It was a laid-back kind of morning. We did some business, made a few phone calls, and decided on our plans for today. Bob was wearing his new T-shirt that he bought the other day in town. How appropriate! I hope Auggie isn't offended.
We left the campground at 11:00 and drove into town. We parked on the street with 2-hour free parking and walked the few blocks to the wharf. It gave us a chance to get a good look at some of the homes and B & B's on Townsend St. We passed the Opera House and a really nice looking home. Check out the gorgeous rock pillars.
In town, I was looking for the store that had these lobster floats in it. I saw them the other day we were in town, but I couldn't remember what store it was. We popped into the first store we came to and lucky for us it was the right store. I bought myself the one I had been looking for. From there, we took a walk to the waterfront to see this huge yacht that had just arrived in the harbor. The hailing port on the stern of the boat was Grosse Pointe Shores, MI.
We walked along the waterfront to look for a place where we could sit and see the boats coming into the harbor. We found just the right spot at Mine Oyster Restaurant where we sat in the upper deck overlooking the water.
From where we sat, we watched the Bennie Alice load passengers that were going out to Cabbage Island for a clambake. The boat was packed and it appears to be a very popular attraction.
The 31' Friendship sloop arrived after a sail at the dock near us.
We had a couple of beers and some calamari on the deck as Cap'n Fish's cruise boat returned from a tour.
It had a lot of people on it returning from the puffin and seal tour.
We left there and walked back to the truck, but had to make one more stop at the Wicked Whoopie shop.
We had to have a one of Maine's favorite treats before we left here.
We bought the "traditional" version, although there were many different flavors to choose from.
Back at the truck, we drove to the other side of the harbor to Atlantic Ave. and stopped at the Boothbay Lobster Wharf.
We ordered a cup of chowder and 2 beers and sat on the deck overlooking the working side of the harbor.
It was such a gorgeous day and we wanted to enjoy the sunshine and view. There was so much to see!
As we sat there, lobster boat after lobster boat came in to offload their catch at the Sea Pier. Can you see the fish tails on the left side of the building?
From where we sat, we could see them pull their boat up to the dock, gas up, and load their lobsters into crates to be weighed and counted.
Bob spoke to one of the lobstermen and found out they were getting $4.50 a pound for their lobsters. (We paid $8.50 per pound at the lobster pound). Bob also found out that the lobster catch is delayed this year. By mid-July the lobsters usually return from offshore after molting and hide in the rocks, but they haven't returned yet this year. On a normal day in a normal year, the lobstermen would harvest 500 pounds of lobster a day and this year they were getting 200 pounds of lobster on an average day, if they are lucky. They were hoping for things to improve before the season ends. We also saw this swordfish boat arrive with bait to sell.
The guy Bob was talking to, said that this captail was the best at spearing bluefin tuna in the area. He uses that elevated platform rigging that sticks out from the bow of the boat to stand out on. They drive the boat over to the pod of fish and use the harpoon to spear one. I could have sat out there all day and watched the boat action, but it was time to head back. Back at the campground, Bob cleaned out the inside of the truck. I organized some things in the trailer and did a little vacuuming. Auggie enjoyed his time outside.
I took a short nap and woke up to have dinner. We ate a little later than normal and watched some TV after dinner. Auggie and I took our walk down to the water to watch the sunset.
