Located at the top of the
Penobscot Bay, the charming town of
Castine has plenty of history to go along with a selection of historic houses that will make your head spin. This past Sunday, on the last weekend of Summer, I made the hour long trip up the bay from Camden and down the peninsula to
Castine. Heading into town, one first notices the imposing brick
buildings of the Maine Maritime Academy. Past the Academy sits The
Castine Golf Club, the states oldest golf course, and Main Street, where quaint shops and art galleries slope down to the water. The harbor, a wide expanse of
deep water, sits at the confluence of the
Penobscot Bay and the
Bagaduce River. The harbor and the surrounding waters has seen its share of skirmishes,
including one of the worst American naval defeats of the
Revolutionary War. At the entrance to the town sits beautiful Dice Head Light,
which is now privately owned, but has a stunning view from the rocks beneath, where one can gaze down the entire
Penobscot Bay, all the way past
Islesboro, and North Haven, to Owls Head. In the Harbor
itself, the State Of Maine, the Maritime Academy's training vessel, looms very large over the town and strikes a very
imposing figure to any vessel that passes by. The most interesting feature of the town has to be the houses. Large rambling white colonials fill the downtown streets, all seemingly with dates in the 1700's adorned over their front doors. Out of town sits beautiful Wadsworth Cove, where a sandy beach looks out to the bay and beyond to the Camden Hills.
Castine is a really special town and a great place to visit if one is interested in
historical architecture.
Lobstering and the Maine coast go together like winter and snow, they are inseparable and have been that way forever. All along the coast, from the southern end to the deep waters of the Downeast coast, the sight of Lobster boats and their buoys are impossible to miss. What is harder to find though, are the numerous wharfs and docks where these lobstermen keep their boats and gear, and process their catch. Some of these outposts are big operations, easily seen by tourists and locals alike. But for every large lobstering operation, there is a small, out of the way wharf or dock, where solitude goes hand in hand with the backbreaking work that is lobstering. Down Long Cove Road in Tenants Harbor, right past the old Eastern Mussel Farm, I found one of these small operations, with only three or four boats out to haul. Spend a few minutes shooting the breeze with the boys, and you begin to realize what a daunting task they have. Prices fluctuate from month to month, bait prices continue to rise, and local taxes make it harder every year to break even and get by. But for all their struggles, you can tell that they love the freedom and independence of their craft, and above all else, they love the water. They are married to the water, and the water will make or break their lives.
