The sun peeked out just as we reached Pemaquid Point Lighthouse yesterday, making an already picturesque spot even more exquisite. Ellen and I strolled the grounds, snapping photos and learning about the lighthouse. It’s been active since 1835, and is one of 65 in the state. The light it produces reaches 14 miles out to sea.

Before we climbed the tower we learned about its Fresnel lens, how it’s only one of six still in service in Maine and we absolutely could not touch it. We obeyed!

It was only later I read that Edward Hopper painted this lighthouse and it’s featured on the Maine quarter. Was that why it seemed strangely familiar? Or was it from some long-ago road atlas photo?

Ellen and I laughed about how Dad always said he wanted to visit the “rockbound coast of Maine” but drove us west to California instead. We wished he could have been there with us. And, in a way, he was.