Safely and thankfully we are back from vacation after spending a little more than a week on the Maine coast.
We happened to be staying in Biddeford Pool, a small community a few miles north of Kennebunkport, where President George W. Bush was a three-day visitor at the Walker’s Point family compound. Our only chance of getting any real sense of his presence would have been to join the parade of cars slowly passing by under the watchful scrutiny of the Secret Service. We chose not to make that effort.
One man who did said he even saw a “warship” in the ocean off the 12-acre Walker’s Point peninsula. My guess: it was simply a fairly large Coast Guard vessel.
There is no doubt, though, that a Presidential visit commands a lot of protection.
Local news coverage of the event made mention of the likelihood that it was the last of the visits by a sitting president to Kennebunkport. Former President George Bush and Barbara live there, of course, but the incumbent President Bush is probably going to be very busy as his White House days draw to a close. And then he will be going to his Texas ranch.
*****
I am always on the lookout for Delaware connections while out of state, and on this trip chance had us bump into a couple from Wilmington because I noticed their Delaware car tags outside the one store in Biddeford Pool.
It turned out to be Andrew and Elnora Bushko, who were also on vacation. We didn’t know each other, but we said we were from Dover and they mentioned Phyllis and Irv Levitt of Dover. They happen to be long and close friends of ours and among the best known residents of the Capital City. In the case of the Bushkos, participation in the Delaware Humanities Forum was the connection.
When you are far from where you live it is always fun to meet someone with whom you have some common ground. Meeting the Bushkos was especially pleasant.
We did see two Delaware vehicles in the parking lot of DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant & Marina in Portland but did not wait around for the cars’ owners to turn up.
*****
This DiMillo’s restaurant does have a Delaware connection, which I have mentioned in the past. The ship which houses the restaurant was commissioned as “The New York” in 1941 and its first role was as a car ferry between New Castle and Pennsville, N.J. After 10 years it was sold to Virginia and as “The Norfolk” made ferry runs between Norfolk and Hampton. Seven years later it became “The Newport” in Rhode Island and later saw duty as housing for a youth center art colony in Pawtucket, R.I. The next stop saw it being used by the Setaucket Yacht Club of Port Jefferson, N.Y.
Finally it became “DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant” in the Portland harbor in 1982 as one of the largest floating restaurants in the country at 206 feet with a 600 guest capacity.
A new hull was installed in 1994 at the Bath Iron Works dry dock in Portland, greatly adding to its stability.
And the food is great.
*****
Among other restaurants we enjoyed was Pier 77 in Cape Porpoise, Buffleheads in Hills Beach, Allyson’s in Kennebunkport, and the new Run of the Mill Restaurant on Saco Island, part of a $100 million development project which intends to make use of the huge brick cotton mill buildings which once were the main source of jobs for both Biddeford and Saco.
The Run of the Mill place overlooks the Saco River and is already busy.
*****
If you do go to Maine you are certainly going to encounter the shellfish, which is so closely identified with the state, namely lobster.
This year an unusual situation has developed, which is summed up in a recent headline in the Portland Press Herald: “Lobster is plentiful, but diners aren’t.”
The lead paragraph in the story reads:
“It’s peak season for lobster and tourism in Maine, yet consumption of this crustacean has fallen to the point that it costs no more than sliced turkey in parts of New England.”
The harvest of lobsters continues strong and the weaker economy has pushed the lobster retail price to less than $6 a pound, apparently not low enough for people watching their food expenditures. This is hurting lobstermen who are struggling with much higher fuel prices.
We helped out as much as we could while we were there but it will take many more lobster lovers to strengthen the lobster industry.
It is interesting that because the lobster fishermen have cooperated so well with the regulations governing the lobster catch that the total harvest has increased three-fold in the past 30 years or so.
*****
Patient: “What’s wrong, Doctor? You look puzzled.”
Doctor: “I can’t figure out exactly what’s wrong with you. I think it’s the result of heavy drinking.”
Patient: “Well, then, I’ll just come back when you’re sober!”
|
|
|
Safely and thankfully we are back from vacation after spending a little more than a week on the Maine coast.
We happened to be staying in Biddeford Pool, a small community a few miles north of Kennebunkport, where President George W. Bush was a three-day visitor at the Walker’s Point family compound. Our only chance of getting any real sense of his presence would have been to join the parade of cars slowly passing by under the watchful scrutiny of the Secret Service. We chose not to make that effort.
One man who did said he even saw a “warship” in the ocean off the 12-acre Walker’s Point peninsula. My guess: it was simply a fairly large Coast Guard vessel.
There is no doubt, though, that a Presidential visit commands a lot of protection.
Local news coverage of the event made mention of the likelihood that it was the last of the visits by a sitting president to Kennebunkport. Former President George Bush and Barbara live there, of course, but the incumbent President Bush is probably going to be very busy as his White House days draw to a close. And then he will be going to his Texas ranch.
*****
I am always on the lookout for Delaware connections while out of state, and on this trip chance had us bump into a couple from Wilmington because I noticed their Delaware car tags outside the one store in Biddeford Pool.
It turned out to be Andrew and Elnora Bushko, who were also on vacation. We didn’t know each other, but we said we were from Dover and they mentioned Phyllis and Irv Levitt of Dover. They happen to be long and close friends of ours and among the best known residents of the Capital City. In the case of the Bushkos, participation in the Delaware Humanities Forum was the connection.
When you are far from where you live it is always fun to meet someone with whom you have some common ground. Meeting the Bushkos was especially pleasant.
We did see two Delaware vehicles in the parking lot of DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant & Marina in Portland but did not wait around for the cars’ owners to turn up.
*****
This DiMillo’s restaurant does have a Delaware connection, which I have mentioned in the past. The ship which houses the restaurant was commissioned as “The New York” in 1941 and its first role was as a car ferry between New Castle and Pennsville, N.J. After 10 years it was sold to Virginia and as “The Norfolk” made ferry runs between Norfolk and Hampton. Seven years later it became “The Newport” in Rhode Island and later saw duty as housing for a youth center art colony in Pawtucket, R.I. The next stop saw it being used by the Setaucket Yacht Club of Port Jefferson, N.Y.
Finally it became “DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant” in the Portland harbor in 1982 as one of the largest floating restaurants in the country at 206 feet with a 600 guest capacity.
A new hull was installed in 1994 at the Bath Iron Works dry dock in Portland, greatly adding to its stability.
And the food is great.
*****
Among other restaurants we enjoyed was Pier 77 in Cape Porpoise, Buffleheads in Hills Beach, Allyson’s in Kennebunkport, and the new Run of the Mill Restaurant on Saco Island, part of a $100 million development project which intends to make use of the huge brick cotton mill buildings which once were the main source of jobs for both Biddeford and Saco.
The Run of the Mill place overlooks the Saco River and is already busy.
*****
If you do go to Maine you are certainly going to encounter the shellfish, which is so closely identified with the state, namely lobster.
This year an unusual situation has developed, which is summed up in a recent headline in the Portland Press Herald: “Lobster is plentiful, but diners aren’t.”
The lead paragraph in the story reads:
“It’s peak season for lobster and tourism in Maine, yet consumption of this crustacean has fallen to the point that it costs no more than sliced turkey in parts of New England.”
The harvest of lobsters continues strong and the weaker economy has pushed the lobster retail price to less than $6 a pound, apparently not low enough for people watching their food expenditures. This is hurting lobstermen who are struggling with much higher fuel prices.
We helped out as much as we could while we were there but it will take many more lobster lovers to strengthen the lobster industry.
It is interesting that because the lobster fishermen have cooperated so well with the regulations governing the lobster catch that the total harvest has increased three-fold in the past 30 years or so.
*****
Patient: “What’s wrong, Doctor? You look puzzled.”
Doctor: “I can’t figure out exactly what’s wrong with you. I think it’s the result of heavy drinking.”
Patient: “Well, then, I’ll just come back when you’re sober!”
