9 Aug - Fantastic Day: Downeast Maine Sites and Reconnection with AF Buddy

9 Aug

Wow!  What a fantastic day!   We got up early and headed east across Hwy 1.  We had several stops mapped out.   

1 – Prospect Harbor Light in Prospect Harbor at the Naval base

This lighthouse is inaccessible but viewable from the road.  It is behind gates at a Naval Base and even with a military ID card I could not get access (no "need to know", you know!).  Good for them.  So we took pictures from the road and went on our merry way.

2 – Wreaths Across America HQ and Museum at Columbia Falls ME

So there we were heading down the road towards lunch at Macias and Doreen spots this vehicle ahead of us with a flag on the roof.

 The license plate said WAA and it has a wreath on it.  We quickly figured out it was from Wreaths Across America and then we remembered it is homed out of Maine.

 So we followed it as it turned off the highway, and it headed to the Wreaths Across America headquarters and museum!  We became involved with Wreaths Across America several years ago at the Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter IA, laying wreaths on the gravestones of veterans each December, so being able to visit the museum and talk with those who are involved made it very special.This is all made possible by the Morrill Worcester family who started Wreaths Across America and through there continued generosity expanded it from wreaths at Arlington to wreaths throughout the United States, all donated. It is also made possible by the tens of thousands of volunteers who provide everything from the transportation from Maine to the States to placement of the wreaths.

Beautiful quilt made by a Gold Star mother and donated to the museum

Museum tour by Helen Willie, retired school teacher

Amazing museum

Korea era Jeep

Future project.  Flag pole and state flags.  The flag pole will be the tallest in the (world?) and will have an elevator to the top with an observation deck.

I presented them one of my retirement coins which will be on display there.

We also submitted my father for their Veterans Remembrance Tree Program.  Wreaths Across America will create a living memorial by stamping a dog tag with the Veteran's name, rank and other information, and placing the dog tag on a tree in their forest.  If we could be there, we would place the dog tag, otherwise they will take a picture of it on the tree and send us the geo coordinates.  Each year they "tip the trees", cutting the branches to create wreaths that are placed on Veterans graves at Arlington and across America.  Tipping is a healthy process for the trees ensuring their longevity.

3 – Lunch with McCoubreys at Helens Restaurant in Macias ME

We then proceeded on to Machias and lunch with Chick McCoubrey and his wife Joanne, an old Air Force buddy I was stationed with at Loring Air Force Base Maine back in the 70's.  We had not seen Chick since he finished his Air Force career in March 1976, so it was great to reconnect with him and meet his wife.  They live in Meddybemps Maine which is north of Machias.  We had a nice lunch and then headed out with them in our truck to see the sights in the area.

Chick McCoubrey

Joanne McCoubrey

4 – US Navy VLF Radio Station at Cutler ME

Our first stop was my request.  The radio equipment we maintained at Loring used a frequency standard that was derived from a 24 kHz VLF (very low frequency) signal broadcast by the Navy from a site near Cutler Maine.  Built in 1961, the Navy used this same VLF signal to communicate with submarines, and I believe they are still using it.  The transmitter operates at 2,000,000 watts.  The antenna farm is awesome.  Bucket list item for me.  I always wanted to see this place.

An array of  26 towers and miles of wire

5 – Little River Light at Cutler
We took so many pictures it is difficult to go back and reconstruct, BUT Doreen thinks this was Little River Light.  Unfortunately the camera focused on the bushes and not the light.

6 – First attempt at Quoddy Headlight and 
We then headed back to the road that would lead to the Quoddy Headlight but there was a down power line so we headed to Reversing Falls near Pembroke ME. Here the tides change the water level an average of 20 feet every 6.4 hours.  This causes millions of gallons of water to flow in and out of Dennys and Whiting bays (reversing) and pass through a narrow channel between Mahar Point and Falls Island creating deep whirlpools, standing waves and high swells.  It is amazing to see.  Doreen was here in 1976 while we were stationed up here.

7 – Eastport, Old Sow whirlpool on Passamaquoddy Bay, Lubec Channel Light

Another amazing whirlpool is "Old Sow" which is located near Eastport Maine on Passamaquoddy Bay.  It was quite a drive because there is no direct way to get there from Lubec to Eastport other than driving all the way around..

Old Sow whirlpool

 We also went on a search for "Passamaquoddy" shirts.  When our girls were little, the original Pete's Dragon movie came out and the name of the town was Passamaquoddy.  Thanks to Joanne, they found a shop and scored some shirts!

8 – Lubec, West Quoddy Headlight, eastern-most point in the US, Lubec Channel Light
The downed power line had been cleared, so we made our way down to Lubec and the West Quoddy Headlight.  This is also one of the most heavily photographed lights in Maine.  It is also the eastern-most point in the US, and we were here!!

On the way back we were able to see the Lubec Channel Light from a distance.

Lubec Channel Light

9 – Lubec, Mulholland Point Light (Canada), Eagle on rocks and downtown area

Lubec is a quaint little Maine town, about as far east as you can go without heading over the bridge into Canada.  It has many shops and restaurants along the main street.

Easily visible from here is the Mulholland Point Light which is actually in Canada

Mulholland Point Light

The Canadian border.

We were about shot after a very long day with a lot of driving, but it was a great day, especially seeing Chick McCoubrey again and meeting Joanne.  It was very nice of them to accompany us around and show us the sights of downeast Maine! 

Could not pass this one up on the way home!

Blueberry store

Tomorrow we head out on a lobster boat!