fingers are so sticky I have to go back inside and wash my hands.

**#44** In 1797 George Washington commissioned the **Highland Lighthouse**, also known as Cape Cod Light, a 45 foot wood tower set back 500 feet from the125 from the clay cliff. The lighthouse was replaced in 1831 and again in 1857as the shoreline eroded. In 1996 the Truro Historical Society moved the lighthouse back 450 feet and presently staffs a museum and gift shop.

There are three more Cape Cod lighthouses that I’d like to see, Long Point, Wood End, and Race Point. But they’re accessible only by boat. So I head on up to Providence town and sign up for a whale watching cruise which will take me past these lighthouses.

My expectation is to see the three lighthouses. I’ve been on whale watching boats before, and usually there aren’t many, if any, whales to watch. But I’m surprised. Humpbacks swim, and some breeding, in circles right next to the boat. And Short-beaked Saddle BackDolphins follow the boat. And, oh yes, I see the lighthouses.

That night I show up at Caroline’s for my 7:00 reservation, but the booth isn’t ready. Caroline seats me at the bar next to a couple of her friends, and she buys me a Martini. Her friends are locals and we have a great chat. They eat here every Saturday night and sit at the bar during tourist season and in a booth when the flat landers are gone.

Day 24 Sunday

Revere, Massachusetts, for the night

I can’t find the cinnamon roll place this morning. Ugh! Had to settle for Egg McMuffin, orange juice, and coffee. I round the cape side of Cape Cod and find Scituate Lighthouse, which I classify as a vase style lighthouse.

**#45** The 1811 **Scituate Lighthouse** just south of Boston is best known for the heroics of two women, Rebecca and her sister Abigail, daughters of Keeper Bates. During the War of 1812 they were temporary alone to tend the light and were stunned to see a British warship anchored in the bay and a longboat headed to shore. Sending their young brother off to warn the village, they grabbed their fife and drum, hid in a grove of trees, took up playing Yankee Doodle Dandy, and scared the British into retreat.

I overshoot Revere and sketch Fort Pickering Lighthouse which stands at water’s edge, but a fence blocks a close view.

**#46** The hero of the 1871 **Fort Pickering (Winter Island) Lighthouse** is keeper John Harris who served from 1881 until 1919 when he retired at age 75 after keeping the light burning for 38 years. During this time he’d never seen a movie nor ridden in an automobile. “It seems as though we have been out of the world for a long time, and it will take some time for us to learn how to act among people.”

Hospital Point Front Range Lighthouse is in a residential neighborhood and access for sketching is easy. Sketching is not easy, however, because the structure is a jumble of add on’s to the original building. I don’t have patience to sketch them all.

#47 The 1871 Hospital Point Front Range Lighthouse helped mark the entrance to Salem Harbor. A rear range light was placed atop the steeple of the First Baptist Church in 1927. The Town of Beverly,Massachusetts, donated a couple acres on Hospital Point where there had been a hospital to treat small pox. The lighthouse was automated in 1947 and the keepers’ quarters was used for a time as residence for the commander of theFirst Coast Guard District.

Circling back to Revere, I arrive by 4:00 in time for a nap. I start reading In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, the shipwreck that inspired Herman Melville. I bought this book at Highland Lighthouse knowing I’d finish Titanic Survivor: TheNewly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop Who Survived Both the Titanic and Britanic Disasters before the trip was over. It’s a lovely book.

Day 25 Monday

Seabrook, New Hampshire, for the night

Plum Island Lighthouse was just up the road in the midst of a large lawn. I gave it a green door because gray was just too boring.

**#48** The 1788 **Newburyport Harbor (Plum Island) Lighthouse** sits at the northern tip of Plum Island inIpswich Bay marking the Merrimack River as it enters the Atlantic Ocean. It was built as one of a pair of range lights both of which blew over in 1808. Today’s tower was built in 1898. The Coast Guard gave the lighthouse to the City of Newburyport, and it’s maintained by the Friends of Plum Island Light.

Later at Eastern Point Lighthouse, a car with Maryland plates pulls in behind me. “You guys do have the best crabcakes,” I blurt out.

“This is a rental, we’re from California.” One of the women was a city planner and worked with architects a lot and she liked them better than civil engineers—but who wouldn’t.

Getting close enough to make a sketch was fraught with difficulty, uneven route over wet round stones. The dilapidated buildings and lighthouse are surrounded by the ubiquitous chain link fence.

**#49** The 1832 **Eastern Point Lighthouse** marks, of course, the eastern point of the treacherous entrance to Gloucester Harbor, reportedly the oldest seaport in the US. In addition, the Gloucester Sea Serpent is said to reside in the harbor. Yikes!The 1832 version was torn down and replaced in 1848 and again in 1890 with the lighthouse we see today. In 1880 artist Winslow Homer spent a year at the lighthouse painting his famous seascapes.

Newburyport is a charming place. Newburyport Harbor Rear Range Light is right in the middle of town. I sit across the street, and an old grizzled guy comes by to talk. He chain smokes and tells me about his girlfriend, graphic designer.

Just as I’m finishing the sketch another person stops by to admire and talk. Peach Goddard is a muralist who’d been selected as one of five to paint five blocked up windows in a building just up the alley. She takes a picture of the two of us in front of her gorgeous mural.

**#50** The quaint 1886 **Newburyport Harbor Rear Range Light** replaced a series of privately maintained lights guiding ships into the busy Newburyport Harbor. It was decommissioned in 1961 and sold to a private party.

Just a block or so away is Newburyport Harbor Front Range Light. As I sketch another guy comes by. Max is chair of the local arts board. Yet another guy, Steve stops to talk. This is a friendly place, Newburyport.

**#51** Built and decommissioned on the same dates as the Rear Range Light, the **Newburyport Harbor Front Range Light** sits right next to the Merrimack River Coast Guard Station building surrounded by another chain link fence.

I have delicious piping hot clam chowder on the terrace at the Starboard Gallery in Newburyport and drive on to the HIXHampton. Dinner at the Sea Ketch in Seabrook, a beachy kind of place. I orderLobster Rangoons (chopped imitation lobster meat in wonton wrappers) on the upper level. Because I couldn’t figure out how to pay for street parking, I want to be able to see the tow truck and take remedial action. My Romanian waitress is studying to be a physical therapist. Thus endeth my Massachusetts lighthouse sketching.

Maine Roadtrip Part 8: Maine

Day 26 Tuesday

Freeport, Maine, for the night

Right in the middle of a residential area I come across the front and rear range Cape Elizabeth lighthouses. I pull off the road and park next to a construction site. Three guys are trying to place abeam and column for a house. Back home two guys would have completed this in the half hour it took me to set up, sketch, and take down my kit, but not these guys.

For me sketching first thing in the morning is ajoy. It gives me something to look forward to besides the cinnamon role and the drive.

**#52** Marcus Hanna, keeper of the **Cape Elizabeth lighthouses** from 1873 to 1888, was awarded the GoldLifesaving Medal for rescuing crew members from the stricken *Australia.* The first lighthouses at the Cape were lit in 1828 and replaced in the late 1800s. EdwardHopper painted *The Lighthouse at Two Lights* his best-known lighthouse painting, which was the subject of a US post stamp commemorating Maine’s sesquicentennial.In 1971 Gary Merrill, former husband of Bette Davis, purchased the west tower.

Hooper’s 1929 painting of Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse.

Portland Lighthouse was awash with people. I sat and sketched the Portland Head Lighthouse as they milled about and ignored me.

**#53** At a height of 80feet, the 1791 **Portland Head Lighthouse** marked the west side of the entrance to Portland Harbor—Ram Island Ledge Light marked the east side.Portland head was the first lighthouse built by the fledgling United States. In1812 the upper 30 feet of the tower was rebuilt, and in 1865 20 feet were added but removed 18 years later. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the lighthouse with some frequency, and his poem *The Lighthouse* was no doubt influenced by Portland Head. Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same,
Year after year, through all the silent night
Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame,
Shines on that inextinguishable light! Today the Town of Cape Elizabeth owns the lighthouse, but the Coast Guard has an easement allowing them to control and maintain the light itself.

The sparkplug style Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse marks the end of a long breakwater which I didn’t want to walk, so I sketched from some distance.

**#54** The sparkplug style **SpringPoint Ledge Lighthouse** was constructed in 1897 to warn of hazards inPortland Harbor’s shipping channel. It wasn’t until 1949 that the longanticipated breakwater was added. Automated in 1960, it was transferred to the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse Trust in 1998.

After stopping for directions at a flower shop, I make my way five miles up to Bug Light Park across the Fore River fromPortland, Maine. The Bug Light, also known as the Portland BreakwaterLighthouse, is a curious sight out on the end of a breakwater. Lots of people are enjoying the park and the sunny day.

**#55** In the mid 1800s a breakwater was built to protect the inner harbor. The first **Portland Breakwater Lighthouse (Bug Light)** was installed in 1855 to warn shippers of the breakwater. The original wood light was replaced in 1875 with a design based on the fourth century Monument of Lysicrates which is near the Acropolis of Athens, Greece. Seems like a bit of a stretch for a small lighthouse protecting a breakwater. In the late 1800s a keeper’s house was added. In 1973the lighthouse sans keeper’s quarters were refurbished by the South Portland Rotary Club and Spring Point Ledge Light Trust.

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is an interesting set of buildings connected to the tower on a steeply sloping site. While sketching, a woman approached me to chat. She’s a painter, and she and her husband are spending a week at the lighthouse like they did last year. She says unlike other lighthouses, this one is not haunted.

**#56** The 1827 **Pemaquid Point Lighthouse** is located at the entrance to Muscongus Bay and Johns Bay in the town of Bristol, Maine. The lighthouse was replaced eight yearslater with today’s tower which was painted by Edward Hooper.

Edward Hooper’s 1929 painting *Pemaquid Light*. Looks like he ran out of canvas.

I eat at the Royal River Grill House in Yarmouth which is on, of course, the Royal River. Halibut, risotto (my fav), blood orange dressing on arugula. A long day—five sketches.

Day 27 Wednesday

Belfast, Maine, for the night

The side view of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse is more dramatic than the view I sketch, but you can see the side only from the water. I sketch from a distance—who wants to walk an uneven surface of the breakwater for nearly a mile?

**#57** Sitting at the end of a4,346 foot breakwater, the first **Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse** was constructed in the late 1800s and relocated four times as the breakwater grew in length. In 1902 today’s lighthouse was completed—its purpose to protect the breakwater. It’s been owned by the City of Rockland since 2022.

Owls Head Lighthouse is a different matter, but it is up a steep set of stairs, and to set up my chair is to risk falling over backwards and breaking my neck. But I prevail. Rose of Sharon is in bloom, and the gift shop is full of people.

**#58** First built in 1825 and rebuilt in 1852, **Owls Head Lighthouse** is attended by more than one ghost. *Costal Living* magazine said it was number one on its most haunted list. Haunted lighthouses are not unusual, but listen to this: One keeper’s wife said that when her husband got up in the night to tend the light, she rolled over and went back to sleep. When he got back in bed, she asked him if everything was okay. He did not respond, and she turned to face him only to find no one there. But there was a depression in the bedclothes which moved as if someone were rolling over. Yikes! And there are several more stories.Not only that, this lighthouse is known for Spot a springer spaniel that pulled the fog bell rope every time a ship was within sight, apparently saving the mailboat from running aground.I chatted with the volunteer at **Marshal Point Light Station**. Sketching the triangulated walkway presents a challenge.

**#59 Marshal Point Light Station** overlooks both Muscongus and Penobscot Bays. It was first built in 1832 and rebuilt in 1857. The St George Historical Society renovated the keeper’s dwelling in the late 1900s, built replicas of other buildings, and operates a fine museum.

A couple more sketches and I can wrap up the day and the trip. Fort Point Lighthouse is the first and the second is Dice Head Light.

**#60** Named after the 1759Fort Pownall, **Fort Point Lighthouse** was built in 1836 and replaced in1857. It aided ships headed for the lumber port of Bangor, Maine. The CoastGuard leased the facility to the Maine State Bureau of Parks in 1989.

At Dice Head Light I meet a teacher who tells me she’s 38 with two kids who have jobs. She’s moving to a different town to teach. Why do people want to tell me these things—I just want to sketch.

**#61** The 1829 **Dyces Head Light (Dice Head Light)** guided vessels bound for the Penobscot River. In1998 the tower was rescued by injecting a slurry of mortar to replace mortar which had fallen out. The lighthouse had been deactivated in 1935, but in 2007the Coast Guard relit it.

My last night in Maine. Dinner at the Nautilus Seafood & Grill. Sit at the bar to wait for a table. Meet Sue, the woman next to me. She just quit her job as a middle school teacher. She had triplets who are all doing well. People are a bit more conversant at the bar, but what am I, Father Confessor?

I order the lobster dinner, and with the assistance of my helpful waitress I get at it. A little scary to look at, difficult to address, but delicious.

Another long day with another five sketches. Maine lays claim to 65 lighthouses, the most in New England, but nothing compared to Michigan which offers up 129. I don’t do justice to Maine’s lighthouses, but in my defense, many are on islands and reachable only by boat.

Tomorrow Lake Champlain.

Maine Roadtrip Part 9: New Hampshire,Vermont, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin

Day 28 Thursday

Burlington, Vermont, for the night

No cinnamon rolls at the Fireside Inn in Belfast soI move on to Traci’s Diner at the recommendation of the desk clerk. I order a short stack of blueberry pancakes with two eggs over medium and coffee. Delicious.

I’ve decided to hang up my Old Town canoe after 30 years of canoeing in the Boundary Waters and another 20 on my lake. It’s time—I don’t want to fall getting in or out. But by hang up I mean literally hang it from the ceiling of my big room. I’ve cleaned it up, and now I just need new Old Town decals to paste over the old faded ones.

I drive up to Old Town, Maine, where the canoes are made, and knock on the locked glass door of what looks like a shuttered showroom. A fellow opens the door and says, “The retail sales operation has been closed since Covid.”

“Well, I’ve cleaned up my Old Town ‘Columbia,’ andI’d like to get a couple Old Town decals.”

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make a couple calls.” I cool my heals sitting on the steps. Pretty soon he opens the door and hands me two decals. “Here you go.”

“Thank you very much.” I do have an abiding belief that people are really good at heart. Well, maybe not all people, but most.

The drive down to and across New Hampshire is one of the most beautiful in the world. White pine forests punctuated with mountains. The sky is unblemished blue.

In Burlington I look up the Shelburne Museum which is an acreage with multiple historic buildings and a ship even. Electra Havemeyer Webb, founder and benefactor of the museum, had the Colchester Reef Lighthouse taken apart piece by piece and relocated to the museum. It’s such a picturesque lighthouse—simply charming.

**#62** Originally located offshore at Colchester Point on Lake Champlain in Vermont, the **ColchesterReef Lighthouse** was dismantled and relocated to the Shelburne Museum in1952. It had been deactivated in 1933 and now sits amongst 37 buildings on thegrounds of the museum. Albert Dow, a graduate engineer from the University ofVermont, won the competition to design the original 1871 lighthouse.

This is in fact the last sketch. The party’s over, it’s time to call it a day. But wait, the trips not over. I’m looking forward to seeing my second wife’s kids in Wisconsin. Their mother Trudy died from a brain tumor when they were in their teens. But first I have to traverse Lake Champlain and then Ontario.

Day 29 Friday

Kingston, Ontario, for the night

I make my way across Lake Champlain with help from Apple Maps—there are bridges. I drive down the St Lawrence Seaway to Ogdensburg and then cross into Ontario. “Why are you going to Canada?” the uniformed passport checker asks.

“To get home without fighting my way around Chicago.Anyway, it’s the shortest route.”

“Okay, have a good day.”

I get so tired of people telling me to have a good day. I should get to like it—it’s a lot better than some things they could tell me to do.

Downtown Kingston—not the one Harry Belafonte sang about—there seem to be plenty of places to eat but no places to park. I find a parking structure at the Delta Hotel, the upper end of Marriott. I get a stall and find the Aqua Terra. It’s packed solid, but they let me eat at the bar, soI do. “What’s going on? Lot of people here.”

“Friday night of Labour Day weekend and also colleges starting up. Busiest weekend of the year.” I’m at the bar pretty much alone. None of these high tone folks want to confess to an old reprobate like me. I order a Martini, bread ($8), pan seared scallops and sticky toffee pudding. The most expensive meal of the entire trip.

Day 30 Saturday

North Bay, Ontario, for the night

The beauty of Vermont and New Hampshire returns fora while. Maples amid the spruce are beginning to turn, Bracken fern brown, goldenrod lush. Moose warning signs, but no moose did I see. Vehicles laden with colorful canoes and kayaks, and big semis with pulpwood logs.

I eat at Average Joe’s Eatery, about half the price of the Aqua Terra. I order Spaghetti carbonara—not bad. Joe’s is on Delaney Bay in Trout Lake with a nice nice view.

Day 31 Sunday

Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, for the night

I was once married on this date, and I ponder this as I stream along on ON-17. The views are a little more barren, but blue skies.

End of the trip is approaching. This will be my last night in a motel. I’m at the View Restaurant in Sault Ste Marie. The view is of the St Mary’s River which drops 23 feet from Lake Superior into the lower GreatLakes. I can see the locks on the American side of the river. They opened in 1855 and accommodated thousands of tons of iron ore from Minnesota to the lower lakes.

What did I learn on this month long roadtrip? Well, it will probably be my last trip of this length. Without my navigation devices it wouldn’t have been possible, but they offer only a narrow view. I’m glad I have the road atlas and several Rand McNally state maps—which used to be free at gas stations, remember?

My days usually started out with one or two fabulous HIX cinnamon rolls and couple travel mugs of coffee—all consumed in the car to save time. Lunch may be some Cracker Barrel Vermont Sharp White, New York Bagel Crisps and a can of Minute Maid Lemonade out of my trunk larder. Or just another cinnamon roll.

By suppertime I’m strung out from the road, and I try for a high gastronomic delight with ambiance, but I don’t always succeed. A Martini helps ease the edge of tenseness. It doesn't really help, just makes me muddle headed, but it does improve my contemplation—I do have a good many things to look back on, and be thankful for, in my rich and varied life.

For this whole tour de force trip, my nerves have been pretty much on high alert. It's the Sketching that brings me such great peace, comfort and relaxation. It moves me into my right brain—that’s why the sketches are so whimsical and quirky. I hope I’ll always be able to sketch. It’s been missing these last three days. But visiting Jenny, Katie, and Steven will be a crowning finish to make up for that.

Day 32Monday

Hazelhurst, Wisconsin, forthe night

I’ve taken the drive from Hazelhurst to Sault Ste Marie on other lighthouse jaunts. It’s a pleasant drive on the reverse through Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the fragrant smell of White Pine.

I drive to Blacks Cliff Resort, Jenny, Troy and Steven pile into Jenny’s electric bright blue Chevy Bolt and we shoot up US-51 to Arbor Vitae where we meet up with Katie and Bryan for a touching dinner with my Wisconsin step kids and spouses. A fitting close to this marathon outing.

Katie, Steven, Jenny at the Northfork Fin and Filet, Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin. Monday night of Labor Day Weekend, it was the only local place open.

Up until now I’d sent a text, usually around dinnertime, to family so they wouldn’t worry about me. But tonight, I was busy piling on warm sleepwear so I wouldn’t freeze out on Birchwood’s screen porch in 37 degree weather. I sleep like a deadman in the swinging bed.