9/5/08 Absolutely Perfect, Peaceful Campground

9/5/08 Absolutely Perfect, Peaceful Campground
This campground was absolutely perfect for our first night in Maine. To walk out of the bus and be 50 feet from the peacefully calm lake was a dream come true. The same flat water with the trees reflected in it brought back memories of that summer long ago. We lingered before heading down the road to find the cabin at Sebago Lake. Turns out it was in East Sebago and the area has grown so much more crowded that there wasn’t anywhere to park the bug and walk around. We kept going, but I know I found the cabin and the right-of-way to the lake that the kids and I used while Linda was in classes. Just as beautiful as I remembered and just as beautiful as Long Lake where we stayed last night.

On to Portland Maine we went, getting slightly off course as usual, as we maneuvered into a new city. Maine’s signage isn’t any better than New York. Small signs, few road signs and no enough lead time for major turns. Guess this city isn’t worried about discouraging tourists! At any rate, we found the 1776 Observatory on Congress St. near the Port of Portland. This light-house looking structure towers over the older part of the city of Portland and was used well into the 19th century. This favorite historical spot of Portland had a spry, “elderly” lady who wove the stories of the builder and the story of this observatory for several hours in her tour. We went up to the very top level where flags of incoming ships were flown to show the harbor who was coming into port and flew a flag of the specific wharf where the ship was to dock. The very sophisticated signaling system originated here and was used in other parts of the world. (Hard to believe it originated in Portland, but the lady was so convincing). It is the only observatory in the U.S. that is still standing.

Up the coast we went to find a campground at Thomas Point Beach near Brunswick. Again it was like camping in Manito Park among huge trees and groomed grass. Very nice, but very crowded which wasn’t too unexpected since it is Friday night.