Stonington on Deer Isle, ME

Black bear and lobster ready for July 4th.

Antique truck polished up for the parade.

The lobster wants out of that cooking pot!

In John Steinbeck's book "Travels with Charley" (where he builds an RV on the back of a pickup truck and goes traveling with his poodle "Charley") the author made Deer Isle a stopping point at the insistence of his literary agent to visit the cottage of Eleanor Brace at Dunham's Point.  Steinbeck wrote, "One doesn't have to be sensitive to feel the strangeness of Deer Isle."  No strangeness was noted here by Jim or me; instead it presented itself as rather a charming island.  The town of Deer Isle was incorporated in 1789 and Stonington later in 1868. 

Granite can be seen everywhere here even on the beaches.

Granite was quarried here for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Naval Academy, the Manhattan Bridge and John F. Kennedy's tomb at Arlington National Cemetery.  Notably Dan Fogelberg the singer, songwriter, composer and master of multiple instruments elected to live here, choosing this as his final home before passing in 2007.  Now the island seems to be a haven for artists along with lobster fisherman.  It is hard not to take a photo around every bend in the road of the waterfront.

There is a sail boat to the right of the distant island.

"Beaches" are really granite rocks to climb over.

The harbor at Stonington.

Stonington, Maine

The park we visited today was busy getting ready for Stonington's 4th of July parade.  They were decorating a truck with a black bear, a lobster trying to escape from a cooking pot, pine trees and more while we were there.  This certainly put us into a celebratory mood as we inspected the park.