Castine

After a rest day of cleaning the RV and doing laundry we were ready to move on. Today was going to be a double header since were going to visit both Castine and Stonington, two towns on the list of The Ten Prettiest Villages in Maine.We set the GPS on Castine and by 9 we were off. The countryside was jut beautiful. Lots of pines and the leaves on the hardwoods are just coming out. The country roads were up, down and around and, for the most part, little or no traffic. Now, we're only driving 35 - 40 MPH, and maybe going 50 down hill so even though the distances are close it talking a little more time than expected but we're in no hurry/. Going through the Sedgwick area we drive past a sign for Millbrook Company Bakery and Restaurant. Plenty of outside seating and lots of parking, we make a U turn and stop for a delicious lunch and leave with a bag of bakery goodies.

We reach the village of Castine which really is a pretty village. Settled in 1604 the historic town of Castine is one of the oldest in the nation and the only town on the peninsula to have been occupied at various times by the French, the Dutch and the English.  The town offers a wonderful self guided walking tour of its historic buildings and is also home to the Maine Maritime Academy.

This church was built in 1790.

There is a large park in front of the church that is the location for this statute The inscription reads

IN MEMORY OF THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS FROM CASTINE WHO OFFERED
THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR FOR THE          PRESERVATION OF THE UNION
      1861   -   1865
"WITH A GREAT SUM OBTAINED WE THIS FREEDOM"

Isn't this a great looking lighthouse? The Dice Head Light at the mouth of the Penobscot River was built in 1828 to serve as a guide for mariners headed to Bangor, then leading lumber port. The grounds are open to the pubic but the keeper's house is now a private residence. The site is owned by the Town of Castine.