Lobster Catch

Tuesday proved to be one of our best days in Maine. While the weather made for some challenges (low 60s with drizzling rain all day, anyone?), we were able to enjoy several fun activities with mom and dad on our last day in town despite the chilly temperatures and rain. 

We all met on the Portland waterfront in the morning to board the Lobster Catch, a boat that would take us out into Casco Bay for a tour and to retrieve lobster traps. 

What's funny about the lobster cruise was that I distinctly remember my parents taking my sister and I on a lobster boat up near Bar Harbor, Maine during a family vacation. I was probably in high school at the time (so many years ago!), and now here I am taking my own children on a similar boat with their grandparents. That kind-of makes me feel really old and also somewhat happy at the same time.

We were glad for having thrown jackets into our suitcases at the last minute before we left Dallas, and also for my mom's thoughtfulness in sharing her spare jackets and rain ponchos! And I promise Scott was really having a good time, he just really, really hates loves posing for family photos. I know where John gets his lovely attitude towards the camera.

The harbor looked gray and lifeless given the weather conditions, but the atmosphere on the boat was more pleasant than you would have thought.

The two lobstermen who served as our guides were fabulous! They created a very involved tour for all of the passengers (about 14 people, including our party of six) and they routinely asked for help from the tourists in executing the lobster trap chores. The lobster fishermen also provided quite an education on lobster fishing in Maine and about lobsters in general. Below the man was talking to us about the lobster's size, they way they shed their protective shell (this is called molting), and how their claws grow back when removed. I also didn't know that lobsters are vicious creatures that will attack each other if confined in a small space with other lobsters. 

We were encouraged to wear lobster fishing gear so that our clothes wouldn't get dirty while helping, which ended up serving a double purpose by keeping us warm. Great family photos below!

What do you think? They look so natural, maybe grandma and grandpop should spend next summer working as lobster fishermen on the open seas!

Amelia and John, along with the other young girl on board, are helping grandpop fill the bait bag with small fish (herring, I think). Later grandpop would learn how to tie the bag and affix it inside of a lobster trap which would then get put back into the ocean.

The lobster guy below is explaining about the crab that is pinching his finger. John was fascinated but did not take lobster guy up on his offer to "hold" the crab.

The other lobster guy is demonstrating the sizing tool. The lobster must meet a certain size in order to be retained. The lobsters that are either too big or too small are released back to the ocean. On the day we went out the men were able to keep three lobsters of the six that were trapped in the eight traps we pulled up.

Dad is tying the bait inside the trap below.

When the old scraps of bait are removed from the traps (before the step above where my dad is inserting fresh bait), the lobstermen threw the scraps overboard. The seagulls were relentless and started swarming the minute the old bait bag was untied from the trap. John and Amelia both thought the massive groups of seagulls immediately descending on the boat were quite fun. Thankfully none of us were the victims of falling seagull excrement during this time!

All of the boat members got the chance to push a trap into the water after the traps were reset with new bait. I have washed that black jacket twice now and it still smells like bait fish.

After the lobsters that the men were able to keep (due to being the proper size) were retrieved from the traps, the kids (and adults) had the opportunity to help put the rubber bands on the claws. The lobsterman is demonstrating this below. The rubber bands keep the claws shut so that the lobsters don't attack each other in the holding tank on the journey back to the dock.

Halfway through the journey we pulled up several traps near seal island, aptly named because of the large seals that nest on the island during the summer months.

Overall the lobster trap cruise was a fantastic experience, one that we all agree was a definite highlight of our trip to the northeast. Thanks to my mom and dad for arranging for such a great boat with personable and friendly lobster fishermen! Amelia and John still talk about how much fun they had helping on the lobster boat.

Later that afternoon, after a delicious lunch of chowder and lobster rolls (and no, it wasn't difficult to enjoy eating crustaceans similar to those we had pulled from the water earlier in the morning), mom and dad took the kids back to the hotel for swimming while Scott and I toured the Allagash Brewery.

We reconvened later that evening and all enjoyed a fun outing to the ballpark! Yes, despite the high 50's temperature and drizzling rain we all ventured out for a fun evening at the ballpark to watch the Portland Sea Dogs play a baseball game. We had been rained out from the game the night before due to heavier rain, so this was our last chance to experience baseball with grandpop before leaving Maine. And if you ever get the chance to watch a baseball game with my super knowledgable and baseball-loving father, you know this is an experience you don't want to miss.

The game was actually really fun and I am glad that we were able to enjoy this experience together. John ranked the baseball game as one of his favorite vacation experiences and it really wasn't too bad to sit outside in the conditions (it was way better than hot Texas summer heat!). What a great day to cap off so many good times in Maine!

Adventure on Peak's Island

On Monday we took a trip to Peaks Island, an island in Casco Bay just outside of Portland's harbor. We traveled on a Casco Bay ferry boat similar to the one pictured below. Unfortunately the weather on Monday was not as sunny and beautiful as the day pictured below (I took the photo from Google images because I forgot to take one myself), but the ferry boat is similar to the one we traveled on.

We caught the ferry on Portland's waterfront and the trip over to Peak's took about 20 minutes. The most interesting part of the ferry ride was observing the trucks traveling over to the island, particularly the construction vehicles and trucks carrying heavy construction equipment. Since the only way to travel to Peak's is by boat everything must be transported via water. On the return trip back to Portland the ferry was filled with what looked to be island residents pulling wheeled shopping carts next to them. I overheard two families (with children along) discussing how they were going to town to run their errands. What a different life!

I'm guessing there were a couple of hundred homes on the island, which is 3 miles by 1 mile in size. Many of the homes were clustered in the small town area near the ferry dock, with others surrounding the perimeter of the island. This was the view from the ferry dock towards "town".

And the view from the dock to the right of the dock back out to the bay.

While we could have taken a car over to Peak's that would have been silly given the island's small size. And since we had taken the kids on a relatively long walk the day before at Prout's Neck we decided to do something different (and fun!) for our tour of Peak's. We rented a golf cart!

We enjoyed a leisurely drive on the sole road that travels the perimeter of the island. There were a few golf carts on the road, but it appeared as if most of the locals and tourists were traveling either on foot or by bicycle.

The day was not picturesque due to the low gray clouds, but we still enjoyed beautiful rocky ocean views and climbing over the rocks.

I also enjoyed seeing the different architecture styles used on the homes on Peak's. While most were not as grand as the mansions we saw out at Prout's Neck, they were lovely nevertheless. Notice how this home is decorated all over with old lobster buoys.

John begged and begged (and begged!) until Scott let him take a turn at the wheel of the golf cart. We pulled to a side road for this adventure and Scott had control over the pedals so it was pretty safe.

Look mom, no hands! And, no, I did not ask him to wave at me when I took the picture! We'll have to teach John never to take his hands off the wheel once he can do damage with a real vehicle.

I have no more photos to share from Peak's because once we looped the island and made it back to town for lunch it started to rain. And every time we thought the rain had lightened up enough so that we could venture back out for another loop it started raining harder. (See that little roof on the golf cart above the seats? It does not shield you from rain drops falling down as you drive slowly in a golf cart - lesson learned). So after we enjoyed a lovely lunch at one of the town's three restaurants we hung out in the touristy gift shop (for over an hour!) waiting for the next ferry back to Portland. We read every lobster joke on every trinket for sale in the gift shop and shivered from the cool air after getting soaked (another lesson learned, ponchos are needed when visiting new england). And then we returned back to Portland and the kids and Scott went swimming in the (indoor) hotel pool while I ran on the treadmill so that we could all warm up.

Later that evening we met up with my mom and dad for dinner at a fun seafood restaurant. Amelia and John had fun posing with the fisherman statue outside.

Despite the relatively poor weather conditions, the second day of our vacation was filled with lots of good times and unique to new england scenery. More ahead with adventures from our last day in Maine.

Prout's Neck Cliff Walk & Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse

Our family enjoyed a wonderful vacation last week in Maine and Massachusetts. We flew into Boston's Logan airport Friday night and then spent four days in Portland followed by five days in Boston. We centered our family vacation this year around the northeast so that we could visit my parents, who are spending the summer working at Wassamki Springs Campground, located just outside of Portland. By mid-afternoon on Saturday we had arrived in Portland after driving up from Boston.

After touring my parents' campground and visiting with them for while we headed out to dinner at The Clambake, a seafood restaurant located south of Portland in a suburb called Scarborough. 

The drive out to Scarborough was beautiful, where the land was covered by marshy grasses and forests of pine trees. 

We seated ourselves out on the back deck so that we could 1) enjoy the pretty marshland view, and 2) so that the kids could have fun with the lovely seagulls (sarcasm implied). There were dozens of aggressive seagulls lining the concrete just outside the back door of the restaurant, and I was shocked when patrons of the restaurant exited the back door to willingly feed the seagulls. Growing up in Florida I am used to the signs at beaches that state "Please do not feed the seagulls" because people in the south don't want to encourage the crazy pests from routinely bothering humans for scraps. I guess those rules don't apply in Maine, as the people there got a big kick out of feeding the birds. And the seagulls understood the game clearly. As soon as a person even approached the patio door from inside the restaurant the birds flocked en masse to the concrete outside the door, waiting for the offerings to be brought outside.

Amelia and John quickly caught onto the seagull feeding plan, and begged to go outside over and over after we had finished our meal to feed them one last scrap of bread or french fry. 

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, so we met mom and dad at Ferry Beach Park near Prout's Neck, Maine, which is located on a peninsula that jets out into the Atlantic south of Portland. Our intent was to find the Prout's Neck cliff walk, a walking path that traverses the outside southern edge of the peninsula. Prout's Neck is famous for having been the location where Winslow Homer painted many of his famous ocean paintings. (Side note: Admittedly I didn't know anything about (or have an interest in) Mr. Homer's artwork, but rather I discovered the Prout's Neck walk when researching beautiful outdoor walks in southern Maine before we left for the trip).

Ferry Beach Park was located about a mile from the cliff walk trail, so we had time to enjoy a walk on the beach before reaching our main destination. Amelia and John had fun running up and down the beach, scaring more seagulls and collecting seashells. We also enjoyed finding scraps of crab legs and other parts, likely left behind by birds that had taken what they wanted for feeding. 

This is the beach view on the other side of the peninsula at the start of the cliff walk, which appeared to be a secluded, private beach for the home owners of the massive beachfront estates that lined the water on this edge of the coast.

Once we reached the cliff walk we realized how apt the name "cliff" is for the area. We climbed down over large rocks that stretched yards into the sea to witness some amazing ocean views.

Amelia and John loved walking along the rocks, racing to see who could find the right path of level-enough rocks to take them out to the farthest edges. While they are decently well-traveled kids, Amelia and John had never experienced rocky beaches like this before. They thought they were a lot of fun!

Water obstacles were present between some of the rocks, likely from rain though they also could have been due to sea splash from waves crashing during high tide.

After scrambling back up the rocks, we completed the walking path around the peninsula, enjoying gorgeous water views along the way. At some points the sky looked foggy out towards the Atlantic, and at other times the view was clear and sunny.

I'll take this as a summer home. Yes, please!

After spending such a beautiful morning exploring Prout's Neck, we headed back to Portland to visit Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located in Casco Bay at the entrance to Portland's harbor and dates back to 1897. The lighthouse was constructed to assist ships that were having trouble navigating the bay waters. I had read that this is one of the only lighthouses in Maine that you can actually tour form the inside, which I thought the kids would enjoy.

To access the lighthouse visitors have to traverse the large boulders that make up the walkway. Though the rocks were mostly flat on top there were large gaps between the rocks and parts that were uneven, so you really had to be careful figuring out which rock to jump to next to make the trip as simple as possible. Once again, the kids loved this. In the photo above you can see Fort Gorges to the left of the lighthouse, which sits in Casco Bay. Fort Gorges was built in the mid-1800s and was used to store submarines during World War II.

Volunteers staffed the rooms inside the lighthouse and provided talks about its history and what life would have been like for the men on duty in the lighthouse. One interesting fact was that the rocky walkway out to Spring Point Ledge didn't exist for dozens of years after the lighthouse was built. Instead the lighthouse keepers had to row themselves and their supplies out to the lighthouse, and then hoist everything up to the outer ledges of the lighthouse. Though the photos are depicting calm conditions above, I can image that this task would have been very difficult during a storm or during the cold winter months.

We climbed ladders and stairwells around the lighthouse to reach the top, where we enjoyed beautiful harbor views.

 John enjoyed ringing the bell.

This photo shows how long the rocky walkway is from the lighthouse back to the mainland. You can also see how high the top of the lighthouse was from the base (this photo was taken from the flag shown two photos above). 

Finally, a view of Casco Bay looking over towards Portland's downtown area. 

Everything we did and saw on Sunday was very "Maine" in sprit, from the rocky cliff walk, to seeing New England style beachfront homes, to findings pieces of crab on the beach, then walking through a lighthouse, and seeing dozens of boats anchored in Casco Bay. Amelia and John had a great time and it was a wonderful way to spend time with my parents. Day one of our New England trip was fantastic!