DAY 27 SEPT. 9 MAINE COASTAL ODYSSEY

What a way to spend Rosh Hashanah...Booth Bay Baby !

What a day...taking a day trip up to Booth Bay Harbour-about an 80 mile ride to get there, one of the finger peninsulas in this region.  They say Booth Bay Harbor is the soul of the Maine Coast.  I say some kind of wonderful.  Another lovely hamlet on the Maine Coast....we explored quiet coves, rocky shores, meandering country roads and intriguing lighthouses.  Keith and Pat check out a Memorial to the Seafaring fishermen.

The Harbor is loaded with many fishing vessels- lobsters galore.

John and Bubba picked out our lunch in the lobster tank.  We watched a young man checking for dead lobsters by smell (ammonia smell) and put them in the no good pile.  Most lobsters come from the north eastern coast of North America- within the US the state of Maine being the largest producer.  They are caught primarily by using lobster traps (pots).  Today pots are made of vinyl coated galvanized steel mesh with entrances/exits on either end allowing the creature to be captured alive.  Only 6% of lobsters entering the pot are actually caught.  I've heard tales of "ocean justice" where those dishonest lobsterman have lost their boats, houses and vehicles to vandalism for "scrubbing" or selling shorts or for hauling another lobsterman's pots.  My kind of men!  I now understand where our pal Bob Bekoff learned his moxie-I mean justice-between fishing up this way and college at Bates it now makes sense.  And hey, btw, where is Bates?

Throw some steamers on the order too.  aka  Maine Clams.

Another beautiful Maine day...we wore our dripping butter like the rest of the crowd.   Nobody tires of the delicious and ever so fresh lobster, fish, clams, and oysters cooked every which way....

And on the way back through another picturesque village- Wiscasset we saw a line of people on the street leading up to RED'S EATS.  Hey what's, going on?  For 31 years the late Al Gagnon perfected the "lobster roll" now his daughter carries on the family tradition.  The bun (hot dog bun) is loaded with lobster (mayo or butter on the side)-hence the lobster roll known around the world.  The fresh lobster arrives daily from Booth Bay.  Red's prepares between 35,000-45,000 lobster rolls per season (8.5 tons).  The wait in line can be up to 2 hours (July/August) but everyone says it's worth the wait.  The other food that is also popular is the fried onion rings.  These jumbo rings use 200 lbs of onions weekly for that greasy fried demand.  

Just in time for cocktail hour at the Andersons- John disappears and I ask where did he go?  Down to the Dungeon?  Hey what's down there?  A new England basement and a perfect place to keep the wine.  "Don't go down there Boca!  You won't like the smell."  Au contraire, I love that musty old basement smell and unlike Boca Raton which is basementless and garages are humid and hot there is no place to "keep" the wine.  HENCE WE ARE FORCED TO DRINK IT QUICKLY.