On Sunday, July 28th, we drove 46 miles to the Sunset Point RV Park in Lubec, ME. Our pull-through site was significantly smaller than the one in Harrington. There was only slightly more than enough room between our neighbors to allow us to extend our awnings. We had to park the car in front, right next to the truck. Our picnic table and fire ring were across the road, near the water. Despite the tight quarters, we had very nice scenery around us. Johnson Bay was directly across the road from us, as well as to our right. We also had a small pond behind us. After getting set up, we sat outside and enjoyed the nice breeze.
On Monday, we drove across the FDR Memorial Bridge to Campobello Island. Although it was a very short bridge, Campobello Island is in New Brunswick, Canada and, thus, required us to clear Canadian Border Control.
Our first stop was at the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. The park is the only one of its kind in the world – jointly administered, staffed and funded by Canada and the U.S. The focal point of the park is the Franklin D. Roosevelt summer home. FDR spent every summer on Campobello Island from the time he was a 1-year-old until he was stricken by polio at age 39. His parents, John and Sara Roosevelt, built a cottage on the island in 1885. When Franklin and Eleanor were married, Sara purchased the neighboring cottage for them in 2007 as a belated wedding gift. After watching a video at the Visitor’s Center, we took a guided tour of the 34-room Roosevelt Cottage. All but four of the furnishings in the cottage are originals. Following the Roosevelt Cottage, we walked through the first floor of the neighboring Hubbard Cottage. Both cottages have fabulous views looking out of Friar’s Bay.
We next drove to the observation deck at Liberty Point but, unfortunately, the fog kept us from seeing very much. We hiked a 1.2-mile out-and-back trail to the SunSweep Sculpture. SunSweep is an international art project consisting of carved granite sculptures in three locations across North America. Each location (New Brunswick, Minnesota and Washington state) require the viewer to pass through both Canada and the U.S. to reach them.
After a brief stop at the Friar’s Head observation deck, we visited the Mulholland Point Lighthouse which was erected in 1885.
We then drove to the other end of the island and visited the Head Harbour Lightstation. This lighthouse is on an island that is only accessible by foot during a period of 1.5 hours of either side of low tide. Reaching the island required climbing up and down long ladders and crossing a wide expanse of slippery rocks. The fog began to roll in as we got to the lighthouse. This activated the foghorn that was nearly deafening from up close.
Our final stop on Campobello Island was a return to Friar’s Head which gets its name from the stone pillar on the beach directly below the observation deck. Native American Passamaquoddy legend referred to this rock as the Stone Maiden. The legend speaks of a young brave leaving on a long journey, telling his lover to sit and wait for his return. The brave was gone for many months and the maiden grew very upset as she sat on the beach below the head. When the brave finally returned, he found his maiden turned to stone, forever to wait and watch. Tucked under the crest of the headland, the Friar is only visible from the shore and is only accessible at low tide. We hiked down a trail to the beach and then had to work our way down to the Friar over seaweed and algae-covered rocks that were very slippery. Phil got close enough to take a picture but turned back when the rest of the trek would have been entirely over wet seaweed.
After dinner, we sat outside and watched the sun set over Johnson Bay.
On Tuesday we drove to West Quoddy Head State Park. We hiked a 4.5-mile loop that consisted of the Coastal, Thompson, Bog, and Inland Trails. The Coastal Trail ran along high cliffs above the Bay of Fundy. Unfortunately, the fog was so thick that it was difficult to see very far.
At the end of the hike, we visited the lighthouse at West Quoddy Head, the most easternmost spot in the U.S. The present lighthouse was erected in 1858.
On Wednesday we drove to the Bog Brook Cove Preserve in Cutler, ME and hiked the 3.5-mile Norse Pond Trail. First, the loop trail led us to Bog Brook Cove where we enjoyed exploring the beach. Our return took us to the banks of Norse Pond.
On Thursday we drove to the Boot Cove Preserve in Lubec, ME and hiked the 2.4-mile Boot Head Trail. This loop trail first took us to the beach at Boot Cove, then followed the rocky coastline to a platform above Brook Cove. Although there was still some fog on the water, it was clearer than it had been on previous days.
On Friday we drove to the Cutler Coastal Public Land and hiked 4.8 miles on the Bold Coast Trail. When we reached the shore, we continued up the coastline and enjoyed many views of the Bay of Fundy from the rocky crags. This was our clearest day of the week and we were able to see Grand Manan Island, NB off in the distance. When we stopped for a snack, we spotted several porpoises swimming below us.
On Saturday, August 3rd, we drove to Eastport, ME, the easternmost city in the United States. The drive took nearly an hour, despite the fact that Eastport is only three miles away from Lubec by boat. Eastport, settled in 1780, is the home to the deepest natural seaport in the continental U. S. Eastport, currently with a population of only around 1,300, was once a busy coastal trading center, second only to New York City as the busiest port in the U.S. It was once the Sardine Capital of the World, home to 18 sardine factories as well as the largest sardine cannery in the world. We walked around the historic district on Water Street, where many of the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of these buildings were built in a hectic year after an 1886 fire destroyed the previous downtown. We wandered through the adjoining neighborhoods where many of the houses date back to the 1800s. Many of these old houses are in rough shape but some are being renovated.
We chose to visit Eastport on August 3rd because it was National Mustard Day. Eastport is home to Raye’s Mustard Mill, one of the last stone mills in America, where the family has been cold-grinding mustard seeds and bottling various mustard concoctions since 1903. Other than receiving a 10% discount on purchases at the Raye’s Mustard gift shop, we found no other evidence of any National Mustard Day festivities.
For dinner, we visited Becky’s Seafood, a food truck in our Lubec neighborhood, and had a delicious order of fried scallops.
On Sunday we returned to the Bog Brook Cove Preserve and hiked the 3-mile Ridge Trail. Access to the trailhead required driving a mile on a narrow and very rough gravel road. Fortunately, no one was coming the other direction. The trail took us along the coast of Moose Cove. We didn’t see any moose but did find evidence on the trail that moose had come that way. The trail included a panoramic vista from a high ridge above the cove, as well as a walk on the stony beach at low tide. We spent the afternoon preparing for Monday’s move to St. Andrews, NB.
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