When in Maine...eat LOBSTER!

We were happy to schedule a trip out on lobster boat. The season for taking tourists out to see how lobsters are gathered from the traps was not to begin until the Saturday we were scheduled to leave. We found one boat that was planning to take a trip out before the weekend, however, and made plans to drive back to Bar Harbor. We had to leave early to be sure to arrive in time. As the snow clears, apparently every road in Maine begins receiving sorely needed repairs. It seemed everywhere we travelled, we were greeted with flagmen to funnel us in to one way detours around all the work. All that to say, plan to take a little longer to get around! As we arrived in Bar Harbor, a light rain began to fall and we received a call from the lobster boat. The captain was concerned about an incoming front and wanted to postpone the outing until 1:00 pm. Who were we to argue? We were fine with a later departure and spent the time looking at the shops in Bar Harbor. We did get very wet as we walked around. Parking in Bar Harbor is a precious commodity, even in the pre-season! Add to the limited number of spaces a one ton dually pickup and be prepared for some hoofing around. We decided to dry out at Jordan's - a restaurant claiming to have the best blueberry pancakes in Maine. We don't know about that, but they're certainly worth the stop. We enjoyed blueberry muffins with our breakfast and coffee and cocoa to warm up.

Between showers, we walked along the main streets to do some window shopping. After the cruise, we returned to this shop that had several dozen flavors of ice cream - including lobster ice cream. Three of our party of four tasted it - can you guess which one declined?

The showers were pretty strong at times, but we had no problem finding several shops in which to take refuge.

The lovely park graces an area near a public pier.

We spotted 'the LuLu' that was our vessel for the afternoon journey. The weather was a bit more clear by the 1:00 departure time and we joined six others to meet Captain John Nicolai for a couple of hours on the water.

This was a glancing photo back at Bar Harbor as we set out to Egg Rock.There wasn't much rain, but the cloudy weather and cold breeze had us taking advantage of blankets offered by the crew.Egg Rock, we learned was named for the duck eggs that were plentiful on the banks. Harbor seals live on the island and we spied on them with furnished binoculars. The captain entertained us with stories (legends based on fact and some on rumor) as he showed us around. We came back to calmer water closer to the harbor and began checking several traps set out a few days before. The first few offered a variety of crabs. We learned that crabs are somewhat of a nuisance to lobster fishermen as they steal the bait and easily escape the traps.

We learned not only about catching lobsters, but more about the lobsters themselves. This one is just barely within the legal limits to be kept.

After checking the traps, we made one more stop at this island to check out an eagle's nest.

Taking our leave from Bar Harbor, we stopped in Bangor at a market recommended by the RV park to purchase some fresh lobster for our dinner. The park delivered a lobster cooker and all the accessories necessary for cooking and eating the lobsters and also offered a few cooking tips.

Yes - it's true - a watched pot never boils!

Here's our dinner waiting for the pot to boil...

Finally, it was time and lobster number one is loaded into the bag.

Lobsters 2, 3 and 4 followed closely behind...

The boys did the honor of lowering the bags into the boiling water...

Then, we waited for the water to return to a boil and set the timer for 13 minutes as recommended by the RV park staff.

There they are - now a bright red!

Add some clarified butter, a loaded baked potato and salad...

Tie on your bib - and enjoy!

What a great day! We all had a terrific time and will never forget our lobster day!

Do you know the way to Moosehead Lake?

Moosehead Lake is a very large lake about 80 miles north-northwest of Bangor. You'll know that you have nearly arrived when most signs along the way begin mentioning 'moose' in the name and everything from mailboxes to yard decorations includes the moose theme. Many warning signs alert you that one might be crossing your path at any moment. In the vicinity of the lake are several landmarks; such as, the community of Moosehead, Moose River and Big Moose Mountain. We stopped at Greenville to check in a a visitor's center and were clued in for most likely moose sightings, a place for lunch and an unexpected hiking trail that led to some waterfalls. Another frequent sign referenced 'fiddleheads'. "Cleaned Fiddleheads Here", "Fiddleheads", "For Sale: Fiddleheads". When we stopped in the cafe in Greenville, the soup of the day "Cream of Fiddlehead". They were sold out and a couple of the locals were very upset about it. We had guessed it was a type of crab. Not so - check out the picture below:
Fiddleheads are the coiled fronds of the ostrich fern. Growing in river marshes in Maine in late April to mid-May, they are hailed as a sign of spring's arrival and begin appearing in salads, soups and served as side dishes. We bypassed the offerings at roadside stands, primarily due to our ignorance of what exactly they were. Now that we're more knowledgeable, we'll have to give them a try if we are in Maine in the right season!

You likely will not be able to spot the moose in this photo. We saw one grazing alongside the road as we drove along a portion of Moosehead Lake.

We thoroughly enjoyed the unique scenery along our way.

We found the head of the trail mentioned by the visitor center. Several trees were down across the path, but we maneuvered them just fine. The dogs were along for this hike and seemed to enjoy the adventure. Ginger clambered or leaped over the downed trees while Pepper chose to go under all but one of them.

A short distance into the woods, about 7/10ths mile, we heard the sound of the rushing water.
Several platforms offered safe viewing of the falls.

It's always worthwhile to take a few moments to just listen to the sound of the water crashing over the boulders. We did so for just a bit, then the buzzing of gnats and other bugs encouraged us to be on our way!

East of Eden

We settled into an RV park near Bangor, ME as soon as we possibly could. We could not find an RV park in the state that would accomodate us prior to May 1. Many don't open until May 15 or later even and many cannot accomodate an RV longer than 35'. We wouldn't change a thing on our 5th wheel purchase due to the ocmfort level with the space provided in a longer unit. Many of the older campgrounds and parks have been established long before anyone envisioned the length and wide slideouts that are more common in models produced today!

We learned this term 'East of Eden' when we discovered that Bar Harbor was a relatively new name for this area in Maine. The town was called Eden while the harbor itself was commonly known as 'Bar Harbor'. Knowing the history explained the many references to 'Eden' along our path!


We drove over to Bar Harbor several times, and of course, the guys had to get as close to the water as possible. As cold as it was, however, they had no interest in actually getting wet!

Acadia National Park is every bit as beautiful as reputed. We drove up to the peak of Cadillac Mountain as soon as we arrived.

The wind was extremely gusty and strong, sometimes feeling as if it could blast us off the mountain.

The large mass of rock was inviting to the guys.

Both of them wanted photos with the bay in the background.

Another day's journey into the park took us down to the waterfront to explore tidal pools.

We had learned about tidal pools and the creatures that thrive within them when we were in San Diego.

Low tide occurred mid-morning, creating a terrific opportunity to see several varieties of sea creatures.

Mostly, it was a great excuse to spend some time enjoying the sunshine, sea and rocks!

The dogs joined in on part of the exploring this time - even Pepper enjoys her own scale of rock climbing!

We felt spoiled to have such a beautiful spring day for a picnic in this park - what a view!

We continued around the island to find the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. The lighthouse still provides living quarters - not for the keeper, but a commander in the Coast Guard.

We drove through several small harbor towns with picturesque marinas.

We also explored some interior roadways to seek out Jordan Pond. We loved the drive and nature trail, but were disappointed that the famous tea and popovers are not served until later this month. I suppose we'll just have to return again to this gorgeous area!

More posts to come of our inland journey and lobster cruise!

Live Free or Die

Bonus points if you can guess the reason for this blog title? If you knew that this is the motto for New Hampshire you get the prize! After the hustle and bustle of Boston, we are enjoying the rural New Hampshire sights.

We started with a trip into Portsmouth. Billed as a nice New England town and the building place for submarines, we found the city to be very neat (as in tidy) and somewhat eclectic. Our first stop was a house designated as the home of John Paul Jones. Actually, his time here was brief and he only rented a room in the house. At the time he was here, however, he was supervising the construction of the America, a ship for the newly established United States.

Now established as a museum for Portsmouth, a hard working group of volunteers continues work on the garden. We enjoyed the early fruits of their labor in these tulips!

We continued carefully around the town. The streets are narrow and meet at odd angles amongst very tall, compactly placed houses and shops.

Everything had a look of being well-kept and preserved and we enjoyed the glimpse of life in this busy town.

We also wanted to see the Albacore, an early submarine research vessel. Launched in the late 1950's, we enjoyed learning about efforts to develop a boat that was both fast and quiet!

Exporing further in the town, it wasn't long before we found ourselves in Maine! The New Hampshire coastline is relatively short. Lots of homes and docks are nestled in quiet coves along the coastline with evidence of many buoys with lobster traps attached.

The boys smiles are a little frozen and it's not just because of the pose. The sun was deceptive as the breeze off that Atlantic water was very cold! We didn't stay out in it long with our light jackets!

Ready for a break, we found an interesting old grocery store that offered us coffee and Coca Cola in the old fashioned small glass bottles! Cory is an enthusiast of Coca Cola in a glass bottle, so we couldn't pass this up. The grocery is well preserved, inside and out and we enjoyed the trip back in time as we took a little break from the driving and looking.

Across the street is an old delivery truck belonging to the grocery.

All in all, our day was a nice change of pace - to simply looking around at a place that was new to us - very nice!

Oh - and the prize for knowing about New Hampshire's motto? Isn't just knowing you are that smart prize enough? Well, that'll have to do as we don't have a reward system worked out! Congratulations anyway!