Road Trip to Castine

It's been one of those very busy weeks where we never seem to have enough time to do the things we must do, much less the things we would like to do. However, since the weather has suddenly become mildly warm and wonderful, we decided to blow town and head out for an early autumn road trip to see how much color Mother Nature has graced us with, so far.

We headed out early; our destination, Castine, a wonderful, historic colonial village situated on a peninsula on the coast of Maine. We traveled over scenic back roads, lush with hardwood trees which were just beginning to show a bit of color. The red of the maples stood out amongst the background of green oaks and the faintest coloring of birches tinged with yellow. The sky was blue, but somewhat hazy.

This beautiful little New England church caught my eye.

Castine was very lovely. The hiking tour of this historic town was fascinating. We've always been interested in history and Castine was quite prominent in American history. It was held, at various times from early 1600's until 1815 by the English, French and Dutch. It was the site of the oldest Fort on the new continent. All along the walking tour were signs telling of significant times and dates in Castine's history.

I took a photo of this particular sign because it happened on my birthday 170 years ago. Thomas Powers, my great grandfather, 12 generations removed fought in the War of Independence. Perhaps at this very site!

The walk took us mostly up hill, to a lovely little lighthouse on the point so we definitely got our exercise that day


Castine is also the home of the Maine Maritime Academy. This college is world renowned for training seamen who when graduated, will become members of our Nation's valiant Merchant Marines, Coast Guard, and Navy.


The Academy's huge training vessel is the State of Maine. It is on indefinite loan from the US Navy.

Another training vessel, "Bowdoin" has a very colorful history, as well. It takes the students on training tours of the arctic, among other places.

Lunch was at the famous Dennett's Wharf on the harbor. We sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed the view of all the boats in the harbor. One thing we did notice was the lack of lobster boats and surmised that perhaps the sea bottom was not rocky enough to attract lobsters in this area. I'll have to check with my lobstering friends to see if we are correct.

H with Dennet's Wharf in the background
The Harbor Master was kind enough to get a snapshot of H and me with all the sailboats in the background.

All in all, a wonderful way to spend a beautiful autumn day. Life is soooooo good!