The Maine Coast Part VI - Eatin' Lobsta

I can't be certain, but I believe we are leaving Maine's Mid-Coast Region.

We were anxious to walk the 4,300 foot long breakwater to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. It sounds really far when you measure it in feet, but it is only 7/8 of a mile.


Construction on the breakwater began in April 1881 and took 18 years. It cost $750,000 and is made of 732,277 tons of granite. The lighthouse was built in 1902 and still serves as an active aid to navigation.

Owl's Head Lighthouse was built in 1825 at the direction of President John Quincy Adams. There was an increase in shipping due to the lime industry in mid-coast Maine (towns of Rockland and Thomaston produced 50,000 casks of lime a year), therefore the need for a lighthouse.


Owl's Head Lighthouse is still a working light manned by the U.S. Coast Guard. We were ecstatic to learn that the 1856 Fourth Order Fresnel lens is still used today!

My Dad's name is Clyde, so I felt it appropriate to give him a call from none other than Port Clyde, Maine. The great thing about my parents is when I call they immediately head to google Earth to look up the town we are calling from. This time, I asked Dad if he could see us waving.


We ate a whoopie pie and watched two local fisherman each drink a 6 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer at the picnic tables on the wharf.

What are whoopie pies?

At first glance, they look like hamburgers in Handiwrap - like a quarter pounder with icing, hold the meat. Maybe even a Moon Pie on steroids! Basically, they are two mounds of cake glued together with icing. While in Port Clyde, we sampled a pumpkin spice whoopie pie. Mmmmmm!


A little further south, we drove to the Marshall Point Lighthouse and picnicked at the ocean. The first lighthouse was built in 1832, while the current one was built in 1858. To read more about Marshall Point Lighthouse, click here.

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Eating Lobsta!

Maine has some BIG crawfish! When we first arrived in Maine, we picked up a brochure appropriately titled "Lighthouses and Lobsters." You can't have one without the other, I suppose.

The brochure contained information on the lighthouses along the DownEast and Acadia Region, and the proper steps for eating Maine Lobsta!


We studied the rules extensively, but weren't confident enough in our abilities to eat a lobster in public. We envisioned the classic fancy dining scene in the movies, where an attempt is made at cracking the claw or tail, and lobster parts fly across the room. Thankfully, we were able to get our lobsters "to go" and had a fun photo shoot with the red bugs before we devoured them. Morbid, I know.


Just for fun, here are the tips on lobster peeling and eating...

1. Twist off the large claws.
2. Crack each claw and knuckle with a nutcracker, knife or rock (whatever's handy).
3. Separate the tail from the body and break off flippers.
4. Insert a fork or finger and push out the tail meat in one piece. Remove and discard the black vein by separating the top piece of meat from the main part of the tail.
5. Separate the shell of body from the underside by pulling apart (discard the green tomalley if you want, many locals consider this a delicacy) and open the body by cracking apart in the middle. Meat is in the pockets or joints where the small legs are attached. Meat in the walking legs can be eaten by biting down on the leg and squeezing the meat out with your teeth.
6. If all else fails - ask a local for help!

(My favorite are the images that go along with the descriptions. Many thanks to the Maine Lobster Promotion Council)

They say Maine's lobster season is year-round (most fish late June and late December), but that is not our experience. Most restaurants and dock lobster shacks are closed for the season, so unfortunately, we were unable to get the true Maine lobster experience from a wharf.


Some Maine Lobsta facts:

• The first official Maine lobster landings were reported in 1605, making lobster fishing probably the oldest continuously operated industry in North America.
• Actual commercial marketing of Maine Lobster began around 1840.
• There are about 7,000 licensed Maine lobstermen.
• 3.5 ounces of cooked Maine lobster has only 98 calories, 72 mg of cholesterol, and 0.1 g of saturated fat.