Vilseck reunion - Portland Maine

We all know this group well enough to know that once we say our hellos upon arrival, we're ready to go eat. Kathy picked out DiMillo's on the Water, once a car ferry. Great seafood, of course.

After breakfast in the hotel on Wednesday, we first headed to Kathy's house in Scarborough. She stayed back, but Willy (sorry, I don't know how she spells her name) took us down to the beach where we were kids again. From there, she led a smaller group of us on the Scarborough cliff walk.

Our first group shot

I always wondered where Kathy came up with her e-mail address: She lives on Saccarappa Lane.

The path from Kathy's house to the beach!

Beachcombing always makes people hungry, so after a couple hours of that we took off for Ken's restaurant for lunch. But first we had to stop in to see Lenny the chocolate moose. If we did nothing else in Portland, we had to see Lenny. Lenny is a 1700-pound milk-chocolate moose that hangs out at the Len Libby Candies store in Scarborough. He was sculpted in place in 1997 and has been a main attraction of the store ever since. How he keeps from melting is anyone's guess, and everyone has his or her own speculation.

Almost everyone bought chocolate, but Linda preferred hers to melt in her mouth rather than in the car.

So, even though we were stuffed after lunch at Ken's....

Becky's Diner served us well. Twice. It was within walking distance from the hotel. We had breakfast there on Thursday morning, then went back there for dinner Thursday night.

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.

For us, it was a nice evening of drinks, finger food and chatting up in the top-floor bar.

Most of us had rooms that looked out over Casco Bay. John and Linda, due to a hotel debacle, had a room on the opposite side. Their view was the Call Joe digital ad atop one of the town buildings. We never determined who this Joe character is.

After our very big lunch and ice cream we visited two Cape Elizabeth lighthouses. This one is called 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.

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. 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."

Another view of Portland Head Light with the Ram Island Ledge light in the background. We will be seeing more of both of these lighthouses on tomorrow's cruise.

Thursday was another fun day as we boarded a small cruise ship for a tour of the harbor, then hopped the trolley for a city tour. We had some time on our hands before the cruise, so John checked out the harbor. Some of us shopped, and others people-watched.

Leaving the harbor, one of the first lighthouses we saw was this one, 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. It welcomes mariners into the Portland harbor.

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.

A view from the water of the Portland Head Lighthouse

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.

We didn't see just lighthouses on this two-hour cruise. We also saw this American bald eagle perched above its nest.

We also saw a large number of islands with their scenic rocky ledges...

...and sea lions among the cormorants.

After the boat cruise came the city trolley. Unfortunately, John and Linda had just learned their flight was canceled, so they skipped the city tour. After getting another flight scheduled, they relaxed and had dinner with us.

Prouts Neck Cliff Walk overlooking Maine's rocky coastline