It has a face only a mother could love -- the rest of us love it for other reasons. And the best place in the world to eat lobster is on the coast of Maine. Our press group had ample opportunities to try this indigenous delicacy and we got a great lesson in lobster lore from Buddy Hall, owner of Anglers in Searsport, Maine.
Here Buddy is giving us a tutorial in lobster sexing. I promise I will never be trying it out myself -- all those creepy claws and legs will keep the lobster's secrets secret. Female lobsters can carry their eggs up to two years -- the last half of the time they are glued to the underside of her tail. When a lobsterfisherperson (yes, there are lobsterwomen) catches a female with eggs, he cuts a notch in her tail and tosses her back so if she gets caught again, she will be released. That keeps the population going.
In young lobsters, the claws are about the same size but as the animal grows, they differentiate into the larger crusher claw and smaller pincher claw.
The lobster's face is interesting. I could identify the eyes easily enough but I'm not sure I could find the mouth. Buddy did -- and, wh0 knew -- lobsters have teeth!
Here's a sampling of lobster dishes we tried: lobster salad,
the ubiquitous lobster roll,
and the whole lobster. I deliberately chose a small lobster (notice the claws) because I discovered that, with my braces, lobster takes a lot more chewing than without them. I managed to get through both claws and about 1/3 of the tail about the same time everyone else at the table was finishing dessert!
This is part of the group the night we ate at Weathervane in Belfast. Are we having fun yet? You bet! Tip to tourists: in choosing a place to eat lobster, look for one that has a pound. This is a tank that circulates sea water around the lobsters. Buddy also told us you could tell how long a lobster had been held in a tank because they start to bite off one anothers' antennae. Avoid the stumpy antennae!
The resort sits on almost 400 acres of woods sloping up from a small strip of beach. I walked down the hill from my cabin to check out the water. I think it was about 1/2 to 3/4 mile down to the water.
This great dane was having a super time retrieving sticks from the surf. I must be getting old -- I think this is the first time in my life that I've been on the ocean (okay, technically Penobscot Bay) without actually sticking a toe in the water. I just couldn't stand the thought of walking back up the hill with sand in my sandals. And I swear it was five miles back to the cabin -- uphill the whole way!
We sailed by this picturesque lighthouse on Curtis Island at the mouth of the harbor.
We were out almost two hours but headed in as we watched the rain moving in. We weren't the only ones headed for harbor.
The rain just missed us and the sun was shining when we docked. Camden is such a pretty town and their harbor is beautiful, too, don't you think?
