Tag: ocean

#AtoZChallenge | L is for Lighthouse and a Lonely Snowman

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Portland Breakwater Lighthouse is more commonly known as Bug Light due to its diminutive size.  Plus, bug light just sounds so much cooler. It is also the place to go if you want to fly a kite as the wind is wicked by the water. I’ve blogged about it before in my post Kite Festival at Bug Light Park, South Portland.

I also returned to the park again when trying to launch a homemade Castiel kite during our Gishwhes Scavenger Hunt this past August. You probably need to be a fan of the TV show Supernatural to understand that previous sentence. Sadly, it’s not even my first reference to Supernatural during this blogging challenge. I’m a bit obsessed. But, you don’t need to be a fan of the show to get the gist.

Bug Light Park is the best place to go fly a kite.

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#AtoZChallenge | K is for Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth

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While a popular summer destination, I found the quieter winter scene at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth especially beautiful during a recent visit. The sun gleaming off the water, a persistent patch of snow by the edge of the sand and an abandoned lobster trap make it a true Maine winter scene.

This was my first visit to the beach area at Kettle Cove, but my daughter and I did enjoy a delicious lunch at the Kettle Cove Creamery & Cafe a few summers ago which I blogged about here:  Serendipity and Strawberries lead us to a stop at the Kettle Cove Creamery & Cafe.  Unfortunately, it’s closed during the winter so we didn’t get to enjoy a second visit on this trip.

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#AtoZChallenge | J is for the Jetty at Camp Ellis and Winter Storms

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When you step onto the jetty and look out, it’s impossible to tell how far it goes as the end blurs with the horizon. Growing up in Saco, I visited the jetty in Camp Ellis often and have scrambled along the rocks towards that end point but I’ve never walked the entire jetty.

I have what is probably a revisionist memory from my one of my early visits to the jetty as a child. My cousins and I were given permission from our parents to walk to the jetty on our own.  We had never gone alone so it was a big deal. It was a short walk up the beach and to the jetty.  Playing on the rocks could be dangerous but we promised to be careful.  My youngest cousin, who is five years younger, tagged along with us. When we were done exploring, she was not ready to leave, so we left her on the rocks. She made it home safely, but our parents were not happy with our decision to leave her behind. Our next solo visit was not until a few years later when we could be trusted to make better choices.

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#AtoZChallenge | E is for the Eastern Prom and Staying Active

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The Eastern Prom in Portland is usually full of activity and the host to many community events but on a cold winter day I ventured down to this waterfront location and captured a few quieter winter moments. The park was empty and isolated but the views were still spectacular.

While the park was deserted, the snowman standing guard among the playground equipment and the many pairs of footprints frozen into the snow underneath the swing set showed that even in the winter the park still gets plenty of little visitors. According to an article in the Portland Press Herald, the Eastern Promenade is also a great spot for sledding that doesn’t seem to draw the crowds of some other locations, but offers a great hill with amazing views.1

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Hiking Maine | Finally made it to the not so secret Seawall Beach in Phippsburg.

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Ever since our visit to Popham Beach in Phippsburg, I have been wanting to head back to the area for a hike at nearby Seawall Beach. Most articles that I have read refer to this spot as a hidden beach since the only access point is by hiking in and then back out. However, after my recent visit, it’s clear that it’s a fairly well-known destination based on the number of other hikers that we encountered on our way to this beautiful beach.

I had romanticized the idea of traveling through the forest on a rarely used, slightly overgrown trail before emerging suddenly from the wilds onto the beach. The treasure at the end of the hike. That is not this hike other than the treasure at the end. The trail is actually a wide road covered in a mixture of asphalt patches and packed dirt. It was easy to follow and not strenuous.

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