To the Maine Coast!

Following our stop at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray Maine, I was ready to ‘sprint’ along back roads to the Maine coast for our 5 night stay along the shore. 

However, fate in the form of my better half intervened...slowing me down a little…

Laurie spotted the Barn on 26 Antiques on ME Hwy. 26 shortly after we left the wildlife park… Given how attractive and inviting the building and grounds were, plus the fact that a field of horses was right next door, there was no way that we weren’t stopping to take a look!  The owners were lovely people, Laurie got her horse fix and she made a small purchase.

The Barn on 26 Antiques is located at 361 Shaker Road (ME 26) in Gray Maine.  Phone: 207-657-3470.  Check out their website and some of their offerings at www.barnon26.com. 

…and then we were back on the road again!

I pulled off US Hwy. 1 at Bath Maine to take this photo of the old Carlton Bridge (1927) and the new Sagadahoc Bridge (2000), both which cross the Kennebec River.  In 2000, vehicular traffic was transferred to the Sagadahoc Bridge with the Carlton Lift Bridge continuing to be used by the Maine Eastern Railroad.  US Hwy. 1 used to cross the river on the upper deck of the old bridge.  The new bridge is high enough, (75 feet clearance), that boats can pass underneath unobstructed.  Its 2,972 feet long…

Notes:

·         Abenaki Indians called this area Sagadahoc, meaning “mouth of big river”.

·         Settlement at Sagadahoc (Bath) took place ca. 1660 when the land was taken from an Indian ‘sagamore’ (paramount chief) known as Robinhood.

·         Most of Bath was settled by immigrants from Bath England.

·         Bath is renowned for shipbuilding.  It began in 1743 with the construction of 2 ships.  Since then, about 5,000 vessels have been launched in the area.  At one time there were more than 200 shipbuilding firms operating here…

What the heck!!??  Now that’s an attention getter!  You know that you’re in Maine when you pass a restaurant with a gigantic lobster on the roof… We didn’t stop but Laurie decided then and there what she was having for dinner!

FYI, the Taste of Maine Restaurant has been owned and operated by the same family since 1978…40 years!  They are located at just a little east of Bath at 161 Main Street in Woolwich Maine.  Phone: 207-443-4554.  Website: http://tasteofmaine.com/#home.

This is a view of US Hwy. 1 through downtown Wiscasset Maine.  That long bridge in the photo crosses the tidal Sheepscot River.  Wiscasset was first settled in 1663 but it was abandoned during the French and Indian Wars and King Philip’s (aka. Massasiot) War in 1675.  The town was resettled ca. 1730.

Note:

·         King Philip’s War was a deadly affair for both sides.  In little more than a year, 12 of the region’s towns were destroyed and many others were damaged.  The economy of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies was ruined and their population was decimated.  More than half of New England’s towns were attacked by Indians.  While roughly 1,000 settlers were killed or injured, 3,000 Indians suffered the same fate. 

As we neared the Donald E. Davey Bridge over the Sheepscot River, we couldn’t miss Ed’s Eats, a take-out restaurant with a line that seemed to go on forever!  As it turns out, this restaurant has been featured in more than 20 magazines and newspapers and it’s been the subject of several television newscasts, including Sunday Morning with Bill Geist.

What we didn’t know, other than that it was obviously very popular, was that it bills itself as the World’s Best Lobster Shack!  This family run business serves more than lobster rolls but I thought that I’d just describe their version of this New England specialty.

Ed’s Eats serves their lobster rolls without mayonnaise, but does offer a side of butter or mayonnaise if requested.  Each roll contains the meat from 2 claws and a whole split lobster tail over the top! 

The website doesn’t provide prices.  We didn’t get back here because a little further down the road in another town, traffic in August was horrendous and we didn’t want to backtrack. 

Ed’s Eats is located at 42 Water Street in Wiscasset Maine.  They are currently closed for the season.  Phone: 207-882-6128.  Website: http://www.redseatsmaine.com/.

If my research is correct, these 2 vessels are standard United State Coast Guard 47-foot motor lifeboats.  These boats are based at the Coast Guard Station in the harbor at Rockland Maine.  The 47-foot motor lifeboats are first response rescue vessels designed for high seas, wind, surf and heavy weather conditions.

These boats will withstand the worst possible conditions at sea and can effect a rescue in the most challenging sea based environment.  These vessels, built by Textron Marine and Land Systems in Slidell Louisiana, are self-bailing, self-righting and almost unsinkable.  They can also cruise for long distances despite their size.  If the information is current, 227 of these boats, each with a 4 person crew, are now in service with the Coast Guard.

To learn more about these amazing motor lifeboats, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/47-foot_Motor_Lifeboat.  For a short video of these amazing boats in action, you can go to: https://www.textronsystems.com/what-we-do/marine-land-systems/motor-lifeboat.

Rockland has a very busy harbor.  The town is located around Rockland Harbor on Penobscot Bay.  Abenaki Indians called this place “Catawamteak” meaning “great landing place”.  The Harbor is protected from Penobscot Bay and the Gulf of Maine by a long breakwater that’s tipped with a lighthouse.

The town’s working waterfront remains.  There are plenty of fishermen and workboat captains still using the wharfs near downtown.  In addition there are several marinas that cater to all types of pleasure craft.  Among other events, Rockland’s public landing hosts the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show as well as the Maine Lobster Festival.  Lobster is the town’s major export…

No…this isn’t our chartered yacht!  The Freedom is apparently based in Newport Rhode Island but the name is too common to easily learn more.  I did find a yacht that looked like this that is available for lease.  It was a 120 foot long Broward yacht that can serve 9 guests.  If this is the same yacht, you could rent her at a starting rate of “only” $49,500 a week!

Rockland is also the departure point for the Maine State Ferry Service to the Islands of Penobscot Bay.  It’s a fairly busy ferry terminal with regular service to Vinalhaven, North Haven and Matinicus. 

The ferry in the photo is the Captain E. Frank Thompson, and along with the Captain Charles Philbrook, she makes the run from Rockland to Vinalhaven and back.  The Thompson is the newest of the 4 ferry boats based in Rockland, having replaced an older boat back in 2012.  The Thompson is 154 feet long, weighs 494 tons and she can carry 22 vehicles plus 250 passengers.  She was built in Mobil Alabama…

The ferry ride to Vinalhaven covers 15 miles and it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Rockland to North Haven is 12.5 miles and it takes 1 hour and 10 minutes.  The longest and least frequent trip is to Matinicus.  It’s 23 miles one way and it takes 2 hours and 15 minutes.  I had another boat ride in mind and with only 4 full days in the area, there was too much else to do so we skipped this adventure.

The other ship of note in Rockland’s harbor was the Independence, one of the small cruise ships operated by American Cruise Lines.  The Cruise Line operates 11 small ships on routes including New England, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, Southeast USA, the Mississippi River and a number of themed cruises. 

The Independence is an American registered 104 passenger coastal cruise ship.  She offers several cruises during the year including Chesapeake Bay, East Coast Inland Passage, Historic South and Golden Isles, Hudson River, Maine Coast and Harbors, Mid-Atlantic Inland Passage and a New England Islands Cruise.

This ship was built in 2010 by the Chesapeake Shipbuilding Company based in Salisbury Maryland.  The Independence is 194 feet long with a draft of only 11.3 feet.  She has 52 staterooms, 40 of which have balconies.  The ship’s crew consists of 27 personnel.  

For much more information about cruises on this ship including costs involved, you can go to: https://www.americancruiselines.com/small-riverboat-cruise-ships/independence.

That’s all for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave