The Maine ingredients: Lobsters and lighthouses

The Historic Inns of Rockland is offering a “Lobsters, Lighthouses & Luxury Package” to celebrate Maine Lighthouse Week throughout the month of June.

Rockland is well known as the lobster capital of the world, not only during its nationally known lobster festival in August but year round too.  Guests can plan to dine at everything from casual “wear-the-bib-and-dig-in” lobster shacks to fine gourmet restaurants.  

Throughout Rockland, lobster lovers will find jewelry, souvenirs, apparel, food items, and artworks featuring the mascot of Rockland, the lobster. For those who are drawn to the region by the allure of historic lighthouses, Rockland is the perfect place to start. Maine has 63 lighthouses, 14 of which are in Knox County. The Rockland area contains the only Knox County mainland lighthouses accessible by car and foot.  Visitors are drawn to the region’s lighthouses because they represent art, history and culture.  Each is unique in its design and offers its own tale of shipwrecks, heroic rescues, romantic legends and ghosts.

The Lobsters, Light-houses & Luxury package offered by Historic Inns of Rockland, available throughout the month of June, 2008 with some availability in July too, start at $395 per couple. Try your hand at everything from catching your own lobsters to self-guided lighthouse tours and a visit to the Gateway Center and Maine Lighthouse Museum, offering the largest collection of lighthouse lenses and artifacts in America.

The all-inclusive Lobsters, Lighthouses & Luxury package offers a two or three day itinerary including accommodations at three of Rockland’s premier inns, LimeRock Inn, Berry Manor Inn, and Captain Lindsey House.  In addition, the package includes:

• Two tickets and a guided tour of the Maine Lighthouse Museum 
• Two tickets on Captain Jack’s Lobster Adventure – an eco-tour and boat ride where you learn all about the love and lore of lobstering.
• A $50 voucher good for a lobster dinner for two at participating local restaurants
• Commemorative Maine Lighthouse Book
• Map and directions for a self-guided  Knox County lighthouse tour
• Exclusive guided tours by history and lighthouse experts of the Rockland Breakwater light.
• A hand made lobster and lighthouse chocolate treat
• Exclusive tour of Berry Manor, LimeRock and Captain Lindsey House inns

Two night packages (June 1-30) range from $395-655 (+ tax, double occupancy).  For this package only, the Historic Inns of Rockland quote low-season rates throughout June, a savings of 15-20-percent for the second two weeks in June. Add a third night and receive a 25-percent discount from the standard rate.  This package rate is 11 to 30 percent lower than if components were purchased individually; many of the inclusions are only available through this package.

Arrangements for a sunset lobster dinner aboard a windjammer, a scenic plane ride to see remote lighthouses, or a romantic lobster picnic are also for the taking. 

Built in the 1800’s by some of America’s foremost architects and engineers, lighthouse construction posed major challenges due to the region’s rocky, wave-swept ledges and shifting sands. Here are descriptions of lighthouses within easy drive of Historic Inns of Rockland:

Rockland Breakwater Light-1888/1902 – This well known lighthouse is an 18-foot square tower atop a fog signal house at end of a granite pier. The lighthouse is at the end of a 7/8-mile-long breakwater. The lighthouse is open weekends in summer from 9 am to 6 pm.  The lighthouse was automated with a flashing white five-second light in 1965. Access to the lighthouse and breakwater is from Samoset Road in Rockland. For further information visit http://www.rocklandlighthouse.com/.                                                                   

Owls Head Light  – 1825 – Owls Head Light is a 30-foot white (brick) conical tower built on the peak of the headland at the entrance to Rockland Harbor.  It stands 87 feet above sea level, with the height of the focal plane at 100 feet. The station was established in 1825 and automated in 1989 with  a fixed white light and fog signal. The drone from the fog signal is a welcome and familiar tone for those who’ve long made their living from the sea.  It’s located in Owl’s Head Light State Park. From Route 73, take North Shore Drive to Owls Head Village. Follow signs.   For further information visit http://www.lighthouse.cc/owls/index.html .

Marshall Point Light-1832/1857 – The lighthouse, guarding the entrance to Port Clyde, was established in 1832.  However, what we see today is a 25-foot white tower with attached foot-bridge which was re-built in 1857 from granite block at a cost of $5,000.  The light was automated in 1971.  The lighthouse and other buildings, including the 1895 keeper’s house and 1905 oil house,  make up the Marshall Point Museum, and are open to the public for viewing from May through October.  Access from Marshall Point Road, off Route 131, in Port Clyde. Inf http://www.marshallpoint.org/.       

No trip to Rockland is complete without a visit to the Maine Lighthouse Museum, which opened in 2005 in the new Gateway Center. This museum is home to one of the largest collections of lighthouse material in America, including working foghorns, flashing lights, search and rescue gear, Coast Guard buoys, bells and boats. For further information visit  http://www.mainelighthousemuseum.com/ .

For further information visit http://www.historicinnsofrockland.com/ 

By Chitra Mogul