The Eerie Fog of Maine’s Rockland Lighthouse

With our friends Greg and Kathy Tawes, we visited the historic 1902 Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse in Rockland Maine. Reaching the lighthouse requires a mile-long stroll along cracked and crevassed stone and can be quite eerie in fog.

Through the low-anchored clouds of fog, you had no idea how far you’d gone nor how much further you had to go. Along the route, we saw several lobster fishermen pulling up traps. Greg and Kathy had a brief conservation with one fisherman as he measured his catches.

Kathy’s perfect timing allowed her to snap the fisherman throwing back a lobster that was either pregnant or too small and the reflection off the water was brilliant.

As we continued our journey, the lighthouse came faintly into view and became clearer the closer we walked.

The lighthouse is white on one side and brick on the other. It was originally designed to be operated by keepers but in the late 1940’s, it was automated.

As we made our way back, the fog continued to drift, crystalizing moored boats in the harbor and seagrass strewn rocks.

I imagined how it might look during a winter storm and found a revealing video on the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse Facebook page: https://fb.watch/fj9BKlPMLu/.

Mist by Henry David Thoreau

Low-anchored cloud,
Newfoundland air,
Fountain head and source of rivers,
Dew-cloth, dream drapery,
And napkin spread by fays;
Drifting meadow of the air,
Where bloom the dasied banks and violets,
And in whose fenny labyrinth
The bittern booms and heron wades;
Spirit of the lake and seas and rivers,
Bear only purfumes and the scent
Of healing herbs to just men’s fields!

Source: https://pickmeuppoetry.org/mist-by-henry-david-thoreau/

We enjoyed our time with Greg and Kathy and were happy they included a visit with us in their month long journey.

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Eating our Weight in Maine Lobster

Cabbage Island Clambake

What a feast! Our friends were in town and we wanted them to experience Lobster in a quintessential way so Lynn found Cabbage Island Clambake. Sold out for weeks in advance, Lynn kept refreshing the website hoping for a cancellation. Eureka – just a few days before they arrived a cancellation appeared and we nabbed 4 tickets!

You embark the ship in Boothbay Harbor and cruise for about an hour, catching glimpses of light houses, remote islands and learning the history of this coastal area.

Once we arrived at Cabbage Island, we were seated at a table with nice views of the bay and treated to clam chowder as a starter. Then we made our way to the clambake area to pick up an overflowing plate of 2 lobsters, clams, corn, potato and onion.

I can’t believe you get 2 lobsters each — I thought there was no way we could eat it all. But we all did!

After loosening our belts and devouring the lobster, along came the tallest blueberry cake you’ve ever seen. Slightly comatose, we walked off the lunch by exploring Cabbage Island before heading back to Booth Bay.

Lucky Catch Lobster Tour

A few days later, the night before our friends were leaving, we boarded the Lucky Catch ship for a lobster tour around Portland Maine.

Unlike the Cabbage Island Clambake, this tour was designed to teach you more about lobstering, pulling up lobster traps in Casco Bay.

Each of us loaded smelly fish in the traps before launching them overboard.

Each time we pulled up another trap, the captain measured each lobster and threw back those that were too small or pregnant.

Pregnant lobsters are marked by slicing a piece of their tail so other fisherman will not keep them. Once a pregnant lobster is caught, it is unlawful to keep it in the future.

We would also pull up crab and some would zen out if you flipped them on their backs.

Before ending our tour, we caught an up close view of the Portland Head Light.

Once the tour was complete, we took 4 lobsters from our boat over to the Portland Lobster Company — they perfectly cooked the lobster and provided all the fixings. We really enjoyed our visit with Greg and Kathy Tawes.

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