Light, Love, Hope

As our New England Road Trip story continues, we leave Salem, Massachusetts, and head to Portland, Maine!   I was especially excited about this part of the trip due to the many lighthouses I would see in that area.  I remember years ago seeing a beautiful picture of a lighthouse sitting up high on a hill, almost as if it was sitting on the edge of a cliff.  When I realized it was within driving and/or flying distance, I vowed “one day” to visit.  On this trip, I was able to mark that lighthouse off the list, as we visited the Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine!

It was a cold morning in Maine, chilling us to the bone, as we dashed from the hotel to our awaiting metallic blue Toyota Corolla rental car.  Oh, how we wish we had heated seats in this thing!  We settled into the car with camera in hand ready for our adventure, only it wasn’t calling for rain when we last checked.  Reaching for my phone, I swiped over to Weather Underground only to find the forecast changed to now 100% chance of rain.  As I made this announcement to my family, a big *splat* of rain hit the windshield.

*splat*   *splat*

… and then …

All of a sudden, it started pouring down rain!  Oh no!!  We didn’t know it was going to be like this, but we only had a few days on this trip.  We weren’t going to let rain interfere with our good time.  Searching the car, we found a few items for makeshift head wraps to fight against the brutal wind.   Once we arrived at our destination, I could not get out of the car fast enough, even in the rain that was now hitting me in the face.  I made my way to awe over the majestic lighthouse that stood before me.

I walked around trying to get “the” right angle to showcase the lighthouse.  Before realizing the cold, dreary day would dash my dreams, I envisioned capturing this lighthouse surrounded by glorious sunlight glistening off the blue waters licking at the rocks beneath it.   In my mind, I envisioned the sun surrounding it as if an angel in Heaven had a spotlight upon this great lighthouse.  Ah, but I had to settle for a dreary picture instead.  Whatever works, right?  But … the fact is I was there in Maine standing before this lighthouse in all of its wonder and beauty.  Truth be told, I could have stayed out there longer and would have if it wasn’t for the bitter cold ripping right through me when the wind would blow.   We endured as much as we could stand before retreating to our rental car.  We drove along the path and saw the ruins of a mansion to our right.

This was none other than the Goddard Mansion, which was made out of granite back in 1858.  Mr. Goddard was a local businessman who briefly served as a volunteer army colonel at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861.  The mansion was later acquired by the army in 1900 and was used as the non-commissioned officers and sergeant’s quarters.  We found it very interesting, but sadly, the fence prevented us from getting an even closer look at it.  The grounds leading up to the Portland Head Light is known as Fort Williams.

Stay tuned … there is more to come!

“Once a year, go somewhere you have never been before.” –Dalai Lama

 

There are several things I am passionate about in this life.  If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you know right off how passionate I am about God and my family!   Travel is also a passion of mine, as I love exploring and going on adventures!

Each year I look forward to planning vacations for my family.  I simply will not solely exist only to work and pay taxes.  No, I want more out of life.  There is a great big world I have yet to see or experience.  So, we go on as many adventures as possible in order to make great memories together!

This Spring Break I realized there is only ONE more Spring Break before my youngest daughter graduates from high school.

MY HEART!!

I am NOT going to handle the empty nest well at all.  Let me just go ahead and put that out there.

Thankfully, my daughter has only shown an interested in the small college near our house and doesn’t appear enthused at all about touring bigger colleges or the dorm life.  My heart is grateful every time I hear her talk about staying at home a little longer.  Thank you, God!!   I have already told her she can stay until she is 35 years old, and that would suit me just fine!

Now back to Spring Break …

This year’s adventure took us by plane to Rhode Island.  A new airline was introduced at the end of last year, so we decided to give them a try!  Breeze Airlines had a really good deal, but there are only certain cities they fly nonstop in to.  We looked at the areas and found it was just a short drive from Rhode Island to Maine!  What does Maine have to offer?  Portland Head Lighthouse is in Maine, and it is a lighthouse I have longed to see ever since I first saw it in pictures across the internet!

So, off we went!

We arrived in Rhode Island on a Thursday, picked up the rental car (making sure the contract stated “unlimited mileage”) and made our first rounds the next morning seeing the local sites.  Then, we headed to Salem, Massachusetts.  Witch Country.  Ha!

Hocus Pocus has been around for years, and both of my daughters enjoyed this movie.   Allison’s house from the movie is actually in Salem, so the hunt for all things witchy began.  Don’t worry, we played it safe.

Do you recognize this house from Hocus Pocus?   It is none other than Allison’s house mentioned previously!

When I was a little girl, I LOVED watching the sitcom Bewitched.  I remember trying to twitch my nose just like Samantha Montgomery, but alas, I couldn’t make anything spectacular happen with the twitch of MY nose.  Ha!   Imagine how I almost squealed with delight when we saw her bronze statue!

We were having a marvelous time exploring Salem, and even went to a re-enactment!  Stories were told of those that were stricken with illnesses or afflictions who were thought to have been possessed.  Sadly, those innocent victims were hanged when they truly were not witches.  Here is a cute little picture of my daughter and I outside of the building where the re-enactment took place.

Stay tuned, as there is more to come of our adventure.  Thanks for reading our New England Road Trip – Part I.