For the past few years we have slipped into the rut of spending Labor Day weekend in the Boothbay region of Maine. This year was no exception. We left on Saturday, August 31 at 8:00 AM and arrived in Boothbay at around 4:30 PM.
After checking into the motel we headed to the harbor area just to look around and unwind after the ride. Mom did some shopping in one of her favorite stores "Gimbels" and after that we drove over to Brown's Wharf Marina for dinner at their restaurant. I was waiting for a sunset to match the sunset I took last year on Labor Day weekend but the sun and clouds did not co-operate like they did last year. I will let you decide which year is the better shot in the photos below. I also had an opportunity to take some other shots of the harbor area.
Sunday was September 1 which also is our anniversary and this year we were celebrating our 40th. after breakfast we attended the 10:00AM mass and headed up to the town green in Boothbay for their annual craft show where mom got an opportunity to do some more shopping. She didn't buy anything for me for our anniversary and neither did I for her. After this shopping experience we drove over to the Pemaquid Point area for more shopping at the South Bristol Craft Co-OP. This is one of moms favorite establishments and they do carry some real neat items. Then it was over to Shaw's dock for a seafood lunch. The lobster pound downstairs had segregated a lobster that had one claw that looked like the hand from Edward Scissorhands. From lunch we headed over to the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse where I roamed on the rocky ledges taking pictures while mom spent some time in the Art Gallery. On the way back to Boothbay we stopped at the Edgecomb Pottery just to look around. This store is like a museum. There are some really beautiful items on display with beautiful prices. I left my camera in the car. For dinner we depleted the lobster population by 4.
Monday morning turned out to be cloudy and overcast with the radio talking about the rain in Portland and Boston and the good chance of it moving up the coast. We had planned to move further north to the Blue Hill/Castine area and were hoping for a rain free day. On our way to Blue Hill we made sure that our trip took us past St. Patricks RC church in Damariscotta which is the oldest RC church in New England dating back to 1808. The little church was beautiful and they are now in the process of enlarging it with a large modern church that will be built behind the little old one. We then headed to Coopers Mills which is the home of Elmer's Barn. For years we had been seeing the advertisements for Elmer's Barn at the information centers and finally decided to go and see for ourselves. We could have done without going. Elmer's Barn in our opinion sells plenty of stuff most of which we would classify as junk. There was one violin in questionable shape in a glass cabinet with a price tag of $20,000 on it. I didn't question this but it must have been a joke or conversation starter. There was a classy welcoming sign which was plastered in various sections of the yard. You must go to see it to believe it. Since we weren't in a buying mood we left.
The primary reason for heading up to the Castine area was to go and see the Flash in the Pans Steel Band on Monday night. They perform at a street dance held in the little town of Brooksville, ME every Monday night during the summer and this Monday was the last performance of the summer. You need some perseverance to find Brooksville and Bucks Market in the Bucks Harbor area of Brooksville. It is a little spot up the shore from the Yacht Club. I estimate that it is about 20 to 30 miles off US 1 from Bucksport, ME. Finding it was a real challenge but find it we did. We arrived at the Market at around 5:30 pm two hours before show time. To our good fortune we found out that there is a quality cafe behind the store which was just about ready to open for the evening. Trying to find another restaurant would have taken us back about 30 miles. The food in this cafe called the Cafe Out Back was excellent. Mom had a veggie pizza which she described as the best pizza she has ever had. I had some kind of pulled pork concoction over pasta which was excellent. We were about the third couple seated and within about 20 minutes of our arrival, the restaurant was filled to capacity. The seating gods were with us. After dinner we took a stroll to the yacht basin and then returned to the street in front of the market with our lawn chairs to watch the band set up. At 7:30 the band struck up the first notes and off they went for an hour and a half with a 10 minute intermission. All I can say is that the Flash in the Pans is an excellent outfit. There were about 25 to 30 musicians in the group. According to the director they give lessons and invite anybody to join the group that is interested. They perform all over New England and quoted dates that they would be in Massachusetts and other places. I estimate the crowd that was listening/dancing to this group was in excess of 200. The dancing took place in the street and when a car had to go thru the crowd would just move aside and let them pass and then resume the activities. The band never quit. The sound they got out of those steel pans was astounding. They did play some big band stuff by Glen Miller and you would swear that there were saxaphones on stage. But no there were only steel pans, a drum and maroccas. The group has been together for 12 years. It was really astounding to find such music being performed in Maine in such a lovely and lonely spot. It was well worth the trouble to find this location.
We left Bucksport, ME at 9:00 am after breakfast and arrived home in High Bridge before 6:00 pm.
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