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
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.
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.
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 45th 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 45th 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.
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.
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