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Eating 'Lobstah' Every Day in Waldo County, MaineBy Susan Scott SchmidtHow many days in a row can you eat lobster? During our week in Waldo County, Maine, we found out. In this picturesque land on the Penobscot Bay, just 100 miles from Portland, we sampled all the choices – sautéed lobster, lobster stew, lobster salad, lobster roll, and baked stuffed lobster – at every meal. In between the lobster, we fit in kayaking, hiking and some superb museums, among the crisp pristine air of coastal Maine. Waldo County showcases some of the finest nineteenth century architecture in Maine in the two towns of Searsport and Belfast. Searsport is rich with tales of sea captains who left town for the Orient and came back wealthy, of brave seafaring wives and babies born at sea, delivered by sea captain husbands. Centers of shipbuilding, these towns are where the “downeaster” ships (more practical than the flashier schooners) were built. When the ships took their voyages abroad, the townspeople invested in them by buying shares, spawning the phrase, “when your ship comes in” to denote prosperity.
The museum campus includes a 1950’s lobstering boat, a world class collection of maritime art, by Robert Salmon and the Buttersworth family; and a fully furnished Victorian sea captain’s house. You can also view the research library for maritime historians, ship models, a scrimshaw collection, lobster art. At the yardarm, you can practice pulling the ropes on a real ship’s rigging. At the stroke of eleven in the morning, the First Congregational Church, with magnificent windows funded by sea captains, is opened to the public.
Securing a commercial lobstering license isn’t easy. There is a moratorium on new licenses in Maine. A good lobsterman can gross $5,000 in a week – or nothing. Most gross $100,000 to $200,000 per year at the hard, backbreaking work. Lobsters are odd, solitary, competitive, cannibalistic creatures. You can’t farm raise a lobster. All the lobster you eat anywhere in the United States are caught wild in Maine. Lobsters are crawlers and bottom feeders. They eat herring, sardines and red fish. The lobster takes seven years to grow from larvae to a “keeper.” Lobsters actually have a mouth with teeth. They crush their food with their food with a larger pincer claw and shovel it in with their smaller claw. After an afternoon with Captain Terry, we adjourned to the Three Tides Restaurant in Belfast for a lobster bake. There, owner David Carlson was readying the outdoor wood fire. Carlson layered six inches of seaweed (still moist from the sea), potatoes, corn, lobster and mussels (called “steamers”). He claims he can even cook a hardboiled egg in this oven. The lobsters were ready, fully baked, in an hour. Upstairs at the Three Tides, he and his wife Melissa, the other half of the entrepreneurial couple, have created a trendy tapis bar, serving drinks and appetizers, in an old industrial building. For about $28 per person, depending on the market price of lobsters, the Carlsons will prepare a lobster bake. Just a brief walk from the Three Tides, Belfast is a hip shopping town. In the handsome brick Greek Revival buildings, we found coffeehouses, ice cream shops, art galleries and trendy clothing stores. After all that lobster, we spent the night at the 1794 Watchtide B & B in Searsport with innkeeper Nancy-Linn Nellis. It’s the kind of place where you can put your feet up and breathe easy. Eleanor Roosevelt stayed here while traveling to Campobello Island. From the handstitched quilts on the beds to the sun porch with its view of the bay, the inn is relaxing and tranquil. Nellis has painted her floor periwinkle blue and decorated the 70-foot sun porch with white wicker. She has filled the rooms with antiques from her shop next door. Nellis is a superb cook. During our four-night stay, we dined on fresh steaming popovers, light buckwheat pancakes, frittatas and cheese scones. I couldn’t wait for each morning to see what she would serve.
Schiller says Maine used to be hard scrabble country, with low wages from timbering and fishing. Now, he says, wealthy retirees are moving up from the lower states and starting creative businesses. He says they have fueled the economy, living off their 401(k)’s and raised the standard of living. We found yet another Maine character at Bryant’s Stove and Music Museum in Thorndike. Joe and Bea Bryant sell cast iron stoves for a living. Along the way, they have also accumulated the most incredible collection of mechanical toys. It’s like a Fellini movie. The first stop is a circuslike room full of moving toys – a mini Ferris wheel goes around; Santa Clauses dance; Barbie dolls parade in a fashion show. Everything is moving or singing – the Happy Hula Girls, the Slinky Slasher, the Hopscotch Dance Show. Stuffed animals are flying airplanes It is all set to carnival music. Apparently Bryant can fix anything and he does. The next room is filled with music – player pianos, a lap organ, a roll harmonica, calliopes, a hurdy gurdy, and a fog horn. Another room showcases a carousel horse. Bryant says he could afford the toys because he does not smoke or drink. “This was our beer and cigarette money,” he says. Some toys were traded for stoves. Others were bought. He gives his wife Bea credit for making the good deals. “She’s better at finances than me.” After the museum, we encountered more Maine characters in a lunch at the Anglers Restaurant, the best value food in the area. Owner Buddy Hall gives a demonstration seminar with his two pet lobsters, pointing out how to tell male from female. Using his family recipes, Hall serves every incarnation of lobster and a long list of homemade desserts – blueberry crisp, grape nut custard, 13-layer chocolate cake, strawberry and rhubarb shortcake. His specialty dessert for kids is called a Bucket of Worms – gummy worms, crushed Oreos, and chocolate ice cream. Prices are low, ranging from $5 to $15 for entrees. The most expensive thing on the menu is the single pound lobster for $15. This is a down home place where the locals eat. Trucks are parked outside and you can settle into your booth and relax. On our last day, we hiked at Moose Point State Park. With its typically rocky Maine coastline, this park, between Searsport and Belfast, is a bit of heaven. You may spot an eagle, a seal or other shore birds. The wind blows off the ocean and the park is serene. The hiking trail parallels the beach. There are picnic tables for lunching.We enjoyed the deep blue Maine ocean and rocky brown beach. If You’re Going: Waldo County Marketing Association – 800-870-9934 The Mad Captain’s House Three Tides Restaurant The Anglers Restaurant Penobscot Marine Museum Fort Knox State Historic Site Harvey Schiller Belfast Bay Cruises Bryant’s Stove and Pipe Museum Images by Thomas M. Schmidt |
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The
romantic old sea captains’ houses have now been turned into charming B &
B’s. And the proud seafaring heritage of the townspeople lives on at the
Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. We could’ve spent an entire day
here. Follow the painted lobsters on the sidewalk to the eight fascinating
saltbox buildings of exhibits. Development Director David Blanchard says the
museum is “a memorial to a way of life and the seafaring families.” 
After
the museum, we went lobstering on an educational cruise with 28 year-old
Captain Melissa Terry and her boat, the Good Return. As she spotted
fluorescent buoys and hauled in lobster traps, Terry told us about the
mysterious ways of lobsters. Lobsters did not become a commercial
success until the 1870’s. Today, it is a $220 million industry in Maine,
where 55 million pounds are caught every year.
On
our next day, we spent the morning kayaking on the Penobscot Bay with Harvey
Schiller of Belfast Kayak Tours. Schiller is a Maine character. His office
is in his truck. He pronounces us “full of beans” and assigns each of us
one of his eight kayaks. The water is glassy and smooth. My husband and I
are in a two-person kayak, trying not to fight. As a group, we learn
paddling techniques and paddle out to the center of the bay, enjoying the
breeze and sun. The boats are easy to handle and Schiller is a good
instructor. At the end, he hands out certificates of participation.