A CITY A WEEK AND WHY...STONINGTON, MAINE

This picture may say it all.  
Stonington, Maine on the southern tip of Deer Isle is a picturesque village and working port of less than 2000 year round inhabitants that nonetheless accounts for some of the largest lobster hauls in the US...more than 14,000,000 pounds in 2011.

I have been going to Stonington off and on for 3 decades now.  I feel I know it fairly well, at least as a summer visitor.  Last week though on one of these--more or less--annual visits, I found it hard to remember precisely where I was.  Occasionally and briefly, I had the sensation I was somewhere in French Canada.  More persistently, I had the disorienting sensation that I was in Cornwall.  In my mind—perhaps paradoxically--this takes nothing away from an equally profound sense of place to be found in Stonington.  It simply underscores that this a place of similarly old and rich traditions and great physical beauty.

If you go, make sure you have a casual meal at the Fisherman’s Friend or the very local Harbor Café.  For a bit of splurge you may want to try Aragosta.  You’re going to have to book ahead for that one, though.  This farm to table restaurant is drawing rave reviews up and down the East Coast. 

You may also want to take in a show at the Opera House, the best in local—and not so local--entertainment and unofficially community center in this lovingly preserved 19^th century theater.

For a full day on the water take the mail boat out to Isle au Haut, a stunning island in Penobscot Bay that is crisscrossed with trails on its lower portion which is now part of the Acadia National Park.

For a great place to stay you may want to the island’s other hamlet, aptly named Deer Isle Village, for a stay at the lovely Pilgram's Inn. 

The important thing is to just go.  
It is that kind of place.  It feels good just to be there.  
No fancy plans necessary....

All photographs courtesy of Mark Robinson