A Splendid Day

Day two in Boothbay Harbor was fabulous. We took the noon shuttle bus in at noon and headed straight for lunch.  We chose McSeagull's Restaurant and Pub.  How would I have my lobster today?  Jeff and I both had lobster club sandwiches and they were delicious.  We all shared the fried calamari appetizer, which McSeagull's served with three dipping sauces, my favorite being the wasabi one.

I loved the pint glass so much (it has a lobster sitting in an Adirondack chair drinking a beer!) so we asked if we could buy one, and the server gave us one for free.  That's Maine hospitality for you. 

After lunch, we took a taxi to the Maine Aquarium so Henry could pet a shark.  He was not disappointed - he got to pet two sharks and a ray.  Technically, it was a dogfish, but it's part of the shark family and it looked liked like shark to me.

It was a pretty tiny aquarium and we were done in about 20 minutes.  But then they announced a tidal pool class and Henry wanted to do it.  So he and I walked down with the marine biologist and went looking in the tidal pools by the aquarium for hermit crabs, regular crabs, snails and other creatures.

We came back and found Jeff and Ruth lounging in the shade waiting for us.  The grounds of the aquarium (which also houses a center studying phytoplankton, some NASA research and other marine research) also provide a great view of Boothbay Harbor, so Henry and I took some pictures. 

Stan, our can driver, was there to pick us up at 3 and took us back to Boothbay Harbor. We headed straight back to the ice cream parlor, and not just because the kids begged to do it.  This time, I tried the Blueberry Cheesecake.  Jeff had Banana, Henry had Cookies and Cream, and Ruth stuck with watermelon sherbet, but this time on a cone.  Everyone was happy all around.

Ice cream gone, it was time to head to the boat for our lighthouse, seals and lobstering cruise.  It was a little over an hour and we liked it very much.  We saw two lighthouses, seals hanging out on rocks, ospreys - and the best part - no seasickness this time around.  It gets chilly on the water, so the kids had hot chocolate and enjoyed the treat.

Jeff and I are looking for eight other people to go in on a house rental we saw on the cruise.  (My picture doesn't do it justice.) It's a stone house on it's own island (Fisherman's Island), full of meadows, wild berry bushes, rocky shores and a private beach.  The house comes with two boats, a boat captain, a maid and butler, and includes food and drink.  It also has a salt water pool, pool table, foos ball table and three fireplaces.  And it can be ours for just $25,000 per week.  Just seeing it has made me commit to buying lottery tickets for the rest of my life so I can stay there.  Just looking at it made me feel total relaxation.  Forget about a week - I'd love to stay there an entire summer. 

After a wonderful and informative cruise we had about ninety minutes to kill, so we walked around to the other side of the harbor and settled on dinner at the Lobster Wharf.  Stan recommended the Lobster Wharf because lobstermen own it and they have the biggest lobster rolls in the area.  It's a casual place - you go up to a window and order your food, and then find a picnic table and wait for your number to be called.  Jeff went with another fried seafood platter, Ruth stuck to her fried shrimp plan, Henry went with grilled cheese (he's a landlubber) and I made my way to the lobster window.  Heaven. 

The Lobster Wharf

They had soft and hard shelled lobsters, and the woman recommended the soft shelled to me.  I got a 1.5 pound one plus corn on the cob.  The woman took the lobster and the corn and put it in a mesh bad, and walked it over to the steamer.  Fifteen minutes later, I was staring at the best lobster dinner ever. My only regret was not taking a picture of it.  It was magnificent - and beyond delicious. 

Lobster steamers

We could have lounged on the deck for hours, eating seafood, having drinks, and listening to the musician playing Buffet and other seaside music.  But we had a shuttle bus to catch, so we walked on back.

Now, we're sitting in front of a roaring campfire.  There's some kind of party across the river and we can hear the music.  The kids have danced the Cha Cha Slide and some other song I don't know. We've all filled our bellies with roasted marshmallows, and Jeff and I are still talking about that house on Fisherman's Island.

Boothbay Harbor was an unexpected gem in this vacation, and I hope we get to come back here again.