Down By The Bay...

A restful day yesterday...a leisure morning, and we were ready for an outing.  We packed a picnic lunch, the girls in one car, the guys in the other, cameras, maps, etc. and we were off.

Today's adventure took us to the Bristol, Maine.

The guys

were the leaders, however, they took us up one road and

down another...they just weren't the right roads.  LOL

However, soon we were heading in the right direction and in short time, we were at the

Pemaquid Harbor which is the location of

Fort William Henry.  This fort was the second of three forts built on the site.  It has a commanding view of the John's Bay from the roof.  This is also the site of

Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site.  This site offers a glimpse of what life was like at an English frontier settlement during the 17th and 18th Centuries.

We also wandered through the

old cemetery.  Darrell found gravestones that dated back as far as the early 1700's.

While here at the park, we decided to have our

picnic lunch.  What a great place for a picnic overlooking the

harbor.

After lunch, it was on to

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.  This lighthouse was first commissioned in 1827 during John Quincy Adams' administration.  A second lighthouse was constructed in  1835 due to poor workmanship of the first one.  This lighthouse was the first lighthouse to be automated in Maine in 1934.

This lighthouse is only 39 feet tall and has a focal point of 78 feet.  The original fog signal bell tower was established in 1897.

The lighthouse is great, but what we saw beyond was

The Gulf of Maine and it was awesome.  We watched the waves,

walked on the rocks,

sit on the rocks and

looked out across the Gulf from the top of the lighthouse.

And, as our friend, Jim Meacham, says...

"it's a rough life, but someone has to do it."

Only one other thing could make this day complete and that was a trip to Hartwell for dinner at

Estes.  We enjoyed

the fellowship,

the food, and

the view.

What a finish to a great day.