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For my first weekend in the U.S. (as an immigrant) my fiancée treated us to a vacation in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The weather driving up on Saturday morning was less than desirable but cleared up nicely by the time we arrived and stayed pleasant for most of the weekend.

We started the trip with a little walk around town. Boothbay has a lovely selection of shops, restaurants and beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean. At midday we managed to get tickets to Cabbage Island for a clam bake! We had tried for tickets earlier in the day but they were fully booked. Luckily they had a cancellation and we were able to get tickets about half an hour before the boat was due to leave. The boat ride out to Cabbage Island took around 20-30 minutes and provided lovely views back towards Boothbay as we left the harbor.

Upon arrival to the island we were greeted by the Moore family (the hosts) and took a seat at one of the many picnic benches around the beautiful 5 1/2 acre island.

The lobsters and clams were steamed on seaweed a short walk from our table and a bell was rung when the food was ready. Upon hearing the bell everyone queues up for the food and returns to their tables to eat.

The bake started with a cup of clam chowder which is a traditional New England soup, followed by the main course comprised of two bright red lobsters, tender white steamed clams, corn on the cob, an onion, a jacket potato, a hard boiled egg and drawn butter for dipping the lobster meat. There was certainly enough to eat! I had not cracked lobster before but picked it up pretty quick.

The lobster was delicious, in fact we ate mostly seafood whilst in Boothbay and it was all exceptional. After we were done eating, we spent a bit of time exploring the island before boarding the boat back to Boothbay.

As we were leaving the island we looked back and saw an Osprey and its nest. A welcome end to a wonderful trip.

On Sunday we went puffin watching! Another boat ride takes you out to Egg Rock, an island with a colony of 110 puffins which were re-established on the island by the Audubon Society (similar to the RSPB in England). The weather was foggy on the way out but cleared shortly after arriving at the island. We circled the island looking for puffins and almost straight away saw 4 of them sitting in the ocean (baby puffins take to the water for 5 years before returning to land to breed). We saw a further 4 puffins before heading back to the mainland.

The B&B we stayed in whilst at Boothbay was the Atlantic Ark Inn. It had 6 bedrooms and was run by a very friendly and welcoming lady named Donna. An ample breakfast was served each morning with tea and coffee all day long. We stayed in two rooms named ‘Lightness’ and ‘The Cottage’ and both were very comfortable.