Thursday, July 22, 2010

Learning A New Trade...

The rain stayed with us for most of the night and when we woke this morning it was still pretty overcast.  And, still when we headed out at around 8:30, I questions the

Maine 002

skies.  But, by the time we arrived in

Maine 011

Bar Harbor, the day was looking promising.  We shopped  in this

Maine 009

cute store where we found some shirts we couldn't live without.  After making our purchases, it was time for us to meet up with our

Maine 034

tour group.

After we all boarded the

Maine 030

LuLu,

Captain Mike

Maine 038

gave us a little background about lobstering.  He said every lobsterman has his own registered buoy colors.  That is a good thing because when out in the middle

Maine 041

of all these buoys, it would be hard to know which trap was yours.

Most lobsterman have as many as 800 traps in both the 3 mile range and the international waters.

When we find our buoy, it is

Maine 136

hauled in using this winch.  Soon, we have the

Maine 137

trap on the side of the boat.  Time to inspect our

Maine 139

catch.

After a brief lobster lesson on anatomy, molting, and conservation, it was time to

Maine 154

measure this little guy to see if he was not too small or too large.

This one is a keeper.  He is about one and a half pounds, and it took him 7 years to get this big.

Time to

Maine 162

add more bait and

Maine 164

drop the trap back in the water.

This trap won't be checked for another 2 to 3 days.

Most lobsterman will catch 3 - 5 lobsters per trap.  The state of Maine will net about 90 million lobsters per year.

After our lobster run, Captain Mike took us to see the

Maine 102

Egg Rock lighthouse.

This is where the

Maine 084

harbor seals hang out.  These guys were all sleeping.

We did have the added bonus of seeing

Maine 082

this Bald Eagle perched on the rocks.

I always love watching the

Maine 062

waves crash against the rocks.

Other than a little

Maine 114

rain on our way back in, we had a great trip.   It was very interesting learning about the life of the lobster and the men who catch them.

Soon we were back to the

Maine 179

dock and ready for lunch.  Today, we chose the West Cafe.  We had dinner salads, shared some fried clams, and a piece of blueberry pie.  Yummy!

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Bar Harbor looking at the

Maine 014

old homes and all the

Maine 024

beautiful flowers.

We finished our walk out on the

Maine 185

sand bar.  You can walk all the way across...just be sure to return before the tide comes in!

On our way home, we stopped and purchased

Maine 201

10 pounds of blueberries which are now tucked away in the freezer.

All I can say is what an awesome day!

6 comments:

  1. Oh what a fun day!! Wish we had been with you guys! :)
    I love the pic of the waves crashing on the rocks too. :)

    Take care!
    Mike & Gerri (happytrails)
    http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great pictures. Going out for lobster is now on our list.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your lead picture taken at Sand Beach. One of my good buddys owned a lobster boat right on the Penobscot Bay so that he could get fresh lobstahs for his restaurant. He now owns another restaurant in Shaw's Cove, which we may visit on one of our excusions. As for blueberries, it's too early but, it's interesting to see how they are harvested - very labor intensive.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love that pic of the waves, too!! I wish you could take a ride out to West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. It's supposed to be the easternmost point in the USA and as you look down on the water, it's a picture perfect scene of the craggy shores of Maine. Just loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. One of my friend is from Maine (Fern Cobb sister-in-law). We had a great time the year we went to Maine.This brought back some great memories. The pictures were great.

    Blessings
    Bev

    ReplyDelete
  6. MMMMMMMMmmmmmm LObstah!

    Bring on the butter!

    ReplyDelete