Hong Kong. September 6 – 13, 2018.

The main reason for this trip is to attend a Hope International fund raising dinner in Hong Kong.  Anne and I went to Kunming to visit in January (by way of Hong Kong), and I was there in March when Christ H visited.  So this is the third trip for me.

Anne thought about but decided against coming.  Not being a fan of long flights in coach, she would rather stay behind and work on some of her ESL projects.

I was in Hong Kong late August 2017, and the airfare was around $550.  When I first checked airfares for this flight (forget when) it was a bit over $900.  So when it dropped to $722 I grabbed it (bought ticket on 8/5).  Turns out it dropped further, down to around $620 and fluctuated a bit.  Even up till a day before departure it was still that low. Should have kept the faith, although by all measures $722 is a great fare.

I bought my plane ticket on August 5.  The price dropped to $622 on August 22.

I may head back in October, so another chance to play this game of airfare roulette?  Right now the fare is $755 (mid- to late-October).

We usually pride ourselves on having only carry-on luggage, and for Hong Kong it is never an issue unless I want to bring a bottle of wine over.  For this flight I checked 2 pieces of luggage at a little over 50 lbs each.  Our friends Alan and Farina moved back to Hong Kong a couple of months ago, so I volunteered to take something back for them.  One of the suitcases they left behind weighed 70 lbs!  I couldn’t handle that, so I took something out for next trip.

9/6 Thursday.  It took a bit of maneuvering, but I managed to coax 3 pieces of luggage and a backpack from where Anne dropped me off to the luggage check area, and by doing so saved $6 (Smartcarte charge).  The check-in agent didn’t bat an eye, I guess lots of people check in heavy stuff.  An elite member evidently can check in 3 pieces, that’s over 200 lbs.

For a while I was concerned if the departure would be delayed as Flightstats showed UA998 (incoming flight from Brussels) as being diverted.  My conjecture is the plane returned to the gate at BRU to have a mechanical problem fixed, but simply departed a little over an hour late.

Since I will be on four international flights in 30 days, I decided to subscribe to a UA internet package for $69.  On this flight internet costs $30.99 (highest I have seen); I am sure I would not have sprung $31 for one flight’s worth of connection.  It was working well for a while (we are sixth hour into flight) but is now fading out a bit; we are over Greenland.  So far I have done my usual financial record keeping, and chatted in a couple of newsgroups.  (Note added about 1 hour before landing: as “warned,” service stopped for a few hours while plane was over the North Pole and most of Russia, even though the Unitedwifi site said internet was available.)

One does not expect gourmet dining in coach.  United still manages to disappoint with ever-shrinking meals.  What used to be called dinner is now lunch.

I managed to while away the time without much sleep (about an hour at most so far), between watching two movies (Avengers: Infinity War and Solo: A Star Wars Story, each over 2 hours) and the chat groups I had quite a bit to do.  Sonny in the Cornell chat group bought for me a ticket for Saturday night’s HK Philharmonic concert, and Daniel arranged to have lunch on Monday.

9/7 Friday.  Plane actually got to the gate at 6:45 pm, about 30 minutes early.  A bit unusual for this habitually tardy flight.  Alan was at customs exit when I got through, having spent 20 plus minutes waiting for luggage.  We caught up a bit while having a quite bite at Tai Hing.  Airport Express and a short taxi ride got me to Causeway Bay.

Accommodations for trip: Causeway Bay Apartment.

9/8 Saturday.  Went to bed at around 1 am, got up at 4:30 am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  It will be a rough(ish) night tonight, unless I can catch a nap in the afternoon.

Tim stopped by and we chatted a bit, then it was off to breakfast for me.  Joe Jr had asked me to buy some Disney cups and dishes for his kids, so I stopped by a couple of Japan Home Centers to pick them up.  Temperature not that back (mid 80s) but humidity gets you, I was all sweaty when I got back to the apartment.

Lunch was at a Shanghainese restaurant in the World Trade Center, with two high school classmates John and Raymond.  John and I reconnected a couple of years back, and Raymond I had not seen since 1969, when he left Hong Kong for Australia.  Lunch was two hours, and Raymond and I spent another 2+ hours over coffee to catch up.  It was amazing we had so much to talk about after all these years.

That didn’t leave me much time for my next event, and today was so humid that I felt I needed to change my shirt.  So it was a quick bowl of wonton, a shirt change back in the apartment, and to Tsim Sha Tsui via the subway.  I got to the Cultural Center to have coffee with Sonny and someone from a micro-finance NGO that works with migrant workers in Hong Kong.  Sonny got me a (basically) complimentary ticket to a Hong Kong Philharmonic concert, with Joshua Bell on the violin.  He also gave me a ride to the apartment.  It was close to 11 pm that I got back.

Joshua Bell and Jaap van Zweden at the conclusion of the Sibelius Violin Concerto.  Van Zweden will be leading both the Hong Kong and New York Philharmonic Orchestras this season.

9/9 Sunday.  Last night I got perhaps five hours of sleep.  Still not enough, but at least some improvement.  Lunch was hosted by Anna & Kenneth at the Chinese restaurant of “The Murray,” a new(ish) high-end hotel in Central.  We ordered a lot of food as Anna kept on asking for and acting on recommendations, but managed to gulp down most of it.  There is a rather large Flame of the Forest tree in front of the building which people moved before the renovations and restored afterwards, at great expense no doubt.  Anna pointed out how poorly the restaurant’s design integrated with this “center piece,” starting with a solid railing that blocked a better view of the tree.  I was told their dishes are about twice as expensive as other restaurants.

T-mobile provides low-speed data service while overseas.  A handy feature to have, but sometimes frustratingly slow.  50kbps doesn't quite get the job done.  For HK$48 China Mobile provides 3 Gb of service for 5 days, at (supposedly) 4G speeds.

I managed to go back to the apartment and slept for an hour, which helped greatly.

Dinner was with Alfred and Alyson in Ge Ge Fu, patterned after royalty during the Qing Dynasty.  I was happy to be able to see her, but didn’t get a lot of chance to talk.

I noticed these low-sugar mooncakes being sold at the Cafe I had breakfast, and bought one box.  Ate one (over four days) and gave away the other three.

Ge Ge Fu Restaurant has a Qing dynasty-inspired theme.  This is the elaborate table setting in the restaurant.  They also have a selection of period clothing for those who like to pose for photographs.

9/10 Monday.  Today ended being a bit longer than expected.  Went to the Hope office in Sheung Wan at about 10 am to catch up with Joe T.  I also met with Christina (whose name I forgot) and Jesse and Kevin from Hope’s LA office.  Over coffee Joe T and I caught up a bit on things.

Lunch was with Eddie and Daniel, whom I reconnected after joining a Cornell chat group.  Luk Yu Tea House has been around for a long time; I had not been there for over 30 years, but it hasn’t changed much.

Daniel, Eddie and I were at Cornell together.  I had not seen Daniel since graduation.  Turns out I also know his brother Don from high school. 

From 3 to about 6:30 pm I had to try to solve a family problem and dealt with several lawyers.  Things are now somewhat under control.

My last “meeting” ended in Admiralty, so dinner was at Café de Coral.  It was close to 9 pm when I got back to the apartment.

This dinner at Cafe de Coral cost about US$8.  Prices are reasonable if one eats as a local.

9/11 Tuesday.  Tim gave me a shot for my hurting knee.  I was then off to Festival Walk to do the usual breakfast with Alfred.  For whatever reason, I headed towards East Mongkok; to get to Festival Walk I should be heading to Kowloon Tong.  I realized my mistake as I excited the MTR station.  A few calls later, Alfred returned from Kowloon Tong and we managed to chat for an hour or so at Pacific Coffee in Grand Century Plaza.

I stopped by Hysan Place hoping to get something to eat from Pepper Lunch.  Lunch crowds in Hong Kong can be large, and there was a sign saying “Wait Time 30 minutes,” so I opted for another meal instead.

There is a lot of potatoes in this beef brisket curry dish.  The other dish is "seasonable" vegetables, nappa cabbage for today.

It was a little after 6 pm when I got to HKEX, the place Hope was going to hold the fundraising dinner.  HKEX used to be the floor of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and was turned into a conference and banquet room after manual trading was eliminated.  Some Hope supporter managed to get the facility made available to Hope, for free.  About 120 people attended, and the evening generally went well.  I ordered chicken as the main course, but was served chicken sausage instead: due to the avian flu, the supply of chicken in Hong Kong is tight.  I stuck around for a bit after the program concluded, so it was about 10:30 pm that I got back to the apartment.

 The Hong Kong Museum of Finance.  I didn't have time to get a good understanding of what message the displays were trying to send.

Edwin and I hosted the first Hope dinner in Hong Kong several years back.  It was good to reconnect.

9/12 Wednesday.  Morning spent taking care of tidying up paper work.  Several of us had a simple lunch at Pret-a-manger to debrief on the previous evening’s events.  At about 3:30 pm I met up with Nathan and Sharon (who joined later) to chat a bit before they start their next venture – going to get their Master’s degrees in London.

Dinner was with Tim and Whitney at this Shanghai Restaurant in Lee Garden II.  Many dishes were basically modern takes on some traditional Shanghainese dishes.

Many Shanghai 10's dishes are re-imagined versions of popular Shanghai dishes.  For "shrimp and tea leaves" the shells are retained (and eaten), and the tea leaves were fried.  The "smoked fish" tasted more like sweat and sour.  Solid B+!

Time to pack for an early (for me) departure tomorrow.  Typhoon Signal No. 3 has been hoisted, the outlook is it will not escalate, so it should not affect my flight.  There is one about 3 days behind that could be problematic for the city.  Of course Florence is threatening the Carolinas at the same time.

9/13 Thursday.  Woke up at 6:45 am, so I had plenty of time to get ready for the flight.  Uber cost today was about HK$103, quite a bit more than the $66 I paid in March.  Really no complaints as it worked out to about US$13.

Check in at Airport Express station was straightforward.  When the agent was telling me how to get to the UA lounge, I joked that I usually go to the Priority Pass lounge near Gate 1.  She insisted that food at the United Club was better.  Which gave me the idea – and I told her – that I would try both.

The Premium Plaza Club near Gate 1 was mobbed by travelers.  I noticed how long the food line was while standing in line for admission, so I decided to go to the one near the United departure area.  It was much better.  This was followed by a visit to the United Club.  The edge indeed goes to United, somewhat to my surprise.

Dueling breakfasts at HKG.  The winner is United.  And, yes, I ate both of them.

UA180 has a light load, in Economy Plus, so I have a row of three seats to myself.  So far so good – this is 11:20 am, about 40 minutes into the flight.

By taking advantage of United WiFi I managed to upload this blog entry while in the air (Hong Kong time 12:20 pm, about 1:40 hours into flight, at 31,000 ft.)

Plane arrived on time.  Mobile Passport and Priority Luggage tag made the immigration and customs process straightforward.  I bought a box of mooncakes, declared it, and still managed to sail through.  Anne came by to pick me up.

Maine and New Brunswick, August 25-31, 2018.

For most of the summer our children and grandchildren had been staying with us.  While we enjoyed that, we thought we could also use a break, before my next trip to Hong Kong in early September and our trip to Europe towards the end of that month.  We had considered various places, and ended up deciding on the Eastern end of Maine.

Saturday 8/25.  We had driven back from Somerville the night before (getting in at midnight), and had lunch with Ellen and Dominic who had moved to Michigan about a year ago.  Chung Shu came by at 6:30 pm to take us to Newark.  The line at TSA Pre-Check was surprising short (we walked directly up to the agent, no standing in line), so we had some time to eat at The Purse, a Chinese dumpling restaurant.  The crew (from Columbus) got in just in time for an on-time departure.  UA3513 was technically a commuter flight, but the Embraer 170 for this flight was large enough that a jetway at Terminal C could be used.  We were upgraded, and the seats were quite comfortable.  It was a short one-hour flight anyway.

We checked out a Toyota RAV4 and drove to our hotel for the night.  Bangor’s first impression is that it is a town time passed by.  The Ramada Inn, with its two sets of semi-circular staircase, reminded both Anne and me of the Ramada Inn in Ithaca we used for our wedding.  Except the carpets were red then, they are brown here.

The Ramada Inn reminded us of the one in Ithaca from our wedding 40 some years ago.

It was close to 11:30 pm when we settled in, especially since we had to change rooms because of the strong cigarette in our original checked-in “non-smoking” room.

Accommodation: Bangor Ramada Inn (1 night.)

Sunday 8/26.  Our original “inspiration” for picking Downeast Maine was a birding trip (fully booked) for this area.  Other than the possibility of seeing birds (which we see also in NJ), our itinerary is wide-open.  We did map out where we would stay each night, so that limits our geographic area somewhat each day.

After breakfast we first drove to the town of Bucksport, with one of these stone sculptures described in a pamphlet we read.  The sculpture isn’t all that interesting, but we discovered a walk from the Veterans’ Park along the Penobscot River that afforded a nice view of the modern-looking Penobscot Narrows Bridge and the Fort Knox Historic Site.  Both have some interesting facts about them.  The bridge opened in 2006 as a replacement for a decaying bridge built in the 1930s.  There is plaque saying the original bridge (a traditional suspension bridge) cost $800,000, would cost $40 million today, and they collected tolls for about 20 years to pay it off.  The Port Authority of NY and NJ can take a lesson in fiscal responsibility from these folks, instead of increasing the price of toll often.  Fort Knox, on the other hand, was a huge construction project that never saw battle, and was put up for sale by the US government (and bought by the State of Maine for $2121, per Wikipedia.)

 A walk along the banks of the Penobscot River provided a nice view of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and the Fort Knox Historical Site.

 Close up of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge

Throughout the area are stone sculptures forming the “Sculpture Trail.”  We would encounter several of these on our trip, but didn’t really think much of them.  Surely some people would spend days checking them off on the map.

We then drove down to Stonington, located on Deer Isle, driving across Little Deer Isle to get there.  The many coves and harbors along the way made for a scenic drive.  Lunch was lobsters and lobster roll at Stonecutter’s in town.  Next stop was Holbrook Island Sanctuary where we ran into a lady who came here by private boat, starting in Miami Beach in April and planning to be back to Miami in November.  We had an interesting discussion on the preparation needed for such a trip.

Ramp from boat landing pontoon to the Holbrook Sanctuary.  We had an interesting discussion with a lady from Miami Beach who had started her journey in April and expect to be back in November.

It was just about 6 pm when we checked into the Bluff House Inn.  After a quick dinner (Fried seafood platter for two) at Tracey’s, we hurried back to the Inn to see the sunset.  The colors were nice, but the sun was obscured by cloud.

 We didn’t eat as many lobsters as we expected.  Here is Fried Seafood for Two served up at Tracey’s.

 View of Sunset from Bluff House Inn in Gouldsboro.

 Lobster Traps are everywhere along the coastline of Maine.

The Bluff House Inn is located at the end of a rather long driveway, far away from the already sparse traffic.  While the rooms are a bit small, the scenery from the porch is excellent, and there is a large common room on the first floor.  Anne and I wonder if it would work well for a family reunion; our only concern is the lack of activities for young children nearby, so an extended stay for them probably is out.

Accommodation: Bluff House Inn, Gouldsboro (1 night.)

Monday 8/27.  Breakfast was pastries and scrambled eggs prepared by Dallas, owner of the Inn.  We left at around 9:15 am to go to Winter Harbor to buy tickets on the ferry from WH to Bar Harbor, about one hour away.  The boat’s capacity is 52, but today’s traffic was relatively light, especially on the way back from Bar Harbor.  I managed to find a seat on the upper deck (with only 10 seats); Anne said her ride in the bow was nice, and she joined me on the return trip.

 Miss Lizzie takes 52 passengers from Winter Harbor to Bar Harbor.

There was this couple from Philadelphia who own a summer house in Winter Harbor, and he was pointing out some of the “landmarks” for me, including a small island with a house on it that was for sale for a few million dollars.  It was also interesting to see how they juggle living in two places; the logistical aspects are somehow too daunting for me.

Per the folks we talked to on Miss Lizzie, this island – together with a house – is on the market for a few million dollars.

On the trip we saw many lighthouses.  During the Winter Harbor to Bar Harbor ferry ride we saw this on Egg Rock Island.

We remained on the boat when it docked at Bar Harbor.  Along the way we saw some harbor porpoises and ospreys.  There was a large cruise ship (Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas) docked near Bar Harbor. I can’t imagine several thousand people flooding the streets of the city, but the revenue they bring in must be good. Today was a nice day for a boat ride; I enjoyed it very much.  May be too much sun …

 Winter Harbor doesn’t freeze over the winter.  There are some large houses in town that serve as summer homes.

 Bar Harbor is now a popular cruise destination.  Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas was in the harbor today.  Just imagine six or so thousand passengers and crew having the shore excursions.

After a lunch of lobster roll and fried seafood at Chase in Winter Harbor, we drove to Schoodic Peninsula Wildlife Refuge Area, which is part of Acadia National Park.  We didn’t see much wildlife beyond the many eider ducks swimming around, the many coves and harbors certainly qualify this as a scenic drive.

 Panoramic view at Schoodic Peninsula.  There is an interpretative board explaining why there are these fracture lines in the huge granite blocks.

Next stop was the Petit Manan Wildlife Refuge.  Again we didn’t see too much wildlife beyond some water fowls.  We did spend quite a bit of time there as we decided to hike the 1.6 mile Hollingsworth Trail, lingering at several locations to admire the landscape, including the Petit Manan Lighthouse.

 The walk on the Hollingsworth Trail led past some interesting rock formations.  Here three different rocks (all igneous) can be seen.

Some plants along the trail are labeled, a great help to those who can’t tell apart the different berries.  We erroneously thought these were blueberry bushes.

It was close to 7 pm when we checked into our hotel in Machias, a relatively big town at over 2000 inhabitants.  Dinner was at Helen’s next doors.  Our hotel room overlooks the Machias River, it was low tide when we checked in, by 11 pm the river had risen considerably.

 Dinner at Helen’s in Machias started with 2 lbs of steamers, followed by these main courses.

 The Machias River runs behind the motel.  The water levels were noticeably different during different times of the day.

 We encountered quite a few beautiful sunsets during our trip.  This one taken outside of the motel.

 It was close to full moon tonight.  I shot this with a Canon SX720 held in my hand.  Just don’t zoom in.

Accommodation: Machias River Inn (1 night.)

Tuesday 8/28.  There is a McDonald’s a couple of miles from our hotel, so we stopped by at the beginning of the day.  The name “Machias” means roughly “bad little falls” which is located in town, and we stopped by to take a look. Along the way we saw another sculpture located at the U of Maine at Machias.

The namesake for the town of Machias.  The video looks more impressive than the actual waterfall.

The Machias River on Tuesday morning.  The water level is noticeably higher than the evening before.

Our first awareness of the area was the puffin watch to Machias Seal Island from Cutler.  The season ended in late July, but we decided to drive to the town to take a look.  The harbor is busy with lobster boats this time of year, and we could see Margaret Frost anchored in the harbor.  West Quoddy Head Lighthouse was first built in the early 1800s, and stands watch over the rugged coastline in the area, including Sail Rock, which is the easternmost point of the United States.  We took a walk along the coast guard trail.

 The boat Margaret Frost (first complete boat from left) is used during late spring and early summer for puffin watch trips.  Cutler otherwise is a working harbor.

West Quoddy Head Light is the easternmost lighthouse in the US, Sail Rock – the actual easternmost point – can be seen at the right of the flag pole.  East Quoddy Head is in Canada.

After a relatively late lunch at Frank’s in Lubec, we checked into our room for the night.  Lubec is a small city (and, naturally, the easternmost city) with a few inns and restaurants.  We saw quite a few harbor seals in the Lubec Narrows – Anne counted as many as eight at the same time.

 We can see the Mulholland Point Light across the Lubec Narrows from our hotel room.  There are quite a few harbor seals in the channel.

 Mulholland Point Light up close.

Campobello Island was named humorously after Campbell, a previous part-owner of the island.  It is most famously associated with FDR who was introduced to it as a child and vacationed their often as an adult. It was here that he came down with polio (at age 39).  There is now an Edmund Muskie Visitor Centre located in Roosevelt International Park which occupies about half the area of the island – which belongs to Canada.  We drove to the northern tip of the island with a view of the Head Harbour Lightstation – at low tide one could walk across the sea floor to reach it, and when the tide comes in, the water level rises 5 feet per hour!  We decided not to wait the additional hour or so before we could cross.  A gentleman from Maryland was picnicking with his family, and told us about the whales that frequented the nearby waters; we did see two whale watching boats.  We then drove to Mulholland Point Light which is across the channel from our room.  The temperature here is quite a bit cooler (11 degrees by the car’s gauge) as the narrow forces the cold air from the waters to the shores.

 Customs between Lubec and Campobello Island is quite straightforward, a few questions and you are allowed through.

 The Head Harbour Lightstation is the “East Quoddy Head Lighthouse.”  At low tide one can walk across the channel and up the ladder to reach it.  This was the first of several paths we encountered during the trip that are only good during low tide.

I don’t know how long the growing season is around here, but the Canadians seem to have a knack to keeping nice-looking gardens.  This one is outside the Muskie Visitors Center.

There was a bit of confusion about the time.  T-mobile has no service in this part of Maine, and so far we had gotten reasonably service from US Cellular. Here, however, the phone latched on to either the Bell or Telus network, which are Canadian, so my phone and watch would show Atlantic Daylight Time, an hour ahead of EDT.

It was a little after 4:30 pm (EDT) that we decided to head to Eastport for dinner at Quoddy Lobsters, which closes at 6 pm.  Quoddy Lobsters reminded us of Erica’s where you order food at the counter and eat at outdoor benches.  Some Canadians showed up a little after closing and they took their order – nice of them.  There was a stretch of about 2 miles on US1 that was under repair, so we were glad we made it back while there was still light.

 It was about an hour’s drive from Lubec to Eastport.  We got to this place just before it closed.

Boats seem to be sitting on the sea floor at low tide.  From the height of the pilings one could surmise how high the tides can get.  Floating docks come in very handy.

The owners of Cohill’s Inn were from Philadelphia and Washington DC.  I was told a lot of businesses are owned by out-of-town transplants.

As Lubec, ME is the easternmost city in the United States, I had to record our being her by sending something to myself.  The clerk at the Post Office stamped the letter manually - I am sure she gets requests like this all the time.

Accommodation: Cohill’s Inn, Lubec, Maine (1 night.)

Wednesday 8/29.  Today was spent visiting Grand Manan, a 20-mile long island that is about 10 miles from the Maine coast.  However, to get there is a bit complicated.  We started the day at around 10 am Atlantic Daylight Time (an hour ahead of EDT) from Lubec, with a two-hour drive in front of us.  Counting the stops to get gas, stopping in Saint Stephen to get lunch (at an A&W), and the hotel to tell them we would be checking in late tonight, it was about 12:45 pm when we got to the ferry terminal at Blacks Harbour in New Brunswick.  The boat Grand Manan Adventure can carry up to 65 cars, there were maybe 40 cars – and a few trucks – on this trip which took about 90 minutes  As our return trip was at 7:15 pm, and we therefore needed to be at the terminal at 6:30 pm, we had a little over three hours to see the island.

We stopped at this A&W for lunch.  There are a few A&Ws in the area, we don’t see that many in the US anymore.

That proved to be the right amount of time.  We first drove all the way down to the southern tip of the island to see the Southern Head Light, it was a small structure, completely automated.  We know about Seal Cove as it is the other location where tours to see Machias Seal Island puffins originated.  With the puffin season over, it was mostly a working fishing harbor.  The brightly painted houses on stilts reminded us of Peggy’s Cove from our Nova Scotia visit decades ago (in 1980).  A neighboring island White Head is accessible via a free ferry which runs every 30 minutes, we didn’t have time to try it, but watched how the ferry pulled into the harbor.  Next was a drive to the Grand Manan Bird Sanctuary.  We didn’t see many birds other than a flock of sea gulls and an egret; we didn’t have time to stay anyway.  To visit the Swallow Tail Lighthouse we had to walk across a bridge over a chasm.  Along the way we thought it would be fun to drive on a street called “Thoroughfare” to get to a rather large island (Ross Island).  Turns out this would involve driving over a riverbed at low tide.  The tide was going out when we got there, and the water level dropped noticeably during the 10 or so minutes we were there, but we decided it probably wasn’t a good idea.

 The ferry service to Grand Manan costs about C$60 for vehicle and two passengers.  The ship can accommodate about 60 cars and has a kitchen on board.

 The Swallow Tail Lighthouse on Grand Manan.

 To get to the lighthouse one has to cross a bridge over this chasm.

 This is the Southwest Head Lighthouse on the south western tip of Grand Manan.  No, the lighthouse isn’t crooked, but appears warped in the close-in panoramic shot.

 Seal Cove is one of the communities on Grand Manan.  The brightly-painted houses are on stilts.  They remind me of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia which we visited in 1980.

The Thoroughfare is a channel between Grand Manan and a neighboring small island.  At low tide one could drive over “Thoroughfare Road” to reach it.

We also learned about herring nets and salmon farming in the area.  Also, there is this food called dulse which is made from dried seaweed that is “manufactured” in the area.

There were perhaps 15 cars on our return trip, so we could have spent a bit more time doing things.  We didn’t have time to wait for the (apparently) slow service at the one pizzeria, so we ate on board.  The hot food kitchen was closed for the day – many fellow passengers were disappointed – so we each had a sandwich.  We did top up at the Subway near our hotel before checking in.

Accommodation: Granite Town Hotel, Saint George, NB (1 night.)

Thursday 8/30.  Anne got up early so she went off to the local Granite Town Farm to buy some pastries for breakfast, the hotel offering only bread and boiled eggs.  We would later return to get some jams and a mug later in the day.

Deer Island is a free 20-minute ride from L’Etete, the ferry has a capacity of about 20 cars and we got on quite easily.  Along the way we saw quite a few bald eagles and other birds.  Deer Island has a population of a few hundred (800 in 2001), measures about 45 km-squared, and at its southern tip the tides cause some major eddies called the Old Sow.  We had lunch at the 45^th Parallel Motel & Restaurant, the food was diner-quality, the staff was friendly.

Lighthouse at L’Etete.

  

 Anne and I each had the lobster roll special at the 45^th Parallel Restaurant.

At the end of Deer Island is the Deer Island Point Park.  We didn’t get here at the right time to see the “Old Sow,” but the waters still looked pretty rough.  The sign leans against the rather small Deer Island Lighthouse.

The eddies are quite gentle.  The whale-watching boat we got on sailed through some calm-looking but swift flowing waters resulting from changing tides.

Our next stop was Saint Andrews, a relatively touristy town.  Today was relatively quiet, as school was about to start, so finding parking was not a problem.  We visited Huntsman Aquarium, which had some tanks containing seals, seahorses, cod, and other fish.  The seahorses were being fed, but one could barely tell as they seemed most uninterested in food.  We spent about 40 minutes there.

We paid a short visit to the Huntsman Aquarium.  This eel must be one of the uglier fishes around.

While we were on Deer Island we saw a whale watching boat called “Island Quest.”  It was going to have a 5 pm sailing, and we got tickets for that.  While the day began overcast, by now the weather was nice, calm with a few clouds.  Captain Chris bought the 44’ hull and finished it over the course of four months into Island Quest, which accommodated the 30 or so passengers today with no problem.  It took about an hour to get to the Wolf Islands, where several humpbacks and fins lingered, although only one got close to the boat, once.  It was a bit rough coming back, with water seeping through gaps in our side window.  All in all, a nice day to spend on the Bay.

We did see quite a few whales on the Island Quest.  It took about an hour, at around 16 knots, to get to the Wolf Islands where the whales lingered.

 A humpback whale getting ready to do a deep dive.

Nice colors at Saint Andrews at sunset.  Notice the lighthouse in the background.

Captain Chris’s ancestors came to Maine in 1624, and some descendants moved to New Brunswick with the Loyalists.  He got into a car accident involving a deer, and had tremendous damage to his right side.  He told me he was laid up in hospital in St. John for three months, and had to go through a nerve transplant (with nerve taken from his leg) in Toronto.  Due to overfishing, they had problems when he was a kid (his father fished for a living.)  He showed some of the old herring weirs used by his father, and how today’s Atlantic salmon are farmed.

One of the marine scientists on board graduated from the University of Guelph and will work on this boat for another month or so.  She will then return to the Ontario area to help maintain the local mussels stock.  Evidently the invasive zebra mussels are threatening the local population: these invaders attach themselves to the local mussels and their beards prevent the locals from opening up, thus killing them.  A mollusk version of the strangler fig.

Due to the high tidal range (around 15 feet) in this area, we have found many passages that are only usable during low tide.  Minister’s Island is a small island off St. Andrews, and when we stopped by at around 8 pm we did see a bar that connected the mainland with the island.  We actually saw a car drove along it to get to the other side.  The posted signs say the window for driving across is about 4 hours.

 View of Ministers Island from the end of Bar Road in Saint Andrews at about 3 pm in the afternoon.

We stopped by again at 8:20 pm, and the waters had receded enough that someone can drive over the dry land to the island.  And we saw a small car did just that.

We stopped for dinner at Pizza Delight in Saint Stephen just before we crossed the border.  Our motel is practically just across the river from the restaurant.

Accommodation: International Motel, Calais, ME (1 night.)

Friday 8/31.  Our hotel has a nice view of Calais River, and Canada across the river.  It was low tide this morning, and it would seem rather easy to wade across the river.  There is quite a bit of contrast between Calais and Saint Stephen, the latter being more “modern,” and Route 1 in Canada is a high speed divided highway, while US1 is a country road.

Our aim was to get back to Bangor Airport for our 1:10 pm flight home.  It was a straightforward two hour drive, and we made it in good time, despite slowing down in several areas for road work.  The entire trip was about 750 miles, and we are glad we picked an SUV (a Toyota RAV4 for this trip).

Sitting comfortably in the small (but quiet) gate area, we found out at our chagrin that anticipated Newark weather and traffic will mean a delay of over 2 hours for our flight.  We finally took off at around 4:30 pm, and it was close to 6 pm when we got home via Uber.