Learning to be Lobstermen in Portland

It had to happen. The day we arrived in Maine, the weather changed from gorgeous to gray skies and pounding rain. The kind of day you'd like to sneak back to bed with a book. And, we were staying at the Westin Harborview- known for their Heavenly Beds!

Gray skies in Portland

Alas, we only had only one afternoon in Portland and were signed up for a Old Port walking Foodie Tour.  Thank goodness, plans were changed; we'd  hop in a van between downtown stops.

Downtown Portland

Portland, Maine is a city of only 66,000 people but has 300-plus mostly independent restaurants. The combination of reasonable, one-year-long rental rates and immediate access to lobster and other seafood has created a foodie haven.

Cheese selection at the Public Market

The tour , led by knowledgeable guide Christopher Papagni, includes sampling Maine-inspired food. First we hit the Public Market House where a variety of vendors rent space. Artisanal cheese was featured along with a few other prepared foods. Seems there are some fabulous local cheesemakers around Portland.

Public Market Samples

Next we stopped at Dean's Sweets, a chocolatier who offered us a Needham.  A Needham is a traditional Maine confection made with mashed potatoes, coconut, and confectioner's sugar then dipped in chocolate.  We also tasted a truffle; I chose the Chocolate Stout Truffle made with beer.  Kristin and Dean Bingham, the charming owners, have been in business for ten years, but only six months in the Old Port location. 

Truffles from Dean's Sweets

Next we had a tasting at  Vervacious, founded by a pair of high-techers who chucked it all to sail around the world and bring back their favorite flavors. They offer luxuriously packaged spices, oils, and balsamics. We also enjoyed a serving of lobster mac and cheese they proved lobster makes anything better.

Vervacious Spices

One step into Gritty McDuff's and you know where the locals hang. The pub was hopping. If you belong to the Mug Cub, beer is just $2 a mug on Sundays. Ed Stebbins, the brewmaster, told us he opened it as the first brew pub in Maine since prohibition. We tasted a hot pretzel and a flight of beer. I liked the Black Fly Stout, which the Beer Advocate.com rates at 100.

Beer Flight at Gritty's

Lastly, we stopped in Vena's Fizz House which up until recently only sold non-alcoholic drinks but now runs a full bar. Bitters are the thing here, and owner Steve Corman can whip up some awesome concoctions. It's worth a stop to see the vast number of different, exotically titled and labeled bitters they stock. Don't bother to count, it's 150!

Steve Corman adds bitters at Vena's Fixx House

Bitters

Like soggy rag dolls, we flopped back to our rooms in the Westin, and I drew myself a warm bath.  We were on our own for dinner in the hotel, and Judy and I limited ourselves to a bowl of seafood chowder. Perfectly delicious and perfect for a rainy night.

Next morning the group attempted to eat healthfully but as always, we failed.  We headed down to the marina for a hands-on lesson on lobstering. We boarded the Lucky Catch, a lobster boat, where a local photographer snapped our picture.  Sure, it's touristy, but the pic was good and makes a nice memory. 

The Good Girls on the Lucky Catch in Portland, Maine

Judy helps Debi with Lobsterman Outfit!

No sooner were the lines cast off, than we donned the appropriate attire: orange oil-cloth pants, aprons, and gloves. We love to dress up so thought it was fun to feel like a real lobsterman!

The boat moved out into Casco Bay where we saw historic Fort Gorges,  beautiful homes along the shore and six lighthouses. We helped reel-in the lobster traps and learned how to measure the crustaceans. Too little or too big, back they go.  We threw every one back on this outing as it was early in the season. Maine laws differ from Canada; they are stricter but trapping (with a license) is open year-round. The captain claimed the Maine lobster population was growing. 

Judy learns how to measure a lobster.

We also helped re-bait and lower the traps, experiencing the difficulties of the job. So glad the rain was gone!  Would not be enjoyable to be lobstering in cold, wet weather. All in all, we learned that the Good Girls are much happier eating the delicacy that catching it. 

Happy Lobster Eaters

Speaking of eating, it was lunchtime, and we'd received a tip that the best lobster roll in town was out in Fort Williams Park at Bite into Maine, a lobster roll food truck. We found it parked on a gentle hillside across from the Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine. FYI: This area is actually in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Lobster Roll Food Truck "Bite into Maine."

The line was long but worth the wait. Fabulous picnic fare on a picnic table in the park with a Maine Root Beer to wash it down. Afterward, I strolled over to the Lighthouse, one of the most quintessential photo ops in Maine.  This one is a beauty from land or from the water (as we had seen earlier).

A Lobster Roll Picnic

Lighthouses and lobster; Maine has a good thing going.   

The Beautiful Port Head Light, Oldest Lighthouse in Maine.

Gorgeous homes along the Bay

Fort Gorges in Casco Bay near Portland.

How Not to Cross a Border

We left lovely Passamaquoddy Bay in the morning. Our destination, Portland, ME, for the second part of our Two-Nation Vacation.

We are frequent travelers, some would say professionals at it, so we approached the Canadian-U. S. border without any apprehension. Well, almost. I had considered perhaps a burp but not a stop.

The grim-faced border guard looked at our passports, asked a few questions and told us to pull over. We were ordered to go inside, leaving everything - cameras, electronic devices, purses - in the van, which is why no photographs accompany this post.

It didn't take a Jeopardy champion to see why.

Our driver was a large, tall, ebony skinned man named Mohamed Gaal, who lived in Canada but had been born in Somalia.

We were four women, one young and Hispanic from New York and three Caucasians, one Californian not as young but athletic and the two Good Girls from Florida, one just short of Social Security age and one well over it. In short, between us we fit a lot of demographics and could blend in unobtrusively to many different kinds of groups.

We had flown into Canada but were being driven back to the U. S.

It was five days before July 4 and threats of terrorist attacks were swirling.

Suspicious?  They certainly thought so, despite the new Known Traveler Number on a post-it note inside my passport.

The day was gray and so was the building into which we were ushered and told to sit on a concrete bench-like ledge that ran along the length of the structure. Two men, one young and one not, were already seated there. Evidently they were carrying way too much cash.

Mohamed, Moe, was the main object of scrutiny so one of us asked to use the bathroom. Not until the interrogation was over she was told in no uncertain tone.
Eventually, another agent took pity on us and said OK.

Finally it was our turn and we were called up as a group. Was it the apples the Algonquin had packed as a snack and we forgot to declare?

No way. "Travel writer" was an alien concept. What exactly did we do and why was this large foreign black man driving us? We tried to explain, finally citing the numerous foreign stamps and visas in our passports.

"You mean you get flown and driven around and then write about it?"

"Sometimes" was not a reassuring answer to the incredulous agent.

"What happens then?"

"If our computers weren't in the car we could show you."

Our chorus of different electronic and print outlets must have done the trick because we were allowed to  continue on our way.

Moral: You can go home again, but it isn't always easy.

Seaside Fun in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea

Glorious sun and fun awaited us on our full day in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea.

Kingsbrae's formal garden and maze.

We began at Kingsbrae Garden, one of the prettiest spots you can imagine with its 50,000-plus trees, plants and flowers arranged in a variety of gardens that make the 27-acre site seem twice as large.

 Not only are the gardens artful, art plays a large part throughout. Every year Kingsbrae holds a Canadian Sculpture competition. Entries are displayed with the winner added to the sculpture garden.

 "The Lost Stone" by Dave Hind, first place in the 2014 sculpture competition.

















The Artist-in-Residence program adds to the creative atmosphere. Painter Geoff Slater gave us a sample in the art studio during which we all painted a small work using a limited palette and enhanced by croissants and mimosas. The "of art" label is debatable.

The set up.

Artist Geoff Slater.

Debi

Judy

No costumes to try on here, but we did find photo-worthy locations. The selfie at the obelisk didn't work out so we tried the arched hedge.

Us.

This is one spot even kids will like. There are alpacas, goats, garden cats, ducks, peacocks and other animals...

... a children's fairyland garden with a variety of creative playhouses and a scale model Dutch windmill.

We could have spent the better part of a day at Kingsbrae - word is the restaurant is quite good - but we had a Passamaquoddy Bay tide to catch.
You see, driving over the seafloor at low tide is the way to reach Minister's Island.

Not low enough.

We waited, watching others clam in the tidal pools that were left, until the ranger gave the signal to go.

Almost. Photo by Debi Lander.

Across we go.

We held our breath and started across, a unique experience indeed.

The Van Horne home. Photo by Debi Lander.

The 500-acre half-time island was the summer estate of Sir William Van Horne, the second president and driving force behind the Canadian Pacific Railway. We toured the 17-bedroom, 11-bathroom, 50-room home of Van Horne, his wife and two children.

It would have been a wonderful place to summer, with its colonnaded front porch,

Van Horne's accomplished art work, his collection of native Canadian crafts, the charming Dutch wallpaper in his grandson Billy's bedroom,






the working Dutch windmill and the paths and trails around and through the heavily wooded island,









We hated to leave but tide and whale-watching boats wait for no one. Island Quest was the boat to catch for a whale-watching cruise into the Bay of Fundy.

We saw lighthouses,

ferries,

a lobster boat that showed off its catch for us,

 sun bathing seals,

a bird rookery,

herring weirs

and marks of those incredible tides,

but no whales that I recognized. Captain Chris said a fin we saw belonged to a small-toothed whale, but it looked more like a dolphin to me. Fun, but not what we hoped.

Downtown St. Andrews-by-the-Sea;

What was fun was strolling rapidly about the town - time crunch again - and what did live up to anticipation was a tasting dinner at Rossmount Inn hosted by owners/chef Chris and Graziella Aerni.

Rossmount Inn and Restaurant

Graziella and Chef Chris Aerni.

Each course had three or more selections served family style which made taking accurate notes or usable photos difficult (delay taking a portion and you risked losing a taste of it). Suffice to say, you will find a plethora of beautifully plated, delicious locally sourced selections on the menu.

There was a clubby and cozy bar specializing in single malt Scotches across the hallway but we merely looked in wistfully.

The Sandman was calling our names.