YORK, Maine — It's a lesson most of us Mainers have learned at some point.
Chowing down by the water in the summer offers great flavors and stunning scenery -- but sometimes, there's a price to pay.
That price for Washington Post contributor Alicia Jessop was just about $43!
On Friday, Jessop tweeted out a picture that makes some of us laugh and most of us nod in solidarity.
A greedy seagull swooped down right when Jessop was about the snap the perfect shot and snatched a lobster roll right out of her hand.
Gulls -- 1, humankind -- 0.
For Jessop, going to Maine had always been a lifelong dream. So after a work conference in Vermont this week, she decided to hop in the car and make it happen.
Her excitement after arriving and seeing York's Nubble Light was tangible. Like most millennials, she thought, 'What better way to remember this moment than with an epic Instagram?'
That's where Jessop made her rookie -- and expensive -- mistake.
"It’s kind of embarrassing," Jessop laughed. "It was just like a split second thing. I was so focused on the perfect Instagram picture that I didn’t even notice the seagull coming in."
The Twitter comment thread following her picture, laced with sympathetic remarks and racking up reactions, was almost as amusing as the actual incident.
"That photo should be the State Flag of Maine, or at least the license plate," user Carl Herring wrote.
Another user, Abe Froman, compared the picture of the gull to the equally-unsettling 'Jaws' poster.
Jessop went back to Fox's Lobster House after to buy a new lobster roll, which she ate in peace with a smile on her face and a good story to tell.
"I will definitely remember this trip forever."
$43 later -- a lesson learned and a classic Maine afternoon in the books.