I first visited Aroostook County at the age of six, when my family went to see dear friends of my father’s, made during his time at Ricker College, in Houlton. 

The second time I visited Aroostook was last Monday, April 8th, for the total solar eclipse. As I mentioned last week, a 97% eclipse, such as the one that shone over Washington County, is pretty spiffy. But I had been persuaded that Totality might be worth a drive, and it was. 

My 16-year-old and I sallied north on Route 1 which – fun fact – is the nicest stretch of road in Washington County. Who knew? We parked at the Million Dollar View just north of Danforth in Weston, and passed several friends on our walk from the car to the field. We all had the same idea, it seems, and so after the eclipse finished, we all turned around and drove south again. 

I heard agonizing tales of roads becoming two-hour parking lots leaving Moosehead and Millinocket, but for us, the traffic sailed along at a comfortable speed, and it took us no longer to return than it had to arrive.

Members of the Revolutionary War Reenactors of Downeast Maine gathered Saturday, April 13, to film some historical scenes at Burnham Tavern in Machias. Tomorrow, April 15, is Patriot’s Day, and at 11:45 a.m. you will find the reenactors marching from Burnham Tavern to the flagpole at the base of College Hill, then returning to the tavern where the original rebellion was fomented in 1775. Photo by Bill Kitchen

Speaking of traffic, last week I wrote that I didn’t think we had much here, but a reader and friend corrected me with some light horror stories of trying to navigate downtown Machias before and around lunchtime.

In the south we used to say that four-way stops were futile because everyone was so polite no one would go first. But I think actually, north or south, we’ve all forgotten the rules of those roads. That’s what my friend observed about the intersection of Court Street and Broadway in Machias…

“…where some mysterious force in the universe (similar to the Bermuda Triangle) causes everyone to arrive at the stop signs at the same moment. No one knows who then actually has the right of way so we uncomfortably sit stopped in our courtesy for way too long because if we were to wave the other driver along that for sure would be too damn bossy for us Downeasters,” he wrote. “Then when one of us finally decides to proceed, so does the other driver at the exact moment also and that's when the whole process repeats itself, times 10!”

Who hasn’t been there? I may be part of the problem.

I have many years of this same photo, taken on opening day of the River’s Edge Drive In in Machias. Neither snow nor rain nor freezing April winds can keep a Mainer from their outdoor ice cream in springtime.

If the eclipse had just waited a few weeks, we all could have fed ourselves at roadside stands, which are just now beginning to unshutter for the summer season. We never miss the opening of the River’s Edge Drive In in Machias. I have several annual photos of my children eating ice cream by the river roughly 2 minutes after winter’s snow receded. 

You can’t keep Mainers away from ice cream or ice coffee, no matter the weather.

River’s Edge has announced they’ll be opening this Thursday, April 18. 

Sue’s Cobscook Bay Cafe, formerly Millies, in Dennysville, announces it will be opening this Wednesday, April 17. Sue’s isn’t a roadside stand, but it is seasonal, and serves breakfast!

Another longtime roadside stand favorite is the Polar Treat in Perry. Looks like they’ll be open the first week of May.

In East Machias, Riverside Drive-In predicts a mid-May opening. My youngest loves their grilled cheese. I love curly fries. Theirs, and really if I’m honest, anyone’s.

In other seasonal dining news, make plans to enjoy La Laiterie when it reopens on Thursday, May 2. The cafe featuring baked goods and coffee resides in the former milking shed of Schoppee Farm on the Kennebec Road, in Machias.

And of course we’re all watching to see when Mason’s Downeast opens for business in the former home of the Bluebird Ranch. Stay tuned on their page here.

Not long now! I spent some time yesterday ordering seeds and bulbs for my vegetable garden and for a one-time experiment, a flower garden to specifically provide for the wedding of a precious young friend, who will be married in Machias in August. Are you planting yet?

The osprey have definitely returned, though not yet to Bucks Harbor. Last week, photographer Carrie Johnson captured this one on a nest in East Machias. Next up, hummingbirds! Send me your reports!

The Machias Area Food Pantry has expanded its hours. It will still open every Monday from 1 to 6 p.m., but now it will also open each Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.!

April 25th is the tentative date for the first Community Supper in Machias at the Centre Street Church. If you’d like to support the meals, send an email to vanray77@gmail.com.

April 27th and 28th the Cobscook Institute will host a Permaculture Design Course in Trescott. Sliding scale available for residents of Washington County.

Thank you to Lucy Zwigard of Healthy Acadia and the Washington County Food Council for these important dates. If you’d like to stay in touch with the Council, visit this page.

The council’s next meeting will be held at Women for Healthy Rural Living in Milbridge, on Tuesday, May 21 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.. You may attend the meeting online or in person, and afterward, volunteers are invited to lend a hand in what might be Washington County’s most beautiful garden.