Blue Goose ~ Day 78

August 17, 2014 ~ Augusta, ME to Falmouth, ME

The Marriott had a generous complimentary breakfast, which I ate while watching the news from Ferguson, Missouri...specifically, the thuggish robbery.

Still had the jones for some coast; therefore, I went to Bailey Island accessible over the only cribstone bridge in the world which connects this island to Orrs Island to the north.

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Design of the 1,150-foot bridge was complicated by the tides in the area known as Will's Gut. It was decided to build a cribstone^{[clarification needed]} bridge using granite slabs from local quarries on the border between Yarmouth, Maine, and Pownal, Maine. Granite slabs were considered sufficiently heavy to withstand wind and wave, while the open cribbing allowed the tide to ebb and flow freely without increasing tidal current to any great degree. Some 10,000 tons of granite were used in the project. A concrete road (now part of Route 24) was built on top of the cribstones.

This area is highly developed with small art galleries, massage parlors, homes, restaurants, boats and shacks relating to lobsters and fishing,  real estate services, churches...and refuges in these coastal areas are even more important because of this. I drove slowly on narrow winding roads to the very end where I could turn around in a small parking lot, the whole Atlantic ocean right off the point.

Bailey's Island - ME

Just south of the cribstone bridge, I pulled onto a side road and found a restaurant where I had lunch, which was pretty much a disaster. It was much too pricey for what one got. I ordered a lobster casserole expecting generous meaty pieces of lobster meat in a good sauce. What I got was a bland, whitish sauce with a pathetic few odds and ends of lobster meat and some dry crumbs on top...dry as in probably poured from a box just before serving. The coleslaw, which was highly praised on the menu, was mostly dressed with an unspectacular sugary vinegar dressing.

A gentleman one or two levels above the waitress was moving about the deck, greeting customers and asking how they were doing.  I showed him the lack of lobster. He immediately offered to "remake" it for me. The second dish was only marginally better, with more meat and slightly browned crumbs this time, but still too much sauce which had an unpleasant texture, sort of a soupy mess between thin and thick. The place was Cook's, so if you ever go to Bailey's Island, don't go there. Later I checked it online and many reviewers had the exact same impression as I did. But they were others who thought it was wonderful...whateVer...

Still, it was pleasant sitting on a deck, watching the boats and people and birds...experiencing the Maine coast.

Bailey's Island - ME

The sky had cleared by the time I reached Falmouth and discovered a Starbucks and Walmart within half a mile of each other. The weekend was nearly over and the traffic had diminished. The late sun settled over the town; the temperature was 70-ish; the air was still and pleasant.

I had been questioning this whole project much of the weekend and half wishing I were done with it. I am driving too much in between the refuges, generating a carbon footprint angst, but which I (so far) rationalize away, often with thoughts of vacations involving planes. I am also spending more money than I should, but this is mostly for the immediate gratification of eating in restaurants, a recurring theme of my life, and obviously discretionary. Maine lobster was the current seduction with its mixed results. But I also feel blessed to be able to have this grand adventure...