My Favorites in Castine

If I wasn't such a procrastinator, I wouldn't feel like I was always wanting to add to Joe's posts. Old habits don't often change. Anyway, after editing his commentary yesterday on Castine, I figured I would just add my impressions. 

Favorites for me, was the rather sweet, laid back, village, with only a few shops, restaurants, interspersed with a few elegant old inns, and many beautiful, old stately homes, many from the 1800's. There were several parks with public accessibility, both on the waterfront, and along a pine covered knoll with well marked hiking trails and wild raspberry bushes. The village green was surrounded by the library, school house (hardly bigger than one room), and the historical society, housing a free history museum.

Castine is home to the Maine Maritime Academy, started in 1941, which very quickly became a training ground for sailors needed in WWII. It has since become a 4yr degreed school with masters degree offerings also. Several of the adults we met over the two days teach at the academy. Along the waterfront, the academy has several large boats for the students, and classrooms. Usually, the   T/S State of Maine, a 500 foot merchant training ship sits in the harbor, but is presently in Boston, for its 5 year check-up.  It was obvious that the academy has been an important part of the life of the town for the last 70 years, as before that it was a major boat building town.

Joy