Alicia Jessop knew Friday was going to be memorable, but she didn’t realize it would be a day she would never forget.

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The 34-year-old sports law professor from Pepperdine University in California had planned a New England road trip, seeking to visit some of the last seven US states she had never been to and trying her first lobster roll.

What she had not planned for was capturing a now-viral photo of the moment a seagull snatched the pricey sandwich as she was lining up the perfect shot.

“I was really embarrassed,” she said. “You hear stories of people taking crazy Instagram pictures and hurting themselves and I was like, ‘Oh my God, you are now that person. You just wasted $21.50 for a picture.’”

After a work conference in Vermont on Friday, Jessop rented a car and made her way to Fox’s Lobster House in York, Maine. Having bought her lobster roll, she walked to the water to take the perfect picture.

“It was the most picturesque place,” she said. “You’re standing on the seashore overlooking the lighthouse. I don’t really take a lot of food pictures, but I knew this needed to be documented.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The picture in all its uncropped glory – or horror. Photograph: AP

She spent about 20 seconds framing her shot, so she could capture the sandwich and the Nubble Lighthouse in the background. As she took the picture, she said, she felt something rustle in her hand. She thought she had dropped the lobster roll.

“That’s when I realized the seagull had swooped in and I hadn’t even seen it coming,” she said. “It’s a really smart bird and it all happened so fast.”

Before she had time to shoo the bird away, Jessop said, it was feasting on the lobster roll with “all of [its] friends”.

As she walked back to the lobster shack, she flipped through her camera roll and burst into laughter, realizing the only photo she had was the exact moment the seagull swooped. She posted the picture on Twitter, saying: “This is why we can’t have nice things.” Within a half an hour, thousands of people had liked the post.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alicia Jessop poses for a photo with her second $21.50 lobster roll at Fox’s Lobster House in York, Maine. Photograph: AP

Jessop went back to Fox’s and paid for another roll, but this time sat in a different area to enjoy what she said was “an awesome treat and well worth the money”. She asked another customer to take a photo so she had proof she had actually eaten a lobster roll.

Jessop said the experience has shown her “people just need a laugh”. She is also embracing the possibility of being known for the rest of her life as the seagull picture woman.

“There’s a lot worse things I could be known for,” she said, “and if that means I get free lobster rolls and bring a little bit of laughter into people’s lives, I think that’s a good thing.”