Carta Blanca: 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.