Travelogue: Maine Lobster Festival (August 2014)

Posted on October 14, 2014October 14, 2014 Posted in Food, travelTagged blueberry ice cream, Lobster Festival, lobster pound, maine, Maine lobster festival, Origami Owl, Young's Lobster PoundLeave a comment

Maine lobster festival.

On the last day of our trip, we drove to Rockland and parked at a high school to take their free shuttle bus to the festival. Info here.

We have arrived. Saturday admission fee was $8.

Carnival! Lots of vendors (food, clothing, jewelry, etc).

Then we saw a crowd of people taking pictures in anticipation…

LOBSTERS.

Other than lobsters, there were food trucks that sold other seafood and apparently, Vietnamese food. Pho sizzle.

Free Haribo gummy bears made my day. Gummy Colas too.

Got a cup of clam chowder to wash down fresh lobster meats.

Some vendors had long lines, but it’s expected for a Saturday.

Uhh… best ice cream in Maine? Of course I had to try it.

Blueberry ice cream with blueberries in it. Love.

Now onto the main tent for the whole lobster dinners. Long line but it moved pretty quick.

This was the single lobster dinner: $15. Probably should’ve gotten a double for $28. Their lobsters were fresh and meaty, juicy and sweet.

Some sides for you to purchase. Mussels and scallops.

After you get your tray of food, you sit down cafeteria-style and chow down.

It was time to go.

Origami Owl. One of the vendors at the marketplace was selling these necklaces where you can put charms inside.

It came in a Chinese-looking pouch…

My charms: coffee cup, a pair of angel wings, a seahorse, a starfish, and a watch mechanism.

After we got back to the car, it was about 1.5-2 hour drive back to our cottage. We wanted to grab food to go before sundown (when everything closes…).

Young’s Lobster Pound. I had Yelped this place before the trip but didn’t know if I would be able to fit it in with all the other lobsters fighting for space in my stomach. But since this was on the way back and some random guy recommended it to us, we had to stop by.

Bucket list for 2: $49.95.

There was a moment of chaos when nobody knew where to order with a crowd of people on random lines. But then we figured it out.

Order and get a number. One guy will handle your order.

The Bucket List for 2 came with two 1 1/2 lb lobsters, clams, mussels, shrimps, oysters, corn on the cob, lemon, butter, cocktail sauce.

Every order comes like this on a tray. If you are taking it to go like we did, make sure to ask them for a plastic bag to put this in, and then put it in a cardboard box that they provide. Otherwise, your car will be ruined with lobster juices…

Outdoor seating by the water if you want to watch boats.

Travelogue: Maine Day 4 (hiking & eating)

Posted on October 10, 2014October 10, 2014 Posted in Food, hiking, travelTagged 2 Cats, acadia, bar harbor, food, hiking, Japanese, lobster benedict, maine, Shinbashi, sushi, travelLeave a comment

We start the day off with breakfast in Bar Harbor. 2 Cats, a cute brunch place with bright decor.

I was looking forward to their lobster benedict (above) and lobster omelette (below), but their strawberry butter turned out to be the best thing there.

Inside the omelette were big chunks of lobster meat. The egg was a strange texture though, so I didn’t care much for it. After fueling up, we were ready for another day of hiking.

We planned to hike up to the Cadillac Mountain this time, but one section of the trail was closed so we took a detour.

Lots of blueberries on the way.

We went up Dorr Mountain and it was pretty fun; lots of scrambling and big rocks to climb. We reached the Cadillac and went back the long route.

It took us about 5-6 hours to complete the hike this time, and after that we looked for food on Route 3 again. But everything was closed except…

Shinbashi.

I know. Japanese food in Maine of all places?! It was pretty good!

Lobster tempura!

Unagi don was filling, and so was everything else.

Sashimi was super fresh. Thumbs up for sushi in Maine!

Travelogue: Maine Day 3 (Acadia & Bar Harbor)

Posted on October 4, 2014June 28, 2015 Posted in Food, hiking, travelTagged acadia, bar harbor, blueberry ale, blueberry soda, bubble pond, hiking, lobster rolls, maine, mount desert ice cream, Pemetic Mountain, stewman's lobster poundLeave a comment

From Bangor to Acadia, we took state route 3.

We had passed by many lobster joints on this route on the previous day, so our mission the next morning was to hit up one spot that was intriguing: Lobster Pound & Real Pit BBQ. Lobster and BBQ? I’m game.

Of course I had to get a blueberry soda! It’s what Bar Harbor is famous for. Blueberry everything.

Crab dip.

This was probably our 5th lobster roll on the trip. Not bad.

The brisket was kind of dry.

Yes, a real pit.

After our “breakfast/brunch”, we had to fight through food coma and take advantage of daylight for our hike.

Hello again, Acadia.

Bubble pond. I wondered why they named this bubble pond, and then I saw:

At the highest peak of every mountain, there’s a sign that tells you you’re at the summit. So if you have to wonder if you’re “there yet”, you’re most likely not.

Relaxing on top of the Pemetic Mountain.

I loved this view. So peaceful. There weren’t many people crowding around during any of our hikes, so we got to take pictures without much interference.

After a day of hiking, we drove to Bar Harbor to wait for my friends. We had some time to kill, so we got some ice cream…

There are several locations of Mount Desert Ice Cream in Maine.

Really digging the unique flavors they offer.

I believe I got cucumber lime, buttermint, blueberry sour cream crumble, and butterbeer.

Bar Harbor was peaceful and quiet. We strolled by many restaurants and a park where we sat down to eat a lobster roll from Downeast Deli.

Sadly, it was the most disappointing lobster roll of this trip. Bread was weak, meat was weird in texture, but I guess now we have a reference point for comparison.

We took a stroll.

Then we met our friends at Stewman’s Lobster Pound for dinner.

Blueberry ale. Tasted like regular beer with some blueberries on top.

I liked the outdoor seating at first, but then as it got dark it also got chilly and the lighting was so bad we almost couldn’t see what we were eating…

Next post: final day of hiking at Acadia. And more eating.

Travelogue: Maine Day 2 (Acadia National Park)

Posted on October 2, 2014October 2, 2014 Posted in travelTagged acadia national park, beehive, cadillac mountain, cliffs, hiking, lobster pound, maine, sunsetLeave a comment

On Day 2, we drove from Bangor to Acadia National Park. We bought an all week access parking pass for $20 — well worth it. I didn’t bring my DSLR on the trails, so here are some phone pictures.

We started off at Sand Beach and walked along the shore — there were many cliffs for you to explore. Loved the thrill of going to the edge!

This was on a trail called the “Beehive” — there were multiple iron rungs for you to climb. We got through 2 sets of them and I couldn’t get past the 3rd set, even though we were SO close to finishing the route! All I saw ahead was a straight cliff and I couldn’t proceed. My fear of heights won this time.

After our hike, we decided to drive up to the Cadillac Mountain… and we saw this:

Clouds reflected in a body of water… sun shining in front of our eyes.

When we got to the top of the Cadillac, all we saw were clouds below where we were standing.

Obligatory yoga pose.

Everyone was trying to savor this moment.

It was like we were driving above the clouds.

After sunset, we drove around to look for food. Apparently, everything closes at sun down. We were lucky enough to find one place still opened:

Next up: Day 3 of Maine — more hiking and eating.

Travelogue: Roadtrip to Maine (Day 1)

Posted on October 1, 2014October 1, 2014 Posted in Food, travelTagged cape elizabeth, cliffs, fort williams park, ice cream, kennebunkport, lighthouses, lobster, love locks, mabel's lobster claw, maine, mansion, rococoLeave a comment

We started driving early in the morning. From Boston to Maine was a bit of a drive, so I planned a few stops along the way.

First, we drove to the Merrimack Outlets for some tax-free shopping in New Hampshire. We spent about an hour+ there (didn’t find anything good) and moved on to our next stop: Kennebunkport.

Such a cute little town! It’s a fishing harbor and seaside tourist attraction.

We stopped in at Mabel’s Lobster Claw for lunch.

We got a lobster and crab roll. I really enjoyed the crab part, more than the lobster part.

and the lobster Milanese with shrimp coming out of the lobster… what a sight!

There’s ample street parking around the area, and we parked right across the street. Love outdoor seating!

Rococo artisan ice cream was high on my list, since I LOVE homemade unique ice cream flavors.

This was the best ice cream I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of ice cream.

I love their real mint — it’s not your typical artificial mint flavoring and coloring. There are real mint leaves inside! Sweet cream was also amazing. I got both flavors in a cup for less than 5 dollars.

It’s a small place, grab a scoop and sit outside or take a stroll. They’re really friendly and will give you samples if you ask nicely!