It’s Sunday morning on Memorial Day weekend. Actually, I can’t believe that I am on dry land on a MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, and don’t really mind. Well, I don’t mind too much. Old habits die hard, though.
For the 30+ years that we owned boats prior to my retiring, Memorial Day weekend was the official beginning of summer here in New England and it was took a “cold day in hell” to keep us at the dock or on the mooring, as it were, on this, the first long weekend of summer.
Actually prior to my “new life” of semi-leisure (I did cut the grass yesterday, and trim the roses and the cherry tree…), I can only recall a single memorial day weekend that we weren’t able to head out onto the water and that was years ago and a result of insurmountable mechanical “issues”. No, I can’t recall the year and the exact problem, however. And that is just as well as it was no doubt so traumatic that I repressed the memory. To miss a long weekend…
However, it’s sufficient to say that it was a BIG DEAL. Yes, there were rainy Memorial Day weekends but that generally wasn’t enough of a deterrent to keep us from heading out. Sorry Brenda… Well, now times are different. At the very least, I just returned from several months in the Bahamas, but that’s another story and one that I have prattled on endlessly about in this blog.
So, what’s to talk about? Maine! Yes, Maine, where we will likely be heading later in the summer, after I complete my list of upgrades and repairs on Pandora. However, it’s a holiday weekend and I don’t want to talk about things I have to do to get Pandora “ready” just now.
So, I’d prefer to talk about one of my favorite spots in Maine and they are really great spots. We have cruised to Maine many times, about 15 actually, not to put too fine a point on it. However, the last time we’ve been there was back in 2011. Wow, that seems like a lifetime ago, alas I digress.
So, what are my favorite places to visit in Maine? Glad you asked… For now, I am going to just focus on one. I’ll cover others in future posts, pretty soon, actually.
So, Booth Bay Harbor: This is a wonderful spot to begin a cruise “down east” as it’s in the mid coast part of well, “mid-coast” Maine. There are some fun events scheduled according to the local chamber of commerce including an antique Lyman boat parade and viewing on Sunday August 10th. There’s also a town wide celebration on August 22nd through the 24th in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Boothbay. Sounds like fun.
One of our favorite ways to visit Boothbay is to take a mooring right down town from the Tugboat Inn. The moorings are very close to town, a few hundred feet actually, and are protected by a tiny and very picturesque island. I love the home that’s perched on it. Not a bad view to enjoy coffee with in the cool mornings. 
This harbor is well protected and has most everything you might need including a good grocery about a 15 minute walk outside of town. Of course, there’s plenty of “T shirt” shops but I wouldn’t hold that against them if I were you.
There are plenty of places to eat in town. Two of our favorite are The Boat House Bistro. We enjoy the third floor open air area with it’s great view of the harbor. 
We also enjoy a special meal at The Thistle Inn, just outside of town. It has a very historic feel and the food is quite good.
Of course, there’s lots more to do in Booth Bay Harbor but a simple Google search will give you more than I can in a single post. For now, it’s sufficient to say that it’s a great place to visit.
However, one problem with this spot is that it’s a hard place to swap crew as there isn’t a car rental spot very close. However, if you aren’t swapping crew. Not a problem. When I have to take on or relieve crew, my choice hands down, is Rockland. Stay tuned for a post on that.
This is in no way a complete overview of Boothbay harbor but it will have to be enough for now as I have to get on with my day. It is, after all, Memorial Day weekend.
That’s all for now.
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