Bonnie
Miller, Hostess Par Excellence For the past two years, Bonnie has graciously hosted four to five club members for several days of feasting and fishing at her idyllic cottage in Cushing, near Thomaston, Maine. As she aptly bills the adventure, “Stripers by Day, Lobster by Night,” it is a fun-packed adventure from morning to night. I have been privileged to attend these past two years. Bonnie’s cozy cottage, set amid many trees and various shrubs, is perched on a peaceful knoll that sweeps down to an inlet on the St. George River, where the tide comes and goes. When the tide is out, the inlet floor is visible in its gray and mucky tones. When the tide is in, one can imagine stepping into a boat to sail down the river. Two Adirondack chairs placed side by side among the trees and flowers above the water’s edge beckon their guests to sit and observe the tides. Bonnie not only opens her house to us—she opens her heart and touches us all with her warmth and welcoming ways, making us feel completely at home the minute we enter. She has expertly and lovingly decorated her house with a fishing theme throughout, which reveals her spirit and creativity. Bonnie, who makes entertaining look easy, works hard planning and organizing ahead of time to ensure that we enjoy a complete experience. For example, last year she arranged for us to take a ferry boat ride from a nearby town to Monhegan Island, summer home to the thriving Monhegan art colony that was established in the late 1880’s. On the trip out the ferry captain pointed out various places of interest. He even slowed the boat down so that we could observe seals perched on a large rock. Once on the island, we hiked to different spots, where we observed artists at work as they painted the landscape in this peaceful and picturesque outdoor studio. Several buildings housed small galleries of the artists’ works. At the end of our day, we rested on chairs on the front lawn of the sprawling inn high above the harbor and looked down upon the many little boats peacefully anchored there. Since weather didn’t permit us going to the island this year, Bonnie quickly adjusted and instead, drove us to the nearby towns of Rockport and Camden. She took us on a driving tour through Rockport’s beautiful residential areas, where the homes appeared to be out of Architectural Digest. Everyone oohed and aahed over which one they would like to have. Bonnie also showed us the unusual Belted Galloway cows grazing on the well- known Aldermere Farm. These cows, with a distinctive white stripe around their abdomen, are the subjects of many Maine artists. In Camden, we toured the various shops in town, including one that featured exquisite woodcarvings of birds, fish and wild animals, mostly by Maine carvers. Nona Gross, who has lived in the southwest, was happy to revisit a store specializing in Native American jewelry. She had been there the previous year. Matter of fact, we had to coax her to leave, but not before she added something to her collection! The two days of fishing out of boats with guides was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. On our very first day on the St. George River, a fairly wide river, we enjoyed fishing in various secluded coves tucked away off the beaten track. Their shorelines were strewn with algae- covered rocks, which made for slippery footing during our brief pit stops. Just as we were winding up our time on the river, a storm suddenly blew up and the race was on to get back to the dock. With the torrential-like rain whipping in our faces, our adrenaline pumping, and thunder rumbling above, we sped back to the dock, seeming to fly over the water. As bolts of lightning crackled in the sky, we were thankful to be back safely on terra firma. I was satisfied with the three stripers I had landed, as was Nona Gross, my fishing partner, with her three. However, I couldn’t help but compare my take this year to last year, when on the second day fishing out of a boat on an inlet at the mouth of this river, I was lucky to have caught at least 15 stripers. Yes, I did stop counting—quite an unusual but welcome circumstance for me. And to think, most of these were taken in one spot in a less than an hour! On the second day, Nona and I volunteered to get up at 4:30 a.m. and drive one hour to the Kennebec River, where we fished off the boat of another guide. I only caught one fish and Nona, two. We at least felt comforted by the fact that as we passed a few other boats, we found out that they hadn’t caught any. Misery does love company in these situations. However, the very next day Mary Boller and Lori Powell, who sat out the first day of fishing, fished the Kennebec en route home and had a far different result. Using the same guide, they caught many more fish -- and yes, they stopped counting at 20! Had the wind changed, had the guide found other hot spots that he didn’t try the day before, or had the aforementioned storm that blanketed the area two days before affected the conditions? According to Mary, they came upon a feeding frenzy of stripers who were surfacing in their pursuit of a school of baitfish. “Stripers were everywhere!” Mary exclaimed. Bonnie knows all the good eateries in the area and made sure that we hit the gamut—from Primo, a renowned New England restaurant with a famous female chef, to Silver Lane Bistro, a homey renovated sheep barn, where the owner/chef chatted with us, to a lobster pound overlooking the water, where we ate outside on picnic tables. Bonnie timed our dinner at this latter restaurant just right—at sunset. This gave us a perfect opportunity to take picture postcard quality photos of the sun glistening on the water and the little boats dotting the ocean. The sights and sounds of this memorable evening all melded together like the butter and the delectable lobster —the informal atmosphere of the outdoors, the pleasant warm temperature, the made-to-order sunset, and the company of our fellow fly-fishers—it doesn’t get better than this! Bonnie wears two hats—that of fly fisher and head chef. On the last night, when she donned the white apron and tall white chef’s hat with a lobster emblazoned on the front, you knew that she was tending to the serious business of preparing lobsters for our farewell dinner. She and some of the guests had walked to the neighboring lobster pound to fetch the large crustaceans, which had been plucked from the water that day and were waiting in a large crate dangling in the water off the dock. Since lobsters were the main attraction, Bonnie created a festive mood for the dinner by setting out plates and a tablecloth with a lobster motif. She even placed miniature decorative lobsters around the table. Our appetizer consisted of two filets of a striper that Mary had caught that day. Tina Berry, an expert cook, used a family recipe to prepare them, and everyone tasted a bit of it. We then feasted on those large lobsters with corn on the cob and salad to complement them. Dessert was local homemade blueberry pie topped with ice cream. James Beard must have been smiling down from on high! These precious days in Maine are more than fishing and feasting. It’s a time to connect with other women who share your passion. Bonnie facilitates this by sharing her home with us and creating this special time for all of us to relax and just have fun. Thank you, Bonnie for your kindness and generosity, for which we are all grateful. --Elizabeth Shapiro-- |