Boothbay Harbor, Maine is all of that and a bag of lobsters. Boothbay is a quaint, bustling seaside town that offers so much to see and do. Food, shopping, art and cruises along the harbor are just some of the things to enjoy on a visit to this town. And don't worry about eating too much, dive in. The food is incredible. You will walk off those delicious calories exploring this amazing little village.
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| McSeagulls |
Boothbay Harbor was an unexpected surprise to me. It was one of those places you didn't realize was a bucket list goal until you were already there. You see, when visiting one of my nearest and dearest friends, Rebecca B, whom had recently moved to Maine, she requested I stop at the Maine visitor center to get some travel guides. She wanted to peruse them as she was trying to figure out what Maine adventures we could have.
She had already planned on Portland, Maine for lobster, which I rave about in my
Eat Lobster In Maine Blog. It was so fabulous. But, at the time, she was still newer to Maine and wanted to explore further up the coast.
Of course, I was more than glad to explore different parts of Maine with her on my visit. We were both very intrigued by Boothbay Harbor from looking at the travel brochures on it. It looked like a fun place to visit. So, off we went, ready for an adventure.
I remember how excited Becky was when we came upon the town. Her eyes lit up. She was gushing about everything. She was hoping to find a cute little seaside area within an hours drive from her house so she could visit often. Boothbay Harbor was exactly what she was looking for. She even said that. She said " This is exactly what I was looking for." LOL!
Scenes from along the Harbor.
There were so many stores and shops lining the harbor streets, offering so many different wares. We did some serious window shopping. Anything and everything blueberry was at your beckoning including blueberry soap. And while I passed on the soap, I bought a jar of blueberry jelly. I am a total sucker for it. I made sure it was produced by a Maine blueberry farm though. I wanted authentic. That was important to me. I must say, Maine blueberry jelly is hands down the best blueberry jelly I have ever had. I was very pleased with my purchase.
Of course we had to sample some homemade ice cream as well since there were multiple ice cream shops along the harbor. How could we resist? Finn McCool's by the wharf offered homemade ice cream from Stone Fox Creamery in Monroe, Maine. We decided to give it a go. Becky selected Mint Chocolate Chip and I opted for Wild Maine Blueberry. Talk about an orgasm in a cone. It was so freakin perfect. Both of them. The ice cream was rich, creamy and flavorful. To this day, I dream about this ice cream on a regular basis because I am such a foodie. Okay, I'm just a weirdo.
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| Wild Blueberry Maine Ice Cream by Stone Fox Creamery |
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| Even the puppy liked ice cream. |
In another cute souvenir shop, I purchased a candle. I am not gonna lie, when I first came upon a candle scented like Moose Farts, I was rather reluctant to take a whiff. But, I did anyway. I am a curious cat like that.
Turns out, moose farts smell like a warm cup of heaven on a cold snowy day. I guess their shit really doesn't stink, unlike a lot of people who believe this to be true about themselves. I could not resist buying my very own jar of Moose Farts. I enjoyed burning that candle immensely.
We also visited a shop called Eventide Epicurean Specialties. This store was a food snobs dream. I must admit, I am a total food snob. My budget of course, does not allow me to be a full fledged ingredient bitch, so I have to settle for common food most days. But, occasionally, I do allow myself some treats for hard work throughout the year.
Eventide had an infused oil and vinegar bar where you could sample from just about every infusion combination possible. They also offered specialty wines, cheeses, meats and other gourmet accoutrements. We spent some serious time in this shop, sampling oils, vinegars and browsing the many unique offerings on display.
Becky fell in love with an infused, Vanilla Balsamic. We discussed how it could be incorporated into dishes. Fresh strawberries and cream came to mind. Grilled pears with vanilla bean ice cream was another suggestion. Chocolate bars and dried fruits drizzled with vinegar was also another idea. Eager to experiment, Becky got herself a little bottle to try. She got me one too. :)
Note: So far, I have used my Vanilla Balsamic mixed with grapeseed oil on spinach and fruit salads, over vanilla bean ice cream, and in my zucchini and squash packets. I have even put a few dashes of it on my pizza margherita. It really adds an unexpected but tasty kick to any dish.
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| Eventide Epicurean Specialties. Such a cool store! |
As we kept exploring the village, we came upon a store dedicated to one of Maine's most popular creations, the whoopie pie. Wicked Whoopies was not only a cute, colorful bakery that has been showcased on the Food Network, it offered so many different flavor combinations of whoopie pies I never knew existed. Chocolate and vanilla was the most popular combination but Wicked also offered strawberry, lemon, chocolate chip, red velvet, orange cream, vanilla bean, peanut butter and black forest whoopie pies, just to name a few. There had to be at least 20 different flavors on the wall.
You could also purchase a 5 lb. version of the classic chocolate and vanilla whoopie pie if you so desired. The thing was massive! I have a confession to make though, I am not a huge fan of whoopie pies, or so I thought. Most of the whoopie pies I have tried were from mass production bakeries so there was always a chemical taste to them in my opinion. When I tried a sample of one of Wicked's Whoopies Pies, I went gaga over them.
They were sooooo good. There was no chemical, mass produced aftertaste to them. The cake had the perfect texture while the center was creamy and sweet. Wicked Whoopies also offered frozen whoopie pies as a cold treat on a hot day. I am one of those weird people that actually enjoy chilled cakes so I found that idea to be fabulous. I took advantage of the buy 5 get one free deal and bought ten whoopie pies. 12 whoppie pies for $20. I couldn't wait to pass them out back home.
Note: They were all scrumptious but the Raspberry and Cream and Vanilla Bean were my favorites! Heaven!
Shopping is not the only fun thing to do in Boothbay though. Becks suggested we should take a boat ride. We looked at the boat tours available from Cap'n Fish's, one of the boating companies along the harbor. There were so many different cruises to choose from. There were puffin and seal watches. There were whale watches. There were lobster hauling tours. There were scenic harbor and lighthouse cruises. There was also a 3 hour, 44 mile gem of a boat cruise that took its voyagers all around the Kennebuc River up to the Bath Iron Works.
That's the one Becky liked the most. I am glad she chose that one. What an incredible boat ride it was!
After a small lunch at Fisherman's Wharf which included a fabulous Shrimp Po' Boy, we boarded the cruiser and pulled out of Boothbay Harbor. As we sailed into the Atlantic, we were witness to a wedding taking place on a huge sailboat. What a beautiful way to exchange vows! We cheered the wedding party on as we sailed by. They cheered right back.
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| Leaving the harbor. |
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| Lobster trap chairs. Not sure how comfortable they would be. |
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| Fisherman's Wharf |
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| Getting hitched! |
We also encountered the first of 7 lighthouses on this cruise, Cuckhold Light. Our very knowledgeable captain gave us such an amazing background on all of the sights and scenes along our cruise. And while the wind was very cold while we were speeding on the Atlantic, once we were on the Kennebuc river, the breeze turned beautiful and relaxing.
We sailed past thousands of lobster traps. We saw historic Fort Popham which surprisingly, was not a defense fortification for WWII. This fort dated even further back. It was utilized during the Civil War. That surprised me. The creamy sands of Popham beach were not too far from the fort. It would become a beach Becky would visit often.
The sight of cedar shingled homes nestled among the deep evergreen trees and rocky grey cliffs were the perfect portrait of Maine summers. How I wish I could spend part of my summer living in Maine. If I won the lottery, I would totally do that. Every single bit of scenery we gazed upon seemed so unpolluted by man. The earth and all of its wonder was strong here. It was free here. It was majestic and respected.
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| Fort Popham |
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| Stunning nature! |
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| Kennebuc River Views |
Becky yelped with delight as she spotted a seal near the boat. I stood at the ready, camera aimed at the water, hoping he would immerse from the 68 degree water for a photo shoot, but he did not. I tried willing him to the surface with my mind. That did not work either. I must have been having an off day. The captain tried his hardest to spot some seals for us, even going so far as to take us near a rock pile where they loved to sunbathe.
Unfortunately, the only thing on the rock pile that day were seagulls. I will say, Maine seagulls are not as rude and obnoxious as their cousins, the New Jersey seagulls. Jersey gulls are total drama llamas and french fry thieves. Still, the Maine gulls had a penchant for being noisy busy bodies.
Eventually, I did spot one seal in the water. Becky pointed him out very quickly for me. He was so cute with his spotted brown coat. He was also very quick. He was gone before I could get my camera ready. I was just thrilled to see one. They were such adorable, playful creatures. Seeing them in the wild was wonderful.
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| Fog Bell Tower |
We sailed past Doubling Point Light. This was one of my favorite stories on the cruise. This lighthouse, as well as several others, were built in the late 1800's to assist in navigation to and from Bath, Maine, also known as the City of Ships.
Unfortunately, Doubling Point Light had become endangered due to neglect and rough weather over the years. It tumbled into the sea. Through grants and fundraising, the lighthouse was able to be pulled from the water and restored to it's glory by the group, Friends of Doubling Point. I love hearing things like this. It was also my favorite lighthouse on the cruise.
I also noticed some curious, obelisk type structures along the cliffs and shores. These structures were called Fog Bell Towers. I had never heard of them nor seen any before that day. These towers worked hand in hand with the lights to assist ships traveling through heavy fog. The keeper would have to manually ring the bell to warn captains if they were riding too close to the shore back in the old days.
As we passed one of the bell towers, the owner enthusiastically rang the bell for our ship, resulting in an uproar of cheers and applause from the boat. It's the little things in life people. It's the little things. We spied a bald eagle's nest in a tree on a little island in the water. The eagles were protecting their eaglets still in the nest. They looked so regal and breathtaking perched in their tree.
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| These houses though.... |
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| The owner of this house rang the bell for us! |
We headed towards what would also be another favorite part of the cruise, a visit to the Bath Iron Works. As we approached the Iron Works, we noticed this really huge, really sleek, modern boat in the water. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I had never seen anything look quite like that before. It was both really weird and really beautiful. It was also very grey.
Our captain explained that what we were viewing was one of two Stealth submarines built for the US Military. He explained that a third one may be built but, after that, there would be no more. The reason being was the price tag for these submarines were close to $5 Billion dollars. $4.9 billion to be exact. I almost fell off the boat when he said that.
Well, ok. I did not almost fall off the boat. But I was definitely a little taken aback when he said the word billion. Regardless of the price tag, these ships were absolutely stunning and I stared at them pretty much the whole time we cruised past the iron works. I wondered what they must look like on the inside. Pretty fancy I bet. I tried to picture how they would appear underneath the water, sneaking around the ocean floor. They were so cool. The only thing that could take my eyes from the ships was the Carlton Bridge.
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| Bath Iron Works |
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| Stealth Submarine, Bath Maine |
The Carlton Bridge was vertical lift bridge spanning the Kennebuc River. Carlton Bridge used to be a passageway for US Route 1 on it's upper deck. US Route 1 is 2369 miles long. It runs from Fort Kent, Maine all the way down the east coast to Key West, Florida, where I took a picture of myself by the sign. I had too. It was very symbolic being at both the beginning and the end of the longest route in the USA. I hope to visit Fort Kent, Maine for another beginning and end picture. It's a Bucket List goal.
Anyway, this bridge is now only open to occasional rail traffic. The fate of this bridge is up in the air because it failed inspection. The steel is deteriorating. Eventually this bridge may end up being permanently closed to any type of travel but for now, it has been deemed safe enough for trains to travel across.
From the Carlton Bridge we came upon the Southport Bridge, which is a really cool, horizontally swinging, truss bridge. It only swings on the hour and half hour though so sometimes there is a bit of a boat traffic jam. We waited in line as the bridge began to swing open. It was the first time I had ever seen a bridge like this in action. I found it absolutely thrilling. Again, it's the little things people!
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| Carlton Bridge |
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| Southport Bridge, Maine |
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| A sailboat passing through the truss swing bridge. |
From the Southport Bridge, we continued to make our way back to Boothbay Harbor. But before we could get there we, had to pass through both the upper and lower Gates of Hell. I wish I was joking but I am not. The Gates of Hell were the one thing standing in our way from a safe return home. I figured we would have to fight our way through, but I didn't have any weapons on me to battle Satan and his imps except for a cigarette lighter. Something told me using a cigarette lighter as a weapon would be a source of amusement for Satan. It would be like bringing him a bouquet of roses.
I began searching my purse for other weapons. They say money is the root of all evil and Satan is the evilest, so my 11 dollars and fifty one cents could be used for bribery purposes. If that wasn't enough, my Eyeko liquid eye liner was smudge proof.
Maybe Satan would be willing to trade that for our lives. I mean it gets hot in hell. Who wants to deal with runny eyeliner right? I also had a tube of Benefit's Bad Gal mascara I could throw in. It practically has the word evil in it's name. Satan would appreciate that right?
As I frantically searched through my purse to find something to protect us during our passage, the captain started talking about things like tides and currents and cycles and rivers meeting. I looked up from my purse, confused. Were there going to be werewolves too? You know, the cycle of the werewolf and all. Man, what kind of boat ride was this I thought? I was so confused.
Turns out, the Gates of Hell are narrow passageways that sometimes give boats a difficult time when navigating the currents because they are sailing against the tide. I think so anyway. There were a lot of nautical terms being thrown around and I have very little knowledge on sailing so that is what I got out of it. I was just happy I wasn't going to be encountering werewolves and Satan. Besides, the heat and humidity of Hell would have totally ruined my windswept hair do.
A few kids walked to the front of the boat, enjoying a Jack Dawson moment, although I am pretty sure these kids had no idea who Jack Dawson was. Well I did know who he was and as soon as the kids walked away from the bow of the ship, it was my turn to go up there. I yelled that I was Queen of the World, pretending I was flying. I said I would never let go Jack. Then, my graceful, dainty ass tripped over a metal thingy sticking up from the boat and I almost took a header on the way back to my seat.
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| Passing through Hell's Gate |
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| The Lower Gates of Hell |
6 of the 7 lighthouses we saw on our cruise. I missed one along the way. Probably when I was doing my epic recreation of that famous scene from the movie Titanic!
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| Cuckhold Light |
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| Burnt Island Light |
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| Doubling Point Light |
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| Squirrel Point Light |
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| Owl's Head Light |
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| Perkins Island Light |
Once we returned from our fantastic boat ride, we decided to get a few beverages at the Mystic Mermaid on Pier 1. They serve a Mermaid Lemonade that is to die for. We took our beverages and headed to the deck to enjoy the water. Becky and I talked about life. We watched boats sailing around the harbor, including a really vintage style boat that reminded me of a 1970's Cadillac. It was really sharp.
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| Mermaid Lemonades |
We enjoyed live music from a very talented singer. It was a very cool place that was all about mermaids and mermen so we fit right in. After another mermaid drink, we took a stroll down the wooden harbor bridge, checking out the boats and buildings along the port.
Becky was also on a quest to find good pizza in Maine. So far she was coming up empty. Pier 1 Pizza, across from the Mystic Mermaid looked promising. She bought a slice hoping it would be comparable to the pizza back home. Sadly, it was not. It was not all bad though. Because there was no good pizza in Maine, she learned to grill her own pizza which is way better anyway!!
We ended the our day at McSeagulls. Please do not confuse this restaurant with that lesser known restaurant with an Mc at the beginning of their name. This was McSeagulls and while it was super expensive, it had good food and live entertainment until 9pm. Their Prime Rib Melt was very delicious and tender. I forgot what Becky ordered but she said it was pretty good. Our server was a riot. She was very blunt about what was good and what was horrible on the menu. She had great wit and sarcasm. We appreciated her.
Scenes from the hah-bah. Wicked Pissers!
Exhausted after a fun filled day trip to Boothbay Harbor, Becks and I headed back to Lewiston, Maine with more great memories to add to our Fessminski adventure club. It was a wonderful day of new experiences and delicious food. I highly recommend visiting Boothbay Harbor if you ever find yourself in Maine. It is a really sweet town with beautiful vistas and friendly people.
Check out these cool Boothbay Harbor Attractions and information links!
Chrissy
