Domestic Expeditions
Lighthouses of Maine
Dates
October 1, 2007 through October 6, 2007
Itinerary
October 1, 2007
Portland
Check in at the Hilton Garden Inn, near the Portland Airport. There is a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel, and those who drive may keep their vehicles at the hotel for the duration of the tour. Welcome dinner at the hotel.
October 2, 2007
Portland
We'll board our coach at 8 a.m. for a one hour trip to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and a 4½ hour cruise around the White Islands. We'll pass the Portsmouth, Whaleback, Isle of Shoals, Boon Island and Cape Neddick (The Nubble) Lighthouses. The cruise will include a box lunch on board. After lunch, we'll head back to Portland and visit the Portland Head Lighthouse for a tour of the tower and museum. Afterward, we'll return to our hotel and then proceed to dinner at a nearby restaurant.
October 3, 2007
Portland - Camden
We'll take a short ride to view the Cape Elizabeth twin tower light station and then Spring Point Ledge in Portland. We'll then visit the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse for photos. Leaving Portland, we'll head north to Boothbay Harbor for lunch and touring on your own. After lunch, the group will visit the summer home of a Society member at the Hendrick's Head Lighthouse. We'll arrive late that afternoon at the beautiful Samoset Resort Hotel for check in. We will eat dinner at the hotel.
October 4, 2007
Boothbay Harbor Cruise - Pemaquid
We'll start the day by traveling to Boothbay Harbor and boarding a vessel for a half-day cruise of lighthouses. We'll pass the Burnt Island, Ram Island, Cuckolds and Seguin Island Lighthouses, and then head up the lovely Kennebec River to pass the lighthouses of Pond Island, Perkins Island, Squirrel Point, Doubling Point Range Lights and Doubling Point. Our vessel will then head back to Boothbay Harbor through a picturesque inland waterway where we've often observed bald eagles, herons, osprey and occasionally seals. Leaving Boothbay Harbor, we'll drive to Pemaquid Point for a picnic and a tour of the light station and the Fishermen's Museum located in the old keeper's dwelling. At the day's end, we'll head to our hotel. We'll have dinner at a nearby restaurant.
October 5, 2007
Rockland Harbor Cruise
We'll travel to Rockland Harbor where we'll board the Elizabeth Ann for our full-day cruise around Penobscot Bay. A hot lunch will be served aboard the vessel. On this leg of the journey, we'll pass the Rockland Breakwater, Indian Island, Grindle Point, Dice Head, Pumpkin Island, Eagle Island, Mark Island, Goose Rocks, Brown's Head and Owl's Head Lighthouses. Afterward, we'll return to the hotel and have dinner at a nearby restaurant.
October 6, 2007
West Penobscot Bay - Portland
We'll visit the new Maine Lighthouse Museum (Rockland) in the morning and then travel a short distance out to the Owl's Head Lighthouse where the Coast Guard will allow us access to the light station. After this we will travel to our last lighthouse, Marshall Point, where we will enjoy a picnic lunch and tour the museum. We return to Portland, stopping at the Portland Airport about 4:30 p.m. for those who will fly out that day. Then we return to the hotel for members to who need to retrieve their vehicles or who wish to stay overnight.
This is a fabulous tour with plenty of lighthouses, many only able to be viewed from a vessel. Almost every year we have been treated to a glorious splash of vivid fall colors as Maine's trees do their thing!
Double - $2,536
Single - $1,593