Yesterday was amazing!
After a late breakfast we went into town, Damariscotta to pick up a
couple things at Reny’s which is like a variety store. We got some more sparklers and some
mosquito coils (the mosquitoes are fierce around here) and a few other things. Then we went into New Harbor which is
about 5 miles away. Once there we
headed over to Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf, a restaurant right on the bay. Their dock overlooks the water. The menu is diverse but of course the
main attraction is the lobster.
You can buy a single lobster dinner (as of yesterday) for $14.95 which
comes with drawn butter, slaw or salad and a roll. Fantastic! But
those non-lobster eaters (and I can’t imagine who that could be) there is fish,
steaks and chicken to choose from.
After lunch at Shaw’s and more souvenir buying we headed
back to Damariscotta for a couple hours before the Puffin Cruise. Which was the amazing part. The puffin cruise leaves New Harbor at
5:30 every day on the Hardy Boat III.
The cost is $24 per adult and $15 for children. On the boat itself there are bathrooms
and a small snack bar. Our cruise
was narrated by Pete, a member of the puffin project which is run by the
Audubon society. He was very
knowledgeable and was full of corny jokes. We were able to spot harbor seals, terns, seagulls and at
one point someone said they saw a porpoise (Pete’s joke: at least now our trip
has a porpoise!) and of course we saw puffins. On Eastern Egg Rock there are 101 pairs of puffins that nest
there along with terns, seagulls, and guillemots. During the summer for about 6 weeks members of the Audubon
society stay on the island. Its
very rustic with huts and compost toilets. While they are there they count birds, tag birds and watch
their habits and compare the data to that of the year before. A portion of the cost of the cruise is
donated to the project.
Near the end of the cruise we spotted a puffin floating on a
wave. Captain Mike turned the boat
around so that everyone got a clear view.
The puffin stayed and turned, what a ham!–he looked like he was
posing. After about 10 minutes
Captain Mike said we needed to leave and apologized for us being about 20
minutes late, but we didn’t mind.
After leaving the harbor we took Laura, Bob and Garret for a
ride around New Harbor. It wasn’t
quite sunset so we got some spectacular pictures. We even took a short side trip to the Rachael Carson Salt
Pond. Rachael Carson started the
environmental movement. The salt
pond is a small pond surrounded by rocks that is filled with small marine creatures. But let me warn you to climb around on
the rocks you need sturdy shoes, take it from personal experience!
Then it was back to the campground for a quick dinner and to
try some more sparkler experiments.
Next time:
A picture collage of Maine
