Tonight I had the best Maine lobster ever. And I'm not a lobster fan, generally. It's fine, but I don't go out of my way to get it, and whenever my family takes guests out for seafood, I get fish or scallops or something else instead.
This afternoon I rode the Xtracycle downtown, said hi to Lori and the Beaner, who had just arrived, and then boarded the 3:15 ferry to Peaks Island to play a wedding. Note: good thing I didn't know that the bride and groom were both musicians until afterwards.... After the ceremony I packed up and was happy to see that I would be able to catch the 6:15 ferry back to Portland.
"No, stay! I'll hook you up. I'll bring you a lobster dinner in the bar" said J., who was serving at the wedding. Fast forward to 7:30, still with no dinner, and with the next ferry boat leaving at 7:45. I said goodbye to the folks at the bar, grabbed my violin and dry bag, put on my jacket, and stepped out into the rain. Under the shelter at the dock, I was joined by one of the wedding guests, leaving early to get her car out of a Portland garage before it closed at 9:00. The staff had packed up a dinner for her, and by the time we arrived in Portland, I was carrying her lobster dinner with me to my bicycle and gearing up for a wet ride home.
Actually, riding in the rain is nice in the summer, it's usually warm, and I had already planned to get wet (we've had thunderstorms every day for the last week). I decided to take the [foggy] scenic route, and headed out Commercial Street to the bike path. By the time I was almost in sight of the East End Beach, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle and I was realizing that I hadn't eaten for a long time. I pulled the bike through the bushes and sat on the rocks. High tide. The rain rinsed my toes in my plastic sandals.
When I was cracking a lobster claw between two rocks and then eating the slightly sandy lobster meat while I looked out at the sailboats rocking on their moorings, suddenly lobster tasted very good. And when the rain picked up again and the thunder started I figured, well, I'm probably covered with lobster juice so maybe I'll just rinse off in this downpour and finish the new potatoes and vegetables while I try to make out the shape of Fort Gorges in the fog. Eating gift lobster alone, in the rain, on the rocks of Casco Bay. I really don't think Maine lobster gets better than that.