Portland, Maine

Portland is Maine's largest city and was its capital up until 1827 when it was determined that Augusta was more centrally located.

Many sections of Portland make it an easy and scenic stay. Old Port, the downtown and waterfront sections offers shopping, harbor cruises, restaurants, you name it.

Scarborough lies in the southern section of Portland and is mainly a coastal resort area.

Cape Elizabeth juts out into Casco Bay on the south side of Portland. It is home to several lighthouses and parks worth visiting.

Portland Head Light is the iconic lighthouse of Cape Elizabeth. It sits on the dramatic shores of Fort Williams Park. It was first lit in January of 1790, and is Maine's oldest lighthouse. A plaque on the grounds of the light reads that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow often visited this lighthouse and that it was the inspiration for his poem "The Lighthouse." Far in the background is the Ram Ledge Lighthouse. Closer pictures of it are below.

This is the Ram Island Ledge Light, built in 1905. In July of 2010 it was put up for sale to the general public after no interest was shown by government agencies. It was sold to a Maine surgeon for $190,000.

On a harbor boat cruise, this lighthouse is one of the first ones you see, the Portland Breakwater Light, also known as Bug Light Park Lighthouse, referring to the park at which it sits. It was built in 1875, replacing a wooden lighthouse that was built in 1855. Maybe a little stubby, but very elegant, It welcomes mariners into the Portland harbor and Casco Bay.

Not too much farther out into Casco Bay is Spring Point Ledge Light, erected in the late 1890's. Its distinguishable shape is called a sparkplug lighthouse and is one of many such designs among New England lighthouses. The purpose of this lighthouse is to warn of the breakwater on which it sits.

This is Two Lights lighthouse because it shares the navigational responsibility with a twin lighthouse that is no longer active, but privately owned. They both sit at the entrance to Casco Bay and were built in 1828.

The Eastland Hotel has been in existence since 1927. A well-known landmark of Old Port, it opened as the largest hotel in New England. Today, upgraded and under new ownership, it's a part of the Westin hotel group and called the Westin Portland Harborview. Its history includes visits by Charles Lindbergh who stayed there after his cross-Atlantic trip; Ozzy Osbourne who gained attention there after throwing a wild party that included throwing pool furniture off the roof; and Eleanor Roosevelt, who was not allowed to stay there while traveling with her dog. Many other political and celebrity figures have stayed there as well.

Becky's Diner in Old Port on Commercial and High Streets is one of those good 'ol easy, reliable, delicious and more-than-you-can-eat places that we all like to find. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, it won't disappoint.

A two-hour boat cruise is available from Old Port's wharf that extends out into Casco Bay offering views of many of the off-shore islands that dot the bay as well as wildlife such as a bald eagle and its nest and some rock-bound harbor seals.