People We Met

Muscongus Lobster worker has been to Asheville several times. She said she hopes Asheville can keep the artsy, weird vibe.

Wife of artist at Fletcher gallery has been to Asheville a few times.

Two ladies up in lighthouse said they had not been to Asheville, but had heard great things.

Guy running ticket booth at Pemaquid lighthouse loves Asheville.

Old man volunteering at Pemaquid lighthouse museum once hitchhiked from Norfolk to East Tennessee. I asked if he had been to Asheville or Alabama. He said no.

Talked with an older Kentucky couple at 

SoPo who have been living in Maine for eight years. They have been to Asheville.

Said hi to an older guy wearing an FSU shirt.

Lady with husband at The Hub (oyster bar) said they summer in Maine and winter in Santa Fe. They have been to Asheville.

Owner of The Hub is a musician. Has played in Asheville, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and so many other places. Quite an interesting man, and knows his oysters.

Young bearded guy in store in Damariscotta said he's been to Asheville, and played music there in the early 2000s. He's also been to Biloxi and nearby beaches. He said his brother lived in Alabama for a time and that he enjoyed a beach there.

Consignment shop owner near laundromat in Damariscotta said she and her husband lived in Lake Toxaway near Brevard for seven years. She's from an area south of Boston. Loved the mountains, but felt a bit isolated where she was, and spent too much time driving to patients' homes. She's a caregiver. Saw bears often. Husband is in military. They have lived all over. He loves Bar Harbor.

Talked with a florist from Western NY who does high-end shows for weddings. She drives to Boston weekly. She was intrigued by my oyster quest and was naming (recommending) places I had already been. Lol

At Lobster Haul, one of the workers told me her best friend moved to Asheville and she hopes to visit her soon. Met some customers from Virginia who have been to Asheville. I told them about Gilbert's and Eventide.

Older couple in line at Gilbert's Chowder House were from Pennsylvania. The husband spent five years in Winston-Salem and his father took him to the Biltmore.

Our server at Eventide thanked us for coming by. Told him to come visit us in Asheville. He said he's heard great things about Asheville.  

Employees at Portland Whole Foods were very friendly. Older black guy in produce department said he detected an accent from me. He said he drove through NC once. I mentioned we were going to Bar Harbor, and he said we will be very impressed.

Talked with Ryan at Scully Sea Products. He and Andy Rodgers co-own it. They sell and shuck them at parties and events. He has quite a cool mustache! He said next trip we should consider going to PEI (Prince Edward Island) for raw oysters. The colder water the better, he said. And he said this time of year is perfect. What's funny is that he said he and Andy rarely eat raw oysters anymore unless there are new ones to potentially sell. I guess they are tired of them!

Exiting the boat (Monhegan Island to Port Clyde), I talked with a couple from Boston. The husband says he comes up (Maine to Monhegan) all the time. I tried making small talk and remarked that he must love the Celtics and Red Sox. He said, "Not really." I got the quick impression I just bored him with sports talk. Lol He told me a museum we must visit in Rockland.

Another couple on the boat was from Augusta, GA. They knew Dothan, AL, of course. They have been to Maine a few times. He was carrying a very nice camera.

At Marshall's Light we talked with a couple from Pennsylvania. The husband was based in Biloxi, MS when he was in the military. They have been to Asheville, and love it. Her brother lives in Durham, and he always mentions the beauty of Asheville and Western North Carolina. I told them about our nice drive through Pennsylvania last fall.

At Owl's Light we had a brief conversation with a lady from Vermont. I think she said she lives in New York now.

Couple next to us at North Beacon Oyster were from Philadelphia. We talked about Charles Barkley. They got excited talking about their Asheville experience. "What's not to like?!" she replied. They went to Highland Brewery and several other breweries. Our server has friends living in Asheville and knows of people who have done the Yosemite, Yellowstone and Great Smoky Mtns "work thing."  

Our server Josh, at Blaze in Camden, is from the Adirondacks. His parents divorced and his dad moved to Waco, TX. He enjoyed his summers down there with him. We talked about the weather differences. He said he has a friend in Durham and he'd love to visit N Carolina. He said "Sea Dog is a nice spot in Camden, but the views at Blaze are as good or better."

Our Romanian waitress at 18 Central Oyster Bar in Rockport said her friends in Romania see bears there. She is married.  

Paula and Karlo - Paula worked for a computer software company in Connecticut. Karlo, who is from Hungary, was working for this same company, but up in Canada. They married, lived in Connecticut a bit, then moved on up to Maine. They also have property in North Carolina and Mexico.

Young lady working at the laundromat was helping us find a place for chowder. You could tell she was ho-hum about a couple of the lobster shacks we had seen and thought would be good. Her co-worker said Eclipse is good for chowder. Later, though, we discovered online a Thai restaurant, Roselyn. I asked the laundromat gals about it, and they so, "Oh my, it's great." I guess they are tired of lobster and clams.

The little Thai lady at Roselyn said she's been in the USA twenty-two years. Her sister is Roselyn, and owns the restaurant. She's been in Rockland ten years. Before that, she was living in Florida. She is from Korat, Thailand, and has been back a few times. She worked at River City shopping complex in Bangkok and sold silverware. She said the snow is hard to manage, and she does not like it. However, since she lives close to the restaurant, it's not difficult to get to and from work. After a while, the whole Thai family, including Roselyn, emerged from the back.

A young couple next to us at Primo last night said they are locals and that Primo is a regular dining spot for them.

Talked with two men from Detroit - one whose father played football at Marion Institute in Alabama around 1919. He then went on to the Naval Academy. This same man knew the Dothan area, and of Troy University. He asked if I knew somebody. I didn't. His mother was from Louisiana. The other man now lives in Charleston. He asked questions about my oyster pursuits. It was this man who struck up a conversation: "That doesn't sound like a Southern Maine accent."  

The young bartender at Loft oyster bar in Bar Harbor is a seasonal worker from Lexington. He said "Asheville is a nice spot." Said he's going to Sedona next but after first taking a timeout to reflect. He said the other oyster bars and restaurants in Bar Harbor are way overpriced. He was burned out.

Met a youngish guy from Martha's Vineyard. He comes up to Bar Harbor for business - but this time pleasure, he said. We talked about oysters. He didn’t know about Damariscotta and the extent of oyster farming in Maine. He said Massachusetts still has wild ones. I mentioned Wellfleets. After learning we're from Asheville, he didn’t think we had oysters down there. 😆 I told him about NC high tiders. He said you must be careful eating lots of oysters in warmer climates. I gave him my card.

At Duck Bridge, talked briefly with a lady from Rhode Island whose husband is from Maine. She talked about an infamous murder in Rhode Island and mentioned she does not like oysters.

At Sea Dog in Bangor, I met a family that had gathered for their grandmother's 90th birthday. Two had come from Montana and Wyoming. One of the men said his father was a classmate of Stephen King's, and that SK's English teacher had also taught him. He also shared that he lived an hour more inland and enjoyed hunting. In the winter, he goes snowmobiling. He works in a shipyard near Wiscaset. The wife of one of the grandsons said she lived in VA and Georgia, and when I mentioned Asheville, she got excited and said, "Asheville is so pretty." The youngest grandson, Alex, lived in Cary, NC for a while, then moved back to Maine.

Our waitress at High Tide was from Maine, and doesn't eat a lot of seafood. Another waitress was from New Jersey.