金秋游(4)——New England Fall Foliage Tour 朱之谓2022-10-18 22:28:05

Oct 13, 2022

    昨晚到达缅因州。今晨，大雾弥漫，不是赏秋的好天气。故而变更游戏主题，改去观看麋鹿(moose watching)。

    从缅因州首府Augusta北上，沿州道201，驱车百余迈，直抵与加拿大交界的Moose mountain。此地是麋鹿之乡，麋鹿成群出没，据说是观赏麋鹿的好去处。

    一路上，除了见到几群野山鸡外，并未遇到任何麋鹿，大惑不解！心里浮出种种猜疑：或许麋鹿不在家，组团去加拿大旅游了？或许被本地人当野味，夹在汉堡里吃光了？去年在科罗拉多Aspen赏秋，就曾品尝过当地的鹿肉汉堡，好吃！

    无奈之下，去Moose Watching Tour Center，打算购票乘专车去观鹿。到门前一看，有张贴士：We are closed for the season, see you in the spring。我一边读，一边捂着脸，生怕鼻子被气歪了，回去羞于见人。

    挥散心头疑云，振作精神。驱车返回旅店，走95号州际高速，忽见路标上显示China Road。毅然拐下高速，转上中国路，看能否顺道回国一趟。不多久，果然来到一座建筑，临街立着一个醒目的招牌，上面写着China，不禁怦然心动！不远处，是China Schools。又见到一条街，名曰Peking Street。往南一箭之地，有条河，叫China Lake。再往南，又来到South China。

    弃车步行，徜徉在南中国的街头巷尾，一股亲切之情，油然而生。恰似思乡游子，意外归来。感慨万千，不可言喻。

 

思乡游子偶归来   欣然漫步中国街

未闻乡音语巷尾   幡然醒悟徒伤怀

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct 14

    Raining all day today, torrentially sometimes. We had to re-schedule today's activities, and figured that the only thing doable for this type of weather was to take a quick look at the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. 

    Turned out that the lighthouse itself was not worth driving more than an hour in the rain with a poor visibility of less than 10 meters periodically. The break-water (防波堤), however, looked extraordinary, which convinced me that the effort was worthwhile, indeed.

    There are quite a few lighthouses along the Atlantic coastline in Maine. The reason why I (as a professional engineer) picked this one to see was because this lighthouse was built on top of and at the very tip of the breakwater which runs into the sea about a mile long. The project was completed in 1891, and it is really a great piece of engineering work, even in today’s time. It’s particularly impressive in that the breakwater was pieced together using huge granite blocks with every one of them weighing tons, being carved exactly in shape as needed, and placed precisely in position as appropriate. 

    Nice job back in 130 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

Oct 15, 2022

    昨晚抵达此行的最后一站：Portland, ME。

    雨过天晴，秋高气爽。晴好天气，加上周末休闲，Portland海岸线的众多景点，今天迎来游人如织。赶在晌午前，我们也来到著名的Portland Head Lighthouse，参观游览。

    不远处，海岸边停靠着一艘大型游轮，来自世界各地的游客，乘坐一辆辆豪华大巴，也蜂涌而至，前来参观这座建于1790年，由乔治•华盛顿亲自宣布启用的Head Lighthouse。1982年，为纪念Portland建市350周年，联邦政府对这座地标性建筑，进行了一次全面维修。乔治•布什以副总统身份，为此撰写了纪念铭文: In observance of Greater Portland’s 350th anniversary, we rededicate this unique landmark to the aspirations and achievements of those who came before us and to present and future generations who will continue its proud heritage。

    由此上溯几个世纪，灯塔——这种当时造福于一方民生的大型公用基础设施，或者营建在风高浪急的沿海之滨，或者耸立于人迹罕至的港湾之屿，肩负着为过往舟楫领航导向的重要使命。如今，绝大多数灯塔，虽然不再具有开埠通商的实用功能，逐渐退出了历史舞台，但其建筑学上的独特魅力，和工程意义上的艰巨卓越，往往让我由衷地景仰和着迷。多少年来，无论走到哪里，只要看到灯塔，我总是怀着一种“走过路过不可错过”的执着，躬身前往，实地观摩。

    今日，一家人再度相聚，慕名来到Portland Head Lighthouse；沐浴着金秋的暖阳，沉浸于亲情的温馨，共游这座两百多年来饱经风浪，至今仍英姿焕发，巍然屹立在大西洋之滨的灯塔，心情格外舒畅。今次北国金秋之旅，至此也划上了一个圆满的句号。

 

飞行赴万里  北囯吟金秋
上下翻三岳  东西过四州
诗和远方走  人随长画游
归来似成仙  从此不思愁