The Maine Lighthouse Museum

In 2006, a group of enthusiasts opened The Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland. The gathered up many smaller collections of lighthouse gear in a building they now share with the Rockland Chamber of Commerce. The museum is located just across the street from where Captain Jack's lobster boat is moored at the city pier.

The museum has an incredible collection of lights. They range from this size, which was probably on a buoy --

to the large glass prisms used in the actual lighthouses --

Maine has over three thousand miles of rocky coastline with many islands. One of the most interesting exhibits was this topographic map of the coast with lights lit for every warning device on every outcropping.

This display had a variety of all the different types of lights used --

Even though the US Coast Guard now manages all the navigational aids on both of our coasts, there used to be an actual service of lighthouse keepers, the US Lighthouse Service  with their own uniforms and traditions.

The museum also has collected a nice selection of the huge bells and horns used as warnings during fog --

The Lighthouse Museum is young and seems to be run entirely by volunteers. As time goes on, I can foresee them getting some assistance from curator professionals to better present their displays. But, even for now, it is a fascinating place to browse.

Lobstah!

I read about Captain Jack's Lobster Boat in the Lonely Planet's New England book. Going out with a lobster fisherman sounded like an interesting thing to do, so we gave him a call. He docks his boat at the dock in the little town of Rockland.

For $30 each, he will take people out for an hour and a half  with him when he tends some of his 150 or so traps that he has in the bay.

Even though it was an overcast day, we saw several beautiful sailboats going out for the day --

Each lobsterman has individually colored buoys attached to his traps --

The traps are in waters that range from 20 to 65 feet deep, The Captain has a measuring caliper in his right hand  --

In Maine, you can only catch the medium-sized lobsters. The little ones and the larger ones -- the breeders -- are tossed back overboard.

This is a nice one -- it might be the one I ended up fixing for supper. The yellow bag hanging in the trap is the bait. He was using frozen whole ocean perch.

This little guy was going back over board --

The lobsters he kept had their claws banded and were tossed into the bait box with the perch until we got to shore --

This is the light on the end of the Rockland Breakwater that extends 7/8 of a mile out into the bay. The light is 39 feet high and is visible for 17 miles.

You can't get dinner much fresher than this! We paid $5 each for him and a buddy (wholesale dock price). The Captain's recipe for cooking: Bring an inch of water to a boil in the bottom of a pot; put the lobster in on its back; bring it back to a boil; steam for 10 minutes.

Another Quiet Day

My thoughts have been back in the Pacific Northwest these days. The Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference has been meeting in Moses Lake, Washington hosted by our home church, Menno Mennonite. As I've looked at the pictures posted by Bill Dyck and read various Facebook posts, I've gotten a bit homesick! Many of the folks in attendance have become dear friends over the years and I miss knowing what's all happening!

We didn't do a whole lot today. We slept in, then I put some cinnamon rolls in the oven that actually turned out pretty good. We've run into a new brand of frozen products, taste of inspirations, a gourmet brand that we are enjoying. We tried one last week of pecan sticky buns that were also very good.

We spent some time today trying to plan our time in Maine. We have friends with a farm near Waldoboro we want to visit; we want to spend time at Acadia National Park; and maybe go out on a lobster boat in Rockland. We've also heard a rumor that we might be able to see puffins at Schoodic Point. Then there's L.L. Bean...