Friday, October 13, 2023 More Maine/ Todds visit

 Friday, October 13

Nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel this morning, then we headed back to Fort Williams Park and Portland Head Light.  We walked around the park first, checked out the remains of the Goddard Mansion  and a few old military batteries and a mining casemate. Fort William was constructed in 1787 and served through both World Wars. During the Revolutionary War, a guard of eight soldiers was posted here to warn citizens of approaching British attacks.

We followed the rocky coastline back to the lighthouse and open museum. 

 

Many people out on this beautiful sunny morning!  The museum is small but contains a lot of  history. 

One of the Fresnel Lenses from the past.

We are going to have dinner with Valerie and Matthew this evening, so begin to head that direction.  But first a few stops.

Below is EARTHA, the world's largest rotating and revolving globe.  It is in the lobby of Garmin building, formerly headquarters of DeLorme mapping corporation.  It is 41 feet in diameter and weighs 5,600 pounds! You can view it from 3 different levels as it is 3 stories high and used satellite imagery. Interesting stop.

Next we visited the LL Bean store(s).  Begun as a single small store in 1912, it now is a complex with at least four different stores.  It is open 24/7 every day.  One store is clothing, one is household goods, one is boats and water-related, and one is an outlet-type discount store.  There are many other outlets in the same area. A real shopping mecca if you are into shopping!

Gwynne was able to find a nice blue rain jacket and we enjoyed wandering around.

We stopped briefly at Mast Landing Audubon Sanctuary where Greg and Gwynne did a quick hike, and then we headed to Valerie and Matthew's.

The family had just gotten home from work, school, etc.  It was nice to catch up a bit! Great visit as they were very welcoming.

Nolan is 10 now.  Eloise just had an 8th birthday last week.  And we met Ernie, a sweet Golden Doodle who loves attention.  Valerie works with a number of non-profit companies, doing fundraising.  Matthew unfortunately just got laid off from his job this week, but seems unconcerned, as his computer skills are very marketable.

We had a brief tour, including the basement which they are in the process of remodeling into bedrooms, a living area and the current gym area.  Outside they tried a garden this year which looked pretty nice to me but was attacked big time by snails from the adjacent wetlands.  They have solar panels which work very well as Matthew says their electric bill averages $13 a month!

We enjoyed a tasty bean soup with toast and broccoli for dinner - a nice vegan meal - and nice hot showers!