Thoughts on mid-coast Maine, which does have its share of "cabin country" if you are willing to leave Route 1:

- Can we start a movement to ban "twin lobsters for $19.95"? This is a waste of an innocent lobster, since none of the eyes-are-bigger-than-your-stomach tourists who order this dish ever finishes all that food.

- Can someone tell me what happened to the old state prison in Thomaston? There is a blank in my memory, though there must have been much media attention when it was removed. I do seem to remember that Stephen King's short story "Rita Hayworth" was set there, and eventually emerged as the popular movie, "Shawshank Redemption."

- At what age do you realize that "pick your own strawberries" is an absurd idea? There are numerous "free access" berry patches between Bath and Rockland, but who would leave a comfortable car to thrash around among the thorns and insects to gather something you can buy for $2?

- Rockland is so gentrified now that it has a wireless Internet hotspot on the waterfront. There are few communities that have upgraded so substantially in the last decade as this seaside town. Your Scribe hopes it can prevail following the departure of MBNA, which funded much of the restoration on the waterfront.

- It's encouraging to see that the old Trade Winds motel has survived the upgrade of downtown Rockland. On the subject of the past, I must say I miss all the old sardine and fish-processing plants that anchored the wharfs until the '80s.

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