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I don’t know if you remember, but last year I posted about a giant rubber duck that appeared out of nowhere in the harbor of a Maine town. No one knew where it came from or who deployed it… but everyone loved it and reported sightings with gleeful enthusiasm.
Now?
It’s back…. and yeah. Bigger and better than ever. 
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Last year it said “Joy”, this year it’s “ Greater Joy”.
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A random floating giant rubber duck is a beautiful thing.
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Our last stop in Stonington wasn’t planned, and we just happened to drive by… but it was a lovely end to the day.
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Random public access to beaches is common in Maine. They’re not marked, they’re not named, they just are.
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And sometimes they have a fabulous rock that looks like a sleeping walrus.
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Ah, Maine…
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This float had been pulled up for the season.
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And if you know anything about the coast of Maine, you know sand is at a premium.
Mostly it’s rocks, which my ever intrepid husband continues to climb…
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Not always gracefully.
😉
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You know you want to.
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I’m not sure I can top Benjamin but here goes…
1. A Single Samurai.
Even Kurosawa would have had a time with that.
2. Star War.
After the appearance of Jar Jar, this might have been a good thing.
3. The Grape of Wrath.
And I thought it wasn’t possible that film could be any more depressing.
4. One Angry Man.
They’re everywhere these days, so that doesn’t seem to be much of a stretch.
5. Edward Scissorhand.
Try and trim a topiary with that Ed.
Your turn!
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Heading out of the harbor proper, we found some scenically beautiful spots.
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For gorgeous coastline, it’s hard to top Maine.
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We drove at will, no destination in mind. And sometimes cutting down side streets resulted in dead ends.
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Like a marina we didn’t know was there.
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Other times there were loop roads….
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With extremely peaceful seating.
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And if you want peace and quiet? Take a tip from that guy.
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He certainly had the right idea.
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Have you ever checked the search terms on your blog?
I never really thought about how people found my site, just figured they were like minded weirdos who liked rocks and woodchucks…. but then I read a friend’s post and realized Google could have directed readers searching for specific things to my little corner of the virtual hemisphere.
The results?
More than a little disturbing.
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I admit I did write a blog about ukuleles a while back, but I promise you…. pictures of young girls doing it doggy style have never appeared on this page.
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Likewise for that abomination! And while I was seriously tempted to Google it myself for the purposes of adding a comical image, that’s an algorithm I can most assuredly do without.
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I did post ad nauseam about our trip to Sedona, though to be honest I don’t remember meeting any snake men uptown.
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I have no explanation for dong diet whatsoever, though it was directly followed by ‘I really shouldn’t’ so that may be all the explanation you need.
🤣
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Walking around the village, there were ample rocks.
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This is the Maine coast after all.
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We walked the harbor… taking in the sights, sounds and random clumps of rope.
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It’s a place frozen in time and all the better for it.
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A few old buildings have been spruced up for overnight accommodations, but there are no chain hotels and not a Denny’s in sight.
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It’s first and foremost a fishing town, and unlike many of its southern brethren has managed to hold back the inevitable tide of “progress”.
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If you’re ever in the area….
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It’s definitely worth a look.
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We have a group of sparrows that live to tease Lord Dudley Mountcatten .
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They perch on the deck railing and patio furniture… driving him absolutely insane when he’s on the back of the couch.
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So when we go outside for walkies? His Lordship is primed to hunt.
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Not that he ever comes close mind you. Those birds are too smart and too fast.
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But we chase them from bush to bush around the house and hope springs eternal.
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They know he can’t catch them, and seem to take great pleasure in the game.
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That sparrow is smiling. I know it.
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You can’t really tell from the picture, but trust me.. he was airborne here.
By the time we make a full trip around the house? They’re back on the railing…. and laughing.
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Lord Dudley on the other hand…
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🤣
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On a beautiful fall day in Maine, we drove up the coast to Stonington.
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A picturesque village… quaint and quite pretty.
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With the feeling you’ve stepped back in time.
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Stonington is a fishing town and known for being the largest lobster port in the state, if not the world.
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Last year they hauled in $43.26 million dollars worth of the glorious crustacean.
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And though I can’t eat it anymore… cue the random sobbing noises… I was still hungry after the two and a half trip.
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Enter the Harbor Cafe, one of only two restaurants in town.
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It sits right across the street from the harbor and at first glance seemed like a good choice.
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There were cocktails and my Pimms cup was delightful.
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The clam chowder was thinner than I like, but had a wonderful flavor as well as being loaded with clams.
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$23 seemed a bit steep for my crab roll but it was delicious, not the overly dressed crap that passes for crabmeat elsewhere. Husband was less than thrilled with his fried haddock as it was extremely thin and arrived in a plastic basket. Want to piss off my spouse? Charge him a high price and serve him a meal without a plate. The mashed potatoes that accompanied the fish were truly inedible. Real, but so over whipped as to be nearly liquid with an overpowering taste of margarine. Epic fail for what turned out to be a $102 bill with tip.
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But back to Stonington. Tourism has tried but thankfully failed to change the flavor of the town.
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And so we explored….
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When we’re in the Jefferson New Hampshire area we always make a point of stopping at an excellent little family run restaurant called the Waterwheel.
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There’s an actual wheel that was turned by water back in the day and every meal we’ve ever had there was delicious.
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It’s a down home country place only open for breakfast and lunch, but since Covid they’ve had reduced hours and are closed a few days a week. Naturally every time we’ve stopped in the last two years they were shut up tight.
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So we were thrilled to find them open on our trip home and stopped for lunch. Though there were a lot of empty tables, they were short handed for staff and we had time to browse the gift shop before we were seated.
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I really should have bought some of these for gifts.
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Or at least a few of those. But our name was called and we quickly sat down to order, mouth watering at the memory of homemade chicken pot pies, fresh roasted hot turkey sandwiches and creamy chowders. And then I opened the menu.
Gone were all the previously delicious selections… and what was left wasn’t even worth considering . Hot dog, hamburger, grilled cheese. I was beyond disappointed and though we weren’t really in the mood, we ordered breakfast instead.
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Ugh. Biscuits and gravy that looked (and tasted) like Alpo with home fries that looked and tasted like cubed frozen french fries. Husband ordered poached eggs with Hollandaise and didn’t fare much better. Tiny eggs, tiny portion of Hollandaise.
They say you can’t go home again, and it’s a shame but I doubt we’ll going back here either.
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Because it’s more fun than the kind you can.
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I know staffing shortages around the country are bad, but… wow.
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This is good news, but it does make me wonder who studies these things… and how they got a worm to spit on command.
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Worm spittoons. Does Amazon sell those…?
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I’m going to pay $75 for an animal that eats dried poop in the park? No.
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I can’t find my own umbrella when it rains, now I’m supposed to remember my phone’s?
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Should we?
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This is a little disturbing.
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Makes me glad I never developed a taste for it.
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River's world..... 