Rhubarb and Lobster - A Maine-landers feast

So, the cliche is that we learn something new every day. Fortunately, on this trip, we blow that wide open. My mind is forced to expand whenever we enter a new state and I am confronted with the diversity of lifestyles in American as well as the consistency of Christian charity that we find in every corner of the union. And now for something completely different, we left the crowded, smoke-choked, honking-cussing city of Boston for the clean forests of Maine. We drove North up almost to Bangor to a small town (1.000 people) not too far from the Maine coastal waters and Lobster fishing region. We stayed with Keaton's aunt and uncle on their large piece of property where they raised Alpacas. Now that is an interesting animal about which I have learned a lot. I will not bore you with the details of alpaca spit, birthing, or eating habits which I found fascinating. Give me a call if you really want to know more.

The forests of Maine were immediately different from the Catskills and the Appalachians that we were used to. Green. Everywhere. Every corner of land that could be covered with tree was. You could walk 10 feet into a forest and feel as if you had just stepped into wilderness you would never be able to navigate out of succesfully. The roads? Unmarked. The directions we got included dams, local shops, and other landmarks. Not street signs. Though we got lost a few times, we always ended up finding our way in the end. I was introduced to rhubarb pie (and plant... it was homegrown in the Groene's garden) and we had a delicious lobster dinner (learned a lot about lobster anatomy). We hung out with their kids who were so much fun and full of energy, and we still got to sing a bit. The nearby town (Searsport) even recognized that we were coming and recognized us as we enetered the coffee shop. There was a sweet book store located in a former bank (thus, there was a SAFE in the middle of the bookstore!! SWEET). We then travelled to Belfast, a port city known for Lobster fishing. 

We walked around downtown and soon discovered that Belfast had a city-wide square footage limit on the commercial enterprises allowed into their city.  In other words, no Wal-Marts, Costcos, Big Lots, etc.  It was a pretty thriving little town capitalizing on its local flavor.  At the bottom of the hill, right on the harbor we looked up a bar/restaurant recommended to us by a woman in the bookstore of Searsport.  She said we had to go there if we liked beer.  So we arrived at Three Tides to find it closed and its owner holding his daughter and explaining to us that Monday was his day off.  He heard we were only in town that day, so he decided to "open" the microbrewery for 15 minutes and gave us four tastes of all his microbrews...for free.  It was awesome.  The guy was so kick-back, kinda hippie, but ultimately just a really chill business owner.  I bought a shirt 'cus I thought the place was so cool, and now the microbrewery has a story behind it as well.  Of course, if ever in Belfast, I highly recommend Three Tides.  :)  

We came home to feast on lobster, we each got our own.  It was a delicious dinner and a study in lobster anatomy (I can even tell males from females now).  In completely random news about how Tom is an idiot, I suggest that you all avoid electrified fences in the future.  While trying to pet their fluffy dogs, I leaned forward and my forehead came into contact with the electrified fence.  A large snap was heard by everyone around me, I reeled backwards and was temporarily unable to see.  After a massive headache, I recovered with just a slight mark on my forehead.  From the boondocks (or lobster docks) are Maine we headed down to bustling NYC... but for the literally challenged, we leave you with a picture or two of the beauty of Maine.