We started with breakfast at Fitzpatrick’s Café in
We sat for a while at Camden Harbor and watched the ducks that were feeding at the base Next we headed to the little town of Owl's Head, where we stopped at the general store. There were already 5-6 people in there, so adding the eight of us made it one very crowded tiny store! Mag bought some gifts to take back and Katelyn bought some candy. I tried to buy a string of lobster lights for the camper, but the clerk seemed to be having a bad day and got so flustered that he asked me to come back later!
The post office in this tiny town is also small and quaint. We also noticed that instead of fire hydrants, they have a fire pond! It looked like an ordinary pond, but there was a sign that noted the water was for use as a fire pond only. We decided they probably owned a tanker truck that filled up in the pond. I wonder how the minnows smell when they cook over the fires!
Our next stop was Owl's Head Light. There were a lot of steps up, so Wiley quit at the base of the light. The rest of us went to the top. There's no keeper on site, so you can't go in, but the view from the top is fantastic. There was a group of kids there fromm a local camp--very polite young people. Mag talked for a while with the owner, who said his whole family was involved in running the camp.
We visited the beach in the same park. Dave fished and Wiley and Mag sat at a picnic table and enjoyed the sun and the breeze. Cathy and Katelyn walked way around two points beachcombing. The tide was way out, exposing lots of interesting rocks and tide pools.
The whole time we were driving and exploring, Cathy and Mag were looking for lobster trap buoys to take home. Cathy spotted one on this beach, and practically leaped from the car to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it was chained to the ground and obviously belonged to someone. We teased her that someone in the nearby house had been video taping her the whole time and would later show the whole thing off to friends and have a good laugh.
Owl's Head Beach is very scenic. This is the view of the lighthouse peeking over the spruce and hemlock trees.
Our next (and last) stop was Port Clyde, where we planned to have Mag's birthday supper at the Dip Net Restaurant. The Dip Net is famous for its blue lobster. Yes, it's really blue! This is a fairly unusual genetic mutation. We'd seen a blue lobster in Cape Cod in the aquarium. The kids got a large charge out of seeing this odd creature.
We enjoyed eating our lunch outside on the water.
After lunch, we wandered through one last quaint little store, the Port Clyde General Store.
We ended up at the Dairy Queen and took our treats over to Rockland Harbor and devoured them sitting at the harbor watching the boats and seagulls. We hope you had a very merry 70th birthday, Mag!
4 comments:
I love the father/son photo at Port Clyde. Great shot. I'm curious about David's cap. Does it say independent? If so, is that a teen group or simply a teen asserting his "independence"?
This morning I really noticed the difference between my living formerly around Washington, D.C. and your living in Maine. You are celebrating Mag's 70th birthday by eating at a picnic table, for goodness' sake; by hunting for lobster traps; by watching birds; by climbing lots of steps to a lighthouse; and by visiting a general store that doesn't even look like a store! I kept thinking of visiting Nordstrom's, eating at Cheesecake Factory and traipsing through Smithsonian Museums!!!
Now, what the heck is so great about a dirty, smelly lobster trap? Are lobster meals very expensive in Maine? As you know, we'll have to definitely eat some lobster when we get there. We've never eaten real lobster. Am looking forward to it.
Also, I almost passed out when I saw Wiley NOT fishing with David. Wiley without a fishing rod in his hand is practically inconceivable to me. Also, hasn't Wiley wanted to go fossil hunting in Maine???
Enjoyed your blog and the pictures continue to be fantastic. Keep throwing in floral views for me. What about wildlife? What have you seen so far?
David's cap says "Independence"--I'm not sure what it means, but he wears it constantly. He has the most gorgeous platinum blonde hair. I have no idea why he wants to hide it!
Mag would have enjoyed Nordstrom's and the Cheescake Factory, but she's lived with a bunch of outdoors people all her life, so I think she's enjoying this, too.
Cathy didn't want the lobster trap, just the floats. Every lobsterman has his floats painted with a different color and pattern, which is registered with the state. A lot of people up here hang them on their porches or fences as decorations. That's what Cathy's going to do with them. We got one to hang on our porch, too. Right now, lobster is running about $25 in stores. But you can buy them and cook them yourself for about $7. We did that this week, so now we know how.
Wiley was fishing, too. He was just on a different part of the beach. And there's almost no fossiling in Maine because it's igneous (volcanic) rock.
As soon as I identify the gorgeous lavender colored wildflowers that are in bloom right now I'll post a picture of them.
Today was a work day, so not much to blog about right now. I'll probably wait until tomorrow.
No wildlife?
The "Independence" on David's cap refers to a skateboard company.
So far, the only wildlife we've seen has been lots of sea birds, some fish and starfish and a red fox. We're really hoping to see a moose and a puffin before we leave.
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