Maine Lighthouse

We are in Maine for vacation this week. It took us awhile to drive all the way up here so we don't plan on wandering far for the remainder of our visit. This is the Breakwater Lighthouse in Rockland, Maine.

It's just like you'd picture Maine: a chill in the air and fog rolling in along a craggy coastline. It's August, and yet we had to wear windbreakers as we walked along the causeway towards the lighthouse. It will be warmer and sunnier the remainder of the week so no worries there, and the weatherman on the local news channel said that this might be the nicest stretch of weather this summer.

Some lighthouses are accessible by land. Others are located on remote islands. The Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse is a little of both. The breakwater was built to protect Rockland Harbor from pounding surf, and the lighthouse was built at the end of the breakwater to prevent ships from running into it. The causeway atop the breakwater is nearly a mile long, and while it's not sidewalk smooth, it's certainly negotiable. Even Sean could hike out on his own with a little help from mommy.
It was time for exploring along the shoreline once we finished the hike to the light and back. It was low tide so there were plenty of tidal pools filled with all kinds of interesting sea creatures including starfish and plenty of different shellfish. Nate found lots of snails which he named Gary in honor of Spongebob's pet. We'd like to think we're raising our kids to be intellectuals giants (ha!) but even Nate goes lowbrow every once in awhile.

Sean got in on the tidal pool action too. As usual, Sean won't pose for a photo so the only option is to take candid shots from a distance. This one turned out pretty good.