200 P r t L a n d montHL maga ine diSC very d f the damariscotta river is like the na a alley o shell sh. a ter a scenic drive do n the eastern bank o the river, i arrive at mook sea farms. no other arm e em li es both the art and science o oyster arming as ell as this one. a scientist, inventor, and climate change activist, ounder Bill mook is an amalgamation o Bill nye, ac ues cous teau, and willy wonka. mook sea farms rimarily uses a oating cage system to culti vate their oysters. the ave action and len ti ul ood allo s their oysters to gro uickly and roduce clean, manicured shells. d f i can t leave maine ithout a ro er “shuck your o n” e erience at glidden Point oyster farm. i try my hand at shucking an L glidden Point, and it certain ly uts u a ght. But nothing is more satis y ing than shucking your o n briny lunch right at the source. i make my ay back to Portland in search o one last indulgence be ore i leave. my last sto on this hirl ind oyster tour is at the corner o commercial and, a ro ri ately, Pearl street. i hot dog and ret el stands are iconic to ne ork, then Brendan Parson s BP shuck shack lls that role in Portland. Brendan s oyster cart has every thing you need or a great o ra bar e erience, including a detailed ma o the damariscotta river. ■ this region’s ancient appetite for bivalves. “Deposits of oyster shells are continuous on both sides for over three hundred yards,” writes Harold W. Castner in The Prehistor- ic Oyster Shell Heaps of the Damariscotta I n Maine, it may be more prudent to call it the third. If you peel away from Route One just after crossing the Damariscot- ta River and continue on foot, directly on the riverbanks you’ll discover evidence of a a a a i illustrat r hn ennieldepi tsthe a usp e r e is arr lls i i a heWalrusand arpentersrapa i usappetites r sters irr rsthe dernda de and rthe i al e. oHn tennieL