It's been a big week here in Lake 
Wobegone, my hometown...the weekend started early with the windjammer parade. Several majestic windjammers paraded around the lighthouse on the end of the Rockland harbor breakwater. Quite a sight! The breakwater is about a mile long, so the water at the end is very deep. That let the ships sail close enough to see the whites of their eyes. One ship had a bagpiper, one had a trumpter, and one had a cheery group of marauding pirates who taunted the landlubbers. Check out the ship with red sails...
Wobegone, my hometown...the weekend started early with the windjammer parade. Several majestic windjammers paraded around the lighthouse on the end of the Rockland harbor breakwater. Quite a sight! The breakwater is about a mile long, so the water at the end is very deep. That let the ships sail close enough to see the whites of their eyes. One ship had a bagpiper, one had a trumpter, and one had a cheery group of marauding pirates who taunted the landlubbers. Check out the ship with red sails...
Then Friday night we went to see the Wailin' Jennys at the Strand. They are an amazing trio of young women who harmonize like angels. They sing about a third of their songs a cappela, and the rest are accompanied by them playing a diversity of instruments. They travel widely, so I highly recommend you take in a show.
Saturday morning found us aboard the speed timing boat for the Searsport lobster boat races. About 25 lobster boats of all sizes raced in a series of heats about a mile across the Penobscot River straight for us. We sat in a friend's Chriscraft cabin cruiser on the finish line. He used a radar gun to record their speed. The fastest of the regular working boats was about 55 mph. Some boats had been suped 
up with those giant on deck engines that can break your eardrums, but most of them seemed to be regular lobster fishermen. There are some sponsorships to help pay for the gas, but there's no prizes. They do it for the bragging rights.
up with those giant on deck engines that can break your eardrums, but most of them seemed to be regular lobster fishermen. There are some sponsorships to help pay for the gas, but there's no prizes. They do it for the bragging rights.Saturday was also the start of the North Atlantic Blues Festival. The stage was set up down at the harbor (where the Lobster Festival music will be in a couple weeks). I'm not much of a blues afficiando, but the headliner was Elvin Bishop. We skipped the two full days of sitting in the sun and instead joined in for the Saturday night "pub crawl." Main Street was blocked off and bands set up at most of the intersections. Plus every pub in the downtown area also had a band playing. It was fun to mosey up and down and take in some amateur but pretty good blues.
To top it all off, last night we went to see Cokie Roberts at the Strand. She came to talk about the role of women in early American history - the founding mothers - about which she has just published a second book. It was a fund raiser for the General Henry Knox Museum. Her research shows how important the wives of the famous leaders were to winning the revolutionary war. These women were very politically involved, taking on issues separate from their husbands, including lobbying Congress for approvals and funding. She sprinkled some great current day political anecdotes in with the detailed insights she gained from reading the letters of the men and women of the era. It was quite a treat. The best part is all this stuff is going on right here in little ol' Rockland. This is a happenin' place, and y'all need to come and visit!
