Story behind the image: Pie by the sea

During my fall New England trip in 2024, I was driving down the coast of Maine from Bar Harbor to go into Massachusetts. I broke up the drive with a stop in Portland. Naturally I had to stop at the Portland Head Light (lighthouse) to take pictures of this local feature, it is certainly not something we have in the middle of the country.

I walked around Fort Williams Park that surrounds the lighthouse admiring the beauty and history of the rocky shore line. Also within the park are monuments and ruins of historic buildings. After an hour or so of wandering around and taking pictures, it was nearing lunchtime and hunger was creeping in. Thankfully a food truck had just set up in the parking lot. Now this refurbished ambulance-like vehicle was not going to be all I have for lunch as it was a pie truck. Per the menu, it was only sweet pies (no meat pies here).

I ordered the Maine maple pecan pie from the Pie-oh-my! food truck topped with fresh whipped cream. It was the perfect pre-lunch snack. The pie was sweet with maple, but not too sweet. The filling was jelly-like, but not soupy. Standing to the side of the food truck, I enjoyed every last bite of that pie.

I continued to take in the beautiful shoreline as I ate my pie. It was also during this time that I also started to pay attention to the sounds and there was a peculiar sound I noticed. There was the sound of rolling waves, but it was off. It was not the soft smooth sound of rolling waves on a sandy beach that make one crash and then bubbles out. This sound here next to the Portland Head Light while eating pie was louder. There were two distinct though similar sounds: one for when the wave came in and one for when it went out. The best way to describe the sound is that of rolling marbles. At first I thought the sound was coming from the parking lot. But after listening a little longer and watching the pattern of the waves I realized it was the rocks on the beach knocking against each other by the force of the water. It was beautiful. It was peaceful.

Grounding into the photo:

5 things to see: Portland Head Light off to the right on the cliff, the Atlantic Ocean meeting the coastline including on the rocky beach, the gorgeous slice topped with whipped cream I am about to eat in my hand, families carefully traversing the rocks to get closer to the water, bright light of the sun

4 things to touch: the warmth of the pie through the pie, rough texture of the compostable bowl, heat on my skin from the sun, the hard pavement beneath my feet

3 things to hear: rolling rocks with the waves, squawk of seagulls flying overhead, the voices of people behind me as the next customer orders their slice of pie

2 things to smell: saltiness and fishiness from the sea, warm sugar from the pie

1 thing to taste: the maple sweetness of the pie

Location: Portland Head Light/ Fort Williams Park, Portland, Maine, USA

Date taken: October 2024

Camera: iPhone 13

Aperture: 5.1mm

f stop: f/1.6

Shutter speed: 1/5000

ISO: 50