Sept 24th: Portland, Maine

We headed to the Portland Head Lighthouse our second day in Portland. The grounds were very extensive with many scenic views. The history is interesting.  Lighthouse info 

Here are some interesting plaques. Hard to read but if you enlarge them it works.

Rocks by Lighthouse

There is a large park around the lighthouse that offers a very good view of the harbor. 

The rocks around the lighthouse are very picturesque. I'm sure they are also quite dangerous for even small boats.

Entrance to the Port of Portland Maine

Well manicured grounds surrounding the lighthouse

After visiting the lighthouse we drove to the Audubon Society for a hike. It was a little off the beaten path and not at all crowded. We had just started the trail with Scott in the lead. Scott stopped to look back at us and I noticed something moving in the weeds just in front of him. I told him to stop moving. Then a porcupine walked out on to the trail in front of him. We were all working hard to get a picture. 

The porcupine didn't seem too bothered by us but wouldn't let us get too close. He just meandered down the trail. We got a very good look at it and Scott got the best pictures. None of us had seen one in the wild before so it was fun.

As soon as we got into the woods the trees were very close and young. This entire area had been cleared for timber so it was all relatively new growth as is the case in most of Vermont. 

We passed a very pretty little pond. I thought there should be some ducks, maybe a beaver, but there were none to be seen.

Most of the hike was through marshlands alongside extensive mud flats. The water rises and falls twice a day with the tides. It was hard to get a good picture through the trees of the mud flats but if you look closely you can get the idea. It was obviously low tide during our hike. We saw a few shore birds but not as many as we hoped for.

After the hike we headed to Red's Eats for what was reported to be the best lobster rolls in Vermont. They had received numerous awards for many years. Their lobster rolls boasted at least one pound of lobster meat. Red's Eats is just a small takeout place but a popular Maine attraction. We knew there was always a long wait but we wanted to experience the whole scene and lobster.  About Red's Eats 

Terri and Scott with the long awaited lobster rolls.

True to the reviews the wait was ridiculously long. But once we waited 45 minutes we had too much time invested to stop. Terri said she was staying, we could leave and come back and pick her up. I think Scott considered it but I didn't want to miss anything. We ended up waiting in line for an hour and forty-five minutes to order and then another 15 minutes to get our food. 

Red's Eats Lobster roll

Here are some fun facts about the place. Fun Facts

By the time we finished our very late lunch we headed back to our place for the night. It seemed ridiculous to wait that long but we were glad we didn't skip the Red's Eats experience. Terri gets the credit/blame!

The next day we would head to Lincoln, NH in the White Mountains. So far the weather had been wonderful.