Today we decided to visit Rockland, Rockport and Camden. These are among the few Maine oceanside destinations that you can connect in one circuitous route. Pretty cool, huh. Hold that thought...
...because while the farthest destination point, Camden, is only about 100 miles and roughly 2 hours away, there's no way we could have anticipated the impact of being in a tourist state at the beginning of the July 4th holiday. OMG!
We traveled only a few short miles on I-95 before heading east on Hwy 1. The traffic through Bath, ME was cumbersome but nothing like what was to come. Traffic came to a standstill as we entered Wiscasset. The tiny town of Wiscasset is home to one of the most famous lobster joints on the coast of Maine, Red's Eats. Folks stand in line for lengthy stretches waiting patiently for a bite of Red's tasty nautical nibbles. We were more than a mile from Red's with another 35 more to go when traffic halted. Hey...this is supposed to be fun and not work! So a swift about-face was in order.
Now... we time tested travelers don't let fate dictate. Nosirree...if at first you do not fricassee, fry and fry a hen (or words to that effect). Between Wiscasset and Rocky Hill Farm lay an aforementioned treasure...Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster.
OK...OK...I know I've touted this place before...BUT...if you love lobster...this place is "heaven on earth."
Be it ever so humble...there's no place like Harraseeket L&L
Now let me walk you through the magic process step by step:
It all begins here...
Boats go out every morning to retrieve their nightly bounty.
More boats adjacent to Harraseeket L&L
...next stop here...
By 11:00am these traps are empty, stacked and the critters are cooking in the kitchen
...and here's the best part...
Hey! Somebody's got to do it...and you're not here to help!!
So...I just keep working and working and working and working...ho-hum...
Freshly fueled and invigorated, we decided that we should look for some neat new spot we hadn't seen before. After perusing the trusty electronic cyber-map we noticed a nearby wilderness spot, Wolf's Neck Woods State Park. Heck, you could see it from the dock at Harraseeket. While it was less than a mile away (as the crow flies), it required about eight miles of winding through the lush backwoods of Maine to reach it. And, reach it, we did. Like most state parks, we were greeted by a friendly forest ranger. This young man was rather unique, however. He walked stiffly to my lowered driver's window, and in a matter-of-fact tone initiated the following conversation:
Ranger Rick (hereinafter referred to as RR) - "Good morning, sir. Are you familiar with the Brown Tail Moth Caterpillar that resides in our park here?"
Lenny (hereinafter referred to as,...well..., Lenny) - "No...should I be?"
RR - Well, sir, yes you should. You see, these caterpillars are throughout our park. Should you come into contact with their hairs you will most likely develop a painful, red rash.
Lenny - "Wow...I see."
RR - "Further, sir, many of these toxic hairs are airborne. Were you aware of this before arriving here?"
Lenny - "Uh, no...not really. We were hoping we could just circle through and see the place."
RR - "Well, sir, you really can't see anything from your car. You'd have to get out and walk to see anything."
Lenny - "Aah...so are you suggesting we just hop out and take our chances?"
RR - "Well, sir, that's really up to you. I'm just informing you about the presence of the caterpillars."
Lenny - "Well, I think well just do a U-ey right here and catch you some other time.
RR - "Okay, thank you sir."
With that, Lizzy and I reversed our course and reflected upon the brief encounter with RR. We agreed he was probably not now, nor had he ever been employed by the Wolf Neck Chamber of Commerce. I mean, really...why not close the park if you don't want visitors?
On our way back up the dirt road we rode in on, we did, however, receive our bonus reward for Having Lunch and H L&L. Standing right beside the road was a lovely lady...
Lovely lady standing beside the road.
She seemed friendly enough, so we struck up a conversation. I commented I thought she was lovely and would love to take her picture. That said, I mentioned being without my telephoto so I would need to get rather close with just a 50mm lens. This was necessary in order to capture her radiant beauty.
"Deer me," she commented, "I didn't leave my boudoir this morning expecting to be photographed. I must look a mess."
I assured her that, aside from a few nasty ticks and her unsightly sores from Brown Tail Moth Caterpillar hairs, she looked just fine to me. Reluctantly, she acquiesced.
She insisted this was her "good side" as she dainty pointed her right "rear" hoof.
Well...now we were completely re-energized. So instead of heading straight home, we decide to check out a place recommended to us by our hosts with the most, Pam and Nicol. It's called Prouts Neck. Don't ask me what Prouts Neck is...a park, a point, a spit, or just like it says, a neck. I can tell you this; lots of really high rollers like to live there. There's really no parking or stopping unless you're a resident, so I didn't snap any architectural memorabilia. I did, however, snap a couple of shots of the townie's views. Geesh!
This reminded us a lot of looking out on our lakes at Country Place in Carrollton
Sit-in' in the bay...just chillin'
Well, I guess I'd better run before I wear out my welcome. Just so you'll know, we're suffering up here, too! It's 82 deg today. Folks here are about to die of heat stroke. It's predicted to get up to 85 for the Fourth. Yikes!
Let us hear from you. It's no fair not to share.
Stay tuned...
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