Northport and Towns of Penobscot Bay, ME

Our next destination was Northport, ME which is centrally located between the little towns we wanted to see.  On the way our first stop was Wiscasset, home of Maine’s #1 lobster roll as recommended by the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and also 1,000 Places To See Before You Die.  We thought we would skip it since we’ve enjoyed good ones already.  When driving through the town and by Red’s Eats, we saw a very long line at 11:30 a.m.  Seeing this we decided to try and find parking and get in the line, which we did only a block away.  It is a tiny red and white shack on a corner close to the water.  It has been open since 1938.  We stood in line for almost an hour chatting with other tourists and natives.  It was worth the wait!  They serve more than an entire lobster on a top-split roll with either mayonnaise or butter.

Our drive took us through small towns, seeing pretty scenery and some very old homes.  Some of the towns we went through were Bath, Rockport, and Camden (where the film Peyton Place was filmed in 1957), Camden was very pretty, both sides of the street lined with small tourist trap shops, and the people were walking and shopping as we drove through.  Another town we drove through was Searsport that once boasted more sea captains than any other town its size (more than 280) and was also a ship building center.  We then walked through Belfast (not Ireland!) going through some shops and one art gallery where they had appetizers to enjoy. 

The next day we toured the Towns of Penobscot Bay.  Our first stop was Stonington.  The countryside is hilly and in between the homes are many trees.   Most of the homes are quite old and good sized.  Getting there we crossed the very modern Penobscot Narrows Bridge that has won many awards for engineering excellence.  Stopping at a viewing area we spoke with a man who has a summer home here.  He suggested going to the Stonington Lobster Co-op for the best lobsters, which we did.  We walked down the ramp to the dock, Mike picked out two live hard shelled ones, each weighing about a pound and a half, then walked back up (the tide was low) to have the babies weighed and pay for them. From there our next stop was Deer-Isle, which also was very pretty.  More old buildings, more trees, more antique shops, more boat harbors, restaurants and stores.  Getting to our next destination on the curvy, hilly roads was Castine, which again was a pretty area.  We sat and stood with ice cream cones enjoying watching the people and the water.  Back to home in Northport to cook those lobsters.  Judy had told Mike it would be his job to cook them, crack them, and she would force herself to eat one.  It wasn’t easy to get at most of the meat, but we made it.....enjoying every morsel of the sweet meat.  Now for relaxing the rest of the evening.  We had an enjoyable day enjoying sun-filled comfortable 70 degree weather with a wonderful breeze.  We drove the entire day with the windows of the truck open.  Fun!