Camden, Maine

Welcome to Camden, Maine!

It was a little rainy, and foggy, but it was just what I wanted.  I was tired of the bright, hot, Houstonian summer, and this was a welcomed relief.

It's a small cute town, with lot's of mom and pop shops that close at 6 pm, and a just a handful of restaurants and bars that stay open until midnight.  It was quiet.  Calm.  And very laid back. Definitely not the place to go for nightlife, but the place to be for some relax time and great food.

And the highlight of our trip to Camden was the schooner ride.  I am a little embarresed to admit that I had no idea was a schooner was until I looked it up in wikipedia, A schooner ( /ˈskuːnər/) is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts. All right,  bottom line, I was going to go sailing, and this I was definitely excited about, as I have never sailed before.

Here is our schooner.  We got a petit one, or so it seemed to me when I compared it to the others in the marina. I wondered if the captain had to endure annoying cliche jokes because of his small schooner.

And off we went...using the motor because of lack of wind.  So technically....we didn't go sailing.

It was incredibly foggy and misty, but I still managed to take some pics...

The Camden light house...

Camden from a distance. A thick line of fog just hovering over the town.

Another schooner..this one was big.  We took the 2 hour ride, but other schooners offered 3-7 days out at sea.

Lobsta' men/women coming back with their catch.

"Sailing" on, we headed towards the rocks, where the seals were waiting for us.

This was a lazy bunch.

The perky ones.

The loner.

And onboard we have the Perchuk men and Simone. Just 20 minutes out at sea and the Perchuk's were already acting like tough seasoned sailors...or so looks seem to deceive.

"Sailing" back we encountered beautiful lonely islands, slowly being uncovered by the fog.

Back at the marina, the small town had brushed off all of it's haze and welcomed in the sun,  just in time for our arrival.

Because I thought Maine's lobster fame was somewhat over the top, blown over proportion by skilled marketers, I was not expecting anything spectacular out of my lobster feast at Cappy’s Chowder House Restaurant. Not to mention that Cappy’s seemed like your typical tourist trap.  So I was very surprised when I had THE BEST lobster EVER at dinner. I am not sure if it was the lobster, cooking method or a combination of both, but the result was a flaky, tender meat, that didn’t need to be dipped in butter because it was just that good by itself. In the end, I kind of regretted ordering the lobster, just because I don't think any other crustacean can live up to the experience I had that night. And will I have to travel to Maine every time I want good lobster?  *sigh*

The steamers were fabulous too...if you ever get them remember to "remove the socks";  ask the waitress how to do this if you don't know.  I ate them because I was in the rebellious mood after a bit of wine, and the next day I deeply regretted it.  

My wine carafe was so freaking cute.  I am in the market for a rooster carafe.  

You really shouldn't play with your food Ross. 

Simone and papa in law.  The well behaved couple.

Talk about a good mini side trip.  I am just so lucky to be able to explore New England with such great company.  And it also made me happy to see Rossy having a great time next to his kin.  Here are a couple of more family and random pics.  Can't wait until our next New England trip!

Simone and papa in law.

The Perchuks.

 Taking a view of the marina

Gorgeous coloring on these flowers!

Rossy smiles! Yeah!

So peaceful and serene...I think she is having a good time.

 Dad and son.

Looking out for seals...

Vintage lobster traps.

Rhody: Beavertail State Park

If you ever find yourself in Rhode Island, I recommend stopping by Beavertail State Park.  It's free and amazing.  Not sure how this is my first time there considering I have been travelling to Rhody each summer for the past eight years.  There are only two restriction in the park: No alcohol and no firearms.  Fire arms is kind of a given, but alcohol surprised me a little, until I saw what Beavertail State Park was all about.  



Just like the picture shows, the most popular part of Beavertail is mostly made up of giant rocks that serve as balconies over the ocean.  People fish, lay on the stone like iguanas, or the sophisticated crowd bring a chair and umbrella.   we didn't do either since we failed to research on what the park was really about; I was imagining a trail in the woods.   As you can see, alcohol is probably not a good idea.  I was sober and had a bit of trouble climbing through the rocks...I highly doubt I would have made it back in one piece if I were tipsy.

Here are the Perchuk brothers taking in the view.  And I think I know what they were thinking...at least one of them..."...darn...I wish I had my swimming trunks".

The calm water next to the giant rock just looks so tempting to dip in....if only we had our swimming gear...

We also did a little reading at the park...here is papa in law educating himself on his surroundings....

To the right of papa in law, East of Beavertail,  is Narragansett

And straight ahead...just ocean and a boat that had a seagull trail....

The flowers and butterflies were very pretty as well...

What lucky butterflies.

We left Beavertail to head to our final destination, which was of course  a restaurant.  During trips I feel like we live to eat, and not eat to live.  Our lives definitely revolve around food...and adult drinks...which were strictly prohibited in Beavertail, and rightly so.  So we headed West, to Matunuck Oyster Bar.

The oysters were ok....but the Lobta' roll...now that was crazy.  I had a freaking claw in my roll! To say the least, we drank, we ate, we laughed and we enjoyed the scenery.  We weren't sitting on top of a rock staring at a vast ocean...but the scenery was quaint, the ambience screamed Rhode Island, and the company was the best.




Our view from our table...

This was just one of our side trips...more to come!