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Lobsters
in Downeast Maine
In recent years my wife and I have taken a week of vacation to join my brother and his wife, along with our mother and sister, and hibernate in a cabin on the coast of Maine. We just returned from this marvelous experience, so there is much that I could say. When one refers to Downeast Maine, they are referring to an area in the state that runs along the northeast part of the coastal area. This is also lobster country. After all, Maine is probably best known for its lobster. It's on everything in the state, including the state seal. Where we vacation is in a small lobster village known as Corea. Yes, it's pronounced just like the country of Korea. As the story goes, back at the turn of the 20th century, the postmaster for this region had a daughter who traveled to Korea for a visit. She was so enthralled with the country that she couldn't stop talking about it once she returned home. Dad decided to name a town after the country in honor of his daughter. Whether he spelled it Corea intentionally or not, we'll probably never know. The cabin sits on a spit of land that sticks out into the the Atlantic Ocean. Offering some protection from the tides are a series of small islands running along the shore. At low tide you can walk out to the middle island. It is particularly fun to look for sand dollars that have been washed up on shore. Seals and sea otters, along with pelicans and various other sea birds, are all part of the experience.
But it's the lobster that everyone talks about. Our family has been friends since the 1930s with the Rodgers, the folks who own the cabins. Dwight Rodgers runs things for the family along with his wife Ruth. He is also the manager of a lobster coop just a short distance from the cabin. Each year we celebrate my mother's birthday with a big lobster feast. This year was her 89th. Besides Dwight, Ruth, and our family, we were joined by friends Larry and Lynne, up from Virginia. We had at least a dozen lobsters that came in on the boats that day which Dwight then brought over. They are all about a pound and a half, with dark shells and banded claws. You definitely don't want to have your finger pinched by an angry lobster! Of course, when you place the lobsters in the pot of boiling water, they turn orange. I was reading in a magazine that many people have an aversion to placing lobsters in the pot of boiling water, believing they are causing these critters pain. The article says lobsters have no nervous system, so they feel no pain. It went on to say that actress and animal rights activist, Shirley McLain, announced in 1966, just before the lobster festival, that lobsters suffer when they are boiled, and that they've even been known to walk along the bottom of the ocean "claw-in-claw." Please! When I shared this information with Dwight, he just laughed. The evening was a grand affair, and all were sufficiently sated, feasting on the sweet tasting lobster meat, coleslaw, steak and corn-on-the-cob, all topped off with a fabulous strawberry-rhubarb cream pie made by Ruth. A cup of coffee, and it was perfect. However, we had three lobsters left over that had not been cooked. I learned that you can refrigerate them live and cook them later. So, these three hapless crustaceans were placed in the vegetable drawer of the frig. The fun part was when one of the family members would go browsing in the frig for something to eat, forgetting there were live things in there. As they opened the drawer, the lobsters would reach out with their banded claws, startling the intruder. Usually, you'd hear something like, "Aaahhh!!" The rest of us would laugh and shake our heads, grateful for the free entertainment.
Isaura and I drove up the remainder of the Maine coastline on the only day when the sun decided to shine. It was beautiful! We visited the Quoddy Lighthouse (pronounced kwa-dee), which is located at the further end of land on U.S. soil. This is a lighthouse that you often see in pictures, set in pristine surroundings, with the grounds perfectly manicured. The lighthouse itself is painted in concentric red and white circles. We then drove a short distance to the Canadian border, where we entered the province of New Brunswick — specifically, the island of Campobello. This gorgeous island was the summer home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the north end of the island stands yet another picturesque lighthouse — the East Quoddy Lighthouse. I suppose this is because it's just a few miles further east of its U.S. neighbor. Before leaving the island (and Canada), Isaura and I stopped for dinner at the Family Fishery Restaurant. What a meal we had! There was fried halibut, shrimp, scallops and mussels, accompanied by French fries and onion rings. I even indulged in a bowl of bread pudding for dessert. Yum! It was a wonderful time to relax and enjoy our family. Now that we're back in California, it's back to the gym for me, and Curves for Isaura! |
