Exploring Maine, one cannot escape the influence of its harbors and tidy homes in villages along its coast. Of the many we visited, here are some of my favorites.
The first harbor we visited was Sorrento, in Frenchman Bay,
where picturesque homes line its rocky shore.
Some have foundations as firm as Maine granite itself and
appear as solid as the oaks that surround them.
Vegetation often frames the homes in place.
Unlike most of the places I've lived, the vegetation in Maine
generally needs to be controlled, rather than encouraged.
Some homes were built right at water's edge!
An easy commute to his boat through all manner of blustery weather
must have made the proximity of this fisherman's home enviable indeed.
This church in Sullivan was constructed in 1885,
during roughly the same era as jonathan's family home,
located just down the road.
On our visit to Gouldsboro Peninsula we passed Wonsqueak Harbor,
at the eastern edge of Schoodic Harbor.
The harbor at Corea is busier.
Corea enjoys protection from the worst of the treacherous storm surges,
brought howling across the Bay of Fundy on the frigid Labrador Current,
by a series of small islands off the coast. Corea is also situated at the
upper end of a narrow neck of water, away from the open ocean.
Jonathan said that if the broken coastline of Maine was straightened,
it would occupy the length of the entire eastern seaboard!
Lobster buoys reflect time-honored local traditions where
patterns and colors specific to their owners make for easy identification.
Some area residents think they make a striking collection, and so do I.
In Prospect Harbor, we passed the historic Stinson Seafood packing plant,
where after a century in business, it closed its doors in April 2010.
A consequence of the diminishing herring fishery, fishing restrictions
reduced the harvest, limiting the ability of the small company to remain viable.
It marked the passing of the last sardine cannery in the United States.
Stinson Seafood once produced a tasty assortment of Beach Cliff Sardines.
A new buyer hopes to reopen and revamp the old Stinson plant in 2011
to process lobster and provide scarce local jobs.
We were fortunate to revel in many sunny days.
On one of them we visited friends who live
on the shore of beautiful Narraguagus Bay.
A passing boat on Narraguagus Bay, choppy the day we visited,
was heading toward historic Milbridge.
We arrived at Northeast Harbor as warm evening light was
casting its rich glow on the hillsides overlooking its waters.
Asticou Inn and its terraced azalea gardens are a prominent
local feature in an area known for its elegant gardens,
which offer free, or very reasonable, admission fees.
While most of the watercraft were quite seaworthy,
others were better suited to less perilous journeys.
