After a restless night – it was very warm here and no air
conditioning – we were awake about 6:00 am.
I was out the door to walk at 6:30 with the town almost to myself --- except for a man walking his dog.. What a beautiful time of day to be around the
water.
Jeanne picked us up at 9:30 am for our first stop at Raye’s
Mustard Factory which has been in business since 1900. Gerald explained how mustard is made at Raye’s and why it is better than most – we had
samples of the 25 flavors available and – most of us purchased a jar or two.
Next stop was Saint Croix Island which was settled by Pierre
Dugua in 1604 under the direction of King Henri IV of France.
On our arrival, Meg, the National
Park Ranger, directed us to a large apple tree telling us we could pick as many
apples as we could carry --- so we did.
In the midst of the apple picking I noticed my camera was not around my
wrist anymore. We searched all over but
couldn’t find it – this made no sense.
Just as one of the workers was getting his chain saw to clear the branches – I had an “AHA moment and found the camera in my apple bag where it
went when I was double bagging my loot.
Crises averted.
Meg gave us an animated rendition of how this area was settled then sent us down a
path to see the actual site with the caveat that she would finish her story
when we came back.. The path was
adorned with a number of bronze statues
-- Indians and Settlers in various poses of how they might have spent
their day – spearing fish – gathering wood, etc. Meg completed the story on our return – but you’ll
have to visit Meg at the St. Croix Island National Park to find out the “rest
of the story.”
Next stop was lunch at “Bank Square Pizza and Deli” in
downtown Eastport for an authentic Mexican meal. Marilu, the owner, is Mexican married to a
Mainer. She is single-handedly
introducing fresh homemade Mexican food to this part of Maine.
Just down the block from the restaurant Beth had discovered
the Episcopal Church Thrift Store – she arrived at lunch with a bag of great “stuff”
which cost 25 cents for the entire bag.
After lunch several of us made a beeline to the thrift store --- Phil even came in to
take a look. We had more fun picking up
some great buys.
Next on the agenda was our cooking lesson -- Jeanne picked
us up at 3:30 to go to Chef Audrey Patterson’s house. Audrey
lives in Perry Maine – a 20 minute drive through a very wooded and isolated
area. Audrey lives on 150 acres in a
house she inherited from an aunt whose photo hangs in the dining room. The view is like no other --- on a point looking over Passamaquoddy Bay to
Canada.
Let the lesson begin -- we each received a packet with recipes for the evening meal – teams were assigned and off we went. Beth, Marilyn and I were the dessert people – making a blueberry cake and a blueberry pizza. – Other menu items were: Steamed Clams and Eggplant Caponata as appetizers with wine on the deck, Poached Salmon, Bread Pudding and Caesar Salad in the dining room. It was a great meal and we were all happy and full when Jeanne took us home. Our first cooking “lesson” was a huge success ---
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