This is my final blog from my trip last October to Maine, I’m sad to see the journey end but I still have loads to catch up on so it’s time.  If you missed the previous installments, read about my first day in and around Portland and my second and third days in and around Bar Harbor.

For the last full day in Maine I had always planned on spending a night in Rockland, mostly because of the rave reviews I had found online for the Berry Manor Inn.  I ended up changing up my trip early on so I could stay there on the night that a better room was available.  I’ve not stayed in many B&B’s but this one just spoke to me and I was really excited to stay here.  I was not disappointed!  However, before I got there I had a fun drive from Bar Harbor to Rockland!

It was a partly sunny (or partly cloudy, what the hell is the difference) day that started out in Bar Harbor where I finally managed to wake up early enough for the sunrise.  It was pretty and probably got prettier but I crashed back out after taking this picture.  I’m a night owl but I had been waking up pretty early every morning to get the most out of the daylight but with staying up until 2AM my sleep was all jacked up LOL!

I headed out towards my first destination: Dice Head (aka Dyce Head) Lighthouse.  The attached keepers house is still occupied but they allow photos so long as you stick to the trail around the property.  There were stairs that lead down to a beach but I decided to go back to my car when a guy got out and was taking pics.  Sometimes I do become a chicken when in remote areas.

I passed a few turkeys and drove down a lot of random roads to reach my next destination – Penobscot Narrows Bridge.  I’d stopped by the year before but I didn’t go up in the observatory which is the highest in the world on a bridge at 477′ high.

From there I continued on my drive towards Rockland stopping off at Fort Point to check out the lighthouse there at Fort Point Light.  It’s a cute little lighthouse on open grounds that unfortunately are full of land minds of the doggie kind :(.

After I kept smelling something foul I realized I had stepped in dog poo so I pulled off at this beach along the way in Lincolnville to attempt to scrape off what I could from my shoe and pants.  UGH.  The beach was pretty though and it was nice to get out and stretch my legs a bit.

One of the must-stop places I kept coming across online was Mt. Battie in Camden, Maine so I stopped on by since it was along the way.  While the skies weren’t perfect it was still a pretty view and I’m glad I made the stop.

I got through Camden and stopped off to drop off my things and check in at the Berry Manor Inn.  They were so gracious and welcoming and it felt like home within minutes.  I went back out to catch the last hour or so of daylight by marking off the last two lighthouses on the list, starting off with Owl’s Head Light.  It’s this adorable tiny lighthouse perched on top of a hill and the views were amazing.

On the drive back to the main road I thought this view of the harbor with all of the lobster boats was charming so I stopped for a quick picture.

I wish I’d taken more images of this street sign but I’m glad I at least stopped for one!  How cute is this with all of the buoys?  I love Owl’s Head!

The final lighthouse on my list was a tricky one – Rockland Breakwater Light.  The lighthouse is out at the end of a granite breakwater that is 7/8ths of a mile long.  I arrived just before sunset and originally only intended to go out and capture a few images from the start of the breakwater before heading back to my room and going to dinner.  Since I thought I’d go out on a few of the stones, I decided to leave my wide angle lens in the car and only take my cell phone and telephoto with me.  Oops.

This was the only image I originally intended to take but the light wasn’t great and ALL KINDS of people were walking the breakwater.  While it isn’t like sidewalk it wasn’t nearly as hard as I had heard it would be.  The B&B warned me that people fall off often and break limbs and I was initially scared to do it especially considering I was on my own and had no one that could call 911 for me.  However, so many were out there – much older than I – that I decided to heck with it and started the journey out to the lighthouse.

I looked over at one point and thought, oh, pretty sunset! and kept on going.  The people ahead of me decided at this point to turn back because they didn’t want to get caught out on the breakwater once it got dark.  I contemplated turning around but by this point I was well over halfway there and I was determined to make it.

This is why I didn’t.  After another 10 minutes or so of me jumping from rock to rock I look over and just STOPPED.  Well, helloooooooooo sunset!  This was taken with my iPhone and I was CURSING myself for not having my wide angle lens but you know what they say – the best camera is the one you have with you.

Another iPhone shot.  This is currently printed on canvas and in my living room.  I am kind of obsessed with it even though it’s a camera phone picture.

Compare those to the image from my Nikon D4.  I love this one too and honestly it’s hard to tell you which one I like best.  Which do you prefer???

At this point I realized the light was getting dim and it was time to scoot back to land.  I dawdled a bit though and took a few pictures for people that couldn’t figure out how to get the sunset and themselves in the picture (use flash!).  I took this final image on my way in and it reminded me of The Lion King for some reason.

For dinner I ended up going “mundane” even though Rockland is a foodie paradise because I didn’t feel like getting dressed up and went to the casual but delicious Waterworks restaurant.

The next day I woke up and it was sunny so after a DELICIOUS breakfast at the Berry Manor Inn I captured a few final images of the inn before jumping in the car and heading back to Boston to fly home.

 

I hope you enjoyed your little journey with me to Maine in the fall!