Travel Tales

On the rocky coast of Maine for Thanksgiving

With a bay view from every window

   The view from the deck of our master bedroom in East Boothbay overlooking Linekin Bay as the the lobsterman from across the bay returns with his catch. See another view at the bottom of this story.

Far from the madding crowd in a cottage built by a woodcarver and an artist

By Walter and Patricia Brooks

Our host is a wonderful artist, and her paintings cover every wall. Her studio is across from the cottage.

Can you imagine how relaxing it is to sit in the comfortable livingroom of this cottage which hangs over the salt water of Linekin Bay, and watch each evening's spetacular sunset.

The master bedroom features spectacular wrap-around views of  Linekin Bay and a gas stove . 

It also has a king bed and access to the upper deck. 

The kitchen looks out on the bay from all sides, and even the bathrooms have a bay view.

And Ron is a remarkable woodcarver with his work evident throughout the cottage, like this mirror of his with one of Mary Ellen's paintings reflected in it.

Another Ron-Mary Ellen surprise is the fleet of sloops painted on the inside of a bathroom door.

Each morning we watched the lobsterman from across the bay go out to pull up his pots. With the "bugs" at rock bottom prices of a little over $3 a pound here, the boats are making twice as many trips to earn the same amount they got a few months ago. This was his second trip on a chilly and wet Wednesday morning.

Its a five minute stroll to the picturesque village of East Boothbay with its shipyard and smashing General Store. (Photo coutesy of the latter)

On Thanksgiving Day we ate at  The Tugboat Inn in Boothbay with this scene as our centerpiece.

Massachusetts citizens made a terrible mistake during the War of 1812 by not providing enough protection to its northern shore which then extended all the way to the Canadian border and included what is today's state of Maine.

The result was the citizens of Maine rebelled enough to successfully get the US Congress to create a new state and separate from the Bay State.

Our terrible mistake was not insisting on taking the northern part and sticking today's Mainers with what is now called Taxachusetts.

The 21 st century result of all this is the hordes of Massachusetts residents who re-invade the Pine Tree State at every opportunity. The worst nighmare most Mainers have these days is waking up to see a Massachusetts licence plate on a car in the driveway next door.

Maine is, after all, what Cape Cod was like a hundred years ago.

Go North, young man and see the sea from every room

As most readers know we vacation with our grandkids in Maine every summer to escape from the vacationers who annually triple the population of Cape Cod from July Fourth through Labor Day, and this week we returned a second time to celebrate Thanksgiving on the sparkling shores of Linekin Bay in East Boothbay about a three hour drive northeast of Boston.

The wonderful couple we rented the Seanook cottage from, Ron and Mary Ellen Serina, have created a near paradise on Paradise Point Road three miles east of Boothbay.

To appreciate the pleasure this cottage offers, you would have to imagine yourself at the prow of a ship with wall-to-wall windows off the rocky coast of Maine. Cape Cod simply does not offer this kind of vista, our sandy footings would not allow it.

And the front room here, with it's roaring fireplace aglow, was so snug and cozy, we had a hard time leaving it to visit the area's many attractions.

Even reading a book was difficult as your eyes kept looking out again at the bay with ducks paddling past our dock, or a lobsterman swinging about to pick up his pots, or as another crimson and gold sunset turned suddenly monochromatic as a storm approached.

Heck, all we had to do was walk out the front door and turn right and wander along this bucholic little peninsula which looks out to the Atlantic and several islands directly in front of us like Damariscove.

Or we could walk a half mile to the left to the sleepy village of East Boothbay with it's busy boatyards and quaint general store.

And how do you describe a waterfront cottage built by a skilled woodcarver and a fine artist?

There are bits and pieces of it which resemple one of Ron's wood sculptures or Mary Ellen's art all over the place - like the little painting of a row of sailboats and seagulls on the inside of the bathroom door or his work-in-progress kitchen countertop.

Ron's business card reads; "Savior of fine furniture, rescuer of lesser brands.”

This spectacular property rents for $3,200 a week  during the height of the season, and it's a bargain at that price.

But from Memorial Day week and the first two weeks of June, and again the last three weeks of September, all of October and Thanksgiving week it is available at $2,200 a week for this four bedroom house with its own dock hanging over the salt waters of Linekin Bay.

That comes to $314 a night for a whole family.

Off season Maine and Moody's

In July and August Maine can also be a tad busy, but even then at a less hectic pace than as the Cape and most other eastern resort areas.

But at this time of year we had the whole, wonderful and oh-so-friendly place to ourselves. A good example was breakfast at Moody's Diner in Waldoboro last Monday.

And if you don't know about Moody's you are a diner naif.

This usually jammed eatery is the mecca of diner enthusiasts, and the usual twenty minute wait well worth it, But this week it was over half empty and the prices will embarrass the bistro-bandits of cape Cod:

2 eggs, 2 sausage links, 2 pancakes, $4.29.

On Thanksgiving the Moody special was even more incredible. Here's what you get for $14.50 on Turkey Day:

• Roast Turkey or Roast Pork
• All the fixin's
• Homeade vegetable soup
• Mashed potato, stuffing, gravy, turnip, squash, boiled onions, homemade bisquit, beverage, and
• A piece of apple, pumpkin or mincemeat pie.

Fine dining at bargain prices

One evening we had dinner at The Thistle Inn and had a world-class pizza, $10.95, while the rest had baked haddock for $16.

The portions were so large they had to bring half of it home for the next night's meal.

We wento back for the Tuna Burger with ginger soy mayo, grilled onion, and wasabe dusted hand cut fries for $11, an incredible Haddock Chowder and another pizza.

Another day the men went for a boys-only lunch at McSeagulls on the Boothbay Wharf.

This area is wall-to-wall tourists in season, but Tuesdayat noon we were the only customers. The Tuna Burger with wasabe mayo was a knock-out and my brother-in-law Jim Twite said his chowdah was as good as any he ever ate. My son Todd wolfed down his Drunken Rum BBQ Shrimp and Onion Rings before we could steal any from him.

I won't embarrass our Cape Cod restaurateurs by telling you how inexpensive it was, but here's the incredible menu if you're interested.

On to Thanksgiving

On Thursday we had our Turkey Day feast at The Tugboat Inn on the Boothbay Harbor where we may have to go as high at $16.99 for a Flat Iron Steak with fresh vegetables, roasted red potatoes and a freshly baked roll. The complete turkey dinner was $17.99.

Seanook Cottage Rental and Paradise Studio,
PO Box 115, East Boothbay, ME 04544 ~
Telephone: (207)633-6093 ~
email: paradisestudio@roadrunner.com.  The amenities include Wi-Fi, three satillite linked TVs, hundreds of books, a well-stcked and equipped kitchen and ocean views from every room.

   Below is the view from the deck of our bedroom on another morning in Maine.