Maine vacation, day two, part one - Portland Observatory

When I saw the Portland Observatory for the first time I assumed it was a lighthouse.  It looks like a lighthouse, and I didn't see any space for a telescope.  It's not a lighthouse, and it's not an observatory in the sense that it observes the skies above.  Sitting on the top of Munjoy Hill in downtown Portland, it is the last surviving maritime signal tower in the US.  I'll explain what that means in a minute.

We came upon the Observatory by fate, and I'm glad we did.  Our original plan was to be downtown to ride on a lobster boat but since we had an hour to kill we thought we'd first see the Observatory, then drive downtown, park, and buy the tickets for the tour with time to spare.  Of course this was totally unrealistic, but it made sense at the time.  We bought our tickets for the Observatory tour, then waited, and waited some more.  They only take smaller groups as space is limited, and try to space them out to avoid congestion.

We arrived at midpoint of one of these groups that form, and then had to wait for the preceding group to move up further and a couple of more tourists to take the tour with us.  Then the cashier went to grab lunch so the volunteer guide was stuck watching the till.  As the minutes passed I realized our plans to go on the lobster boat were slipping away.  I really struggle with moments like this due to my chronic, monumental impatience.  I tried to tell myself that it was a beautiful day and that there would more tours to catch, and to just enjoy the one I was about to take. 

Finally our group embarked and winded our way up the four or five flights of stairs, with a short break on each floor for some information about how and why it was built along with all the history.  It was built in 1807 as a way to communicate between the incoming ship on the Atlantic Ocean and the boat owners on the harbor.  When the watchman could see the incoming flags we would hoist the same flag so the down on the harbor they knew their ship was coming and make preparations. 

The highlight was reaching the top floor, feeling the cool breeze, and seeing Portland and the surrounding waters from all sides.  I also took advantage of the view to see where we'd be trying to catch the elusive lobster boat tour.  This was when I realized that Portland is more of a town than a city.  There are only 66,000 residents, and most of the city proper would be considered downtown.  In retrospect I believe it's the best place to start your Portland trip.  Later in our other tours of Portland the Observatory was always mentioned, and I listened closely to make sure they had their facts correct, because I had the patience to make it through the tour and learned some lessons in the process.