A Week Down East | Part 4, Snapshots from Boothbay Harbor and Beyond

No flying in this installment, just a collection of scenes from Boothbay Harbor and other locations explored during our vacation along the Maine coast.

Boothbay Harbor, Our Home for the Week

Looking north of the footbridge.

The active portion of Boothbay Harbor south of the footbridge.

The Tugboat Inn.

Schooner Isaac H. Evans.

Boathouse Bistro - where we dined on the upper level (in the wind) on our first evening.

Repeat visits were made to the Downeast Ice Cream Factory; one of the fundamental traps in staying within easy walking distance.

Kristy suggested to The Bear that the name of this establishment was "1100 Seagulls". Diligent Latin scholar that she is, this joke nonetheless went right over her head.

Aaaaaand...then she got it!

Dusk at the Bristol Shipyard and the Isaac H. Evans.

Rainy Day Brewery

We met Tom and Alicia from the WFC at Boothbay Craft Brewing on Sunday, June 19th. (No group picture was taken; total group selfie fail.) With cold drizzle lasting for hours, it was the only day of truly poor weather that we experienced all week.

The rustic interior was cozy and inviting on a damp day. I had a delicious brown ale and everyone enjoyed their pizzas. 

The warm fireplace was a perfect companion on a dreary day.

Ivory Towers

With Izzy beginning to visit colleges, Dena and Mark used some of the time in Maine to visit a few small, well regarded liberal arts schools. We we went along to give The Bear something of a collegiate baseline.

Steve, my friend and mentor of many years, received his Bachelor's at Bates College. Steve is largely responsible for me joining my current employer back in 2005 and also piped for my mother's funeral. We sent him this picture in front of what we assumed to be a distinctive landmark to see if he could guess the location. He did!

My dear friend Zema (codename: CryoGirl), physicist extraordinaire, earned her Bachelor's degree at our next stop, Bowdoin College. Her delighted response to this photo was, "Camp Bobo!"

Return To Brunswick Landing

Wild Oats adjacent to the Brunswick Airport was so good that we dragged Mark, Dena, and Izzy there. This time we sampled the baked goods and tried some more unusual beverages. Wins on both counts.

Across the street from Wild Oats is a small airpark showcasing a P3 Orion turboprop sub hunter of the type based there when the facility was still a Naval Air Station.

For an aircraft displayed outdoors, the P3 was in excellent condition.

I learned that the distinctive "stinger" tail (MAD boom) was used to find submerged subs using magnetic anomaly detection. The boom is necessary to get the MAD probe away from any airframe interferences.

Ya Got Moxie, Kid!

Passing through Wiscasset while actively debating a dinner plan, we noticed that Red's was open with no waiting. It was the first time we had ever seen that.

So we pounced on the opportunity.

Like a true "Mainah", I had my lobster roll with Moxie. We decided that Moxie was flavored like a blend of root beer and Dr. Pepper. The lobster roll was delicious and the lobster plentiful, though Dena's was piled even higher than the one pictured. Was it the best example of its kind in the state? Who knows? The control experiment was not realistic to perform. But I can say that it was very good.

Buzzsaws in Brunswick

The Bear wanted to do an escape room in celebration of her birthday. We did The Attic at Escape Room Brunswick.

I will give Izzy and The Bear lots of credit. While we all contributed, the two of them ripped through the various puzzles like two little teenaged buzzsaws. The room was very well done and everyone had fun. And we solved the room with nearly eighteen minutes remaining.

Project Puffin Follow-Up

We visited the Project Puffin Visitor Center in Rockland. While the movie about the history of the project was very interesting, the center was disappointingly small. We learned that trolls could fit into puffin burrows, however. So that was new information.

Rockland Harbor Pier

When we flew over the breakwater earlier in the week, I woefully underestimated its length to be about a half mile long.

It is actually 4,300 feet (0.8 miles) long. Construction of the breakwater consumed eighteen years, $750,000, and 732,277 tons of granite by the time it was completed in 1899. The lighthouse on the end of the pier was built in 1902.

From the excellent tutelage on seabirds received from Arden on our puffin cruise, I identified these as cormorants. See? I do learn things on these trips.

This was no easy-strolling solid concrete pier. It was made of large granite boulders that fit somewhat reasonably well together, but with large gaps in between them. We had to be very aware of where we placed our feet. Dena and Kristy sat this one out.

Instrument rated pilots: does this image remind anyone of the charted depiction of a localizer? Or is that just me? My CDI is centered.

Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse.

Putting Around

A round of miniature golf was a must.

Camden

We made a brief visit to Camden at the end of one day, sipping lemonade harborside and marveling at the many ships there.

The Lewis R. French is another designated historic landmark. Constructed in 1871, the two masted schooner is the oldest known example of its kind in the USA.

Something about the architecture of this Camden barber shop hurts my brain.

Not an Internet Troll

Finally. I'm not sure which is scarier, the fact that that sneaky troll found our rental house in Boothbay Harbor or the fact that this trap door in the foundation wall appears to be braced in such a way as to keep something inside rather than keeping anything or anyone out.

Either way, we had a great, relaxing week in Maine in our strange little house across from the Bristol Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor. I would happily do it all again.