11/15/2016
I have walked the Rockland Breakwater at least a couple dozen times since moving to Maine six years ago. The Breakwater is just what its name connotes so sometimes there are whitecaps on its ocean facing side while the waters on the harbor side barely ripple.
The Rockland Breakwater took almost a decade to build and was completed in 1900. It extends over 4,000 feet and is about 40 feet wide. 700,000 tons of granite were used in its construction at a cost at the time of $750,000. Needless to say, adjusted for inflation over a century later, it was a big deal.
When I walked the Breakwater for the first time I was tipped off by my wife to look for something special and I guess I got an even bigger hint because I found it. With all the thousands of pieces of granite along its entire length there is only one slab in one place that spans all 40 feet of the Breakwater’s width.
Once you’ve found this singular rock, you can always find it but my guess is that a majority of the people who traverse the Breakwater don’t even know it’s there. Sometimes on my walks when I’ve encountered a family I’ve challenged kids to discover it.
There’s a lighthouse at the far tip of the Rockland Breakwater and although the setting is magnificent, for me the building itself does not have the majesty of its neighboring lighthouses like Owls Head, Pemaquid and Marshall.
Walking the Rockland Breakwater isn’t dangerous but it requires lowering your gaze as you step from one rock to another to avoid a misstep. Taking in the view of the distant Camden Hills requires a full stop.
I took this picture on my walk yesterday. Can you find the magic rock?
Donald Trump’s election to the Presidency followed closely by the death of Leonard Cohen has turned a line in one of the poet/songwriter’s pieces into a wistful message: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
One can only hope…
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