Feasting and exploring along Maine's Blue Hill Peninsula
Photographer Pete Muller captures the spirit of artistry and industry in the region's coastal towns.
Since 1936, license plates in Maine have been emblazoned with the slogan "Vacationland." That's little wonder, considering the state boasts 3,500 miles of coastline, 6,000 lakes, and dozens of beautiful seaside towns that draw summertime vacationers. Throughout the year, another side of Maine's charm stands out: The fortitude and industriousness of people who thrive here year-round.
"I've always been interested in the way that people are shaped by the environments that they live in," said National Geographic photographer Pete Muller. Nowhere is that influence more evident than Maine's Blue Hill Peninsula, a group of seven towns that are the gateway to Little Deer Isle, Deer Isle, and the port of Stonington.
There's an authenticity to the way that people live here [in Maine] that's unlike anything I've encountered in other places. They're caring for each other. They're caring for the place. There's a spirit of resilience and perseverance.Pete Muller, National Geographic photographer
Thriving fisheries, artisans, and businesses are intertwined with climate on the Blue Hill Peninsula. Visitors find a seafood oasis, particularly in Stonington, a fishing port that receives more lobster by pound than any other in the state. Stonington is picturesque, and its waterfront is always bustling—the town's lights, shops, and galleries invite people in with open arms.
Brooklin, another Blue Hill Peninsula town, is dubbed the “boatbuilding capital of the world," a moniker driven by a revival of traditional wooden boatbuilding in the 1970s that continues today. Classes fill up fast at the WoodenBoat School, one of a handful of boat-building schools in Maine. At WoodenBoat, students learn skills ranging from marine varnishing to bronze casting, with occasional courses in landscape drawing and painting offered as well.
Traditions like these are well tended, and sometimes reinvented, in Maine. General stores—destinations from the 1800s onward for food and household goods—thrive here. Brooklin's General Store offers lobster rolls, baked goods, local produce, and souvenirs from local artisans.
No matter where you go on the Blue Hill Peninsula, water beckons. "There are boundless opportunities in the state of Maine to engage with the water in all manner of ways," Muller said. People come to Maine for fly fishing, saltwater fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and of course, freshly caught seafood. The lobster is famous, but oyster farms are also plentiful. Many, like Deer Isle Oyster Company, welcome visitors. Owner Abby Barrows, a marine scientist, not only farms oysters, but is working to keep plastics out of the water by using plastic-free gear.
"What Abby's doing is such a great example of the spirit of Maine," Muller said of Barrows. "She's utilizing not only her scientific education, but her vocational and practical understanding to provide this incredible service."
Barrows' oysters were on the menu at a dinner Muller attended at Yellow Birch Farm, where guests get a tour of the farm and studios before sitting down to a five-course meal in a nineteenth-century post-and-beam barn. The menu features cheeses and vegetables from the farm and meats or fish from neighboring producers.
Muller's dinner at Yellow Birch, which was prepared by chef La Mason, founder of catering service Fête, brought home to Muller just how strongly Mainers' contributions weave together to create unforgettable experiences.
Something that I'm reminded of often when I'm here is that we are all interconnected by nature. We need each other.Pete Muller, National Geographic photographer
