We got to sleep “in” this morning. What a treat! We finally got to sleep with the windows open last night. Not too hot, not too cold! It was great! I took Auggie for his morning walk to explore the rest of the campground. Most of the sites here are in the trees, some are at the river’s edge, and there is a section for larger rigs that is more out in the open. It is one of the nicer campgrounds that we’ve been in. Bob made our usual Sunday morning breakfast of eggs and got to watch his political shows. This is the first time he’s been able to do it since we left on this trip. We had a leisurely morning and made plans to go into the town of Boothbay Harbor for the day. As we left the campground, I noticed this sign hanging near the exit as a reminder to campers as they leave. I had to laugh!
We left for the 3 mile ride to Boothbay Harbor around 10:00.
The sun hadn’t come out yet and it was still overcast and humid. The humidity in the air made it feel chilly. As we neared the water, we could see the blanket of fog that engulfed the area.
We drove through town and found a 4-hour parking place on the street across from Dunton’s Doghouse. From there we walked into downtown.
It wasn’t too busy yet for a Sunday morning. We stopped to check out the Tugboat Inn. It was a really cool tugboat transformed into a restaurant.
We walked on farther to get a glimpse of the harbor–well, as far as the fog would let us see.
The fog came and went. Sometimes we could see across the bay to the east side of town.
This was really a unique B & B built in 1877 that sat on the hill in town.
The streets were lined with shops, galleries, and eateries of all kinds.
Down at the wharf, we checked out places to grab a bite to eat and get a cold beverage.
On a clear day, we would be able to see the many islands that surround the town of Boothbay Harbor on the southern coast of Maine. Here is a map that gives you an idea.
We stopped at a place on the wharf called The World Is Mine Oyster. This lobster greeted us out front.
It was basically a raw bar that served as many as 10 different kinds of oysters, among other things. We didn’t know there were so many kinds of oysters. They were selling Glidden Point oysters for $3.95/each to the Wild Pemaqid oysters for $2.50/each and other kinds in between.
In Florida, Bob can get Apalachicola oysters for anywhere from $.50-$1.00 each. What’s the deal here? Boothbay Harbor is said to be the “Boating Capital of New England” and the harbor reflects the variety of boating interests with recreational boats, working lobster boats, and boat building.
We walked out onto the Footbridge spanning 1000 ft., connecting the east side of Boothbay Harbor with the downtown area.
From there, we got a good view of the inner and outer harbor.
From the bridge, we noticed this older swordfishing boat. Notice the large metal structure on the bow of the boat. A guy stands on the end and watches for a fish to come by. From that vantage point, he can harpoon the fish. A barrel is attached to the harpoon, so when the fish tries to dive down, the barrel prevents him from doing that. Apparently, this boat is still used for that type of fishing.
Back in town, we discovered this beautiful stone sculpture of a whale. I would have liked to take that home with me.
The streets were starting to fill up with people as the day wore on. They have a trolley service to help alleviate the parking issue in town.
We decided to hop in the truck and check out the east side of town in search of cold beverages and seafood. This huge fisherman statue stood at the entrance to one of the restaurants on the east side of town.
We found a place that seemed to be swarming with people. It must be good!
Boothbay Lobster Wharf seemed to be the place to be.
We got a couple of beers and 1 1/2 lbs. of steamed mussels to munch on.
It was a happenin’ place to be. We enjoyed watching the boating action in the harbor while we waited for our mussels.
The fog rolled in as we waited for our mussels and obscurred this beautiful home on the island across the way, eventually blocking our view of it all together.
The mussels finally arrived and tasty they were!
On our way out of town, we noticed this little lobster shanty selling 5- 1 1/2 lb. lobsters for $25. We just had to stop.
The sign out front said “No lobster rolls or peanut butter sandwiches”. Just fresh, live lobsters. The guy inside was a character and really cracked us up.
I guess we’ll have lobster for dinner tonight! When we got back to camp, things were pretty quiet. Bob worked on some maintenance items on the trailer and I took Auggie for a walk. The campground was pretty empty as people left after the weekend. Later, we relaxed outside doing some reading and making phone calls home. Auggie silently dug a hole and got himself all full of mud. Then proceeded to roll in something VERY stinky.
He needed a bath, so that’s what he got! We heard that we might get some storms tonight, so we prepped the campsite for that, just in case! Bob began preparations for cooking the lobsters for dinner. We would have two tonight, two tomorrow, and use one for lobster rolls.
Bob did a fantastic job of cooking the Soft-shelled lobsters and we enjoyed another great dinner! Bibs and all! Note: the soft-shelled lobsters are sweeter and easier to eat. You can crack the shells with your hands.
We watched the Olympics after dinner and Auggie got his walk before it started to rain. Tomorrow we’ll do more exploring in the area and go back to Boothbay Harbor to see what it looks like without the fog.
