Tuesday 29 June 2010

Cats and Dogs, Mist and Laundry....

We had a quiet day today, caused in part by the rain this morning. Riding in the rain is OK, but starting to ride when it is raining Cats and Dogs is often difficult and it was for Paul and I today – it was chucking it down, so we left late today after thge worse of the rain had passed. Last night we stayed at a really good Bed & Breakfast called Elsa's Inn On The Harbor, in Birch Harbor, Maine. Here is a photo of the house....





















What was good about this B&B was breakfast, because many of the family arrived and sat and talked to Paul and I about the history of the house, work, travel and lobster fishing. Megan who runs the house now told us about her Grandmother who used to receive many fishermen and family members each morning for coffee and it seemed the tradition carries on to this day. We found the discussion about lobster fishing especially interesting and we learnt that young lobsters shed their shells as they grow and they are then called “soft shells” and are vulnerable when in this condition, so they hide away in the nooks and crannies until there shells harden – they are then hungry so are relatively easy to catch and as a consequence are worth less. As the lobsters grow they are called “hard shells” and are larger and are worth more. Crabs have seen a big decline, so the demand has gone down, and the price followed suit. It used to be more common to get huge crab catches, but not today.

We stopped for lunch near Ellsworth and had lobster and crab chowder – delicious!

After lunch we missed (it must have been the mist that prevented us from seeing it) an important turning to drive a loop road in Arcadia National Park, so we skipped that (we will do it tomorrow) and arrived early at our B&B on Deer isle, which is driven onto via an impressive looking bridge which is very high, presumably so that it could allow sailing ships to pass unhindered below. We took advantage of arriving early and did something really exciting instead – out laundry. Ho hum, but these things need doing when you are on the road. Here is a picture of the bridge to Deer Isle....

7 comments:

ronandrosi.blogspot.com said...

What a great trip you have planned. It almost inspires us to do a long road trip on the bike. We are pretty much fair weather bikers and it is hard to do a whole country without some weather problems. :) Hope it is nice for you tomorrow.

mq01 said...

ah to be able to tour as you are, FABULOUS! i may not be able to comment daily but i am following every post. another great day gary! hey, your previous mention about bridges with metal grates, yes!!!...we have some in the Bay Area. its irritating and sometimes unnerving, but you get used to it.

Unknown said...

Gary:

that's the beauty of not being on a planned schedule. Miss a road, do it later. If it rains, just wait. If you like it there, stay another day. Don't want to do laundry, buy another T-shirt and mail the dirty ones home, or stop by another lake

enjoy your riding vacation
bob
Wet Coast Scootin

Eve said...

My cousin is a Lobster Fisherman on Long Island Maine. He has done very well for himself over the years. I don't blame you for waiting out the rain. Maine is such a beautiful state. I know you will enjoy it very much!
Ride safe!

Tim France said...

It's great to read (and see) what you are up to - and no doubt it feels very busy with lots of things to do, stuff to fix etc, but it sounds pretty idyllic from here. The whole experience sounds amazing. Take it easy...... :-)

Gary France said...

Rosemary – I like the sound of me being able to inspire others to do a road trip! I am prepared for rain and won’t mind riding through it, but starting to ride in the rain when you don’t really need to is hard.

mq01 – I am glad that you are reading my ramblings. I am sure I will get used to it, but as you say, it was a little un-nerving. We also experienced “Grooved Pavements” – interesting!

Bob – I am sure that Mrs F would appreciate my dirty T-shirts being mailed home. They might be a little smelly by the time they got there!

Eve – Maine is a great state, especially the coast. We have had our fill of lobsters though. We learned that lobsters used to be considered junk food and they were given to prisoners as a daily diet, plus they were ground up and used as fertiliser! Wow

Gary France said...

Tim – Glad you are reading this. Yes, very busy and somehow I don’t feel relaxed yet, which could be down to me losing keys, losing glasses, jamming locks and getting the bike filthy!