A story of a birthday, lighthouse, boats and a hurricane...

Team Breitmann camp at Point Sebago Resort in the great state of Maine.  Our good friends, the Hodgsons made plans to fly out to travel with us for a week as we made our way thru the New England states.  Wendy and her son, Chris, flew into Portland, which was about an hour from this campground.  Dave, her husband was scheduled to fly into Hartford, CT  a few days later.  You can visit the campground website here: Point Sebago

We celebrated Hailey's 11th birthday with Wendy and Christopher, while camped at Point Sebago!  Make a wish, Doodlebug!  She was so happy to be able to share her special day with friends! 

Christopher has all the luck with the gals, eh?!  We trekked on down to the downtown waterfront area in Portland for some "chowda" and "labstah".  

The happy crew enjoying our fresh Atlantic seafood. 

With our bellies full, we drive a few miles south of Portland to view the Portland Head Lighthouse near Cape Elizabeth.  What a beautiful place!  This is what I imagined the coast of Maine to look like!  Now, where have I seen this lighthouse before?  Oh, yeah...Red Lobster gift cards...Red Lobster Lighthouse

Wendy and Chris pose with Team Breitmann in front of the Portland Head Lighthouse.  This lighthouse was built on the direction of President George Washington and construction began in 1787, making it the oldest lighthouse in Maine.  You can read more about the lighthouse here: Portland Head Lighthouse

Well, kids, we made it from "sea to shining sea"!  This part of the Maine coast looks a lot like the Pacific coastline of Oregon and Northern California!  Notice Hailey sporting her new "Ranger" vest that she got for her birthday!  She has wanted one ever since she saw one in Yellowstone.  She wears it now, whenever we go "adventuring".  Ya never know what you'll find in her pockets after a day out and about! 

Hailey's at it again!  My climbing girl scurries down to the rock formations. 

Hailey shows me some tidal pools just like the ones she saw on the west coast! 

The girl with a big heart and an eye for one too....finds hearts where ever she goes! 

Here's an interesting picture of me taking a picture of the kids down on the rocks!  We had fun climbing down here!

Adjacent to the lighthouse is the grounds of the former Army Fort Williams.  The kids check out the old Battery Erasmus Keyes, named after a Maine resident and graduate of the US Military Academy, who rose to the rank of  Major General, during the Civil War.  The battery mounted two three-inch, rapid fire guns to protect the mine field, that was laid in the main channels during wartime.  The distance to a target was determined by a range finder mounted in the building to the right of the battery, which also served as the battery commander's station.  A searchlight was located to the left of the battery to provide illumination at night.  The building in the center of the battery housed two mine control stations used to plot the locations of targets in the mine field. The  lower level contained a magazine for each gun and a storeroom.  During WWII, the battery was the 'alert' battery, which was manned and prepared to fire on any vessel, which failed to identify itself properly. You can read more about Fort Williams here: Fort Williams (Maine)

We passed right on through Massachusetts and into Rhode Island, in order to link up with Dave, who flew into Hartford, CT.  We made camp right on the Rhode Island coastline near Narragansett at at a place called Fisherman's Memorial State Park. Yeah, I know...I gotta clean that windshield!

Welcome aboard, Dave!  We had not had a camp fire in awhile...so here we enjoy a nice campfire and a hearty meal! "Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a campfire?" - C.S. Lewis 

We spend the day out at the historic and picturesque town of Mystic, CT. What a beautiful New England sea port! Enjoy the next few photos of this town.

Tough day, Hailey!?

No snow yet?!  Well, leaf angels will do! 

What?! Do you mean that two Florida families, traveling in New England, in the fall, have to  pay attention to a hurricane!  Okay, what the heck?!  I plot Hurricane Sandy's projected path several days out on our motor home "been there" sign!  You can see that we have filled in Rhode Island, our current position at the time.

If you pay attention to the constant barrage of the news, you'd think the world was ending.  Therefore, according to professional opinion, Team Breitmann joins the panic!  (yes, sarcasm intended). 

Ignoring the media and looking only at the National Hurricane Center prediction models, I decide to relocate Team Breitmann inland to Windham, CT.  Here the Urban Assault Vehicle rests nicely in the Windham Walmart parking lot.  We have full tanks of fuel, water and propane and we get restocked on vittles at the Walmart.  

At the local, deserted mall, I institute a requirement of all "team members" to log time in the Hurricane Simulator!  LOL!  

As the weather begins to take a turn for the worse, I position the UAV behind the Walmart and an earthen embankment.  This location really shielded us from the wind and I felt good about being in a low protect "valley" in the event of a tornado.  By the way, the "24 hour" Walmart shut down due to the storm!  We are on our own now...

The earthen embankment I mentioned...looking away from the back of the Walmart. 

Well...nothing to do but wait her out now!  

Hurricane refugees in our PJs at the Walmart Dunkin' Donuts!  We had a Bible devotional and munched on donuts!  Coffee and donuts...proof God loves us!

After being captive by the storm for two days, we venture out to dinner at a place that used to be the town Post Office! 

We give thanks that we are blessed to be found more than safe and sound! 

Well, while we are here, we might as well check out what's in town!  We were pleasantly surprised that this town has a rich history in the textile industry.  You can check out the museum we toured here: Mill Museum

The Team gets a private tour conducted by a local history professor!  It was like a college history course!  Wow...lots of info! 

The old textile mill that converted bales of cotton, shipped from the South, to cotton thread.  I always wondered why the South did not just have the mills built right next to the cotton fields, rather than ship them to the Northern textile mills.  Well, it turns out that New England's many rivers and the "fall" of the rivers makes it perfect for hydro-powered plants, something the south does not have and cotton can not be grown in the short Northern growing season.  All the textile mills used water wheels and series of belt driven machines to process the cotton. 

We learn how the cotton is placed on carding machines that lined up all the cotton fibers in the same direction. 

Hailey finds another heart!  This time the heart takes the form of a mechanical vacuum cleaner of the day....a rug beater!

Hailey dons what every well-to-do young lady would wear in the late 1800's! 

Well, this portion of our trip was not exactly what we planned but, hey, life happens while ya plan?!  We are going to back track on our course a bit and head back to the 1600's....1620 to be exact and the location...Plymouth plantation...or Plimouth, as the Pilgrims would have spelled it!