Latest / Abide Meditation App / Magical Bedtime Story _ Tales of the Rockland Breakwater Light _ Mystery Story for Sleep

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Magical Bedtime Story _ Tales of the Rockland Breakwater Light _ Mystery Story for Sleep · Abide Meditation App

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. Thanks so much
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: for being here. Tonight, Abby returns for another installment of
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: our series exploring the famous lighthouses of Maine in the
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: northeastern United States. If you missed the first story about
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: the Portland Headlight, don't worry. You can always go back
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: and listen to it another time. But for tonight, you'll
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: have no trouble following along as our protagonist, Emma, makes
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: her way to the Rockland Breakwater Light. Now, we're about
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: to begin tonight's story So make sure you're nice and settled,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: adjusting into a more comfortable position if needed. And allow
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: your eyes to gently fall closed. And as you let
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: the breath slow down and draw out, Sense your body
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: relaxing into the bed and your mind easing into the
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: peace and calm of night. In sync with your inhales
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: and exhales, you can repeat the following words in your mind.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I am calm and safe. I am calm and safe.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: And now, say to yourself, I am ready to rest.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: I am ready to rest. Simply by being here, allowing
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: your muscles to relax and your head to ease into
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: the soft pillow, you are already resting. And it's okay
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: if you're awake for now and for a while to come.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Just enjoy the chance to rest and allow everything else
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: to happen naturally, without force. Meanwhile, allow your mind to
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: wander to a cozy harbour. Water laps against boats and docks,
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: which line the rocky shore. This is the beautiful coast
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: of Maine, and it's where our story begins.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: Emma closed her eyes and savoured a long sip of
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: her sweet, milky morning tea. She was sitting at the
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: counter of a quietly bustling restaurant, enjoying breakfast with a
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: generous side-helping of people-watching. She rested comfortably on the padded,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: high-backed seat and watched the servers move smoothly around the
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: dining room. They were deftly pouring coffee and delivering enormous
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: buttermilk pancakes, eggs over easy and breakfast sandwiches. She had
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: opted for a speciality of the house. Sitting in front
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: of her were a couple of thick slabs of French toast,
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: that had been made from an enormous cinnamon bun. After all,
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: a special day like this called for a treat. Emma
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: was making her way along the coast of Maine, collecting
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: research for her book about lighthouses. She had recently visited
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: the storied Portland Headlight in Cape Elizabeth. Now, She had
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: proceeded in a delightfully unscientific fashion to the working harbour
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: town of Rockland, some ninety minutes northward along the coast.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: It just so happened that a family friend lived there,
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: in a charming little home right near the ferry terminal.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: This friend had graciously invited Emma to stay in her
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: guest room, and Emma had gratefully accepted. Not only had
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: her friend's home proven to be charming and ideally located,
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: but her host was a generous source of local information.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: To begin with, thanks to her friend's recommendation, she was
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: now eating the best breakfast in town. She closed her
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: eyes and enjoyed the delicious smell of baked goods and
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: coffee that permeated the entire place. Emma turned and gazed
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: down the counter, past the glass cake stands full of
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: frosted cupcakes and elegantly latticed blueberry pie. Over the heads
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: of the other diners, she could see a light mist
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: floating by the front window, partially obscuring the colourful buildings
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: across the street. A seagull soared past the window, adding
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: to the coastal morning atmosphere. She keenly felt her nearness
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: to the harbour, and her friend had assured her she'd
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: see it better very soon. The morning fog was due
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: to burn off any time now. Her breakfast spot was
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: right on the way to her destination of the day,
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: which was the Rockland Breakwater Light. Strictly speaking, there were
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: other lighthouses in Maine with greater claims to fame, This
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Rockland beacon was not the oldest, or the tallest, or
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: even the most photographed lighthouse in the state. In fact,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: it was the walk to the lighthouse that was something
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: extremely special. The path she would take in order to
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: reach the beacon today was seven-eighths of a mile long
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: and constructed using almost 770,000 tons of granite. Reaching straight
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: out into the Penobscot Bay, the breakwater was known to
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: offer magnificent views of Rockland and the harbour in fine weather.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: And luckily, despite this bit of morning fog, fine weather
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: was in the forecast that day. Indeed, as Emma paid
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: her check at the restaurant and walked out the front door,
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: the sun made its appearance on cue As if heralding
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: her upcoming adventure, the fog dissipated and she could spy
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: the twinkling blue waters of the harbour in the gap
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: between the buildings across the street. She lifted her face
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: to the sun as she walked to her nearby car.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: As she unlocked the door, she saw that a few
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: customers were being seated outside at umbrella-covered tables upstairs on
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: the open deck of the restaurant. They were in for
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: a gorgeous outdoor meal, she thought to herself. What luck
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: for them. She was no less fortunate, however, because she
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: was going to have splendid weather for her walk. Pulling
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: out of the parking lot, she turned onto Main Street
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: and headed north. she knew it was a mere five-minute
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: drive to her destination. Sure enough, she soon came to
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: her turnoff, which took her down a residential street that
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: bordered the harbour. Each house along the way had a
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: large sloping lawn that overlooked the water. Another right turn
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: revealed that her route continued to stick closely to the
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: shore She drove very slowly past more beautifully situated houses
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: with incredible views. As the land wrapped around the working harbour,
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: the view was as much of the ferry terminal and
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: the heart of Rockland as it was of the open water.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: This was not merely a scenic port, it was humming
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: with morning activity. In minutes, the end of the road
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: made it clear that she had reached her destination. With
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: a lovely samoset resort in its rolling green lawns to
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: her left, and the last few Waterview homes to her right,
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: she found a row of parking spaces at a dead end.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: There were only a couple of cars parked there. She
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: would mostly have the breakwater to herself. She pulled on
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: a light sweater and strolled towards the small park that
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: marked the beginning of the trail to the breakwater. Pausing,
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: Emma savoured her first impressive view of the long granite stretch,
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: which marched steadfastly out through the rippling blue waters of
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: the bay. She knew it was nearly a mile long.
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: It was hard to wrap her mind around that fact,
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: with the entire length of it fully in her view. However,
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Its true size was apparent when she spotted people moving
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: along it and saw how small the other visitors appeared.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: In half an hour or so, she would be standing
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: in their place, surrounded by the sound of the gulls
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: and the softly rolling waves of the harbour. She was
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: ready to get started. a well-worn dirt path wound around
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: the hillside at the foot of the resort, making its
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: way to the first granite stones. This trail was charming
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: in itself. It was not quite wide enough for two people.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: She scuffed along the sandy path, feeling that childish sense
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: of anticipation that comes with walking along a winding trail,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: To her left, rugosa rose bushes clustered thickly, giving way
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: to piles of stone above. To her right, a short
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: clamber through the grass and down a slope led to
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: a small beach that was littered with rocks. She could
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: tell by the seaweed lying nearby that this area was
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: generally covered by water at high tide. At the moment, though,
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: it was the perfect place to entertain children. She could
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: see a man and toddler some way down the beach,
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: examining a shell together. The child stuffed some small treasure
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: in his pocket, and they walked on. Emma followed the
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: enchanting byway around the hillside And then, without ceremony, it
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: ended at the foot of the granite breakwater. The walkway
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: was impressive, with its majestic granite expanse stretching before her
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: toward the horizon. She enjoyed a moment of delicious anticipation
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: of the walk that was to come. The conditions seemed perfect.
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: The temperature was warm, but the breezes were cool and
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: invigorating here at the water's edge. Stepping onto the first rock,
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: she looked down. The path was rugged, and the massive
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: size of the stones made it hard to imagine how
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: it had been built by mere humans. Approved by the
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: government for construction in 1890, It had taken nine years
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: to complete, and she could well believe that. It had
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: been finished late in 1899, just in time for the
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: turn of the century. A person might think that the
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: breakwater had been built in order to connect the lighthouse
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: to the land, but that was not true. In fact,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: it was the breakwater itself that had been commissioned first,
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: the lighthouse was built later. Apparently, despite its modest appearance,
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: Rockland had once been one of the busiest ports on
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: the east coast of the United States. True to its name,
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: the area had been a major source of limestone and granite.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: The stone had been quarried nearby and turned into lime
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: locally the lime and granite was shipped out to build
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: the most important structures in cities all over the country.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: In fact, by 1850, Rockland reportedly had 136 working lime kilns.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: She had read on the city website that in 1910,
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: the then American president, William Howard Taft, visited, and peered
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: into the deepest lime quarry in the world. And as
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: impressive as that was, quarrying was not the only important trade.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: Rockland was also a hub in the fishing industry. It
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: was an important harbour indeed. Unfortunately, its harbour was not
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: as well protected from the weather as it should have been.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: During the 1850s, powerful storms known as Nor'easters significantly damaged
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: the waterfront, including both buildings and ships. As a result, citizens,
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: local officers and politicians began lobbying Congress to fund a
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: protective breakwater. In 1881, Congress finally agreed, tasking the Army
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: Corps of Engineers with the project. Emma had learned from
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: her study of the Portland headlight that lighthouse construction was
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: an ever-changing process, with the height of a beacon sometimes
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: changing over time by trial and error. The breakwater was
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: no different. The original plan for two short breakwaters turned
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: into a design for one longer breakwater. Even when the
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: wall of granite had reached its final length, it was
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: still not sufficient. Some storms in the winter following its
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: completion revealed that the breakwater was not tall enough. and
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: that it became submerged too easily. Therefore, the wall of
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: granite was built up by four additional feet. That addition
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: was completed in October of 1901, and it included the
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: base for a lighthouse. That was because the breakwater that
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: protected the harbor now also created a hazard for ships.
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: In order to keep vessels from striking this growing new obstacle,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: lanterns were placed at the end of it. The first
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: beacon was on an iron crane that lifted a simple
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: white light 24 feet above sea level. As the breakwater
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: grew in 1892, the white lantern was replaced with two
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: stacked red lanterns on a mast. In 1895, a man
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: named Charles Ames became the attendant of the small beacon
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: for the pay of $ 25 a month. He walked out
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: to the light from nearby Jameson Point, or rode in
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: a boat when it was too icy to go on foot.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: Because there was no fog signal, He used to sound
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: a metal triangle when visibility was bad. This last bit
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: of information always made Emma laugh to herself. as she
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: imagined the triangle she had so happily played in music
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: class as a child. Naturally, she was sure that the
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: fog triangle was far larger than that and that it
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: emitted a far less melodious sound. As she took her
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: first steps along the enormous blocks of the breakwater, lightly
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: hopping over the irregular cracks, Emma imagined its depth and width.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: From what she had read, by the time it reached
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: the lighthouse, the structure was 65 feet deep. At the bottom,
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: it was 175 feet wide. narrowing to 43 feet at
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: the top. In short, it was massive. Emma took her time,
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: breathing deeply of the salty air that blew gently across
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: her path. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she scanned
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: the horizon to her right, picking out the different parts
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: of the Rockland harbour in the distance. Here and there,
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: a sailboat floated by, and she could see many others
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: moored in the distance. As if to sweetly offer her
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: the most pleasing soundtrack for her excursion. The waves lapped
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: at the stone all around her. They splashed without any regularity.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: For many seconds at a time, just gentle lapping could
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: be heard, punctuated every so often by a few larger waves.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: The music of the water beneath her feet brought to
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: mind a verse she had read recently. Upon learning that
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay had been born in Rockland,
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: Emma had read some of her writings One stanza from
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: the poem Exiled really rang true at the moment. Speaking
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: of her longing for the sea, Milet said that she
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: was wanting the sticky, salty sweetness of the strong wind
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: and shattered spray. Wanting the loud sound and the soft
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: sound of the big surf that breaks all day. Emma
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: was feeling neither strongly blown about nor shattered, but the
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: loud and soft sounds of the surf really made sense now.
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: Looking at the vastness of the bay, however, Emma recalled
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: reading that some storms were still known to completely submerge
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: the breakwater if the tide was high. sending waves crashing
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: over the top of it. It was beautiful to imagine,
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: although her sunny, dry stroll was more welcome today. There
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: was something very soothing about the consistent progress she made
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: towards the lighthouse. Step, step, a small hop over a crevice,
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: and then another step. She repeated this until it became
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: a familiar rhythm. It was a meditative process. As the
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: shore receded into the background, the lighthouse very slowly loomed larger.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: And there was so much to see along the way.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: Lobster boys dotted the harbour on both sides, bobbing merrily
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: in the rolling water. Since coming to Maine, Emma had
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: learned that these were attached to the underwater traps of
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: many different lobster men and women. Each person had their
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: own unique pattern painted on their boys, so everyone knew
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: to whom they belonged. She was amazed at this honour system.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: What a marvel of cooperation it was. Here and there,
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: large rocks emerged from the water on the left. That's
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: where Emma saw something very special. A couple of harbour
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: seals lay casually sunning themselves on the warm rocks. They
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: flipped their tails carelessly and turned their faces skyward in
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: lazy delight as she walked by. Although the route was
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: blissfully free of crowds, Emma was occasionally passed by people
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: working their way back in the other direction toward the land. Families,
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: couples and people with dogs all seemed to find this
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: a delightful walk. Some appeared to be locals, casually following
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: a familiar cause. Some knelt to take photos from just
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: the right angle, urging family to group together in the picture.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: As she was nearing the lighthouse, an antique schooner approached
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: from the right, sailing away from Rockland. It had three
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: masts with white sails, and the hull was painted black.
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: Even from this distance, Emma could see people standing on board,
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: watching the breakwater as the ship neared its end. She
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: was overwhelmed by its beauty. Emma felt temporarily transported back
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: in time by the sight of this gorgeous vessel, silently
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: gliding through the crystalline waves and out to the cool,
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: open waters. She imagined the adventures of the people on board,
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: visiting islands here and there off the coast of New England.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: It was marvellous. The walk did not feel like nearly
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: a mile. Too soon, she was at the other end
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: of the approach. She found herself standing at the foot
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: of the lighthouse, next to a tall flagpole. The keeper's
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: house itself was immediately before her. It rose a level
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: above the breakwater, reachable by stone stairs with a railing.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: In front of it, people could sit on a bench,
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: look down at the breakwater, and see all the way
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: back to the land. The entire structure was a modest
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: and functional little building. The keeper's dwelling was just a
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: wood-framed white house with a gambrel roof, It was one
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: and a half stories tall. Emma went up the stairs
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: and began to circle the structure. Attached to the back
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: of it was a red brick fog signal building that
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: was slightly shorter than the keeper's house. And the beacon
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: for the lighthouse was in a tower that rose above,
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: made of the same brick. It was just 25 feet tall.
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: all told. Emma smiled to herself and thought about how
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: the lighthouse couldn't have been more different from the Portland headlight.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: The oldest and most photographed beacon in Maine, the Portland
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: Light Tower, rose about three times higher than this one.
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: In this case, it looked more like someone had built
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: a house at the end of a long walk, and
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: added a lighthouse beacon as a bonus feature. It was
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: a very unassuming and practical station. Emma knew that this
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: modest tower had once housed a rotating fourth-order prunelle lens,
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: but the light had been automated in 1965, and nobody
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: knew what had happened to the original, Unlike lighthouses that
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: were located on islands or otherwise on the land, this
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: modestly sized building was not meant for... family life. Emma
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: had read that the Rockland Lighthouse had been referred to
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: as a stag station, meaning that the lightkeepers lived there alone.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: She could well imagine that it could feel isolated in
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: bad weather, Apparently, the first keeper of the lighthouse was
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: a man named Howard P. Robbins, who was initially paid
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: $ 500 a year. Mr. Robbins was a veteran lightkeeper, having
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: worked at three other lighthouses before. But his son, Clifford,
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: took on the assistant keeper position. and did not last long.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: He and his father both resigned in 1909, and the
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: younger man was quoted as saying, three or four winters
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: like that in a row, and I got fed up
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: with lighthouse keeping. Emma had read in the same source
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: that permission was given in 1915 for the two keepers
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: at the time to bring their wives there to live. Humorously,
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: one of the keepers very quickly wrote to ask that
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: the permission be revoked. Apparently, the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse was
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: not roomy enough for two couples to live there in
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: harmony for long. Emma pondered those close quarters, as she
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: walked carefully around the keeper's house and the brick portion
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: of the lighthouse emerging on the other side. She stood
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: in front of the light tower, leaning on the metal
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: railing and gazing out over the water. As she watched,
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: a ferry slowly chugged by. She knew that it was
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: on its way to Vinyl Haven Island. The people outside
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: on the top deck waved slowly at her, and she
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: smiled and waved back. Looking down below her, she could
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: see a couple of people exploring the lower level of
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: the stone lighthouse foundations. Flat stones gave way to a
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: pile of boulders that tumbled gradually into the ocean on
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: all sides. The pair were examining a crevice between the rocks,
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: having found some hermit crabs. Emma descended to the lower
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: level and walked to the spot right below where she'd
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: been standing. the stalwart tower rose up against the sky
• 33:01
  Speaker 2: above her. It was a uniquely immersive experience, being surrounded
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: on three sides by water that was so close by.
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: That was certainly a major advantage to visiting this otherwise
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: modest beacon. The setting was incredible. As she walked around
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: the east side of the lighthouse, making a full circuit,
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: she again admired the quantity of colourful lobster boys fanning
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: out before her. She was reminded of a story she'd read,
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: quoting one of the former Coast Guard officers who had
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: been stationed there to maintain the light in later years.
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: The man, whose name was Warren Ayres, had once told
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: the Bangor Daily News that he'd caught a 27-pound lobster
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: and that the claw was as big as his shoe.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: Emma had seen posters around town about the annual Maine
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: Lobster Festival that took place in Rockland. Although she thought
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: such large lobsters were probably rare now, she could believe
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: this tale. It seemed to her that everything had been
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: larger than life in the past. Emma made her way
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: back to the front of the lighthouse and climbed the
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: stairs once more, taking advantage of the empty bench at
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: the top. From this vantage point, She had a view
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: of the entire breakwater, dotted here and there by pedestrians,
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: moving at different paces. Beyond it was a glimpse of
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: the Samoset Resort, rising above the entire scene on a hill.
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: It seemed impossible that the starting point of the breakwater
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: was nearly a mile away. It appeared to be much
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: closer than that on this beautifully clear day. Emma closed
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: her eyes for a moment and breathed in the smell
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: of the salty air, feeling the breeze blow against her face.
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: The loud and soft waves Millay had written about in
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: her poem were all around, She sat there for some time,
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: pondering the great achievement of engineering that stretched out before her.
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: She was at a lighthouse that was only reachable due
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: to the quarrying and transport of hundreds of thousands of
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: tons of granite stone. Countless people had contributed, to the
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: creation of those giant stepping stones that allowed others to
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: simply walk across the water. More importantly, of course, they
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: had done the job of protecting the harbour and its
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: day-to-day activities. As she began her walk back to shore,
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: Emma scanned the water to her right. The harbour seals
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: were gone now, but she knew from her research that
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: the waters were thriving with life here. On the surface,
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: she saw a world teeming with boats, seabirds and seals.
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: Underneath the waves, just as much was happening. Among the
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: marine animals that live in these cold, blue waters were starfish,
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: sea urchins, lobsters and dogfish. With only a few minutes
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: left in her walk, Emma was treated to the sweetest
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: view of the day. Off to her left, in the
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: direction of the harbour, she saw a group of tiny sailboats,
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: Each one of them was piloted by a child who
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: was learning to sail. The group was like a plucky
• 38:01
  Speaker 2: little army of future mariners, enjoying the sun and learning
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: to travel with the wind. Not having grown up by
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: the seaside, Emma thought how wonderful it must be to
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: find a connection with the coastal waters at such a
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: young age. She was certainly falling in love with those
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: waters now. Later that night, Emma settled into her soft
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: double bed in her friend's tiny guest bedroom. This enticing
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: nook was under the steeply pitched roof of an antique house,
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: and her bed was snuggled under the eaves. Her crisp
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: white sheets welcomed her, and the open window blew the
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: salt breezes across her lightweight antique quilt. The trees were
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: rustling lightly outside, and she could see the moon peeking
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: through them as they moved gently in the breeze. There
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: was no traffic noise here, just the occasional sound of
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: a car.
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: Seagull.
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: As she closed her eyes, she saw the shimmering water
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: all around her and the lighthouse rising in the distance.
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: She felt such a strong pull to it and Millay's
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: words came to her once more. I should be happy.
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: That was happy. All day long on that coast of Maine,
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: I have a need to hold and handle shells and
• 40:12
  Speaker 2: anchors and ships again. Emma had come to Maine to
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: experience lighthouses, And, so far, it had been better than
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: she'd imagined. More than that, though, she was falling in
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: love with the salty tales of the people who built
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: them and cared for them. She was smitten by all
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: of it. Pulling her covers up to her ears and
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: sinking deeply into the softness pillows beneath her head, Emma
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: pictured a hundred tiny sailboats as they sailed out into
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: the twinkling blue waves.
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: And then....
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: She slept.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: Thanks for watching!
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you.
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: Thank you. So, Thank you for watching.
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you for watching.
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: You Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.