Castine, Maine

We spent a lovely day walking around the town of Castine, on the Bagaduce River.  Elegant old houses and buildings dating to the 1700 and 1800s line the streets, many with beautiful gardens and river views.  You can pick up a town map that identifies each one and provides information on the original owner/use.  For example, The Manor Inn (1895) is the former summer cottage of Commodore Fuller of the South Boston Yacht Club.  The steeple of the Unitarian church (1790) was designed by Charles Bulfinch, who also designed the Massachusetts state house and Boston Common (two of many of his well-known projects); the church bell was made by Paul Revere.  This beautiful archway and gate led to an interesting house; the pyramidal roof peak was glass.  We stopped at the Wilson Museum, which houses the collections of a local geologist with interests in archeology and anthropology.  The artifacts were collected from around the world, and range from rocks to ancient tools to American Indian crafts of the 1800s.  There were some terrific pieces, including plant and shell fossils that looked like beautiful engravings on the stone.  We listened to a speaker give a presentation on some of the firearms in the collection.  Castine is also the site of the Marine Maritime Academy.  We were anchored in Smith Cove, a large inlet across the river from Castine.  We were joined one night by a couple of windjammers—beautiful ships.