8/23/22 -- Camden to Castine

                                                     8/23/22 -- Camden to Castine

            We had some light fog when we woke up, so we figured we'd spend the morning exploring Camden and then head for Castine after lunch. After some morning chores, Janet and I took the Lyman-Morse launch into town to meet Ted and Julie. Ted and I walked up to the town library (a really nice facility) to read newspapers while the girls shopped. I was excited to find an old copy of the Weekend WSJ with uncompleted puzzles, so I worked on those while Ted did the actual reading. We met the girls for lunch at the Sea Dog Brewing Company. 

            Here is a view of Camden Harbor from the town library. You can just make out Craunological II at her floating dock in the left center (between the lamppost and the bush). 

            After lunch we took the Lyman-Morse launch back to the boat along with Ted and Julie and their luggage and were underway for Castine just before two and arrived at the town dock just before 3:30. I was really looking forward to seeing Castine again, which I visited with my son-in-law Damon and his friend Matt when the three of us rented a 32' Grand Banks out of Bucks Harbor back in 2018 to explore Penobscot Bay over a three-day weekend. Castine is not a touristy town and has preserved a lot of its buildings from its heydays before the Civil War and as a summer vacation destination for the wealthy in the late 1800s. It is also home to the Maine Maritime Academy, the remnants of a Revolutionary War fort, and some charming old inns (one of which Ted and Julie would stay in), so there is a lot to see. We were very lucky that Janet found an old local (named Willis) sitting in a golf cart at the town dock offering tours. We immediately signed up for that, and he drove us all up the hill to the Castine Inn and waited for us while Ted and Julie checked in. The tour he gave was very interesting and very thorough, with local stories and color that Willis had picked up as an active 55-year summer resident.

            Here is Dice Head and the Dice Head light seen when approaching from the west:

I didn't take any pictures of the old buildings in Castine except for the post office, which has built as the customs house in 1817 and has been continuously in service as a post office in this building since 1833, making it the second oldest in the country.

            After our tour we had cocktails at the Pentagoet Inn and then walked to dinner at Danny Murphy's Pub near the town dock. Damon and Matt and I had done the same routine four years ago and it was nice to see these places again. 

            P.S. The town charged us $3/foot to stay at their dock with no power, but it was much more convenient than taking a mooring. When Damon and Matt and I visited four years ago it was early in the season and there was no one around to collect and we stayed for free. The dock fee also includes scenes like this one in the late afternoon when the sun peaked through at the end of the day to light up the boats in the harbor.