ActionshotsNH: Kennebunkport Maine Vacation

In 2020, due to covid, we didn’t go on vacation. Several short, day trips isolating our self from crowds was the priority. From 2015 to 2019 we rented The Federal House in Kennebunkport. It was large enough for all of us and had a fantastic location in town. We were shocked that it was sold for right around $1 million and then torn down. The property is currently the side yard and garden for the adjoining house.

In any case, our 2021 Kennebunkport vacation is now in the books. We ended up renting 2 houses due to the growing family size and schedule. The house we rented was a couple miles from town and the beach. We thought that would bother us but turns out we really liked the location.

We were next to a marsh just north of the ocean. It was very quiet. It was beautiful watching the tide flow in and out throughout the day. The house was set up well for us with big bedrooms and nice space. We loved the deck on the 2nd floor and would sit and enjoy the view and the quiet. Here are pictures of the house and a picture just to the right of the house looking toward the ocean from the marsh.

My plan included pictures and some experimenting both early/late days and I wanted to visit a couple lighthouses I haven’t been to yet. I am an early guy so never set my alarm. The time I wake up would help determine where I drive to take sunrise pictures. The earlier I wake up the farther I could travel to catch the sunrise.

The late-day was the same thought. Daily activities and when we finished with dinner would help determine how far and where I may go to take pictures. DOESN’T EVERYONE THINK LIKE THIS ON VACATION?

Family plans included the beach, walk to the rocks, thunder hole, renting mopeds, going into town, shopping in town, ice cream at Rococo, etc. We had a fantastic family dinner at Alisson’s (party of 17 + 3 children) in Kennebunkport. We really liked lunch and dinner at Cape Pier Chowder House in Cape Porpoise.

The weather was low to high 70’s during the day and cool at night. We had clouds some days with a rain shower here and there. We also had some smoke in the air that actually came from the fires in California. You can see the smoke on a couple of my sunrise pictures. There was also an unusual full moon throughout the week which caused very high tides and very low tides.

Throughout the week locations included Kennebunkport, Cape Porpoise, Wells, Ogunquit, York, and Perkins Cove among others. Depending on activities I may visit some places multiple times.

The farthest destination would be Portland to visit Portland Head Light. The night before I planned to do this. With no alarm and anticipation of the drive, etc. I woke up at 2:58AM. It wasn’t long before I was out the door and driving. I thought it would take me longer to get there so I had time to stop at Dunkin’s for a coffee in South Portland. When I arrived, the main gate was locked. The secondary road had a locked gate also. I didn’t realize there were locked gates so I found some side streets close by thinking I might be able to find a back door or get a visual. No such luck. I ended up driving back to the main gate. Directly across the street was a ball field with a parking lot. There was one car parked there so I parked also. That person said the police open the gate each morning and should be along soon. Maybe 15 minutes went by and the gate was opened.

I haven’t been to Portland Head Light so after parking, I walked a bit. There is a walking path along the rocky coast in both directions from the lighthouse. As It started to get light, I set up to take pictures.

I took pictures of Ram Island Ledge Light. It reminded me of Whaleback Light with a similar structure and stones used. You can see similarities in my lighthouse blog post.

I also took pictures of Spring Point Ledge Light and Portland Breakwater Light, both in Portland harbor. I know there are more lighthouses in Maine north of Portland. Someday that could be a photo adventure for us.

I experimented with Intentional Camera Movement (ICM). Pam doesn’t like ICM and describes the pictures as blurry and out of focus. I think they are interesting because they are original, never 100% sure what you will get, can look like paintings, etc. In any case, I enjoy them.

I also took some interesting pictures of a marsh at high tide and the rocks looking down. The patterns can be unusual and fun to check out.

One morning when the tide was very low, I noticed the colors and the transition from the trees to the sand. The ocean ecosystem depends on the cycle of tides from high to low. Most of what you see in these pictures would be underwater during high tide. I took several pictures as it became a photo scavenger hunt for me.

I always enjoy taking sunrise and sunset boat pictures. I gave a couple of my pictures to the boat owners when I saw them. They seem to really appreciate that. I also saw the grey boat below in the marina and again coming back in toward the jetty. Big … Fast … Fun I’ll bet …

We continued our family tradition with pizza for dinner on the beach the night before we head home.

The morning our vacation ended I woke up at 3:18AM. I had been to Portland and York earlier in the week. With the full moon, I decided to drive to York again and see if the brightness of the full moon would light up the Nubble to give some interesting pictures. It wasn’t bright enough to use the moon for backlighting. Maybe earlier in the morning when the moon was higher up in the sky it would have been bright enough to light things up. If there is a full moon next year, I can think about getting up even earlier to go find out. In any case, as I moved around, the moon and reflection gave a great backdrop.