I feel bad about dragging you all to Art Appreciation 101 class with me, especially when you are on your Summer Break and definitely did not want to go to Summer School!
So, to make it up to you I’ve enrolled us in class more fitting to our “We’d rather be on Vacation than go to Summer School” mood.
Get your swimmies on cuz we’re all goin’ Lobsterin’!
We’ve spent the last two days over on the coast. For those of you that have experienced the Maine Coast between Boothbay Harbor and Bar Harbor, well…… you know how special it is. Our little group decided that if we were ever fortunate enough to have a home situated on a bluff above this coastline, with the requisite views of the bays and islands, that it was, in fact, possible to stay there forever, have your meals brought to you and never leave your seat.
That may be a slight exaggeration, but only slightly! 😊
Going over to that area of Maine every year from where our RV site is located, is definitely something to look forward to. But, trying not to replicate previous experiences can be a daunting task. Everyone is not enamored with the same things, even though they involve the Coast. I, on the other hand, could sit and watch the harbor in Camden like it was my job! The boats that frequent these waters are as classical as they get. There are so many old wooden windjammers, schooners, sloops, and the like, that just like the views in Big Sur, the next one seems better that the last. There are no bad ones! Just variations of awesome!
We took a trip southward past Bath, and its ship works. There has been a ship building industry in Bath since the Revolutionary War and even now you can see US Navy destroyers being serviced and assembled in the Bath Iron Works shipyard.
Our destination was Bailey Island, the last island at the end of a road that works it way south connecting several islands along the way. In this part of Maine, the landforms may remind you of fingers stretched southward, the myriad of narrow bays being the space between them. So, as you travel down one of these ‘fingers’ quite often the rugged coastline makes an appearance and teases you with one view being better than the last.
At the end of this road is a gift shop situated high on a knoll overlooking Casco Bay. The name of this shop is Land’s End. Actually, this shop is one of the better seaside souvenirs and chachkies shops that I’ve been to. It’s been family owned and operated since 1959 and not unlike a Western trading post, it features about sixty Maine crafters and their wares.
“But wait!” you exclaim. “I’ve traveled all this way….. I wanted to buy some polo shirts, a bathing suit, and some nifty footwear! There’s nothing here that even remotely resembles anything in your catalog!”
“Whoa! Slow down Mr. Persnickety Punctuation! Take a good look at the name….. it’s not Lands’….. it is Land’s. Now then, can I interest you in something of a seashell keyring?”
(Ask to see my new keyring next time we se each other.)
A photo or two at the end and we reversed our course and headed for Cooks Lobster and Ale House on the other side of the island. On our way we stopped at a little cove for some genuine Maine dockside photos. See below.
Finishing up at the cove we hit Cook’s just before it got busy. This landmark has been here since 1955, having had just two owners. As you may imagine, the cheeseburgers are just fabulous here!
Not!
I believe that it is local crime (misdemeanor) to order anything but seafood (especially lobster!) at an establishment like this one that even has its own boats, docks, and processing wharf!
It was a great lunch!
After lunch we walked out back to view the Cribstone Bridge. Don’t ask me how we stumble onto these random places, but this particular bridge is the only one like it in the States and ostensibly, the entire world. (They are holding final judgement on that last claim in case some remote undiscovered indigenous peoples in some unknown jungle on an undiscovered island somewhere have built a bridge of this type.)
The engineering in this structure is quite genius. Using the locally quarried granite, they cut pieces that resembled long, rectangular logs and then just started stacking them up resembling a not-quite finished game of Jenga. No cement was used to fasten anything together as the sheer weight of each slab laid on each other, and having plenty of space between them to allow the waves and tides to flow freely through them….. well, lets just say that it’s been there since 1925 and only had a few minor repairs. Show me a current bridge that can last that long, and I’ll eat a lobster!
I left Paula, April, and Brian seated on one of the benches overlooking the bridge area while I went to investigate a gorgeous Friendship Sloop.
This kind of sailboat is a true Maine original, having had its genesis in the little town of Friendship, located about halfway between Boothbay Harbor and Port Clyde. The originals all date from the mid-late 1800’s through the early 1900’s. This particular boat was from 1905. Her owners gave me permission to go down the ways and view her up close. You all get to do the same, courtesy of these photographs. Once you get to know Friendship Sloops and their classic, dare I say iconic, lines, you can easily pick them out from amongst their other sailing sisters.
After lunch we went in search of the Giant’s Stairs. This is a natural rock formation directly on the coast. The result of some long-ago volcanic activity, it makes for a dramatic coastline and has some nice cliff-top hiking paths.
We left the Bailey Island area in search of some Ice Cream! Who doesn’t need another 1000 calories after eating lobster and fries for lunch! We came across Pammy’s Ice Cream, a cute little place. Outside service only, it was very busy and nicely staffed. Strictly cash, no cards, only open in the summer, winters in Florida…. What can be better than ice cream, cash, and Florida Winters! What a business model!
The next day everyone came on the Lobster Expedition. We booked passage on a lobster boat out of Camden Harbor.
The outing lasted about an hour and a half and included pulling three lobster traps with some local sightseeing mixed in. We all got a lesson in the proper way to bait, secure, and re-set these traps. They are not the old wooden ones anymore. Those were made of oak, got waterlogged and very heavy. These newer ones are made of vinyl wrapped wire and have several safety features built in. Not for the lobstermen, for the critters!
Just in case a trap gets its line run over or is lost in any other way, they don’t want the trapped deep-sea denizens to be held for life. They have made “Escape Hatches” that after a reasonable period of time, these hatches kind of dissolve so that the lobsters and all their friends can be set free.
Some other common sense conservation practices involve obviously size, and Mommies! When it is determined that a female lobster is carrying eggs (which are very visible underneath her) she is released but not before a small “notch” is cut into her tail so that if she is re-caught she has been identified as a bona-fide ‘Mom’ which helps insure the future of their industry. The variables of successful lobstering depend on all things that cannot be seen underwater. Water temps, depth, season, etc. all wreak havoc on a lobsterman’s way of making a living.
We pulled three traps that day and only got one lobster and that one was too small, so back into the drink she went!
Another lunch was had in Camden which included Lobster Bisque (why not?) and then we stopped at a seafood market for some fresh scallops and haddock that were planned for dinner.
Pan-seared scallops and beer-battered haddock….. I rest my case.
