In My Footsteps: West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

            West Quoddy Head Light was the reason I decided to do travel writing in the first place.  I was always fascinated by lighthouses growing up on Cape Cod.  There was Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Nobska Light, and Race Point Light among others that were familiar to me.  As I got older I still retained my interest in these guides for passing ships.  First I began by learning more about nearby lighthouses like Three Sisters in Eastham, Wood End and Long Point Lights in Provincetown, and Wings Neck Light in Pocasset.  Then I began daydreaming about lighthouses up and down the east coast.  That is when I found Jeremy D’Entremont’s New England Lighthouse website.  It is there that I first saw West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine.

            With its red and white striped façade it immediately captured my imagination. There was only one problem, from where I lived on Cape Cod it was an eight-hour drive to Lubec.  I was not exactly thrilled about the idea of a 16-hour round trip drive so it was necessary to find a spot to stay overnight.  That’s when I hit the jackpot.  My cousin Tracey and her ex-husband Steve had owned a cottage on the water in Owl’s Head, Maine.  It was nearly exactly halfway between me and Lubec.  It was a rental but as luck had it nobody was there for a week in October.  I was allowed to stay there for nothing, what a great deal.

            Now, don’t get me wrong, I was excited for a week of traveling up and down the Maine coast.  It was going to be a tremendous experience.  However, the trip was totally based on getting to see West Quoddy Head Light.

            The lighthouse itself was built in 1858 overlooking Quoddy Narrows and within eyesight of Campobello Island, a part of New Brunswick, Canada.  Lubec is the eastern most point in the United States.  It is one of the most photographed and painted lighthouses in the country.  The red stripes on West Quoddy Head come from its close proximity to Canada.  In Canada the red stripes are common to help the lighthouses stand out against the snow.  Assateague Light, located on Assateague Island in Virginia, is the only other lighthouse with similar red stripes in the U.S.  The lighthouse is now on the grounds of Quoddy Head State Park and was named to the Registry of Historic Places in 1980.

            There are a few parking spots next to the lighthouse but the main parking area is located a few hundred feet away.  This is the better parking area as the lighthouse sits down a slight hill and sets a magnificent scene immediately upon your arrival.  When I said this was a popular spot to visit I meant it.  There is only one main road, Rt. 1, leading out to Lubec once you get past Ellsworth, near Bar Harbor.  I ended up behind an SUV with Texas license plates almost immediately after passing through Ellsworth.  I stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds in Machias and so did the folks from Texas.  When I arrived at West Quoddy Head an hour and a half later I was not surprised when the four people from Texas arrived shortly thereafter.  I can’t say if they came all that way just for the lighthouse, but you never know.

            I was definitely in awe and very happy to be at West Quoddy Head.  I must have managed to take a photograph from every possible angle including wandering out into a nearby field.  I also shot a video of my time there as I was not sure if I’d ever have a chance to be there again.  I wanted to be able to cue up my memories anytime I felt like it. 

            There was a sort of guide there sharing some information.  I found out that the lighthouse was not the eastern most point in the U.S.; the guide pointed out a few large rocks out in the water technically considered to be part of the country.  Of course I shot a picture of them.  I tried hard to strike a good balance between photographing every possible inch of the grounds while also simply standing and soaking in the feeling of being there.  I try to do that at many places that I am truly excited to visit.

            I began the walk back up the hill to my car and continued taking photos looking back.  I didn’t want to leave, but knew that I had a four hour drive back to my ‘home base’ in Owl’s Head.  West Quoddy Head is still tops on my list of favorite lighthouses, although there are a few I have researched that might come close.  Of course none of those are within ten hours by car, so they will have to wait.  I drove eight hours to see West Quoddy Head, anybody who lives closer needs to go check it out.  It is a beautiful and unique piece of history.  Have fun and happy traveling!

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse:  Quoddy Head Road, Lubec, Maine; GPS (44.815256,-66.951007) – From Ellsworth, Maine take Rt. 1 heading east.  Follow Rt. 1 approx. 75 miles into Whiting; turn right onto Rt. 189, follow it 8.8 miles, turn right onto Maple Tree Rd., after a mile turn left to stay on this road.  Turn right onto S. Lubec Rd. after .6 miles, take a slight left onto Quoddy Head Rd., follow it to the end.

West Quoddy.com

New England Lighthouses - West Quoddy Head      

In My Footsteps - Lubec, Maine

Lubec on Dwellable

Red Sox Fan's Opinion on A-Rod

I'll bet most people, especially Yankee fans, would expect me to gloat about how great it is that A-Rod, a prima donna in every sense of the word, has been exposed as the A-Fraud that Joe Torre's book proclaimed him. You could not be more wrong.
You see, yes I am a Red Sox fan first and foremost, but I am also a baseball fan, and I know full well just what this revelation, and the subsequent news to come mean for my favorite sport. For all of his faults, Alex Rodriguez was the guy that was going to restore order to the most sacred sports record: the all-time home run leader. A-Rod was going to be the 'clean guy' who did it the right way. Now he will be thought of as no better than Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, and Sosa. I am not shocked, but I am very saddened. Is there anybody out there who is playing the game on skill alone? Of course there are, but those people have not stepped up and spoken out about this epidemic, or at least not enough have.
For those of you who have not heard the story I will quickly sum up what has been printed as of this time. Alex Rodriguez, the heir apparent to the home run title, tested positive for two banned substances, including one anabolic steroid, in 2003. That year he won the MVP while playing on the Texas Rangers. With A-Rod now labeled a 'cheat' there are no other players who could be named that would surprise me. Unfortunately, there are another 103 players who failed that same round of testing in '03 whose names will probably be leaked very soon. If there are any Red Sox on it I would not be surprised, I expect it. In fact, I already have ideas as to who might be on that list from the Sox, but obviously I am not going to name them here.
That is why I am not gloating about the Yankees having to deal with this mess, every other team will probably be dealing with it themselves soon. This is a very sad day for baseball as the golden boy has turned out to be no better than Barry Bonds, one of the most despised people ever in sports. The only thing Alex Rodriguez can do now is admit his mistakes and apologize and hope he is forgiven. If he comes out combative and in denial he will be ostracized much in the way Clemens and McGwire have been. If he denies and then further proof of his steroid use comes out who knows if the government might come knocking at his door too? The circumstantial evidence along with the positive test are overwhelming. Look at the Texas Ranger teams he played on. If you cross check the rosters from 2001-03 with and list of steroid users you will be shocked at how many were on that team. It seems as though the Rangers were the mecca of users throughout the 90's and into the early part of this decade.
In closing, I am very sad and disappointed that the man who was supposed to wrest the home run title from the clutches of Barr-oid is no better than him. No matter what he does from this day forward A-Rod's legacy is forever tarnished. All of the numbers, his chances at the Hall of Fame, his spot in history, they have all been rendered meaningless because he was too insecure to simply play with his God given talent. I actually feel bad for him and the Yankees because this will not go away. If anything it will only get worse in the coming weeks and months. It's another black eye for baseball in a long line of black eyes.