TEXAS RANGER: Southwest Harbor, ME to Portland, ME August 15--17

     After several delightful days in Southwest Harbor and surrounding Mt. Desert Island locales, the heavy rain and front passed and it is time to move on. Because we are trying to meet Kim and her family next week farther south and in an area with more "off-boat" activities for the grandkids, we are moving south a little faster than we might otherwise. Our first day was a run to Maple Juice Cove in the St. George River between West Penobscot and Muscongus Bays, just upstream from Port Clyde, ME. One reviewer called the entry to the river a study in how close together lobster trap floats can be deployed...an apt description. This anchorage had been suggested by some Corpus Christi friends who sail each summer in Maine, and as billed it was large, calm, and with adequate depth and good holding in a mud bottom. There were perhaps a dozen other boats in a cove that could easily hold 100, so we had a serene setting relatively alone. There were even seals that came to check us out!
     The next morning we were underway, departing the river by a different route and passing through Muscongus Bay on our way south to Portland, ME.  We approached the Portland harbor in the midst of a sailboat regatta, and docked at the Spring Point Marina in the middle of a fishing tournament! There are not many suitable weekends for boating in this part of the world, and they make the most of them! A tanker that "chased" us into Portland on our arrival actually docked about 200 yards from where we are docked. There are no refineries here, but evidently since this is the northernmost major port that does not freeze, it is a major winter oil depot for crude oil that is shipped via pipeline to Canadian refineries.
     Since another front is due through this evening, we will spend a second night in Portland, which provides the opportunity for sightseeing during the day. One of our CC friends who summers in Maine told me earlier in the week that, "Our summer is over".  A Portland native whom we met on the pier today said, "You don't want to be here in 2 weeks". A lot of old, downtown Portland is filled with shops, restaurants, and the usual tourist traps in buildings that originally provided space for the area's thriving maritime industry. This is still a busy harbor, and a lot of tour boats, sailing schooners for tourist trips, and active commercial fishing interests use this harbor heavily. Judging from the noise overhead, the airport is also fairly active. It is Maine's largest city, though the population is 68,000.  Fort Gorges, which sits in the harbor directly across from our marina, is the North's answer to Fort Sumpter, though it never saw battle. Longfellow was born and reared here, and his boyhood home is still present, as are many homes from the 19th century, including probably the best-preserved example of Victorian architecture in the U.S. Portland Head Lighthouse is the second U.S. lighthouse (Boston is the first), commissioned by George Washington. It has functioned continuously since the 1790's.