BANGOR & LOBSTER FEST

August 1, 2019

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Yesterday was the day we had been waiting for since we packed up THE YORKIE EXPRESS a month ago… we were going to LOBSTER FEST in Rockland, Maine. First… we headed over to Bangor to see a few things that Mummy had on her “TO DO” list. As we drove into the city it didn’t take long to find the 31-foot tall statue of Paul Bunyan that stood outside the civic center. The statue weighs 3,700 pounds and that doesn’t include the double-sided ax or the lumberjack peavey. It was designed by local artist J. Norman Martin who was only paid $137 for his efforts. It is said to be the largest statue of Paul Bunyan in the WORLD.  Being that Maine is the birthplace of the lumber industry AND Paul Bunyan, it seemed only proper to erect a statue of Paul in the state of Maine… BUT, hold your horses!!!! The city of Akeley, Minnesota ALSO makes a claim on Paul Bunyan with a statue of their own, as well as a giant crib… AND they even have his GIRLFRIEND… AND his GRAVE!!! But… Paul Bunyan’s BIRTH CERTIFICATE is on display at the MAINE City Clerk’s office at City Hall and he was born on February 12, 1834. So… there you have it. MAINE seems to have the stronger claim on Paul Bunyan! ???Stephen King, the horror writer who lives in Bangor, even made mention of this statue in his 1986 novel “It.”

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And speaking of Stephen King, we drove by his house too! He is said to “not like visitors” so Mummy didn’t want to get out and impose on his privacy, so we just quickly took a few pictures as Daddy drove past. There were several people walking around in front of the iron fence that surrounds the beautiful Victorian mansion, and the gates even have BATS on top of them!!! CREEPY!!! This is said to be one of the most photographed homes in America, trailing only Elvis’s Graceland. King moved into the house in 1980 and on Halloween, he is never at home but is said to go to one of his other homes to stay for more privacy.

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Now it was time to head up to Rockland for the yearly LOBSTER FEST where during the 5-day festival they cook up 20,000 POUNDS of fresh lobster!!! As we strolled into the county fair-like setting, we made quite an impression in our lobster harnesses! We headed straight for the HUGE LOBSTER named “Rocky” where everyone stops to have their picture taken. Mummy and Daddy walked through all of the Arts & Crafts tents while checking out the food vendors that were EVERYWHERE! Mummy hadn’t seen all of this since she was a little girl going to the FAIR! Every food she had ever loved was here… and then there was the LOBSTER. Lobster fixed every way you can even imagine!!! This is what Mummy ate: Coconut Shrimp, Lobster Rangoons, Corn Dog, Pina Colada Italian Ice and a Caramel Apple. Daddy tried the Fried Dough and Mummy tasted some of that too! They gave us some bits of the coconut shrimp but NO LOBSTER because it was all mixed up with stuff Mummy said might make us sick. WHAT!?!?! We wanted LOBSTER! Mummy and Daddy were soooo stuffed that they couldn’t eat another bite, so all we got was SHRIMP… at LOBSTER FEST… which honestly, I hate to complain, but we feel ripped off! Mummy saw the look on our sad faces and said that she had a little lobster saved at the AIRSTREAM and we could have some of that when we got back, so we held onto that thought while we strolled over to the MAIN STAGE to watch the “72nd Rockland Sea Goddess” be crowned!!! There were 11 lovely young girls competing for the crown and after each one walked across the stage, the judges were able to choose a winner… Makaila Hickey. It was all very exciting! We strolled around a little more, met more people attending LOBSTER FEST, and Mummy and Daddy tried to decide if they could eat just ONE MORE THING… they could not.

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Here are a few LOBSTER FACTS that we have learned:

* Lobsters come in lots of colors… like blue-green, blue, red, yellow, red-orange and white.

* It takes a lobster almost 7 years to grow big enough to be an edible size.

* A lobster’s shell cannot grow so it has to molt  and form a new shell. It hides during this time because it is very vulnerable. They molt about once or twice a year.

* Lobsters can live to be more than 100 years old!!!

* They have a crusher claw and a pincer claw… the crusher claw is bigger. Some are right-clawed and some are left-clawed.

* They were once considered the “poor man’s chicken” and were fed to pigs and goats and were ONLY eaten by paupers!!!! OMGOSH

* A female lobster can only mate after she has molted.

* Lobsters were once so plentiful that they would wash ashore in deep piles after a storm!

* Each year almost $300 million dollars worth of lobster is harvested in the USA… now that’s a LOT OF LOBSTAH!!!

* It is a FELONY to rob another person’s lobstah pot… and you know what?

IT SHOULD BE!!! ????????

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We strolled back to our truck and drove back to our campsite, pooped out from a fun day… although LOBSTER-LESS! When our dinner was served though, Mummy was true to her word and we each DID GET a few bits of LOBSTER that she had saved in the refrigerator, so the day was SAVED! ?❤️???