My wife and I had flown overnight from Arizona to Maine--the next morning, the first stop (after coffee) for our ocean-starved eyes was here.

The Portland Head Light, just south of the city, is one of the oldest (commissioned by George Washington,built in 1791) and most-photographed lighthouses in the U.S. What struck us more than the panorama of water and architecture, though, was the simple act of inhaling--for our desert-acclimated noses, the mixture of evergreens, wild roses, and the salty sea air was potent, heady.

Taste and smell are often more viscerally evocative than sight alone. Even now, when we look at this photo, the scent returns.

The lighthouse is about a ten to fifteen minute drive from downtown Portland:
1000 Shore Road (in Fort Williams Park)
Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107