Eastport, Maine, easternmost city in the United States, has always been a place apart. I don’t mean that simply in the “You can’t get there from here” sense either.

As anyone familiar with this this hardscrabble fishing village-cum-art colony perched on the rocky shores of Passamaquoddy Bay will tell you, getting there is always at least half the fun, assuming that you’re in no big hurry to arrive anytime soon.

Regardless of where you’re starting from, it’s a safe bet that a trip to Eastport won’t end up being “right on the way” to any of your more familiar vacation destinations, which is more or less the whole point.

You’d think that, having made the trek myself dozens of times over the years, I’d have long since gotten used to the geographic realities of the place. But, every time I turn off coastal Route 1 and commence the slow winding drive to the very end of Route 190, covering the final half dozen miles into town, I find myself thinking the exact same thought: “This place really isn’t close to anywhere.”

Combine Eastport’s remote location with some of the most breathtaking vistas on the planet and it’s easy to see why the place is so special to so many people.

My wife and I recently passed a relaxing sun drenched afternoon in Eastport, browsing through a growing number of interesting shops that make up the city’s Water Street business district. I was pleasantly surprised to note that shopkeepers from one end of town to the other seemed to be doing a brisk trade, not exactly “booming” you understand, but plenty brisk all the same.

More encouraging still was the fact that many of them (art galleries, antique stores specializing in Native American basketry and a first class bakery among others) had clearly been thriving in their current locations for several consecutive seasons. That’s a big deal when you’re trying to make ends meet way Downeast.

For years now, the good folks of Eastport have been preaching the same “prosperity is just around the corner” gospel to anyone within earshot. I’m pleased to report, for the very first time in my memory, the much-anticipated prosperity actually seems to have arrived!

The reason for our most recent visit was twofold. Mostly we’d come, like just about everyone else, to sample the always lively, rarely overcrowded summer waterfront scene, plunk ourselves down at a picnic table and load up on fresh local seafood while enjoying a spectacular view of sun dappled Campobello Island directly across the bay.

The second reason was a bit more practical in nature. Caught up in my busy summer performance schedule I’d almost forgotten that my semi-famous sister-in-law Charlotte is due to arrive soon on her annual Downeast pilgrimage. This is an event that always necessitates a reconnaissance mission to scope out the current state of the local angling scene along Eastport’s famous Breakwater pier.

There are lots of places like this in Maine, some local dock where enthusiastic anglers with nothing better to do all day (OK, maybe they do have something better to do — but they darned well aren’t going to do it!) can drop a line and see what’s bitin’.

Few however, can match the massive scale of the Eastport Breakwater. In order to accommodate the area’s legendary 20-plus-foot tides, the breakwater was built to a scale that dwarfs all human activity surrounding it.

Deep-sea trawlers berthed alongside the towering concrete structure resemble a fleet of dories. When it’s parked on the breakwater, that brand new, three quarter ton pickup of yours shrinks to the size of a matchbook toy.

Naturally, my sister-in-law is crazy about the place.

Regular readers of this column may recall my sister-in-law is a highly skilled angler, known in certain circles as “The Fish Whisperer.” She has an uncanny ability to locate, catch, photograph and release an astronomical variety fish species. No wonder she fits in around here.

That’s mainly because the city of Eastport is, was and hopefully will remain primarily a Maine fishing village, a fact that is reflected in the striking if somewhat unconventional “Fisherman’s Statue” overlooking the town center. Like the community itself, the sculpture has an incredibly colorful and eclectic back story.

Exactly how this particular sculpture ended up in downtown Eastport is a genuinely fascinating tale packed with unexpected plot twists. Details are available onsite. But, trust me folks, it’s a story worth hearing.

The image itself, a larger-than-life, windblown fisherman cradling a giant fish in his arms, reflects the unique personality of the place itself; tough, quirky and above all doggedly determined to survive and yes, even prosper in the days, months and years ahead.