Weather watch

The first forecasts for the wedding weekend are starting to come in. Pretty much more than useless, because they are almost never anywhere close to accurate this far out, but I'm keeping an eye on it, so you might as well too!

Life on Islesford

When we went up to Maine in April to do some wedding planning, we had a fantastic dinner at Dan & Cynthia's house with their friends Bruce and Barb Fernald. The meal was excellent, and the company was even better. It was the first time we had seen Barb since the day after we got engaged--she was having dinner with Dan and Cynthia when we arrived at the restaurant, and so she was among the first in the world to know about our engagement (not only that, as the local society columnist, she was the first to publicly record it, in the July 27, 2006 edition of the Mount Desert Islander!)

Little did we know that Bruce and Barb were famous! I recently picked up this charming little book called "The Secret Life of Lobsters" by Trevor Corson, and it turns out Bruce and Barb are major characters in it. Here's how the book starts:

The morning sky was glowing pink in the southeast but a chill hung in the salt air. The grumble of a truck engine echoed across the harbor. Bruce Fernald's rust-encrusted Ford pickup skidded to a halt in the gravel near the fisherman's co-op on Little Cranberry Island. ...

A century earlier, three hundred Maine islands had been home to year-round communities of fishermen and seafarers. Little Cranberry Island was one of just fourteen such year-round communities that remained. A mile and a half long and shaped like a pork chop, it lay among four other small islands that together formed the Cranberry Isles. Nestled just south of the larger island of Mount Desert, the Cranberries were visible to hikers in Acadia National Park as a cluster of green slabs on the ocean.

Little Cranberry Island had been Bruce's home for most of his fifty years, and he'd spent most of his adult life trapping lobsters around the island's shores. ... Down the main street was the Protestant Church. In the other direction was the Catholic chapel, where a fisherman's net hung behind Jesus, the fisher of men. Bruce Fernald attended neither, but if the lobstering didn't improve, it was possible he'd begin attending both.

Guestbook Outtakes, Part 3

...And just a few more.

Guestbook Outtakes, Part 2

Here are some more photos. Nice looking people we got coming!

Guestbook Outtakes, Part 1

We had a great time putting pictures together of all of our friends and family that are coming up to Maine. Sometimes it was a question of finding any suitable picture to use (or getting Martin to stand in), but more often than not it was a question of picking one picture out of lots of great ones. Rather than binning all of the other photos, I thought it might be nice to post a few of them here.

Good Places to Go in Southwest Harbor

Southwest Harbor is definitely on the "Quiet Side" of Mount Desert Island, but there's still plenty to do, and plenty to eat. A few places we haven't mentioned yet.

First, and probably most essentially, for groceries, last minute cravings, and the stuff you forgot to bring, you can stop by Sawyers Market (grocery & specialty) or Sawyers Specialties (wine & cheese). Both are right on Main Street, you can't miss them.

Relatedly there's a nice little bakery known as the Little Notch (also a pizzeria just up the road), both on Main Street. The bakery is close to the Captain Bennett House and the Harbor View Motel.

For fine dining we've heard great things about a couple restaurants, both of which we hope to try while we're up there. The Red Sky is on Clark Point Road, towards the Upper Town Dock, and has gotten superb reviews.

Another interesting place is out in Manset (and therefore near the Seawall Motel), a Mexican Restaurant called XYZ. We were skeptical that there could be quality Mexican up there, but we've been assured it's excellent. Here's one review:

Named after Xalapa, Yucatán, and Zacatecas, Mexico, this south-of-the-border-style restaurant will be sure to challenge your notion of Mexican food. Owners Janet Strong and Robert Hoyt have long been committed to re-creating authentically earthy fare in this bright hideaway. They were serving dishes with chipotle chiles way before most Americans knew how to pronounce them. Enjoy their zesty mole, wonderful homemade chorizo, and robust seven-chile chili. The fresh lime margaritas help soothe the palate. Reservations are helpful. Open for dinner Memorial Day-June and Sept.-Columbus Day Fri.-Sat., July-Aug. Mon.-Sat. Entrées: $8-$21.

There are lots of other places, of course, like Beal's Lobster Pound or the Westside Grill, but you'll have to figure those out for yourself. Good luck!

Directions to the Upper Town Dock

The trick to getting to this wedding, as most of you know by now, is that it's on a little island that you'll have to take a ferry to. Since most of you are staying in Southwest Harbor, it's important all of you know where the Southwest Harbor ferry is.

Now before I go on, let me assure you that this is all easy, and you won't have any trouble. This is much, much more information than you'll ever need. But here it is anyway.

First, here's a screen grab from the "Maine Map" page from our website. The red markers are all the different places people are staying in Southwest Harbor. The black marker is the Upper Town Dock. You'll see that the vast majority of people are clustered on on near the intersection of Main Street and Clark Point Road. That's natural, because that's the center of the town. So here are the directions from Main Street and Clark Point Road:

From Main Street, go east approximately 0.43 miles on Clark Point Road. The entrance to the dock is on the right.



That's it! You pass one stop sign and a couple of unmarked intersections before you get there. (Here's some more driving directions, also with pictures. Scroll down.) One thing I'll add is that since parking space is limited at the dock, please plan to walk, if at all possible, from your hotel, or from the municipal lot back at Main Street and Clark Point Road. The other thing is that the entrance isn't particularly well-marked. There's one sign. And this is what it looks like!

Now, that should be more than enough to get you to the dock. The chartered ferry leaves at 4 p.m. If you miss that, you're out of luck. But you can also take an earlier Cranberry Cove ferry to Islesford at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. if you like. Bring your wedding stuff over and explore the island!



Finally, just to make sure this is "more information than you'll ever need," I'm going to include a video of Amy, Martin, and I trying to find our way from Main Street to the Upper Town Dock. Here's a map of the route we're following, and below that is the video itself!

August Eighteen Invitational Croquet Tournament

It's too bad we're not all up in Maine right now, because we're all missing the 31st annual Claremont Croquet Classic being held at the Claremont Hotel in Southwest Harbor. (We have one lonely guest staying at the Claremont for our wedding, by the way.)

But if you're really eaten up about this (as I am), you're in luck! For awhile we've been planning to have the August Eighteen Invitational Croquet Tournament on Islesford's town field before the wedding Saturday afternoon. [Late update: The "Invitational" part is very much meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Everybody's welcome to play whenever they show up!]


Now, everything about that last sentence is pretty tenuous, from the name (which I just made up), to the "planning," which basically involves bringing a croquet set and some champagne, getting permission from the mayor to have alcohol on the field, and enough people show up early to play.

Mayur has agreed to bring the croquet set, and Jimmie has agreed to secure the booze, so we're in good shape! Come out early and have a whack!

More guests in the guestbook!

Welcome to August! The last month is finally here, and we're ringing it in with news of new guests coming to the wedding! Kyle and Sarah. Sarah is Laura's sister, which makes Kyle Laura's brother-in-law and Corbett's bandmate. With Kyle, Corbett, Sinderson, and Flood all coming, we almost have the full band in attendance on Islesford. Hmm.

While I was updating the website I added a bit more info to the Schedule of Events if you're really bored. Today Amy and I bought a couple of great prizes to give to the best dressed male and female at the Friday Night barbecue. I was going to take a picture and put it up here, but Amy already wrapped everything up, so it will have to remain a surprise. Go visit Sheplers.com and get your cowpoke stuff quick!

Lobster Boat Racing

Another article to give you a sense of the area in summertime:

Off the Coast of Maine, the Time Is Right for Racing in Bulky, Plodding Boats
By MAREK FUCHS

STONINGTON, Me., July 15 — The lobstermen’s ball lasted until the early hours, and then the lobstermen mostly stumbled their way back to the shipyard, where they spent a restless night on their open boats, under a bad roll of fog.

The well-prepared managed to prop up tents on their decks, but for others bed was nothing but the hard surface of the engine covering and a blanket.

On Sunday morning, it was time to head out to sea — not in search of lobsters but for a competition that has become one of the social events along the coast here, a Kentucky Derby for the trapping set.

Lobster boats are built to be sturdy and are capable of handling pretty much anything on the open water. They are not built for speed. But several times during the summer, up and down the coast of Maine, lobstermen soup up their engines, weigh down the back of their boats and gun the vessels in races that are sanctioned by the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association.

Jimmy Brown, a 56-year-old lobsterman from Montauk, N.Y., came up to watch the race, but he did not find it particularly practical to speed about in a lobster boat.

“You have to let the cages soak,” Mr. Brown said, “and besides, economy is more important than speed.”

Edward Shirley, 62, one of the participants in the weekend of races, thought otherwise.

“You don’t make a lot of money in this race, but it’s good people and camaraderie, and lobstermen are always in need of comrades,” said Mr. Shirley, who lives on Verona Island, Me.

This weekend’s racing took place in this fishing village on the tip of Deer Isle, an island connected to the mainland by an almost comically antiquated suspension bridge. It is populated by lobstermen and vacationers, many of them artists who came here for part of the summer long ago and never left.

The lobstermen on the island have challenging lives that include seasonal employment, early hours and grinding physical work that can shred shoulders and backs.

At stake in Sunday’s races were $4,000 to $5,000 in cash, thousands of dollars more in prizes including a bilge pump and oil, and bragging rights.

Local lobstermen had the benefit of sleeping in their own beds, which was an advantage to Andy Gove, a 77-year-old who was the heavy favorite in his race class.

Mr. Gove’s 36-foot, 900-horsepower boat is named “Uncle’s U.F.O.” — though he is not sure why.

“My wife’s brother suggested it,” Mr. Gove said, “and I didn’t have anything better, so I took it.”

Though delayed because of the fog, the races — nearly three dozen of them, divided by classes — took place on Sunday. The first was for boats 16 feet and under, with skippers 18 and younger, all the way up to a class for boats 40 feet and longer with at least 750 horsepower. There was a separate class for women. And all the classes compete in the open diesel division.

The course ran more than a mile, most of it a flat-out sprint. About 150 other vessels, from lobster boats to viewing barges, ran through man-of-war jellyfish and several seals in Stonington Harbor to watch from the best vantage point, forming a pathway for the racers.

After averaging 46.4 miles per hour against the current to win the day, Mr. Gove was crowned the overall champion. Word around the shipyard is also that Mr. Gove uses his age to lull competitors into a false sense of security, but he said after the race that his days on top might be over.

“Too old,” he said with a shrug as he was greeted with hoots, backslaps and compliments.

Bridge Is a Marvel

One thing that happens when you take Route 1 up the coast to Acadia (again, not that we necessarily recommend doing so) is that you take the brand-new Penobscot Narrows Bridge. And I mean brand-new. Last July when we passed through Bucksport, we still crossed on the old suspension bridge. It's an impressive sight: The NY Times wrote about the new bridge recently:

July 10, 2007
Sure, the Bridge Is a Marvel, but How About the View?
KATIE ZEZIMA

The most breathtaking view in Maine, some say, cannot be seen from the summit of one of the state’s majestic peaks or a bluff overlooking the ocean.

Instead, they say, the best way to see the state’s natural beauty is atop something manufactured — the 420-foot public observation tower of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory.

The observation tower, which opened in May and is the only one in the United States, provides an awe-inducing panorama of Maine’s mountains and coastline and a bird’s-eye view of the nearby village of Bucksport. The bridge opened to traffic in December.

The bridge, a 2,120-foot-long span that seems to pop up out of nowhere in this rural area about 20 miles south of Bangor, is being heralded by two very different stakeholders.

Civil engineers see it as a major innovation and a test case for cable-stayed bridges, while local tourism officials hope it will attract visitors to an area that many speed past on the way to Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor or the Canadian Maritime provinces.

...

The 13-foot-by-25-foot observation room, accessible by an elevator, offers a 360-degree view that includes the Penobscot River, islands in Penobscot Bay, mountains, hills and lots and lots of trees.

On a clear day, visibility extends 100 miles, allowing visitors to follow the curving, wide river north toward the peak of Mount Katahdin. Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park and the rolling Camden Hills can also be spotted.

The local view from the top of tower, an obelisk modeled after the Washington Monument, is just as impressive. The town of Bucksport beckons below, with boats bobbing in the harbor and gray-shingled buildings lining the streets. Fort Knox, a military installation built in 1844 to protect the Penobscot Valley, lies just below the bridge.

“It’s phenomenal,” said Sharon Dunbar, 43, who grew up in Bucksport and lives in Middlebury, Vt. “It’s amazing to see my hometown so clearly from up there and look down and see the waterfront and all the views. It’s breathtaking, just amazing.”

The $89 million bridge is one of a kind, civil engineers say. A typical cable-stayed bridge, in which cables stretch from one or more towers to support it, uses steel cables. This one is the first in the nation to test carbon composite cables, which are believed to be stronger than steel cables and more resistant to corrosion, said Tom Doe, the bridge’s project manager.

Six carbon cables, along with hundreds made of steel, are encased in stays, or the long, white tubes that make up the bridge. The cables are normally bundled together and placed in the stay, making it difficult to replace a single cable. But the Penobscot Narrows Bridge uses a cradle system where cables have an inch or so between them. This allows engineers to pull up to two strands out of each pylon to check them for structural integrity or switch from steel to carbon.

...

The Penobscot Narrows Bridge was a rush replacement for the neighboring Waldo-Hancock Bridge, a suspension bridge that deteriorated and corroded. Building a cable-stayed bridge took the least time and money, Mr. Doe said. The bridge’s concrete structure will also ensure that it lasts longer than a steel bridge, said Cheryl Maze of the Figg Engineering Group, which designed the bridge.

...

Ms. Kimball said many people had fond memories of the old bridge, which still stands. But, she said, people are excited that the new bridge has helped bring communities together.

“This has given us a chance to start working as a region,” she said. “Now everybody wants people to know their town is near the bridge.”

A night out on the town

We're getting down to the stage where every time we see someone it might be the last time before we see them before the wedding, so maybe in that respect our adventures last night are worth a short comment. First up we had dinner with Janelle and Freddie (and Windy, Katie, & Chris) at Habana Outpost in Brooklyn. I hadn't met Freddie before, so that was good. We talked music--Elvis, late-50s rock & roll, mid-90s hip hop, you know, the usual!

After dinner we went over to a birthday party for one of Amy & Janelle's colleagues, at a bar in Park Slope. We were well and truly cooked by then, which may explain why we decided it would be a good idea to make one more party--back to Manhattan we went (me and Amy and Windy) to a bar holding a karaoke night and celebrating George's birthday.

We got there after the high point of the party but still managed to revel with Philip, Deirdre, Maddox, and George, among others, and also brutalize Heart's Alone and Digital Underground's The Humpty Dance.

A great night, for which we've spent all day today recovering from!

Culture on the Maine Turnpike

For those of you driving up to the wedding, there's a very cool sight waiting for you just after you make it to Maine. In the service plaza in Kennebunk, they just recently installed a huge mural by William Wegman, "probably the world's best-known photographer of dogs." The mural, called "Mooselook," is 30 feet long and 5 feet high and features photographs of the Weimaraners. According to one report, "Mooselock" has "the light brown dogs facing the camera and lit in such a way that their ears could be antlers and their long legs as knobby as the legs of a moose." In addition, there is another mural (shown here) in the southbound plaza you can catch on your way back!

An excuse to post a photograph

The page was starting to look a little white, so here's a post. While looking around for something else, I noticed that the Harbour Cottage Inn redesigned their website. It looks very smart.

One feature they've added is an "online concierge," basically some things to do, places to eat, etc., in and around Southwest Harbor. If you're there an extra day, and need something to do, it's worth checking out.

The selling of Maine's coast

Interesting article about declining waterfront access in Maine:

The selling of Maine's coast
Fishing industry access squeezed by development
By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff June 17, 2007

SPRUCE HEAD ISLAND, Maine -- Fishermen on this rocky, pine-studded peninsula have felt a creeping unease in recent years, as real estate prices leapt skyward and stories circulated up and down the coast of fishing piers sold to make room for million-dollar vacation homes.

Two years ago, in response to growing concerns on the coast, state officials and researchers set out to map the waterfront access of Maine's working fishermen. What they found was more alarming than anyone expected: Along Maine's 5,300-mile coast, only 20 miles of shoreline remain open to commercial fishermen, according to the study the Island Institute released last month.
...
Advocates for fishermen say towns should recognize the value of their presence, which adds character and attracts visitors. That perspective was not lost on the developer of the upscale Harborside Hotel and Marina in Bar Harbor, who bought the last privately owned fishing dock in the harbor. Instead of evicting the fishermen, the hotel has preserved their access to the pier and the sandy beach nearby where they repair their boats. Guests are fascinated by the scene, said Eben Salvatore , director of operations for the resort. "They're hard-working guys, and they've always been respectful of the fact that our customers are right above them," said Salvatore, who grew up in town. "It feels good when you can run a nice property and at the same time help people feed their families."
...