South Bristol, ME

We left our lovely and peaceful Burnt Island anchorage at 7:50 after Jonny took Archie for one last walk on the island. Tuesday, August 15 was another absolutely beautiful day! We have been so fortunate with the weather this year. All the Mainers have commented on it though they do say they could use a little more rain.  Our plan for the the day was to go to Christmas Cove but they didn’t have a mooring for us and there was no room to anchor. So we cruised the beautiful Maine coast past Vinalhaven,  North Haven and Whitehead Island while we searched for other options.

Before too long we found the uniquely named Bittersweet Landing Marina in South Bristol.  It is run by a very engaging gentleman named Mike who had received excellent reviews on Active Captain.

We arrived by 2:20 and Mike found us a mooring in the long rather rather narrow harbor there.  This harbor is filled with lobster and fishing boats. Many of them were piled high with lobster traps.  We were curious as to why they weren’t out in the water and Mike explained that the fishermen had two sets of traps. They could quickly replace the ones they just brought in with these and clean the used ones later.

Joe, Jonny and I took our dinghy in to check out the town and walk Archie.  South Bristol is clearly not a tourist town though there are many second homes for people who come for the summer.  There are no cute gift shops or tee shirt shops (thankfully) but there was a small grocery store with lobster tanks out back.  

Mike recommended that we go to the South Bristol Lobsterman Cooperative where we could order a lobster dinner to take back to the boat or eat on the deck. We went in to see what they had and ordered four dinners for later in the day from the lovely young lady who worked there. They were advertising a rosemary clam chowder which sounded delicious but they were all out. The young woman, a college student in Halifax Nova Scotia, found one last serving for Jonny and me and it was delicious!

We walked around the tiny town looking for the boatyard so we could pay Mike.

We were told by a friendly local that we had to cross the bridge that spanned The Gut to get to Mike’s office.  The Gut is a very narrow water passage that connects Johns Bay and Booth Bay. The bridge is a small counter-levered draw bridge that raises on demand. We waited a few minutes for it to go down and then found our way to Mike’s boatyard.

Later that evening, Jonny made two trips on the dinghy to take us all to the lobster co-op for our feast. We had steamers, lobster, corn on the cob and cole slaw.  We haven’t gotten tired of this traditional Maine dinner yet! We brought our own drinks and they provided all four dinners on one huge tray.  We’ve found that the price of lobster dinners is not as high as we were expecting. In fact we’ve paid between $25 - $30 for all of our lobster dinners.  If we wanted to buy the lobster and bring it back to the boat to cook it, the prices were much lower. Here’s a before and after picture of our dinner tray (photos courtesy of Joe)!.

After our feast, we dropped Joe and Pat off at Glory Days and took Archie for a sunset spin around the harbor. South Bristol was quite a find for us and we’re happy we discovered it!

Burnt Island, ME

After having brunch with Michael, Melina, Joe and Pat we took our leave of Seal Harbor  by 12:15 on  Sunday, August 14, my sister Lisa’s birthday! We were bound for an anchorage on Merchant Island. Interestingly, Melina’s mother and stepfather owned a home there which her step-siblings have now inherited. She had spent a lot of time there and in this area in her youth.

However, because the weather was so gorgeous and we were making good time, we decided to go further.  By 4:30 we found a peaceful anchorage near Burnt Island (one of many with that name in Maine).

This one was managed by one of Maine’s nature conservancies. There was a very good dinghy dock and lovely, well-maintained trails along the water and through the woods. This made for a great place to walk Archie which we did immediately after dropping the hook.

That evening Jonny made us a delicious dinner of leftover kielbasa, sauerkraut, potatoes and cole slaw. We had a nice quiet dinner on anchor after all of the excitement of the last few days.

We have officially started our return trip back after having reached the northeastern-most point of our journey this summer.  We are now headed to Portland for a weekend of post-wedding celebrations for Jonny’s cousin’s daughter, Chloe and her Spanish-born husband, Jon-Ander.

Seal Harbor, ME

After taking advantage of the outdoor showers at Buck’s Harbor and saying goodby to the Kings, we headed out at 11:45 on Friday, August 12 for a gorgeous four hour cruise through the Eggemoggin Reach to Seal Harbor. This is a very picturesque harbor filled with mostly classically beautiful sailboats.

Our friends, Mike and Melina (I grew up with Michael in Fairfield, CT) have a summer home here. We had visited them in Maine several years ago on the way back from our Down East Loop trip. Mike had arranged for us to get a mooring at the Seal Harbor Yacht Club to which they belong (along with other notables like Martha Stewart)!  They met us in their Boston Whaler and helped us tie up, then whisked us off to have a drink at their favorite watering hole - the bar at the Islesford Dock Restaurant.

That evening they had bought tickets to see the new Elvis movie in Bar Harbor. It was a unique little movie theatre that served dinner and drinks that we consumed during the show. The movie was excellent and we recommend it. But be prepared - it was long and even had an intermission!

On Saturday, Mike and Melina took us, along with Pat and Joe who were staying on a mooring in nearby Northeast Harbor, for a hike to the Thuya Garden. It was a beautiful spot with lovely gardens and outstanding views.

Afterwards, we took their Whaler to a cute little rustic outdoor restaurant for lunch on Cranberry Island.  Later that evening we enjoyed dinner with Michael and  Melina back at the Islesford Dock restaurant where Michael got us a table with a fabulous view of a stunning sunset.

On Sunday morning, Michael and Melina came on board Zendo before taking Pat, Joe, Jonny and me back to their favorite place for brunch.  There was a great little pottery shop in the same building where I bought a few little gifts and then we checked out the local history museum for an interesting review of Great Cranberry Island,  its people and their livelihoods (mostly fishing).  I was especially interested in the descriptions of island life in the winter.

It was a wonderful visit. Michael and Melina were so generous with their time and resources.  We hope we can reciprocate when they come to the boat show in Miami in February. Next time we see Michael will be at our 50th (plus 2) high school reunion in October.

 Next stop, an anchorage by Burnt Island.

Buck’s Harbor, ME

We woke up to a foggy morning on Tuesday, August 9.  While I had my Spanish lesson Jonny took Archie for one last walk along the Castine coastline.  We had a quick lunch before leaving for Buck’s Harbor at 1 pm. We chose Buck’s Harbor because it had been recommended as a lovely small, quintessentially Maine village. It was also a perfect place for our good friends from Miami, Addie and Lange, to meet us since they were coming to Maine to surprise their daughter Natalie on her 30th birthday.  She and her husband were spending time with his parents at a vacation home in nearby Deer Isle.  After a short hour and a half hour cruise we tied onto a great close-in mooring at Buck’s Harbor Marina.  It is the sweetest, most atmospheric place you can imagine.

Addie and Lange arrived by car later in the afternoon with lots of provisions.  I made one of our favorites, chicken Nona, for dinner and we had a fun evening catching up on each other’s lives.

The next day we headed over to Deer Isle and surprised Natalie one day before her actual birthday.

Poor thing, she was the only one in the household who had to work during their stay.  She had to continue working so we took off for a hike with the rest of the household. It was a gorgeous hike with great trails and beautiful rocky outcroppings overlooking the water. 

Afterwards, Addie, Lange, Jonny and I had a very substantial lunch at the nearby Stonecutter’s Café.

Upon returning to Zendo we took a quick nap, and then we went back to Deer Isle for drinks and nibbles with Natalie and her in-laws. Jonny was excited to note that Robert McCloskey, the author of the popular children’s books (Blueberries for Sal, Make Way for Dumplings and One Morning in  Maine) lived and wrote about this part of Maine. In fact, One Morning in Maine takes place in Buck’s Harbor! Condon’s, the car repair shop referenced in this 1952 book, is still there and just down the street from our little marina.  Jonny read aloud the entire One Morning in Maine to the willing audience of Ben’s mother, Natalie and me.

The next day was Natalie’s official birthday but since she was planning to work most of the day, the four of us went for a hike in the little town of Blue Hills. It was a wonderful mountain hike over open fields, steep and rocky hills and forests, and everywhere incredible mounds of blue granite (hence the name of the town).  The water views were spectacular and there were fields of goldenrod, Queen Anne’s Lace and more.  Archie was in heaven throughout this visit since he could be off leash on the long hikes as well as when we were at the house in Deer Isle.

We rewarded ourselves with a delicious lunch at a restaurant named Blaze.  After a brief rest we headed over to the house in Deer Isle bearing pizzas for the official birthday celebration.

Finally on Friday it was time for all of us to move on.  But before doing anything else we had to avail ourselves of Buck’s Marina’s outdoor showers. What a fun and refreshing experience! The showers were three times the size of what we have on the boat and it was well worth the dinghy ride in.

We had brought home an entire uneaten pizza from the party the night before that Jonny heated up on the grill for our breakfast. Afterwards, we said goodbye to the Kings who were flying out that afternoon. As we got ready to leave, we couldn’t find Archie and realized he had jumped off the boat onto the dock. We looked everywhere but couldn’t find him until one of the dockhands told us he was up in the marina office. That little rascal had jumped off the boat, walked all the way up the ramp and into the marina office. He had made himself comfortable behind the desk in a dog bed there!  We chastised him and brought him back to Zendo and wouldn’t your know it he did the same thing two more times.  He clearly liked Buck’s Harbor and didn’t want to leave. We felt the same way!