Lobster Rolls and Bucket Lists....

Throwing the essentials in the back of the car and heading off for parts unknown is a constant dream of mine and has been for years.   I constatly dream of traveling with no pre-planned destination in mind.  You know...like the lyrics of the song, You Can Sleep While I Drive by Melissa Etheridge..... "I'll pack my bags and load up my guitar"......or in the our case, I'll pack my bags and David will load up his guitar.  Whatever.  

You get what I mean, right?   Just to take off traveling someplace without an agenda or a destination or a time to be back because we have pressing plans or because someone expects to be back by a certain time is very appealing to me.  We do a little of that "day-tripping" and "overnight-tripping" upon occasion; but what really is exciting to me is the sell everything and go wherever the wind blows.  Yeah, the "we live out in our old van" kind of life is a dream.  

Could I really do it? 

I don't know. 

When it comes down to "essentials", I think I would have a hard time determining what I could and couldn't live without.  I like a hot shower and a warm bed.  I'm not even sure how I would do with camping for a weekend.  It's exciting to dream about it though and take the adventures when I can.   I've always had a nomadic spirit.   I think that comes from being the daughter and granddaughter of pipeliners.  It's just in my blood.

While I may not be able to live the exciting life of a nomad, I can follow along with those that can.  A few years ago, I stumbled across the blog, Alison Travels, written by a lady who quit her corporate job and set out on the road with her dog.  At that time that I joined her, she was traveling around, sleeping in a tent and photographing her journey alog the way.   I so connected with what she was doing and I have been able to live vicariously through her over the years.   She's a gifted writer and photographer and I have enjoyed the her journey so much.  While times have changed somewhat for her in a positive way in that she is out of the tent and traveling in a van, the adventures  for her and consequently for me continue. 

One of her most memorable adventures for me was a journey through Maine a couple of years ago and more specifically, a trip to a roadside lobster shack and the most amazing lobster roll that I had ever seen.   She spoke of the lines of people and the length of time she waited at Red's Eats just to taste one of these rolls and then she showed a photo of the lobster roll itself.  Not the mayonnaise drenched lobster rolls that are typically served all over New Hampshire and Maine, this was plain and simple lobster on a grilled buttered roll.  Alison shared that the claim was 1 1/2 lobsters on each roll and she didn't dispute that.  Red's Eats was immediately added to my bucket list.  It was someplace I just had to go. 

Recently, that bucket list wish came true as David took me to Wiscasset, Maine for one of those lobster rolls.   Once we entered the town, it was not hard to find.

We found a place to park and I went around the corner to the end of the line and joined the others waiting patiently for their food. 

While I stood in line and pinned things on Pinterest.....

True story....

That's what I do when I'm waiting in line anywhere.

David strolled around the cute little coastal town and took some photos.  It seems that Wiscasset is more than just home to amazing lobster rolls.  It is, also, full of antique stores. 

Had I just wanted a lobster roll, I could have one of those just about anywhere around New Hampshire.  I certainly didn't have to drive to Wiscasset for one.   I can get what has become my favorite lobster roll and the standard by which I measure all lobster rolls right here in New Hampshire at Rye Harbor Lobster.  That is much closer to home than Wiscasset, Maine.  If I had just been driving through this area and had wanted a typical lobster roll, I could have saved some time and gone across the street from Red's for one of those.  There was a cute little lobster shack across the street and right on the water with much shorter lines.

This was about fulfilling a dream and crossing something off of my bucket list though and nothing short of a lobster roll from Red's Eats would do.   Finally, I made it to the front of the line and got my chance to order lunch.  "One lobster roll, please....with butter!"

;

And 45 minutes after getting in line, David and I are back in the car and ready to devour this amazing lobster roll.  1 1/2 lobsters per roll?  I think so. 

The grilled, buttered roll is the perfect holder for lobster meat...

 

No mayo in sight.  Just plain lobster with a tub of melted butter on the side.  We picked off pieces of lobster and dunked them in the butter and ate them to get the roll down to a manageable size to handle. 

So , how was it?

It was delicious!

Was it worth the trip up and the wait in line?

Yes!  At least once...

While I don't think I will ever pass by Rye Harbor Lobster to drive all the way to Wiscasset for a lobster roll, it was definitely worth driving up into Maine to cross this item off of my bucket list.  There are a lot of unexplored areas in this part of Maine and farther north so I'm quite sure we will be up in this area again in the future.  When we do,  I will not hesitate to budget some time and money to stop in again and have one of these rolls.  Next time, I think I will probably order one for each of us though. 

This was not the end of the adventure for us in this area; but I'm going to leave that for another post.  I will say that it was pretty amazing to drive back by Red's Eats a couple of hours later on our way home and there was still a line.

Red's Eats has a good thing going on there in Wiscasset.

If you are ever in the area, give them a try.

It's worth the wait.