Ogunquit, Maine

For the 4th of July we decided to head north to cooler weather. We had really enjoyed our visit to Bar Harbor in 2016 so we looked to Maine again.

Ogunquit is closer to Boston and Delta has a direct flight to Boston so that was it.

Our flight from Memphis to Boston was 3 hours late but that let us hang out with our daughter's family as they were departing for their holiday.

I had reserved a Budget car in Boston and that was one of the worst car rental experiences I have had. There was a long counter of agents with a longer line of customers. The signage said Avis/Budget/Zipcar. When I got called to an agent, he had a radio squawking loudly. I asked him to turn it down but that didn't help his heavy accent. I agreed to whatever he wanted just to get done. When I got to the garage, they just asked me what kind of car I wanted.

The car I got had so many phones in the CarPlay app that it wouldn't accept my phone. Then Google Maps gave me a convoluted route out of Boston (but it was rush hour).

We were late planning so many of the hotels were already booked. Rather than playing with the hotels web sites, I started just calling them. That worked. When I called Beachmere Inn, they had Room 108 available for the days we wanted. That is the 3rd room from the ocean with a private patio and kitchenette.

The ocean view was as incredible as promised. While we didn't cook in the kitchenette, we enjoyed the refrigerator for drinks and snacks. The Beachmere Inn really has a "family" feel. The owner, Sarah, stopped by and chatted with us on our patio. The Inn has been in her family since 1937. Her brother, Skip, runs the excellent Blue Bistro restaurant on the premises.

The Beachmere Inn is a short walk to the "hopping" area of Ogunquit. From the Beachmere Inn to just beyond Shore Rd and Beach St is an eclectic collection of restaurants and shops. The restaurants vary from Italian, Greek, and, of course, seafood.

Our first night we had dinner at Nikanos. We actually chose Nikanos because it had parking. While the food was wonderful, the service was slow.

On the second day, we explored the area down Beach St and had lunch at Ogunquit Beach Lobster House. There seemed to be a pattern of good food and slow service. For dinner, we walked 4 minutes to Surf Point 360 at Anchorage by the Sea. They gave us a prime table with a clear view of the sea shore. The lobster roll was the best we had.

The third day, we drove down to Kennebunk and Kennebunkport and shopped and dined in Dock Square. Another tourist recommended The Pilot House to us and it was a winner. We just had haddock sandwiches for lunch but they were great and the service was outstanding. After lunch, we wandered around Kennebunkport and happened onto the Bush compound at Walkers Point.

Back at Beachmere Inn, the family in the adjacent room had been coming to Beachmere Inn for almost 30 years. They recommended Jackie's Too in Perkins Cove for dinner. That was the best meal of the trip. Out table overlooked Oarweed Cove and our waiter, Dylan, was the best of the trip.

For our last full day, we took it easy sitting on our patio reading books and eating chocolate. I combined my morning walk with a visit to Village Food Market for sandwiches. The Beachmere Inn had ice cream on the green mid-afternoon. With fireworks that evening, we had dinner at the Beachmere Inn's Blue Bistro. Both food and service were great.

Ogunquit had an awesome fireworks show on the beach and the best place to view it was Room 108 at the Beachmere Inn.

The drive back to Boston was better and our flight home was on time. The airport at Boston could stand a little sprucing up like La Guardia.

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Galley Head Lighthouse, Clonakilty, Cork, Ireland

We first visited Ireland in 2007. With family in the area, we were taken to visit Galley Head Lighthouse and were blown away by the views and atmosphere. Upon my return to the States, I discovered that the lightkeepers' houses were available to rent.

On our visit to Ireland in 2015 we booked both units.

For our 2022 return to Ireland, we again booked both units. That gives you private access to the entire headland. The area adjacent to the houses is securely fenced so we were comfortable giving our grandchildren free run of the area.

The atmosphere of the houses is "old farmhouse" but well maintained. Remember that they are "self-catering" so you'll need to stop in nearby Clonakilty (10 miles, 30 minutes with me driving) for foods and snacks. It's probably worth securing some household goods as well, e.g., soap, shampoo, paper products, etc.

The site management team is actually part of the family who at one time occupied the houses as lightkeepers. They literally have written a book. Their stories alone are worth the trip.

The views morning, mid-day, and evening are extraordinary. I call them "magical."

Galley Head Lightkeeper's Houses continue to be on our "must" list for Ireland.

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I realize that this is almost a repeat of our 2015 drive but the drive experience is always worth revisiting.

Biloxi, Mississippi

We wanted to take a quick trip (little did we realize how quick it would be) to the beach. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is just under 6 hours away so off we went.

One of our criteria was to be ON the beach. Other than the casinos the only thing we could find on the beach side of US 90 was South Beach Biloxi Hotel and Suites. The reviews were spotty at the time but nothing can beat the location. It seemed that most of the negative reviews were regarding a renovation that had been done.

It certainly isn't a 5 star facility but if what you want is beachfront, this is the place to stay. Our room had a partial beach view. If you go for that ask for it to be on the west side as the east side overlooks a bright pink ugly building. The westerly view is a parking lot but you can see the sunset over the beach. We had a small private balcony with 2 chairs and a table.

The first couple of floors are parking. Getting in there was spotty but there's that nice parking lot just to the west.

There's a good enough (and free) breakfast and a laid back bar that we never used.

But the best thing is that you walk out the back of the hotel onto the beach! Actually there's a wonderful boardwalk between the hotel and the beach and hotel supplied beach chairs on a private deck with beach music playing.

There are several local joint places in easy walking distance for drinks and food.

And of course I had to visit the Biloxi Lighthouse.

Hurricane Florence caused us to leave early. It never really hit the Gulf Coast but all the restaurants and businesses closed so we went home.

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Atlantis, Nassau, The Bahamas

My daughter and son-in-law were looking for a beach vacation for spring break. The Bahamas are just a 2 hour flight from Atlanta so that met their requirements. And since The Bahamas are islands it met our requirements. And there are lighthouses!

We visited the Atlantis resort which is on Paradise Island just off of Providence Island where Nassau is.

Google Maps describes Atlantis as "Expensive beach resort with a water park." Expensive it is but they really deliver. There are other facilities on Paradise Island but Atlantis dominates it.

There are five hotels that are part of Atlantis. We stayed at The Reef which is family oriented.

TripAdvisor's review is here. The wikipedia article is here.

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Acadian Boat Tours

We wanted to get the perspective of Mt. Desert Island from Frenchman's Bay. We found Acadian Boat Tours Sightseeing/Nature Cruise. It's a 2 hour cruise that sails 3 times a day. They also have a shorter 1 1/2 hour cruise if you're crunched for time.

You can buy tickets at their gift shop at Sea Dawg Gift Shop at 47 West St. or at their boat location at 119 Eden St. (Atlantic Oceanside Hotel). The Atlantic Oceanside Hotel is just over a mile out Route 3 so you'll probably want to drive. There's plenty of free parking but realize that it's at the top of a pretty good hill. The free Island Explorer shuttle bus stops there as well so that's another choice.

The Acadia is a nice boat with upper and lower decks as well as an enclosed heated cabin. Dress warmly even if it's warm on land. We chose to sit on the lower deck as we boarded and we were almost alone for 10 minutes or so until those on the upper deck started coming back down where it was warmer. There were binoculars for rent for $3 and a modest snack bar.

There were 2 naturalists on board one of whom (Gabby) spoke on a speaker system. The presentation was easy to hear and very informative.

Calling this a Sightseeing/Nature Cruise is very appropriate as we saw lots of wildlife. We saw countless ducks, many seals and 7 (yes, seven) bald eagles.

As well as wildlife we got a different view of many of the features of Acadia National Park such as Thunder Hole and Sand Beach. We also sailed by Egg Rock Lighthouse.

Acadian Boat Tours offers discounts for seniors so be sure and ask for yours.

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Their web site is here and the TripAdvisor reviews are here.

Campobello Island

While I normally don't like guided tours Campobello Island is one of those places where you will benefit from a tour guide. Peter Harwerth runs Campobello Sightseeing (+15067521901). While Peter is a German native he's lived on Campobello for 8 years and knows everyone (all 900 of them).

Peter picked us up at the IGA in Lubec, ME and drove us across the border. While we could have taken our rental car into Canada I felt like it would be easier to have a local escort us across. As expected Peter is on a first name basis with the border guards on both sides.

After we crossed the border we had lunch at Jocie's Porch. Then the gravel road excursion began! Given that the Roosevelt Campobello International Park covers about 1/3 of the island, many of the sites are on well maintained gravel roads. I'm certain that I would have been reluctant to explore them in a rental car much less have known where to go.

Our first stop was Friar's Head where you have a view of Eastport, Maine and back across Friar's Bay to Jocie's Porch.

Peter took us on to Mulholland Lighthouse which has a great view of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Bridge between Lubec and Campobello Island. There's a whale exhibit next to the lighthouse which has an energetic and knowing staff.

When we arrived at Liberty Point at the south end of the island a fog was rolling in. It was coming in so thick and quick that you could actually see it blowing by you. The temperature had dropped about 10 degrees (Fahrenheit). While the fog reduced the visibility significantly the local coastline was beautiful with the fog.

By the time we reached the north end of the island it was hot and sunny. Campobello Island has a fascinating micro climate.

But Peter took us everywhere. I love it when a tour guide drives up to a popular location, in this case Head Harbor Lightstation, and says "Don't go that way (to the marked routes) but go this way where the view is better."  Peter had a vast knowledge of Head Harbor Lightstation since he has been involved as a volunteer in the restoration of this facility.

Our final stop was at the Roosevelt Cottage where we had more than an hour to explore. That got us a nice visit in that cottage but If you want to visit the Hubbard cottage you should arrange with Peter for more time there.

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Bar Harbor, Maine

Maine had been on our "To Do" list for a long time and Bar Harbor is on an island so…

We flew into Bangor and rented a car. It's less than an hour drive down to Bar Harbor on Mt. Desert Island although the road construction in Ellsworth (it's not often that you see a "Pavement Ends" sign on a state highway") made it feel like much longer than that.

We wanted a great ocean view and that quickly narrowed the choices down to Bar Harbor Inn. Each morning I was able to take my walk on Shore Path passing Balance Rock.

Nearby was the Village Green with the Island Explorer bus stop.

We drove out to Acadia National Park and followed Park Loop Road where we visited Thunder Hole and Cadillac Mountain.

Bar Harbor is less than 100 miles from Canada's Campobello Island, New Brunswick so we made a day trip there.

On Campobello Island we saw Jocie's Porch, Friar Point, Mulholland Light, Liberty Point, Head Harbor Lightstation and Roosevelt Cottage.

C-Ray's and Jordan Pond House were special places as well as having good food.

We wrapped up our visit to Bar Harbor with an Acadian Boat Tours cruise around Frenchman Bay.

Brighton Beach Lighthouse, PEI

The Brighton Beach lighthouse sits in a residential neighborhood at the entrance to Charlottetown Harbor.

It was built in 1890.

You can read more here and here.

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Cape Bear Lighthouse, PEI, Canada

The Cape Bear lighthouse sits on a high bank on the southeastern point of Prince Edward Island.

It was built in 1881.

You can read more here and here.

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Point Prim Lighthouse, PEI, Canada

The Point Prim lighthouse is the only round lighthouse on PEI.

The oldest lighthouse on PEI, it was built in 1846.

You can read more here and here.

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Seacow Head Lighthouse, PEI, Canada

The Seacow Head lighthouse is one of the oldest wood frame towers standing in the Maritimes. On a clear day, you can see the Confederation Bridge from here.

It was built in 1864.

You can read more here and here.

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Montauk Point Lighthouse, New York

At the far East end of Long Island is the magnificent Montauk Point Lighthouse. It's the fourth oldest active lighthouse in the United States and the oldest lighthouse in New York.

History is all around the lighthouse. Captain Kidd supposedly buried treasure nearby. The slave crew of Amistad saw the lighthouse and came ashore. Just a stone's throw away is Camp Hero, supposed home of the Montauk Project.

Their web site is here and the wikipedia article is here.

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Orient Point Lighthouse, New York

The New London-Orient Point Ferry went right past the Orient Point Lighthouse.

This was built in 1899 and is 64 ft. high. You can tell from my pictures why it's called "The Coffee Pot."

If you look closely at my pictures, you'll see that it looks a little crooked. That's not my fault. It's 5° off of vertical!

The wikipedia article is here and there's a good article on it here.

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Galley Head Lighthouse, Cork, Ireland

Our son-in-law's cousin took us out to the Galley Head lighthouse outside Clonakilty. I have never seen a more awe inspiring sight.

Built in 1875, the lighthouse sits 130 feet above sea level overlooking St George's Channel.

Most people seem to ignore the sign warning "UNAUTHORISED ENTRY IS PROHIBITED." This picture comes from this web site.

You can even rent the keeper's house but there's a warning for potential guests:

Special Note: Guests should be aware that the station is situated on a clifftop.

Amen.

The wikipedia article is here and their web site is here.

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Tarbert Lighthouse, Kerry, Ireland

As we arrived at the Tarbert end of the Killimer-Tarbert ferry, we saw the Tarbert Lighthouse.

Their web site is here and it is mentioned in the wikipedia article on Tarbert.

My pictures are here.

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