by Peggy DePersia, Guest Blogger
It’s all about the boats, even when not in plain view, as evidence of their whereabouts is virtually everywhere.
Oh, and “lobstah” too! Makes me think of that old existential puzzle: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”
Be that as it may, the multitude of boats, working boats and pleasure boats alike, that pepper the coast and coastal islands of Maine, anchored or docked as they are here, there and everywhere, offer an endlessly picturesque melding of beautiful seascapes and the rigorously designed and constructed vessels she harbors.
The Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine has provided a good excuse for snaking up the East Coast Highway 1 during the summer season for almost twenty years. If you’re a wooden boat enthusiast, the Wooden Boat School could be your “heaven on earth”. The many and varied classes, include boat design, boat building, sailing and various other classes such as photography or painting related to boating and scenes along the water; it depends on the week(s) being offered.
Classes in and of themselves are magical for the ‘enthusiast’ yet the setting can feel sublime. The camaraderie of school participants is a layer of bonus for like minded students.
Back to that “lobstah”. A funny story: during an initial trip to the Maine coastal area, an innkeeper and rooted “Mainer” related his childhood experience of school lunches, a reminiscence that described how the
“Well-off” students enjoyed peanut butter sandwiches in their bagged lunches whereas the children of the “seamen” had the ubiquitous lobster roll.
He remembered being a bit envious of his classmates’ ‘peanut butter’ good fortune. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.
None-the-less, how does one celebrate the conclusion of a Wooden Boat School experience? A ‘lobstah’ feast is the order of the day; with lobster and drawn butter, corn on the cob, related “fixins”and, maybe, a favorite brew, the Lobster Boil is the traditional and favored way to close out the experience with a taste of Maine.
Peggy DePersia, guest blogger, celebrating a special occasion with Susan. Peggy is a retired art teacher, a wonderful artist, mother, wife and grandmother of four.
