By the shores of Gitche Gumee…

If ever again I plan to travel over the July 4^th weekend please lock me up. Too many people have the same idea. That said, the five days I spent in Portland, Maine July 3-7 were interesting and for the most part crowds didn’t get in the way.

Born in 1807, in Portland (while Maine was still a part of Massachusetts), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow left his stamp on many places.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There’s the very chic Hotel Longfellow where guests all appeared to be under forty with many dressed for a Ralph Lauren ad; a square with Henry’s  monument and the beautifully restored Wadsworth-Longfellow House,  the oldest standing brick structure on the Portland peninsula that was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

The house’s garden is lovely; the Maine Historical Society is adjacent with a quilt exhibit and one of Maine true crime ranging from Stephen King to Murder She Wrote. I have a

At work in Cabot Cove

soft spot for Cabot Cove because I always had one for Angela Lansbury.  There are reports of sensational true crime events that took place in Maine many reported in local newspapers with tiny print because printing was expensive and small print put more words on each page.

Dinner at Central Provisions was a 10+. The restaurant serves small plates like bluefin tuna crudo with matchstick bits of daikon and fried shallots. If this place was in New York I’d visit regularly.  Another night elsewhere I had steamers. My friend had a lobster roll at the Inn on Peaks, an island in Casco Bay accessible by (crowded) ferry, I went for the fish tacos.

The large, modernist Portland Art Museum exhibits contemporary works and includes sections for Native American and Northwest Art. If legal drugs beckon there are several shops that sell pot including Hidden Grounds, a coffee spot up front and a dispensary in the rear for those over twenty-one.

The huge, beautifully maintained Fort Williams Park is home to the Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The lighthouse keeper’s cottage is now a museum, worth the $2 entrance fee with Fresnel lenses, photos of famous shipwrecks of yore and info on the lives of   keepers and their beleaguered wives.

Here’s a recipe for—what else?— Classic New England Lobster Rolls

Recipe and photo: Sally Vargas

• 1 pound cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise

For the buns:

• 4 to 6 New England style split-top hot dog buns
• 2 to 3 tablespoons soft butter

Make the lobster salad:

In a bowl, stir lobster meat, lemon juice, salt, pepper, celery, and mayonnaise together. Add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice, to taste.

Spread the outsides of the buns with softened butter. Set a skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat and toast buns about 30 seconds on each side, or until golden brown.

Fill buns with lobster salad, take out a second mortgage and chow down.  You can play Rudee Vallee singing The Maine Stein Song if you like.