Travels of Jackie and Randy: Finally, some good lobster!

Still looking for a great deal on fresh lobster. The price has droped to about $8 a pound here, and in towns near the ocean it's less. Stonington, about 70 miles away, has a Lobster Co-op where several fishermen bring their catch in daily to be sold. Now the price is just under $6 a pound, so last week we made a road trip there. This was a combination trip - a chance to enjoy a sunny day (it's sunnier by the coast than inland), see some of the area, and come home with live lobster.

I am still surprised by how rural Maine is. If you are not on I-95, you are on a two-lane road which goes right through the center of small towns, plus mile after mile of forest. It's good to see small-town businesses making a go of it. In big cities the massive chain stores have taken over, but in Maine the small businesses still have a chance.

When we got to Stonington we went to The Fisherman's Friend for lunch. The fried sampler platter was OK but the BLT with crab was better. And they serve clam strips differently here - it's called whole belly because they leave the innards on. I am not sure I'm going to get used to that...

Stonington is an attractive fishing village and they do a lively tourist business. The really picturesque part of the town is along the waterfront, where low tide reveals the building supports of rock or piers. A surprising number of buildings in Maine are completely sided in wood shake shingles. That was a fad in the Midwest a long time ago but high insurance premiums put an end to it there. In Maine the fashion is still going strong. And Mansard roofs, too, are found everywhere.

The harbor, and much of the town, is built on huge granite rocks. Big, solid rocks that cannot be moved. Where ever these rocks are, building has to be done around them.

When we were ready to head back we went to the co-op to get the lobsters. They load them up right on the dock. There is an open hole behind Randy, where they throw back what's not wanted. I thought it looked like an accident waiting to happen, but maybe everyone here is less clumsy than me. If I had been here long, I know I would have stepped into that hole.