Sunday, September 02, 2007
Eastport Maine and some great characters
Pictures from the entire trip are here, and from this post here (not much)
We have had a day. Drove down from Fundy NP across the border with only a 30 minute delay. The Customs inspector asked about food products such as beef and citrus such as lemon. Told her I had eaten all the beef and there was probably a lemon or two on board. She did the briefest inspection in the refrigerator and announced she had seen no lemon and left us to go on our way with 2 ½ contraband lemons in our possession.
After setting up on the third site we tried in Seaview Campground, the second was ideal, but reserved for someone else, we got out the kayak for the first time this trip and carried it down to the shore where we launched it for an hour tour that took us all most to Eastport itself and, we learned later, just avoided the “Old Sow” a famous major whirlpool in the middle of the bay we are on. We cleaned up and headed into town with the idea that we might find a place for dinner, or return to the coach for more great home cooked food. The place was empty. It appears that everyone has taken Labor Day as a stay at home holiday, we know better as there are very few empty campsites to be found. We wandered into a couple of restaurants including Rosie's a funky looking place off the main drag with a side room for music and the sale of antiques and other stuff. We were met at the door by Al who is the chef/owner Linda's husband. We wandered through the place but there was no one else there eating and it was a bit early so we wandered on through town watching the few people about going about their business and in particular watching a man hanging from what must have been a modern adaptation of a Bosun's Chair working on top of a sail on a tall two masted ship in harbor. It appeared that the block had jammed and we was dangling well above the deck to clear the jam.
We then wandered back to Rosie's with the idea of eating there. It took a while. With our first round of beer we started to get acquainted with these transplanted New Jersey people who had uprooted overnight and moved to Eastport six years ago without ever visiting first. Linda is an antiques dealer and Al works construction for cash and deals antiques as well. They both run this very laid back restaurant together. He works the floor and she cooks. I will not replay the entire conversation. Suffice it to say we talked about a lot of things and in particular about the change in their lives that lead them to this. As the talk flowed dinner moved further into the recesses of our minds and it was the advent of the second beer, a rare occurrence in my life, that reawakened my interest in food. I had stir fried lobster and vegetables in a deep fried tortilla bowl with rice. Carol had the same minus the lobster. It was great. Various locals drifted in and out while we were there and we seemed to be included in the flow of chatter between the kitchen and bar. I suspect that on a busy Friday or Saturday night the experience would be very different, but the food would be just as good. The bread was beyond expectation and everything else was quite good.
Moving again tomorrow, destination for the day is undetermined, it could be as close as Belfast, ME, or someplace in New Hampshire. ¶ 10:24 PM
We have had a day. Drove down from Fundy NP across the border with only a 30 minute delay. The Customs inspector asked about food products such as beef and citrus such as lemon. Told her I had eaten all the beef and there was probably a lemon or two on board. She did the briefest inspection in the refrigerator and announced she had seen no lemon and left us to go on our way with 2 ½ contraband lemons in our possession.
After setting up on the third site we tried in Seaview Campground, the second was ideal, but reserved for someone else, we got out the kayak for the first time this trip and carried it down to the shore where we launched it for an hour tour that took us all most to Eastport itself and, we learned later, just avoided the “Old Sow” a famous major whirlpool in the middle of the bay we are on. We cleaned up and headed into town with the idea that we might find a place for dinner, or return to the coach for more great home cooked food. The place was empty. It appears that everyone has taken Labor Day as a stay at home holiday, we know better as there are very few empty campsites to be found. We wandered into a couple of restaurants including Rosie's a funky looking place off the main drag with a side room for music and the sale of antiques and other stuff. We were met at the door by Al who is the chef/owner Linda's husband. We wandered through the place but there was no one else there eating and it was a bit early so we wandered on through town watching the few people about going about their business and in particular watching a man hanging from what must have been a modern adaptation of a Bosun's Chair working on top of a sail on a tall two masted ship in harbor. It appeared that the block had jammed and we was dangling well above the deck to clear the jam.
We then wandered back to Rosie's with the idea of eating there. It took a while. With our first round of beer we started to get acquainted with these transplanted New Jersey people who had uprooted overnight and moved to Eastport six years ago without ever visiting first. Linda is an antiques dealer and Al works construction for cash and deals antiques as well. They both run this very laid back restaurant together. He works the floor and she cooks. I will not replay the entire conversation. Suffice it to say we talked about a lot of things and in particular about the change in their lives that lead them to this. As the talk flowed dinner moved further into the recesses of our minds and it was the advent of the second beer, a rare occurrence in my life, that reawakened my interest in food. I had stir fried lobster and vegetables in a deep fried tortilla bowl with rice. Carol had the same minus the lobster. It was great. Various locals drifted in and out while we were there and we seemed to be included in the flow of chatter between the kitchen and bar. I suspect that on a busy Friday or Saturday night the experience would be very different, but the food would be just as good. The bread was beyond expectation and everything else was quite good.
Moving again tomorrow, destination for the day is undetermined, it could be as close as Belfast, ME, or someplace in New Hampshire. ¶ 10:24 PM
