Spur of the Moment

I spent most of the morning having coffee with Lt. Dick Bond at Springvale Station.  He is on the verge of retirement after 42 years at the SFD so I thought I should pay him a visit before he leaves.  The only problem with visiting is that I can never get away when it's time to leave.  I didn't get home till sometime around 11:00.

We had been talking recently about how we haven't done much of anything this summer, between me working and Bill in the clinic.  Bill suggested we load up the bikes and take a ride from Scarborough to Bug Light in Portland, so off we went.

When we left the Wainwright Fields, it was mostly sunny, breezy and about 82*.  It's a 5.5 ride, completely paved and takes us about 35 minutes.  We find it very picturesque, with views of Portland and Casco Bay.

Looking at Casco Bay Bridge across the Fore River

Admittedly, this doesn't look like much but whenever I ride along this section of the trail, I am reminded of my good friend, Anna.  She always wanted to "live on the water" and after her divorce, she fulfilled some of that dream by renting an apartment in the building behind this photo.  As it turns out, she met her current husband, James, and lived for several years on a sailboat On The Water.  She always said you must be precise about how you state your intentions to the Universe.  Sadly, she is now totally disabled by Alzheimer's Disease and is living in a facility; however, I never fail to think about her and the great times we shared.

The trail takes you behind the Easy Day, a new venue which houses a bowling alley, bar and lounge inside, as well as an outside patio.  Bill's son, Scott, manages the inside bar.  There are nice views of Portland and the Fore River.

The trail goes through Mill Creek Park with nice gardens, a pond and lots of ducks!

There are pretty pink water lilies here, trust me

From here, it's a short distance to Bug Light Park.  I have decided...I love this little park.  It has great views of Portland, the harbor, Fort Gorges and several islands in Casco Bay.

Eastern Prom

Portland

Bug Light, Casco Bay Ferry, Little Diamond Island

Fort Gorges, Little Diamond Island, Great Diamond Island, Peaks Island

It's such a beautiful spot!  We spent about 30 minutes or so just sitting and enjoying the scenery and salty smell of the ocean.  I planned ahead; we even had a snack!

We try to take a picture of ourselves, which with the CamMe app, is so easy we took two!

 

Bill did a great job of framing the lighthouse between us.

We stopped a couple of times on the return trip, mostly for me to take pictures.  I love this little respite for those walking with their furry friends.

They provide water, treats and poop bags.  The "dog's" name is Panini.

Wish we lived closer to Bug Light, we would spend a lot of time there.

haha, as it turns out...the last time we made this ride was September 1, 2013 and it was almost the same time of day.  Weird!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)