Only in Maine
Coastal Living|March 2017

Author Cassandra King seeks the singular charms of The Pine Tree State, and finds lobster and puffins and whales, oh my!

Cassandra King
Only in Maine

ON OUR FIRST TRIP TO MAINE, my husband and I were going to visit our friends Heyward and Anne Rivers Siddons at their lovely home on Penobscot Bay and to eat lots of lobster—I was mad for lobster. You could get them nearby for five bucks apiece, Heyward and Anne said. Only in Maine could you find such a bargain!

I didn’t tell Pat about my other obsession until it was too late to turn back. I knew what he’d say. “We’ve driven for three days so you can look for a bird?” 

Well, not exactly. 

But he wasn’t all wrong. And if Pat had been paying attention, he wouldn’t have been so surprised. I was fascinated by an adorable little seabird I’d never seen up close, the North Atlantic puffin. Not only did I have puffin pictures and puffin stuffed animals in our home, but a nonsmoking plaque on our refrigerator featured one holding up a sign reading, “No puffin.” On the East Coast, the only place puffins are found is northern Maine. I’d read that they nest in coastal cliffs, like the ones near our friends. Thrilled, I packed my binoculars.

This story is from the March 2017 edition of Coastal Living.

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This story is from the March 2017 edition of Coastal Living.

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