Jan 6th: Lobster Tails and Wolf Necks

Another item on our list of things we absolutely must do before we leave was to visit Wolfs Neck Woods. So named because the boundary lines look something like a wolfs neck (I think, Michael could tell you more accurate information) and located on the outskirts of South Freeport this pristine park winds its way along the Atlantic coast and offers camping areas, picnic areas, walking trails and endless possibilities for adventure and exploration. It also offers frozen tide pools, and the treasures found therein, beautiful vistas, snow covered trails, quaint bridges that cross moss covered streams (in warmer weather that is), rocks for climbing, father/son bonding time, animal tracks, and opportunities for extremely cold fathers to bounce their way, like those Russian sword dancers, down the path in a last ditch effort to keep warm.

We were hoping that Michael might have been able to join us, as he works as a park ranger here in the summer, but -alas- that was not to be. He was, however, on hand to offer his expertise (he has worked in the kitchens of the Haraseeket Inn, famous for it's seafood dishes) in preparing the lobsters (another thing on our definitely must do list) for dinner. Oh- and for the record unless you have had fresh, Maine, lobster you haven't had lobster at all. Nothing else even comes close, believe me - we've tried. Though I must admit, by the time we had brought them home from the store, I was feeling surprisingly like a heartless mercenary and very little like a gourmet chef. At any rate our doomed dinner found a temporary home in the kitchen sink while Michael prepared the pot of boiling water.

The kids closely examined them and thought that the splashing they did was fantastic. Especially Anisa who, despite repeated warnings, got extra close, until Ruhi in exasperation asked "Anisa, what are you doing?!" to which Anisa responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "Ruhi, I'm sharing my love with them."

I am not sure the lobsters felt that love as they approached the steaming pot (note the size), but Michael assured us that they had been properly desensitized (though I forget how exactly). I can tell you one thing -the girls certainly loved eating them, and having an uncle who knew all the special tricks for getting the meat out of those really hard to reach places, like the tail, well that was pure genius.

Though something tells me that after bonding with these guys the kids would have been just as happy not to eat them. It is kind of a cruel world sometimes. Delicious. But cruel.