Tag Archives: Maine

New England: Bar Harbor, ME

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After leaving Portland we headed about three hours north to Bar Harbor, Maine to catch our ride on the Margret Todd in the early afternoon.  The ship is one of the largest wind powered vessels operating in New England.  Shortly after setting sail we had issues with one of the sails so we were down to three instead of the normal four.  The ship basically sails out into Frenchman Bay for an hour and then heads back into Bar Harbor.  There’s a morning cruise, afternoon cruise which we took and a sunset cruise as far as I can tell all of them were BYOB.  To me the coolest thing about the trip was seeing all the lobster boats out in the bay.

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Thurston’s Lobster Pound
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After our cruise we headed about an to the other side of Bar Harbor (about an hour car drive) to Thurston’s Lobster Pound.  Which unlike the other lobster shacks we visited had parking issues and about a 30 minute wait.  As usual though it was worth it.  Thurston’s is right on the water and unlike the other places we’ve been you paid by the pound not the lobster.  So each lobster was measured as you ordered and that was what you paid.  As you can see in the photograph above they use one giant steamer to cook all the seafood on the back of the porch.  Basically everything you order is thrown into a bag (lobster, corn, clams etc.) and each bag has a number that corresponds to your table. This way all your food is cooked together and is done at the same time.

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Side Note:

* Originally we didn’t plan on going to Bar Harbor but on Thursday before we left town the New York Times had an article in the travel section titled ‘36 Hours in Bar Harbor, Me.’ so we decided to skip the second night in Portland and head a little farther north.  This of course made our drive the next day twice as far but it was worth hitting another town.  All four of our stops in Bar Harbor were from the article.

Cafe This WayBreakfast in Bar Harbor at Cafe This Way: lobster benedict. It was quite good.

* On our way out of town we stopped at Cafe This Way for breakfast and Julie found a way to get Lobster in her eggs benedict.

 

 

Hadlock Field: Sea Dogs – Mets.

DSC_0269.JPGDSC_0215.JPGPanorama of the Seadogs - Mets game at Hadlock Field -DSC_0134.JPGDSC_0229.JPG

While on our New England we spent an evening in Portland, Maine to catch the Mets minor league team, the Binghamton Mets play the Portland Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field.  The Sea Dogs are a Red Sox affiliate.  The stadium was nice and we had decent seats off third base and near the Mets dugout.  The Mets took the lead early in the 2nd inning off Raul Reyes‘ double when Salomon Manriquez scored.  Manriquez would later play a key part in Julie’s fan experience.  They went on to  win 7-2 making it the only full game I’ve seen the Mets win all season.

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Side Notes:

The View From My Seat at Hadlock Field - #Mets #Seadogs #Yearofbaseball

* The View From My Seat.

DSC_0300.JPGI'm not sure what's going on here but this mascot will eat your empty beer cup - #Seadogs #Mets #Yearofbaseball

** This is by far the most terrifying mascot in professional sports today.  For one, just look at him staring at me from across the ball park.  Second, he’s actually a trash can.  You are encourage to put garbage in him.  My understanding is he used to be green and thus named the ‘Green Trash Monster’ after Fenway Park’s Green Monster.  He’s no longer green but his belt buckle still says ‘TM’ so he’s just a Trash Monster.  Needless to say he is very disturbing.

*** Year of Baseball Stats:
Game No. 12
Stadium Opened: April 18, 1994
Capacity: 7,368
Attendance: 6,012
Food: 1 Hot Dog, 1 Soft Pretzel
Beer: 1 Pamola Xtra Pale Ale, 1 Long Hammer IPA, 1 Wild Blue Berry Wheat Ale, 1 Fuggles IPA, 1 Geary’s Imperial Ale,
Opponent: Binghamton Mets
Pitchers: W: Moore, L: Lee
Miles From Home: 888.8
Ticket Face Value: $9
Seat Location: Section 112, Row L, Seat 9

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**** By far the coolest t-shirt I’ve seen all year.  A batter flag, the 20th Maine and the ever sturdy General Joshua Chamberlain.


IMG_1570.JPGFinishing the night in Portland, ME @thegreatlostbear -

***** After the game we headed over to the Great Lost Bear for dinner and a drink.  Their beer selection is up there with all great beer bars.

New England: Cape Elizabeth, ME

Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, ME -The View From My Seat: Cape Elizabeth, ME -Photographic proof - @julierubes: Sitting on some rocks in Cape Elizabeth. I could spend the rest of the day right here.Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, ME -Portland Head LightIpswich Summer Ale -

On our way to Portland we stopped for the afternoon in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. After some searching the night before for a stop over with lobster we settled on the Lobster Shack at Two Lights.  The Yelp reviews were either raving or bitching about parking and tourists so we rolled the dice.  Before lunch we stopped at Fort Williams Park to see the shore and the Portland Head Lighthouse.  After getting our feet wet it was on to lunch.

DSC_0095.JPGDSC_0102.JPGDSC_0104.JPGDSC_0108.JPGDSC_0111.JPGBeach art by me.Refreshing cool Maine water on my feet. At Ft. Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth.Shores of Cape Elizabeth

The Lobster Shack at Two Lights
The Lobster ShackToday's lobster lunch at the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, ME.Once again, @julierubes and I crushed the crustaceans -

As I mentioned before, the Yelp reviews were either glorious or horrendous. The complaints mainly centered on the parking situation, long lines and tourists. Well we were tourists, we found a parking spot and only waited 10 minutes. Granted this was a Tuesday afternoon but nothing to complain about. The lobsters were soft shell which neither Julie or I have had. They were much easier to get the meat out of but were somewhat smaller than the day before. Instead of corn we went with fries and everything was great.  What was amazing was the view.  The Lobster Shack at Two Points literally sits on the cost of the Atlantic. We climbed down a rocking hill and sat on the shore for the afternoon. The lobster and the view is what everyone on Yelp was swearing by and it was justified.  Like Chauncey Creek, Two Points was BYOB so I polished off a couple of Ipswich Summer Ales on the edge of the continent.

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