When we canceled the northern leg of the trip due to the rainy forecast for Saturday, we moved on to Plan B. And then, when we woke up Friday and looked at the pea soup fog, it was clearly a brilliant change of plans.
We enjoyed a leisurely morning. Since this was likely to be our last day with access to a full-service supermarket, I took the bike to Hannaford and picked up a few essential staples.
Linekin Bay Resort
Kim had suggested we bike over to Linekin Bay for lunch. We took her advice and left around 11:30.
Apple Maps gave us a delightful route through country roads.
Atlantic Ave and Lobster Cove Road were 20 MPH roads with virtually no traffic.
The Linekin Bay Resort has a nice restaurant with two separate dining rooms. The bar in the upper dining room looked perfect, but there was a large (and loud) group right behind the bar, so we opted for a table in the lower dining room.
For some strange reason, the menu does not exist anywhere online, but I can assure you it had all the classic Maine Seaside Classics.
I did catch a lot of the menu in this photo…
We shared tasty burgers.
Although the fog was lifting, there was no sign of the sun.
Back on the boat, we enjoyed a clammy afternoon with fog billowing in and out.
We did get entertained by a fellow riding some sort of electric hydrofoil surfboard.
Ports of Italy
I had made reservations at Ports of Italy earlier in the week but canceled them when I decided to try The Thistle Inn. None were available on Friday night, but we decided to try grabbing for seats at the bar.
The restaurant was packed, but the bar was pretty empty when I walked in. I told the host, “We’ll just sit at the bar,”
But she said, “No, you have to check-in.
Mrs. Horne handled the particulars, but I was growing anxious. A fellow in knew to be in charge walked by, and I said, “Can we just go and sit at the bar?”
He shouted back, “No, not yet!”
I replied, “Do you know how long it might be?”
He screeched back, “I have no idea.”
I probably misread his tone, but it felt like we weren’t really welcome. I said to the crew, “Let’s go someplace else.”
But Mrs. Horne said, “Just be patient,” I knew that was her way of saying, “Settle down and behave,” so I did.
Forty-five seconds later, the guy in charge (Jeff) said, “You can have the seats at the end of the bar.”
These were the seats we were planning to take originally, so we quickly grabbed them before Jeff changed his mind!
I love this place and we did get seated, but it took Kathy 45 minutes to get us our drinks. I don’t blame her; she is literally doing the job of three.
Not only is she a machine as a bartender, but we all agreed she looked younger than she did in 2022!
You be the judge!
Despite the 45-minute wait for cocktails, everything came out promptly once it became our turn.
The bread is homemade, warm, excellent, and served in a paper bag with seasoned olive oil for dipping.
Susan almost ordered the Gnocchi, but the good girl in her head changed it to a Caesar at the last minute.
whole romaine hearts tossed with our housemade caesar dressing, olives, house bread croutons and shaved grana parmesan
It’s far more than an average Caesar. It includes Kalamata Olives and is topped with a slab of Parma.
Peter and I both selected Veal dishes. Peter went with the Veal Scaloppine.
thin pounded veal scaloppine, wild mushrooms,
white wine and fresh sage and thyme
In 2022, I had one of the best Gnocchi dishes I’d ever had at Ports of Italy, but one must explore, so I ordered the Veal Ravioli.
handmade ravioli with veal, mortadella and pork stuffing
in a sauce of mixed wild mushrooms,
parmesan, cream and truffle drizzle
It served up great creamy Italian flavor. The pasta was perfectly Al dente.
The fog hung throughout Boothbay as we headed home.
Next up – Weathering Saturday in Boothbay