Driving Tour – Belfast (part 1)

Mary Jo and I spent the afternoon and early evening exploring Belfast, Maine, a short 18 mile trip north of Camden on Route 1. Belfast is a small seaside village (population of around 7,000) and it has some very interesting stores, restaurants and scenery. A few years ago Belfast ran a “bearfest” in the village, where people decorated fiberglass bears in various ways and they were then displayed around the community before being auctioned off. There was a bear riding a bicycle, one up a telephone pole, a

flying bear, picnicking bears, hulu dancing bears and the list goes on. Every time you turned the corner, another bear appeared. The bearfest continued for three years from 2000-2002 and they are currently in “hibernation” but a newer exhibit is currently on display where the artists

use bicycles and bicycle parts. The fish bike was a favorite of ours so I had to take a picture (look for my little red convertible in the background).

Next, we crossed the large bridge over the Passagassawakeag River (try saying that!) and headed a mile up the road to Young’s Lobster Pound. We had 2 pound lobster’s on their outside patio (right on Belfast harbor) and sipped Gruet (it’s BYOB) sparkling wine from New Mexico. The seagulls sang, the sun was sinking in the sky and we had our own little moment of heaven. They do lobster’s well here.

Stay tuned for Belfast part 2 where we will explore “Darby’s Restaurant” and some of our other favorite Belfast attractions.