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CATCH A LOBSTER

Maine’s number 1 fishery provides the favorite dish of summer travelers. Many say lobster just tastes better when eaten beside the sea on a beautiful summer day. But most say it’s fabulous anywhere, any time. So while you’re in Maine, cook it, eat it, bring home souvenirs emblazoned with it, and perhaps even catch one yourself.

Lobster fishing is a tradition in Maine, which lands around 80 percent of all lobster caught in the United States. Drive the coast, visit an island, or poke down any peninsula and you won’t have to look far to see the signs of lobster culture—boats bobbing in harbors; piles of colorful traps stacked in dooryards; signs for lobster pounds and lobster co-ops.

DO IT YOURSELF

Besides eating lobster in Maine, in some ports you can buy a ticket on a lobster boat and enjoy the experience of lobstering, learning the lore and hauling traps. All that fresh sea air and hard work will make the lobster dinner afterward all the more delicious.

GO TO THE RACES

Don’t want to work for your supper? How about watching those high-powered lobster boats race against each other? There are a number of lobster boat races each summer. Schedules vary year to year, so check online.