Ricker-Heinold Respite Day 1

Today I awoke a bit past 8am and within the next few minutes I was dressed and heading to Portland with my mom to meet my brother and his family for what turned out to be and impromptu and unexpected day of fun!

First up was the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland.  Today was one of the rare days where they run the Steam Engine.  The train ride, which takes about 35 minutes, is nice and runs a couple miles on the Portland Waterfront in a mostly straight line.

It was great seeing my brother Jason, his wife Jillian and their three kids Bailey, Ethan, & Aidan.  Next we popped over the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse that is only about 5 miles away.  Jillian wanted to see a Lighthouse that she hadn't seen before.

 Today was an open house but the little kids weren't allowed to go in.  That coupled with the dangerous gaps in the breakwater only Bailey and I forged ahead to take the tour.

The breakwater looking back to land from the light

The Lighthouse itself is was first lite in 1897 with the breakwater added in 1951.  The lighthouse has a basement and 4 levels plus the lantern room.  The first level is the common area with the kitchen, the second level is the head lightkeepers quarters.  The 3rd level is the assistant keepers quarters and the 4th level is called the watch room.

Kitchen

Head Light Keepers Quarters

Assistant Keepers Quarters

While we were in the light the others check out Fort Preble and the shore line.  We could see Portland Headlight from here as well.

Next up we hit the Sea Dog for lunch after the wait to Becky's Diner was too long.  We then traveled to Gray to take in the Maine Wildlife Park because Jillian had never seen a Moose before and really wanted to...plus the kids would probably like it.  

I didn't take as many pictures because most of the shots would have been the animals in the background and mesh fence in the foreground.  Ethan just kept asking too see the bears over and over, and when we finally did he was so excited.

There was a black and a brown bear.  We then headed over the the moose and the bull was laying down on the far side of his area.  You could see him just not as well as we would have liked. 

One of the cooler animals there was this albino Raccoon! 

It was a great day!!  Bailey road with us for the majority of it and the weather was beautiful.  When we got back I assist Gram-Gram in getting her wi-fi up and running which consisted of another call to Time Warner Cable.  Jason & Jillian got her an IPAD and she appears to love it.

I found out today that Bailey is huge Rush fan, which is odd because he just turned 12, but he does have awesome taste in music.  So this it Rush track has been stuck in brain all day and this particular clip has a pretty bad ass opening bit!

That's all for now, have a great day!

Later Readers!!

Mike