Bucksport, Maine

On the recommendation of friends, we headed to Bucksport, Maine, on Tuesday.  It’s a town near the point where the Penobscot River empties into the Atlantic Ocean, down east in the general direction of Castine and Acadia National Park.  We headed there for the river walk and a particular brew pub, that being one of the organizing principles of our time in Maine.  A drive of a little more than an hour got us there.

We parked and started on the river walk.  Across the Penobscot River, we saw the Penobscot Narrows Bridge (an emergency replacement for the previous Waldo-Hancock bridge) and a civil war emplacement, Fort Knox.  No shots were ever fired from Fort Knox.

There was much evidence of the nine-foot tidal range.  Pontoon platforms were stacked out of the river, waiting for the busy summer tourist time.  Then it started to sprinkle, so we cut short our river walk, and headed for lunch.

The Friar’s Brewhouse serves the “temporal needs” of three Anglican/ Franciscan brothers.  They wear brown habits and bear the brunt of all the usual tourist questions and comments.  They bake the bread and brew the ales sold in the Brewhouse.  Debbi had a lobster roll, and I their other specialty, the Banh Mi sandwich.  Food was great, the Irish Red ale was wonderfully cloudy and delicious.  Unfortunately, the beer is only sold from the tap, so no way to bring away some for later.

We drove some of the back streets and saw some beautiful old houses.  The town was built on fishing, shipbuilding and lumber, and saw its heyday many decades ago.  The Penobscot River and the town were the site of an American naval defeat in 1779.