September 21, 2023

Another early morning after a short night! We are headed back to Bar Harbor to go out on Lu Lu Lobster boat. Our original excursion was cancelled due to Hurricane Lee but I was determined to go on a lobster boat so we are up early once again.

Lu Lu Lobster boat goes out of Friendship Bay in Bar Harbor. We cruised for a while, past the lighthouse to get to the deeper water where the lobster traps had been positioned. Each lobster fisherman has distinctive colored buoys to identify their traps. The process for retrieving the trap is to hook the buoy with a long hook then connects the ropeto the wench and use that to pull the trap up. The traps can be down up to 600 feet so this process takes awhile. Once the trap is on the edge of the boat you get to see if you were successful.

Lobster traps are designed with a kitchen that contains the bait bag and then the parlor that traps the lobster. The parlor contains an opening that allows a lobster that is too small to escape.

Some lobster trivia:

• Lobsters pee from between their eyes so if you are holding a lobster do not hold it facing you because they can shoot pee 75 feet and it’s awful.
• Lobsters hold enough oxygen to exist for 48 hours from the time they are taken out of the water. The sound that a lobster makes when they are put in boiling water is the releasing of this oxygen…..they are not screaming.
• Maine controls the harvesting of lobster and only males can be kept and sold. They also control the size, a lobster’s body must be at least 3 1/4 inches to keep, and can’t be over 5 inches.  They are trying not to deplete the supply of lobster for future generations.
• Lobsters are the original pea brains. Their brains are no bigger than the tip of a ballpoint pen!
• Male lobsters have bigger claws and females have bigger abdomens (what we call lobster tails since the marketing people determined that lobster tails was easier to market)!
• Lobsters used to be poor man’s food and were shunned by the elite.

Yes, I got to drive the lobster boat!!! The buoys have GPS chips in them so they can be located.

The lobster I am holding i named Lu Lu after the lobster boat.  Did you know if you touch a lobsters abdomen they curl their body quickly to back away.  Hmmm did I do that!!!  No pictures but I freaked out the lady next to me!!

See if you can find the picture of the flying lobster!!!  Who knew that lobsters can fly out of the water???

Our last meal of the trip was at the Chart Room for Blueberry Cosmo’s, Lobster Roll and Blueberry pie al a mode. Life is good!!!!

Off to the airport as the sun sets on another “Best Day Ever”!

This is the last blog for the New England trip stay tuned for the next adventure……Morocco in October!!