July 2 -- Touring Portland

Portland Oregon, where my daughter and her family live, is a great city, and has been mentioned in this Blog. I have visited it several times since my last visit to this other, smaller, eastern Portland.

The first step today was pumping out the dink, which had several inches of fresh water after last night’s rain. Next was wiping off its pontoons (side seats) with a chamois cloth so as to not get wet butts during the short ride to the Yard’s dock.

The Maine Jewish Museum was not here in 2008.

I noticed it on the map of the city showing the locations of points of interest and advertisers. It has become the seventh most popular tourist attraction in Portland, according to Trip Advisor, we were told. It was created as Synagogue Etz Chaim (Tree of Life), in 1921, converted from what had been a six apartment building in a neighborhood of working class immigrants. It grew and prospered until the ‘70s when urban neglect and decline almost caused it to die. But it was then revived and restored early in this century and reopened in 2009. It charges no dues or fees and has a vibrant communal life now. Its art gallery revolves every two months and it has a museum about the Jewish Communities of Maine. We enjoyed our visit. These photos do not do justice. After lunch we visited the Maine Historical Society and adjacent Wadsworth Longfellow House.

The former

had an exhibition on Maine’s contribution to the Civil War. More than one of every ten residents (and residents includes women, children and the aged and infirm) was in the Army or Navy, 20% of them (this being a coastal state with lots of seafaring men) in the Navy. Actually, a few little known skirmishes were fought off the Maine coast (not generally considered a theater of that war) with marauding southern saboteurs.
The House was where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow grew up is shown under the right side of the museum in the photo above and here is a better view.

He wrote his first poem here at age 13, before going off to Bowdoin College and then to teach at Harvard. Several generations with large families lived here. What “made” this tour was our guide, James Horrigan, whose dramatic style and infectious enthusiasm for his subject made me sorry when our hour with him was over.

He is a writer and has sent me some sea stories he has written.

We had thought to dine out for dinner tonight but the weather all day was so yucky that we dined aboard.




Here is a picture of the shipyard from the boat and you will notice the masts of a big schooner at the dock, just to the left of the yellow apartment house

And here is the same scene in the all-day misting light rain and fog.The schooner stands out because everything else does not:

As Annie sung: The sun will come out tomorrow….