Our trip Northeast of Up North

It is October 14^th, day 98 and we are on the road again after being parked for 8 days. You skeptics out there may note that I have indeed made it past the three month milestone. I admit I include myself in the skeptic pool. We have about 1000 miles between us and home and we are hurtling that way. I am attempting, once again, to report on the past while living in the present and looking toward the future.

We spent 6 days headquartered in Trenton, Maine from Sept. 11^th through Sept. 15. My last dispatch covered our lobster experience so I'll move on to New Brunswick, lighthouses and extreme tides.

We headed out in the jeep for the Downeast Experience of Lubec, Maine. It is the easternmost point in the US where the sun rises first and we should have spent three days there instead of one. The town was picturesque and we enjoyed dinner in a charming inn when darkness forced us inside. The real attraction, though, was across the International Bridge, over the Lubec Narrows on Campobello Island , New Brunswick.

I really wanted to ferry over to Machias Seal Island, home to one of the largest breeding colonies of Atlantic Puffins. I have a formerly undisclosed, secret love for Puffins. No time. There is a boardwalk which crosses a rare Arctic bog with an abundance of unusual plants. Missed it. In St. Andrews, New Brunswick there is an elegant Algonquin Hotel. Didn't see it. What we did see was Head Harbour Lightstation. It is located on the outermost of a group of small islands at the northeastern tip of beautiful Campobello Island. Built in 1829, it is the oldest surviving lighthouse in New Brunswick and one of the oldest in Canada. We neglected to check the tidal schedule and you can only walk over to the lighthouse island during the 4 hours surrounding low tide. It was still worth the drive for the incomparable scenery of Head Harbour Passage with its dramatic high tides, craggy seashore, rocky cliffs and numerous whale sightings. 

We missed low tide at the lighthouse because we were touring FDR's summer home. Since I am currently reading a book about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, I was thrilled to go on this field trip through time. We did not leave enough time in the schedule to see it all but you won't believe it by the number of pictures Fred was able to take. Click here to see the pictures...

Next stop, Kennebunkport and another former president's home.

From the road

-robin