Bridges

We took a Sunday drive yesterday [you can do that in Maine] out to Hancock County to the East. Our first stop was Searsport, an old shipping community with classic Captains’ Houses with towers, cupolas and Widow’s Walks. We then crossed the new suspension bridge at Bucksport. I love bridges. The Penobscot Narrows Bridge [its official name] utilized an unusual project program called 'owner facilitated design/build'. It coupled Maine DOT with FIGG as the designer and Cianbro/Reed & Reed as the contractor. The elevator system in the west tower delivers you to an observation room at the top. It is built along side the old bridge, which is in disrepair, but it is still a graceful beauty in rusting green. We headed south along the river to Castine at the far end of the peninsula where the Bagaduce River enters the Bay. It was always a very upscale community and the stately old homes [many Georgian and Federalist] are some of the loveliest I have seen here. Castine has a complicated history dating back to the early 1600s. It is now the home of The Maine Maritime Academy.
From Castine we drove north through Penobscot and then east to Blue Hill on the confluence of Morgan and Blue Hill Bays. We had lunch at a bird-watcher’s store/café.
On the way home we stopped at Young’s Lobster pound where I picked out a lobster, which they prepared that afternoon. Liza picked it up for my dinner few hours later. They supplied the butter, boiled potatoes and the critter was expertly cracked.