Miles: 265
We picked a unique place for breakfast, an old diner car named Miss Portland. The 1949 diner car is in remarkably good condition. The car is probably less than a quarter of the restaurant's seating capacity but we made sure to sit in the old car. The food was good and the service was even better, but the cost was well above average. While the night in Portland was the signature night I felt today would be the signature ride and I believe it was. We left out on US1 but exited that and hugged the coast as much as possible on ME88. We joined back up just before Bath in order to cross the Kennebec River and the Bath Iron Works. I would love to visit BIW if that is even possible and tour the shipyard that dates back to 1884 producing more than 400 ships to the world's fleets. We stayed on US1 riding through Wiscasset where we were tempted to stop once again at Reds Eats for some lobster but it was little early. We exited to ride through Damariscotta where we picked up ME130 and headed south toward the ocean riding onto one of Maine's many "fingers" jetting out into the ocean along its coast. Our first stop was Fort William Henry. This location was actually home to three different forts; Charles, William Henry, and Frederick. The current fort is actually a re-creation built in 1908. In the fort there were many relics of the battles fought and all quite interesting. We spent a good amount of time here walking the grounds and in the museum. Four or five miles further south we reached the tip of the finger where the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse sits. The Pemaquid Point Lighthouse was commissioned in 1827 by President John Quincy Adams but due to poor workmanship and the use of salt water in the mortar mix it had to be rebuilt in 1835. It remains a functioning lighthouse and was automated way back in 1934. It is a very scenic area so much so that the lighthouse was chosen to be placed on the ME quarter in the US Mint's Quarter program. Back up the finger we were headed to Owl's Head Lighthouse a short 44 miles away. The lighthouse sits southeast of Rockland in Penobscot Bay and was constructed in 1825 and rebuilt in 1852. Another result of using salt water? I don't know. It also wasn't automated until 1989 which seems very late. So there was a light keeper until 1989? The lighthouse was quite a busy place during our visit so we had some difficulty getting pics without people in them. We didn't stay all that long as it was already lunch time and we knew we were going to Lincolnville for a lobster roll 25 miles away. We rode through Rockport and Camden and arrived to McLaughlin's Lobster Pound a little before 1:00. We ate here back in 2000 and it was good then and didn't disappoint in 2022. After lunch we continued up the coast riding through the downtown of Belfast and along Penobscot Bay. We stopped next at For Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Observatory. This was our fourth trip past Fort Knox but the first two, 1994 and 2005 were before the new bridge was built, and in 2018 we arrived early in the morning before anything was open. Therefore we decided to at least go up in the Observatory but took a pass on walking the fort. The observation tower was certainly worth a stop with really great views on the perfectly clear day. We next rode down the East side of the bay with our sights on the town of Casting, home to the Maine Maritime Academy. The university was started in 1941 and sits in a nice little town on a tract of land that is nearly an island in Penobscot Bay if not for an isthmus connecting it to the mainland. We stopped first at Dyce Head Lighthouse. This lighthouse is connected to the keepers house and is now a private residence. The lighthouse was built in 1829 and was deactivated in 1937 and replaced by a nearby skeleton tower. That tower was destroyed by a 2007 storm and the lighthouse was brought back into active duty. After the lighthouse we rode down the street to the remains of Fort Madison. There isn't much to see here other than the earthen works, a replica cannon and the US Flag. Despite that it is certainly worth a visit as the park has a big and nice grassy area and a wonderful view of the bay. We sat on the picnic table and soaked in the scenery of the historic area that dates back to 1808 and named for our 4th President. As we left we should have ridden past the town waterfront but we turned too early and just kept going. We next rode north through the very small enclave of Penobscot and then back down south towards Deer Isle. The Deer Isle bridge was built in 1939 and is the only connection to Deer Isle, its longest span is 1,088' sitting 85' above the water. On the other side we saw a small lobster shack and thought is was close enough to dinner so we got our second lobster roll of the day. We followed the Penobscot River and ME15 back up north to Bangor where we were staying at the Hollywood Casino. We stopped at Mason's Brewing on the way in. We walked to Sea Dog Brewing for a small bite to eat and a couple of pints. Afterwards we stopped in the casino to roll some bones but didn't have much luck.