Arundel Speedway Reunion

A couple years ago I was watching Lost Speedways with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Peacock, episode 6 of Season 2 was about Arundel Speedway in Maine.  I never knew there had been a racetrack in Arundel before.  It was a great episode, they footage showed the track was still in great condition considering it closed down 50 years ago.

That sent me on search of other former racetracks in Maine and there is quite a few.  There were speedways in Belfast, Biddeford, Ellsworth, Waterville-Oakland, Ellsworth, Sanford, Norridgewock, Old Orchard Beach, and many of the fairgrounds in Maine had them.  Most of those fairgrounds still do, except they only have Harness racing which is VERY popular to this day.

This difference between Arundel and all of the other racetracks is Arundel is still there, and the others have been torn up or built over.  Arundel is a 1/3 mile asphalt oval track that opened in 1964 and closed in either 1971 or 1974.  Most sources say 1971, but there is evidences of races in 1974.  

I don't know when they started doing reunion weekends at Arundel, but the Maine's Lost Speedways Facebook page shows photos from 2015 with cars on the track.  The track and the land are privately owned, but one weekend, a Friday & Saturday, each year the owners host a reunion where classic race cars come and run hot laps for a few hours.

By the time I found out about it two years ago we had just missed the reunion.  In 2025 I had a conflict and we couldn't go, but in 2026 we were not missing it.  My Dad had never been to the track it closed while he was a kid, but he knew about it, he didn't know they were doing the reunions.  Wesley, my youngest, loves going to the races and wants to go to all the tracks in Maine.  We need to still hit Ricky Craven's Speedway in Herman and Spud Speedway in Caribou.

Saturday September 19th Wesley and I hit the road early to pick up my Dad and to get to the track.  Hot laps were to start at 9am, so we got there about 10 minutes prior.  The track is located at the end of a Dead End road, again on private property.  They have people at the entrance where you sign a release form and they guide you where they want you to park which is on the lawn.

We brought our chairs over and we set up on the top of the banking overlooking the front stretch of the track between turns 4 and 1.  This is where the grandstand used to be, you can see the remnants of the paved walkway and where the poles for the safety fence used to be.  You can see the foundation for a building that I am guessing was the concession stand or bathrooms or something.

We watched most of the races from right down trackside at turn one area.  You stand right up against the edge of the track as the cars go by.  From turn one through turn 4 the drivers give it some, but they slow down on the front stretch.  It is organized as there is a gentleman with a PA system that announces the division that are due up for laps, as well as warns people not to cross the track when cars are active on it.  I'm sure this is some huge liabilities to consider for the landowners.

They did hot laps for a couple hours and then they offered rides, Wesley jumped at the chance and caught a ride in a 1926 Ford that resembled the same style of car used in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

We've already established that the land is privately owned, and the owners live there year round in a home build where the turn 4 grand stands used to be and there is no entrance fee.  Well, food is also provided.  They had chili, steamed hot dogs, pasta and potato salads, water, soda, chips, popcorn, cupcakes and assorted candy.  There was no fee for anything, just help yourself.

During the lunch break Wesley and I walked the track and got a good look at the back stretch behind turn 2 that was obstructed by trees from the front stretch. 

After the 30 minute lunch break they did a car parade that was roughly 20 laps of all the vehicles that were there.  

We watched the Indy and Stock cars do another set of laps and we headed out for the day just before 2pm.  They were going to finish the day letting anyone who wanted to drive a lap or two around the track, at a safe speed do so. 

We all had a blast, couldn't believe we could get so close to the action, that they owners are so accommodating, and the huge turnout for the event.  It felt more like a family BBQ than a public event.  Such a unique racing experience, we will definitely go back next year.

Until Next Time!  

Kennebec River Lights

Saturday August 8th was another good weather day so Kate, Wesley, & I decided to head out for a short adventure.  We made our way down to Arrowsic to check out two of the four lighthouses on the Kennebec River.  Technically there are five light towers but the two towers of the Kennebec River Range Lights are counted as one.

All the towers on Kennebec River were constructed in 1898 once the US Lighthouse Board determined that the river needed additional navigational aids as fifteen years prior Bath Iron Works opened.

Our first stop was at Doubling Point Light, located at the end of Doubling Point Rd the house and other outbuildings are privately owned, however the owners grants access to the lighthouse daily from 9am - 5pm.  There is parking for a few vehicles and you can easily walk across the lawn to the tower.

Doubling Point Lighthouse is an octagonal wood tower that stands 23 feet tall and is connected to land by long catwalk it is still an active lights that can be seen up to 9 nautical miles.  It was placed on the National List of Historical Places on January 21, 1988.
  

When we arrived that was already two people on the catwalk to the light.  Because of the narrow walkway and the Covid we waited for them to leave before walking to the light.  In the interim we followed a trail that lead down the shore that lead to nothing.  However along the way we found a statue that was a bust of Jesus with a snake wrapped around the bottom.
  

It was beautiful out at the light with a nice breeze and wonderful ocean smell and a wonderful view.  Of course we took a selfie.  Another couple arrived and they waited for us to comeback to land before they went down to the lighthouse.

A short drive down Rte 127 we turned down Bald Head Road, at the end of the road is a parking area for both trails that lead to Squirrel Point Light and Bald Head.  The trail to the light house is about two-thirds if a mile one way and is easily navigated.  There is some difficulty to it but we didn't have an issue.

The grounds of the lighthouse consist of the keepers house, oil house, now electric house, and the boathouse.  There is also a boardwalk leading from the keepers house to the light and oil house.  Built in 1898 the white octagonal tower stands 25 feet above the water and the light can be seen 8 nautical miles.

The only down side to the visiting the light is that we were attacked by mosquitoes, even though we sprayed ourselves with bug spray it evidently wasn't enough.

Wesley was a real trooper so of course we rewarded him with ice cream.  We stopped at a place in West Bath called Witch Spring Hill Ice Cream who serve Round Top Ice Cream out of Damariscotta.  A few miles down the road we came across a Fielder's Choice, we didn't realize they had a location in Brunswick.

It was a short excursion but we had a lot of fun and got some time outside.  

Until Next Time! 

Ovens Mouth Preserve

On Sunday August 2nd we went on a quick trip down to Boothbay to hike through Ovens Mouth Preserve.  Kate had found these trails a few weeks and back and this seemed like a great day to check them out.  Ovens Mouth Preserve was acquire by the Boothbay Region Land Trust in 1994, it is made up of two peninsulas connected by a 93 foot, foot bridge.

Ovens Mouth West is an 86 acres parcel of land with 3.6 miles of hiking trails comprised of one 1.75 mile loop around the shore line and several shorter trails crossing through the wooded area.  Ovens Mouth East is on 60 acres with a 1.1 miles loop along the shore with views of Back River and a half mile trail through the wooded area that meets the loop trail at the Back River scenic view.

We took the West peninsula shore loop.  I believe that we all really enjoyed hike and he weather was beautiful.  It was sunny and in the lower 80's but we had a wonderful breeze that kept us all cool.  Kate and I want to come back with no kids and walk the entire loop on the East side as well.  I'm sure Canaan could handle it, but it would be too much for Addison and Wesley.

At the footbridge there is an area of rocks where a dam used to be.  Kate had read that back in the day they would harvest the ice here and ship it to Europe.

After our hike we went to the Ice Cream Hut to get the kids a cold treat.

Here are some photos of the day.

Until Next Time!

Impromptu Story Land Outing

Saturday July 27th we were relaxing that morning when Kate said, "too bad you have to work it would be fun to take Wesley to Story Land today."  As there were four of us on the overnight shift that night I called my supervisor and was able to take comp time so we were New Hampshire bound!

We called around looking for a hotel room and most were in the $200 plus dollar range.  We found a room at the Covered Bridge Motor Lodge, only one left was the suite.  It was nice, queen bed, separate living room with kitchen area and refrigerator.  The best part was that it was less than two miles from Story Land.

We headed out about one and took the route through Fryeburg into Conway, New Hampshire.  We were driving through Fryeburg as I said to Kate, "Is that a pretzel truck?"  Sure enough it was, so we spun around and went back.  So glad we did as they were amazing!  I was talking to the guy and he said that for 28 years he used to supply Story Land with their pretzels delivering them three times a week.  In fact people that worked there as teens buy pretzels from him now and tell them how much they looked forward to his deliveries.

We got to Story Land just after 3 pm which was by design as after three you get passes to use another day, for us that would be the next day.  I have pictures of myself at Story Land when I was a kid but I don't remember going.  I remember going to Santa's Village as a kid, which we took the bigs too a few years ago.

Straight away we rode the train all the way around the park and then jumped in line for the antique cards.  One of the photos I have of me is driving one of the antique cars.  We explored story book land with Wesley's favorite being the Grandfather tree because it had slides.

Wesley got a kick out of the story book animals, especially the three little pigs area they had a houses made of stray, sticks, and bricks.  We rode on the Buccaneer Pirate Ship which was okay, but Wesley loved it.

As we moved along I wanted to do the shooting gallery, but as it was later in the day the coin machine was shut off.  We went to Los Bravos Mining Company and took a tour of the mine.  We were the only ones on the tour so it was cool.  I actually find this maze attraction really fun.

Next up we stopped at the dutch village where Wesley did his best to imitate the story of the Little Dutch who put his finger in the dike.  There also had this cow where you could milk water out of it's udder that he had fun with.  We got him an ice cream at Dutch Village Ice Cream, he got chocolate on a cone and he demolished it!  We rode the train back around the park as there is a train stop near by.

We decide to call it an afternoon and head out to the hotel.  After getting checked in we decided to head out for dinner.  This became quite and ordeal.  We wanted to go to Joseph's Spaghetti Shed but by the time we got there it had a 45 minute wait.  So  we headed towards North Conway and called a bunch of places only to find they all had long waits.  We got stuck in traffic in North Conway and by the time we got to the Muddy Moose, which had a 25 minute wait, we could have been seated at Joseph's.

Muddy Moose it really nice, large dining area but as the place was packed the ambient noise in there was so loud.  I got a beer on draft a Pig's Ear Brown Ale from the Woodstock Inn Brewery in New Hampshire, it was delicious!  Kate got a fruity drink as well.

We headed back to the room and let Wesley watch some Peppa Pig before calling it a night.

We got up early the next morning and after getting reading headed right down the road to the Honeymoon Covered Bridge for which the motel got it's name from.  It has an attached walking path so we drove over and parked then walked back and forth.

We had breakfast at the Red Fox Bar & Grille, we wanted to get there early because of the long waits at the restaurants last night we thought it would be busy.  It wasn't.  The only breakfast option on Sundays at the Red Fox is their breakfast buffet and it was really good.  My favorite part was the fresh wheat bread that I used to make toast.  I know, I know with all the options meats, fruit, eggs, and ect, my favorite part was toast.

We got to Story Land for when they opened and the line formed up quickly.  While near the time to gates opened Cinderella, Peter Pan, & Little Red Riding Hood walked to line greeting customers.

Once in the park I wanted to go up the hill past Heidi's Grandfather's Hut to the Cuckoo Clockenspiel, which is basically the tea cups.  Wesley wanted to go on the ride but he wanted nothing to do with the old men animatronics.  We had fun on the ride.

Yesterday and today he kept asking to go on the roller coaster, and Kate was even going to on it with him even though she didn't want to.  I'm not sure why but he changed his mind.  Next we checked out the Rap-Tour Safari, Wesley liked it at least.  Then on the Splash Battle he fired water cannon at the riders, who fired back at him.

Wesley rode with both of us on the Great Balloon Chase which is deceptively high and you get some grand views. 

Walking around the rest of the park we went up to the Eggs-traordinary Farm Tractors where the kids drives and the parent(s) ride in the back. 

Kate and I managed to get back there together as you can see from the photo that was captured.  We look like such dorks I had to buy it.

Wesley wanted to go again so I rode with him solo.  He loved the Dig-M Deeper Play Area where he got us use and excavator to dig dirt.  We headed to the Loopy Lab Theater & Play Area for the Daniel Tiger live show.

Wesley seemed to like the live show but wasn't that into it.  It was extremely hot in there so when Kate left about 2/3rd's the way through to get air he followed her.  The costumes were top notch similar to those that I have seen at Sesame Street live.

We finished up the park by getting Wesley another ice cream, going to Cinderella's castle, going back to the Grandfather Tree and riding the train.  Between the two days we spent about seven hours at the park.  To exit the park you have to go through the gift shop and because he was so awesome I bought him a couple small things.  When I was loading him in the van he said "Daddy I love Story Land."  All worth it!

On the way over we drove through Fryeburg and we hit some super annoying construction that neither of us wanted to venture through again.  So we headed north on Route 16 towards Gorham and took our favorite drive home through Bethel.  It's such a gorgeous ride!

We stopped for lunch in Bethel at Smoking Good BBQ it was amazing!  Kate got something called the Pork Sundae which she loved and I got the brisket, so flipping good!

We got home late afternoon because I had to be to work that night.  It was a great impromptu overnight adventure and we will most likely take Wesley back next year.

Until next time!

Fort Knox & Fort Point Light

Last Sunday, June 9th, I had the weekend off and seeing as how I was ordered day shift on Father's Day and I don't have the big kids that day anyhow, I wanted to do something with the family.  Initially I wanted to go to Mooyah and Fun Spot in New Hampshire but with the weather slated to be gorgeous I called an audible.

We hit the road by 9am and had a really nice drive to Belfast.  We stopped so Kate could get a coffee at Bell the Cat, she also grabbed me quite a delicious molasses cookie.  We made it to Fort Knox not too long after that.  It had been a couple years since our last visit.

It was such a gorgeous day with clear skies, a nice breeze and temps in the low 70's.  Inside the lower levels of the Fort it was significantly cooler.  We made sure to bring flashlights for all, Wesley really loved the fact that he had a real reason to use a flashlight.

The kids really enjoyed exploring the dark chambers, the canons, and all the levels of the Fort.  We saw everything that we needed to see in about an hour and a half so we made our way out.  I got some really good pictures.  Addison even took a very nice one of Wesley and I looking down the barrel of a canon.

We went over to Bucksport for lunch, picking up McDonald's for the little's and then going to Crosby's Drive In for Canaan, Kate, and I.  Crosby's has been on Route 46 in Bucksport since 1938!  I just learned about them for the first time that I can remember a few months ago.

 It's a walk up place with picnic tables outside.  We all got burgers with Canaan and Katie getting the homemade onion rings and I got the hand cut shoe string fries.  Both were great, but the fries were amazing!

Our next stop was at Fort Point State Park and Fort Point Lighthouse in Stockton Springs.  The kids enjoyed walking the grounds which was also the location of Fort Pownall during the French and Indian War.

Our last two stops of the day were in Searsport checking out a couple flea markets.  I didn't have any luck finding something that I wanted but Addison, Kate, & Wesley did.  Wesley also wanted me to take his picture in this chair.

We had a wicked fun day and had picture perfect weather for it too.  I look forward to more fun day trips this summer.

Until next time!