SUPER TIMES IN MIDCOAST MAINE…

Views of  Chewonki

Midcoast Maine seems like a pretty good spot to hang out so we book some time at The Chewonki Campground in Wiscasset, 47 campsites for tents and RVs on fifty acres of woods and meadows overlooking the saltwater.  They offer kayak rentals, a swimming pool, tennis courts and hiking trails. We like it so much here that we stay for two weeks.  During our stay we have to move four times because they are so popular and are booked pretty solid but it’s worth it, plus we get great view variety! It also gives us time to explore this area of rocky shores, quiet coves dotted with lobster traps, fishing villages, quaint cottages, forests and open fields.

Red's Eats

Wiscasset is known for early architecture, backed up traffic through town on Highway One and Red’s Eats – home of the most famous lobster rolls in Maine and the reason for the backed up traffic on the highway. There are no stop signs or Traffic Lights on the highway here and lots of pedestrians crossing the street to get to Red’s where they stand in line for sometimes hours to get one of Red’s Lobster rolls with over a pound of meat with mayo or butter on the side in a toasted roll. There are a number of other restaurants for those who don’t want to wait in line or prefer sit down service and a plethora of antique/junk stores and galleries.

Boothbay Harbor

Directly east of Wiscasset is Boothbay Harbor, a center of summer tourist activity. We walk along the waterfront, try some local brews and stop at The Lobster Dock for a couple of mediocre soft-shelled crustaceans that don’t seem to digest very well. This pretty much puts us off lobster… well only for about a week or so…

Reid State Park
Tidepools

On Georgetown Island we spend the better part of the day hiking along the shore at Reid State Park.  The tide pools have lots of sea vegetation and barnacles but only a few crabs, snails or mussels and no urchins, anemones or starfish. Groups of kids are combing through the tide pools and filling up their green plastic buckets.  Is this why there is an absence of marine life in these pools?

Daily Catch
(from lobster pot to stock pot
in a matter of hours) 

At the end of Five Island Road perched on a dock overlooking one of the prettiest harbors in Maine is the Five Island Lobster Company.  Three specialty buildings serving up artisan ice cream, fried specialties and burgers and the lobster building for live or cooked lobsters, steamers and daily specials.  The lobstermen (and women) off load their catch at the dock and it’s only a matter of time (a very short time) before they meet their fate in the red lobster shack. Pot to pot Lobsta!  Since the last lobsters are still fresh on our mind, we opt for their fried clams and haddock.  Both are done right and dining on the deck overlooking the harbor is spectacular.  Across the deck a family beats a half dozen two plus pound lobsters with ball-peen hammers.  Fun Fun Fun! We finish off with a couple of gourmet cones Yum Yum Yum!

Lighthouse on the Kennebeck
Bath Iron works in the
background

Percy & Small Shipyard with
Wyoming Scale Sculpture

The town of Bath on the Kennebec River is home to the Bath Iron Works where we see the USS Zumwalt being outfitted.  It is also home to the Maine Maritime Museum.  Admission to the museum is good for two days. On the first day we take a Percy & Small Shipyard tour and then explore the grounds and museums. On the second day we take The Shipyards and Lighthouses Cruise on the Kennebec. We get great views of Bath Iron Works, the town of Bath, Lighthouses and bald eagles.  After the cruise we do another shipyard tour with a different docent and then check out the remains of the Snow Squall, one of the last American Clipper Ships. Sections of the bow and hull recovered from the Falkland Islands in 1987 are housed in a gallery on the museum grounds. There is also an amazing life size modern sculpture outlining the Schooner Wyoming, the largest wooden ship ever built in the U.S. (And probably anywhere in the world.)

Steamy the Yarmouth
Clam

Ready for the parade

In Yarmouth it’s the 49^th annual Clam Festival! Every year since 1965 on the third Friday of July the City of Yarmouth kicks off their three-day celebration of the bi-valve.  It’s a weekend of live music, arts and crafts, a carnival, clam shucking, road races, fireworks, a parade and more. The Parade is so popular that folks from the surrounding area set their lawn chairs out along the parade route up to a week in advance and no one messes with them… only in small town America!There is also a huge food court with lots of fried, steamed, chowdered and battered clams, and other foods.  Not the best we’ve had but decent and all the proceeds from the entire festival support the town.

And finally, while in Wiscasset we are treated to the first of three Super Moons for 2014…

I'm SUPER!
(Thanks for Asking!)