Our Maine trip - June 20-July 2, 2009
To see pictures of the trip, go to www.klickfamily.com/vickie/Maine-NewBrunswick2009. You can also see a map of many of the places from the trip.
Saturday, June 20
I arrived in Manchester, NH, after an uneventful trip. It's great to be in a small airport - I just walked across to the parking garage to pick up our rental car. My new GPS directed me to the closest Target, where I picked up water, snacks, etc. I had time to sit in the car and read the novel I'd picked up at Midway, The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society, while waiting for Mom's flight. She also arrived promptly and I left the cell phone lot at the airport to pick her up...and we were off!
We got to the Franciscan Guest House (http://www.franciscanguesthouse.com/) in Kennebunk, Maine, about 6:30. The facility reminded me of some retreat houses I've stayed out - simple, but just fine for our needs. When we went in search of dinner, I intended to cross the river and go to the shopping/tourist/dining district in Kennebunkport, but I missed the turn and we wound up in the business district of Kennebunk, along U.S. 1. In search of a simpler meal, we wound up eating outdoors at "Scoopers," a place that was mostly ice cream shop but also served lunch and dinner. Mom had her only lobster of the trip that night, a bowl of lobster stew. That seemed to be enough for her. We then took advantage of the parking pass for the beach that they provided and went to see the North Atlantic surf before calling it a night. It was overcast and foggy, which turned out to be typical of the trip as a whole.
Sunday, June 21
We started our first full day in Maine with...rain. I went out for a walk in the drizzle before an extremely plentiful breakfast buffet at the guest house. We went to 8:00 Mass at the adjoining St. Anthony's Monastery, established by Lithuanian Franciscans. We had a nice chat with one of the employees at the gift shop after Mass, then walked a couple of the trails on the beautiful grounds before returning to our room and checking out.
We stopped for lunch at a diner (notable for the number of cars in the parking lot - that seemed to bode well). By sitting at the counter, we didn't have to wait. The best part of my meal was the blueberry pie.
Our next stop was Pemaquid Point, on one of the many peninsulas along the coast. We got there and saw a small lighthouse (most of the lighthouses up there were quite small by my standards), a fishing museum, and a few picnic tables. Mom asked me what was special about this spot, and I had to admit I had forgotten...until we got through the museum and walked toward the point itself. THEN it was clear. The rock formations were amazing - layer upon layer, jumbled up, with a variety of colors and textures. Some of the rock ends looked more like timber that had worn away than rock! I kept climbing around and taking pictures for a while, while Mom got a look and went back up to level ground. (This is one of several cases where the overcast skies were actually helpful for photography - it was midday and the conditions were actually BETTER for pictures than bright sun would have been.)
After enjoying Pemaquid Point (and only getting rained on a little), we drove on up to Camden, our next night's destination. We found the Camden Maine Stay Inn (http://www.mainestay.com) easily. It's a beautiful old house with lovely grounds that has just been redecorated by its new owners, a charming couple from Rome. Claudio and Roberta made us feel very welcome and very much at home. Their homemade cookies left out for guests didn't hurt either! The only challenge was the long flight of stairs to our second floor room, but we got used to stairs in the course of the trip.
The weather cooperated enough for us to walk around Camden Harbor in the early evening and see the falls. We then climbed back up to street level and saw where the river came through, half under various buildings. Interesting... we had a nice dinner at Paolina's Way (http://www.paolinasway.com/), an Italian restaurant specializing in organic and local foods. (We hit the homemade cookies back at the Maine Stay for desert...) It was still early and relatively light out after dinner, so we drove around for a while. We followed the appropriately named Mountain Street along the edge of Camden Hills State Park and the Megunticook River and Lake (from the map, this appears to be the river that comes over the falls at the harbor). We also wandered a little and found the charming little Catholic church of St. Brendan the Mariner that had been recommended to me.
Monday, June 22
I was going to go out before our 8:30 breakfast and take the short walk back over to the harbor to take pictures. Unfortunately, it was raining...and raining hard enough to make a casual outing much less interesting. So we relaxed instead, enjoyed our homemade breakfast, and set out for the summit of Mt. Battie in Camden Hills State Park, hoping the rain would stop soon. Well...we made the best of it, in our rain gear. The view was impressive even so, but the wind and rain made anything more than looking out from the overlooks undesirable. My hiking there will have to wait for another trip.
We only had a short distance to go to our next night's lodging, so we took our time and wandered along. We found an interesting cemetery to stop at along the way in Stockton Springs (for those who love cemeteries, you could spend weeks going through all the ones we passed). We also stopped at the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and in nearby Bucksport for me to indulge my interest in photographing bridges. (The history of this one is available at http://fortknox.maineguide.com/History%20of%20Penobscot.html.) Claudio had suggested we visit the town of Castine (on the Blue Hill Peninsula) en route to Stonington. The GPS got us to the vicinity, but I wasn't specific enough and missed the turn that would have actually taken us into the town proper. We did enjoy the scenery, though, and just wandering the roads. Eventually we crossed the Eggemoggin Sound (over another interesting bridge) to Little Deer Isle and from there to Deer Isle. At the far end of Deer Isle is the town of Stonington, which is mostly one commercial street along the water and a few streets inland. There we stayed at the Inn on the Harbor, with a great view right from our room. For dinner, we walked a couple of doors away to the Maritime Cafe. They had nothing vegetarian on the menu (not an uncommon problem there along the seacoast), but the chef immediately offered to make me something (they had no other customers at the time, since we were early) and we decided that would be great. We walked along the waterfront after dinner.
When conditions permitted, it was easy to see how Isle Au Haut (High Island) got its name. This island, which includes part of Acadia National Park, rises above some of the closer islands. I first heard of it when we sang about it in the Folk Music Club at work. There's a ferry to Isle Au Haut from Stonington. If we had stayed two nights there, we could've gone to the island for the day; the ferries that run more frequently during the day only go to the "town" side, and walking some four miles to the park section of the island and back wasn't an option.
Tuesday, June 22
One nice touch that a number of places had was a
notebook in the rooms with a history of the B&B/inn, local
attractions, etc. The one at the Inn on the Harbor included a couple of
walks that seemed well within reason for us, along with a scenic drive around Deer Isle that I got a copy of when we checked out. Mom and I went out for our walk to the "pink water lily pond" and learned quickly that this is a very popular walking route. Mom didn't get all the way to the pond - the water lilies weren't blooming so I didn't encourage her to go further. The best flowers in the area were the lupines and the shrub roses. In fact, Stonington had just had its Lupine Festival the previous weekend! Shrub roses (rugosa roses) are EVERYWHERE in coastal Maine; they thrive in salt spray and beautify both wild and cultivated gardens.
We drove around Deer Isle following the tour from the inn. I was curious about the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, which was included in the tour; they only have tours once a week but you can at least see the facility from their main stairway down to the water's edge. They have a wide variety of live-in craft classes during the summer, many of which accept students at any skill level.
From Deer Isle, we went on through the eastern part of the Blue Hill Peninsula and back to the mainland and Ellsworth, which is the nearest city of any size before getting to Acadia National Park. After filling up the car, we headed on to Mount Desert Island. It was early to go to our lodgings, so we went on into Acadia, and after visiting the visitor center, went on the Park Loop Road. It was beautiful but the weather was getting worse and worse. We got around to the Jordan Pond House, a very popular tea room, and I decided it would be as good a time as any to try to get in for a late lunch, or at least tea and popovers. We only had about a 15 minute wait as it turned out. Our table had a nice view of the pouring rain on the lawn outside, but the food was good and the popovers were excellent.
En route back to Bar Harbor, I drove up the road to Cadillac Mountain, even though it was obvious we weren't going to see much. We saw a lot of fog - that's about it.
I was a little concerned about our lodging in Bar Harbor - I had seen some negative reviews of the Ledgelawn Inn (www.ledgelawninn.com) after it was already booked and paid for. The foyer was impressive, with a huge stairway and a fire in the fireplace. Our room smelled a bit musty and one of the beds had a mattress that sagged alarmingly in one corner. The sink was draining slowly, maybe the source of the musty smell. It was pretty clear that the staff we saw were all students who had just started working for the summer; one was from Jamaica, another from Moldova. Someone said there were new owners and maintenance was in progress; it was certainly needed. The building was very interesting (and adequate for our purposes) but it wasn't the greatest place to stay.
All things considered, it was good we were in town and close to things, as the rain continued. I put on my rain gear and went out for a walk in the evening, and found just how close we were to everything, including Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium.
Wednesday, June 22
In the morning, our sink went from draining slowly to not draining at all. Happily, when they fixed it during the day, the musty smell went away too.
We were hoping for the weather to improve, but about all we could say was that it wasn't raining as much - it was still too foggy to see a lot. We decided to do what we could do in the weather we had by visiting the Wild Gardens of Acadia first. They have about a dozen different environments with their typical plants, so you can see what's blooming and basically have an outdoor guide book. Some parts of the garden were flooded still; we learned from an employee that they had had 3.5 inches of rain in 12 hours over the previous weekend, so they were still cleaning up. At least we were there after it was over!
From there, we drove along the Park Loop Road again. Seeing the turnoff for the stables, we decided to go see what options were available for carriage rides. The one that interested both of us most is also the most popular, a 2-hour ride that goes to 5 of the unique bridges built to blend with the landscape. We were able to get seats for the following day.
We then left the park and went to the Asticou Terraces and Thuya Garden in nearby Northeast Harbor. This is a lovely combination of native plants along the terraces (it LOOKS very natural) and a more traditional garden once you get to the top.
Our plan for the afternoon was for me to leave Mom at the hotel (to visit a nearby museum and historical society) and go on a ranger-led hike climbing one of the mountains (loosely described) in the park for a couple of hours. However, Mom realized the fatal flaw in this plan: we were using her Golden Age pass to get into the park, so I couldn't enter alone. So, she went with me, planning to read for a couple of hours while I hiked. THEN I learned from the ranger that the 1.5-2 hour hike led to the TOP of the mountain - getting back was additional. I decided that was longer than I wanted to leave Mom waiting for me, so we decided to take the Ocean Trail for a while. (That was something we were planning to fit in on Thursday morning, before our carriage ride - probably better this way.) As usual, Mom sent me off to do what I wanted while she went at her own pace. I spent some time at the Thunder Hole (and we stopped there afterwards so Mom could get a look at it). This is a place where the water is channeled into a small space, and when the tide is rising and conditions are right, it makes a loud boom when the water comes in. It certainly makes a lot of spray regardless. The Ocean Trail was very nice, and I suspect I got to see a lot more than I would have at a slightly higher elevation, given the fog. The wet conditions weren't going to make hiking/climbing all that much fun anyway.
In the evening we went to Rosalie's Pizza, supposedly the best pizza in Bar Harbor, and stopped at Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium for ice cream cones afterward.
Thursday, June 23
We started our day with a more substantial breakfast than the inn provided, then spent our last time in Bar Harbor taking the popular Shore Trail past some of the lovely homes on the harbor. Once again, there was plenty of fog, but we could at least see Bar Island, the one that you can walk to at low tide from Bar Harbor. At least it was dry, and there was hope in the forecast for sunshine later in the day.
En route to the stables, we stopped at Jordan Pond (the lake, not the tea room). We walked down to the shore, and I took a nature trail to the end of the lake, where I was lucky to see a pair of hooded mergansers and 5 ducklings. It was funny to see the mother with three young ones suddenly make a lot of noise and the other two raced over to join up with the family!
We then went on to our carriage ride. I was interested to learn from the person checking us in that another Klick party had made reservations in the recent past. How likely is that? There were certainly a lot of people going on this ride - they had three 2-horse carriages on the trip. I learned that my impression of the carriage roads as being mostly level really depended on your definition of "level" - apparently a 4-5% grade is fine for horses. Some of the bicyclists we saw along the way weren't having so much fun. In any case, it was a nice experience and we saw a little more of the park from a different viewpoint.
Leaving the park, we passed the gardens we'd visited the day before and went on to the Asticou Azalea Gardens just a little further up the road. The Japanese sand garden was a little the worse for wear (remembering the heavy rains the previous weekend) and the majority of the azaleas and rhododendrons were either past blooming or about to bloom, but it was still pretty and relaxing.
From there, we headed down the west side of Somes Sound (the only true fjord in the eastern U.S. according to some people, not a fjord according to others). We stopped in Southwest Harbor at the Quiet Side Cafe for lunch. This is a family-run operation, with the owner and her husband (and one of her daughters) very much in evidence. Many photos of family and friends adorn the wall.
We got to the Moorings Inn (http://www.mooringsinn.com/)
just at check-in time, with plenty of time for me to get back to Maine State Sea Kayaking (http://www.mainestatekayak.com/) for my afternoon's adventure, a "sunset" sea kayaking trip. The sun WAS actually out, and the view from our room was beautiful once again. (There was still fog out on the water...) I was very glad the sun was out for my kayaking trip - I think it's the only time I bothered with sunscreen. I was one of the two oldest people on the trip (the guide was next oldest). Naturally, the two of us got paired up. The other middle-aged woman was there with her daughter and son-in-law. Knowing we would actually be on the water for maybe 2.5 hours, I was a little worried when my arm started hurting just a few minutes into the trip! We were the last kayak in the group most of the time, but we managed - the guide said he's had to tow people in, so we did fine. More importantly, we got to see a couple of bald eagles and probably hundreds of harbor seals (they look like rocks at a distance). Some of the harbor seals would pop up 30-50 feet from our kayaks to get a closer look! The fog started coming back while we were out, but fortunately stayed away from where we were paddling. We were in waters sheltered by Mount Desert Island and other nearby islands, so the water was VERY calm (I've been on lakes that were a lot rougher). I got more comfortable with the paddling as the trip went on, and I'm glad I did it - but I'm not looking for my own kayak at this point.
After I got back from my adventure a little after 8PM, we needed dinner - and I needed a shower. We went back to the Quiet Side Cafe and got takeout, including one of their huge oatmeal raisin cookies (which was as good as it looked). Mom got to start eating her soup while I washed up.
Friday, June 26
I was pleasantly surprised that my arms weren't sore after the kayaking trip. Once again, we were shrouded in fog. This morning was about the only time we saw any TV during the trip (while we were eating breakfast in the main room). All the coverage was about Michael Jackson.
We spent the morning in Southwest Harbor. It was laundry day, for starters. After that we went to a nice butterfly garden on the outskirts of town, then visited the Wendell Gilley Museum (wendellgilleymuseum.org). Wendell Gilley was a plumber who started carving birds, and eventually spent the rest of his life carving. This museum showcases many of his birds, along with some work from others. It's an enjoyable place to visit.
We went back, one last time, to the Quiet Side Cafe for lunch. This time I had to try their blueberry pie - I had seen it but couldn't believe it! It was HUGE and very firm (except when cut hot). It was far less sweet than a lot of blueberry pies I've had elsewhere. In general, the blueberry items we had in Maine (and there were a lot of them) were nowhere near as heavily sweetened as they are elsewhere, and I think that was good. In any case, it was an impressive pie and a really friendly place to eat while we were in this small town.
Moving on with some signs of sunlight, we circled the "quiet side" of Mount Desert Island, going down to the tip of the island to visit Bass Harbor Light, then coming up the coast to the boat ramp where our kayaks had put in. I didn't manage to locate the take out point before we got back to the main intersection (and only traffic light I recall on the island) at the bridge to the island. Since it was still early, we went back into the park one last time to try our luck at seeing SOMETHING from Cadillac Mountain. While there was still fog around, we did actually get to SEE for a change, which was nice. We both walked around some (me more than Mom) and looked down at Bar Harbor, Bar Island, the Porcupine Islands, and a ship that someone said was the ferry to Nova Scotia. This was a nice way to end our visit to the part of Acadia National Park that is actually on the island.
I was surprised to find a note from the innkeeper - since her son had a baseball game, she had left our room unlocked with the keys in the room, and we were on our own for the night! We were also surprised to realize that we were the only guests for this night. We drove back to Winter Harbor to a small diner-type restaurant, Chase's, for dinner. At first our waitress seemed very dour; we were both surprised when she smiled! After that, she was friendly for the rest of our visit.
Our room back at Elsa's Inn (http://www.elsasinn.com/)
had another lovely view (we were just across the road from the water this time), but didn't have a lot of space for us to sit and read. So, we took advantage of access to the parlor and took our books there. (I'm still not completely accustomed to the notion of spending most of your time in common space at an inn or B&B, but it DOES make sense.) Megan, the innkeeper, stopped in after her son's game to welcome us and make sure we had everything we needed.
Saturday, June 27
We had a relaxed (and very hearty and tasty) breakfast with Megan. Fresh blueberry muffins, homemade granola, a spinach and feta omelette with spinach from her garden, broiled grapefruit - even Mom managed to eat most of what was set before her! We got to visit with Megan, too, and learned that she worked in the hotel industry in other places before coming home to run a B&B in her grandmother's house.
Our plan for the day was primarily to see the part of Acadia National Park that's on the mainland, on the Schoodic Peninsula. There's a one-way loop road here too. We went around the loop and saw the views, as well as we could given the continuing fog. We got through and decided to try again in the afternoon, but first we went into Winter Harbor and visited Works of Hand, a store selling local arts and crafts. It is part of a two-building operation, the other one selling antiques, but we never got to the antique store. We were first diverted by a variety of books, mostly on gardening, on sale outside the store. They were also selling plants. Inside, they had homemade sticky buns and many different locally-created items. I bought a gift here as well as a necklace for me.
Going back to Schoodic, we got to see somewhat more than we had earlier. I tried a hike up Schoodic Head, but picked the shortest (and therefore steepest, I assume) route. After a while, I got to a point where I couldn't tell how the trail proceeded past a large tree's roots, and I hadn't seen anyone else on the trail, so I decided I'd had enough.
Finishing our time in the park, we went back to Winter Harbor and visited a 5&10. Things don't cost 5 and 10 cents any more, of course, but a lot of stock did remind me of stores from my childhood. They had balsa wood gliders, board games, and sundry items you might want on a trip (including rain gear - I'm sure that's been a big seller this year). They also had (appropriately) a Maine Coon cat named Mittens who accepted petting from me.
We went to a bakery and cafe across the street for a midafternoon snack, then shortly went to St. Margaret Chapel for Mass. I was surprised that when we got there 10-15 minutes before Mass, there were a lot of people already there. Parking is along the roadside, so I guess being early is necessary if you don't want to walk too far. It was a nice, simple Mass. The priest commented that he'd been coming here to celebrate Mass in the summer for 46 of his 49 years as a priest.
After Mass, we hit the road to get on up to Jonesport for the next two nights. Our room/suite at the Harbor House (http://www.harborhs.com/) was notable both for its size and the stairs required to get to it - it's one of only two suites at the place, remade from a 3rd floor furniture storage room for a former 1st floor store. The owners live on the 2nd floor.
We learned that there was only one restaurant open in town, "Tall Barney's" - it's a good thing we headed over there promptly, as it closed at 7PM. Like many places in Down East Maine, most of the menu is seafood; I had a salad and a baked potato.
The reason we were in such a remote place was to go puffin watching the following morning. We learned when we arrived that the boat hadn't been able to sail for most of the week due to weather (in fact, the other person staying at the Harbor House had missed out because the Saturday trip was cancelled). The weather still seemed iffy, but we called and they said the boat would sail at 6:30 and to be there at 6:15 (ouch). We saw a group of five other people at Tall Barney's who were going on the boat in
the morning; one of them was using oxygen! Mom figured she'd be OK if
this other woman would be OK...
Sunday, June 28
We didn't sleep well, given how early we were getting up. There was a thunderstorm at 4AM, which didn't increase our confidence that we'd be going out. When we got up at 5:15, there was a note under the door that said the trip was cancelled, so we went back to bed. (By this point, I was wondering if it would be a good idea if we went anyway...) I couldn't get back to sleep, and a little after 6 I looked out our window at the harbor to see what the engine noise was. I saw the tour boat at the end of the dock and people getting on! Oops...
We hurriedly got ready to go and headed down to the dock. (It's a VERY good thing we were so close...)
The trip from Jonesport to Machias Seal Island (http://www.machiassealisland.com/) is 27 nautical miles. The island is actually 10 miles offshore from Cutler, ME (a little further east); tours run from there, too, but the main B&B there is closed for remodeling this year, plus I thought originally that we'd be able to see birds, etc., during the longer ride. That's the theory...in practice, of course, we were in fog, AGAIN. So we didn't see a lot in the 1.5 hours each way. However, it was a pretty reasonable ride (good thing, since we'd intended to take Dramamine as a precaution and forgot it in our hurry).
Once we got close to the island, we realized just how many birds are out there. There were birds (mostly puffins and razorbills) flying around constantly. Depending on the weather, that's all we would have been able to see; transferring to the island requires taking a smaller boat to shore, and of course that can't be done if the water is too rough. We got VERY lucky and they decided to land. Mom considered staying on the boat, but decided that she'd prefer to spend the time on shore instead of rocking at anchor, so, happily, she landed. I had some help getting my backpack full of camera gear into the small boat; I decided at the last minute that my tripod was too ungainly strapped to the bottom of the pack and left it behind.
Once we were on the island, we met the Canadians who staff a monitoring station of some sort there. They had been supposed to go home to the mainland on Wednesday, but their transportation is by helicopter and the weather had been too bad for that too. They were running low on provisions! The island is jointly claimed by the U.S. and Canada; I learned from one of the others in the group that the family running these tours has title to (part of?) the island.
They took us in smaller groups to one of the several permanent bird blinds (small plywood huts with sliding covers on holes to look out). When we were landing, you could see lots of birds standing on the blinds. Once we'd been in the blind for a while, we started hearing lots of feet on the roof again.
I guess we'd been in the blind for maybe an hour when they came and told us conditions were worsening and we needed to go. I'd taken enough pictures by then anyway! I was packing up my cameras while the first boatload went out, so I missed Mom when she missed the seat and apparently sat in the bottom of the boat. Just as well! The woman with the oxygen had been wanting to see the puffins for years, but it had never worked out (trips cancelled, etc.). It was great that she had finally gotten to see them. Mom would have won the prize for oldest participant (and on most everything else we did, too).
We got back at 11AM and were met by a VERY apologetic landlady. She said this was the first time she'd ever second-guessed the tour folks (and I'm willing to bet it was the last, too). The hot breakfast and coffee were EXTREMELY welcome. We then turned in for a much-needed nap before wandering around the area a bit later in the day. We visited the Petit Manan Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/northeast/mainecoastal/) (a peninsula or three west), and I took a nature trail through various environments, including the coast. It was a nice, relatively easy hike for me, but Mom did well to skip it - the trail sign described it as "primitive" and it was muddy in places and rough in a lot of others.
Being out in a more rural area, there is a lot less open on Sunday. We did find a place to get a bite to eat before heading back to Jonesport. It's nice to be away from "civilization" but it can be inconvenient too.
Monday, June 29
After a much more relaxed start to our morning, we drove up the coast in - yes - more fog. (The tour boat for the puffin trip was at anchor when we left...so we got VERY lucky that it went out - and landed - the day we were scheduled to go!) We stopped at the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, the easternmost point in the United States, then backtracked to Lubec and crossed the bridge to Campobello Island, New Brunswick. We stopped briefly at the Roosevelt Peace Park, just long enough to see Roosevelt's "cottage" (read mansion) from the outside. We also stopped at Friar's Head to see the (non)view. I elected to not take the trail far enough to see the "friar" (visible at low tide).
We drove up the island to see East Quoddy Head lighthouse. I could see enough of it through the fog to see why it's popular with lighthouse lovers, and the view of the coast connecting to the island (only accessible for walking at low tide, I think) was very interesting. We thought at first that we'd eat lunch on a bench there, but with the fog and the wind, it was too cool to be comfortable there.
Traveling back down the island, we lined up for the ferry to Deer Island. Considering that the "ferry dock" wasn't much more than a boat ramp, it was a little less than we were expecting. We were waiting in line with a couple of other cars, one with retired RVers from Florida. The ferry was as basic as the dock, just a barge with a tugboat attached, really.
Once we got to Deer Island, my main goal was to drive the length of the island and make the next ferry to the mainland. That wasn't too difficult, and the island was pretty. The second ferry was much bigger than the one from Campobello, and surprisingly was free.
Once on the mainland, we took Canada Rt. 1 up the Bay of Fundy. This is one of the few times we saw the sun, and about the ONLY time we saw blue water, in the bay! It was a very nice drive. When we got off at Rt. 114 (through Fundy National Park to Alma), I was looking forward to the drive through the park. That changed for two reasons: 1) fog and 2) major road reconstruction (some stretches were just dirt roads). We decided that our return trip would take a different route.
Once we got to Alma, the Parkland Village Inn (http://www.parklandvillageinn.com) was easy to spot. I had a disappointment when I checked in, though; the suite I had reserved back in the winter wasn't available due to remodeling. Instead of a two-room suite with a balcony overlooking the bay, we had a very vanilla hotel room facing the road, on the third floor. I was not pleased. I felt a little better when I realized that the view of the Bay of Fundy from this spot really wasn't that exciting (I had envisioned something where we could choose to just sit and watch the tides!). The room we had was fine, just boring after the other ones we'd had. It was clear that the focus of their business was more on their restaurant, where we ate for two evenings.
Tuesday, June 30
We went to a local bakery for sticky buns and coffee for breakfast. (A guidebook mentioned the sticky buns, and they WERE good.) After breakfast, we went to Fundy National Park (http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nb/fundy/index_e.asp) for the morning. We enjoyed the gift shop at the visitor's center before going to several viewpoints in the coastal part of the park. I walked down to the beach at Point Wolfe (Mom followed the trail partway), then we went back to Dickson Falls, where I finally used my tripod and spent some time "playing".
For lunch, we went to Peck's Colonial B&B and Tearoom in Hopewell Hill, just a few minutes from our next destination, Hopewell Rocks (http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/English/index.htm). Low tide was at 1:15PM, and we wanted to get there close to low tide. Mom took the shuttle down to the main viewing point at Hopewell Rocks; I insisted on walking there, and then of course down to the beach/ocean floor and among the big rocks. I learned firsthand why they have places to hose down your feet after you've walked on the ocean bottom; there is lots of MUD there.
We almost missed what I think was one of the most amazing views: the mud flats. Mom was headed out to the car already, but I went out and made her come back in to see them. It is an almost alien landscape (the fact that the water and the mud is reddish contributes a lot to that).
On our way back to Alma, we took a more scenic route and drove out to Cape Enrage. Supposedly the view from the platform at the lighthouse there is spectacular, but we'd had good enough views getting there, and I wasn't interested in paying $4.50 to go see their version of the view. It was pretty impressive just getting there - the roads are very steep in places as they go up and down the ridges along the coast. We also drove up the highlands when we got back to Alma - the streets go VERY steeply up from the main drag, and I was curious about the view up there. I wouldn't want to drive THOSE roads in the winter...
I had considered going back into Fundy National Park in the evening to go on a ranger-led canoeing trip. After everything else we'd done, I decided I'd had enough for the day. In the evening, Mom checked her pedometer and found she had walked 8000 steps (a new record, I think!). I pulled out MY pedometer...and found out I had accidentally reset it, a few minutes before (judging by the number of steps). Since I had walked a LOT more than Mom, we were both disappointed we couldn't compare.
Wednesday, July 1: Canada Day
Hopewell Rocks' admission is for two consecutive days, to give the opportunity to come at both low and high tide. They open at 8AM and high tide was at 7:45AM, so we were waiting at the entrance before 8. (We had hoped to see moose along the road en route, but no such luck.) I enjoyed the views more at low tide, but you can really see the difference when you put my photos from the two days side by side.
After breakfast in their cafe, we set out on the long (425 mile) journey back to southern Maine. There isn't a lot to say about most of the day; the border crossing was uneventful (though the U. S. customs person got a laugh when Mom said she'd bought toys for her CHILDREN). The northernmost part of I-95 doesn't have many exits; this is as close to seeing part of the North Woods as we came. Given the timing and the likelihood of clear skies, I didn't try to find a spot where I could see Mount Katahdin. One amusing moment was when we passed a MacDonald's in Canada and the sign said, "McLobster is back!"
Getting to our lodgings in Brunswick was a bit tricky, since "Park Row" is a street that parallels part of Main Street, but isn't easy to turn onto. Once we were there, we found that it was bigger than most places I would call "B&Bs", with some 15 rooms in two buildings! In any case, our room at the Brunswick Inn (http://www.brunswickbnb.com/ was OK - what I should have expected for booking the smallest (and least expensive) room. We looked at the local dining choices and decided they were too upscale for us; we had already decided to go to Freeport (only 5 miles away) and visit the original L. L. Bean store that evening, so we just headed to Freeport for dinner. We found a Friendly's restaurant (the only chain we ate at all trip - and not one we know) and that family-oriented, simple fare suited us just fine. We had fun shopping at L. L. Bean for a while (it never closes - there are no locks on the doors!). As a closing evening for our trip, this combination worked out well.
Thursday, July 2
Mom had partially repacked Wednesday evening (I was as packed as I intended to get). This seemed like a good plan until I tried to out for a walk before breakfast, and once again was stopped by rain. After breakfast, the weather did let us stop at the swinging bridge between Brunswick and Topsham across the Androscoggin River, connecting housing for mill works on the Topsham side of the river with the mills on the Brunswick side. (http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Features?fn=271&fmt=list&n=1&supst=Exhibits&mr=all). We also drove across a combination railroad and automobile bridge a short distance away.
After that, we hit the interstates...and really HEAVY rain. Fortunately, it let up before we got to the airport, and we were able to stop at a grocery store (Hannaford) and let Mom repack in the parking lot. I bought a "Whoopie Pie" to take to the airport, after confirming it was vegetarian (it's not filled with marshmallow, but apparently with vanilla frosting instead). That was a bit of a mistake, as a lot of the "whoopie" squished out of the "pie" by the time I got to eat it.
After all that, we got to the airport about 2 hours before my flight (Mom's was 40 minutes later). I was somewhat dismayed to find long lines, both for baggage check and for security. Security was made worse by the fact that there was very little room between the ID checkpoint and the scanners (unlike other places I've been). My backpack caused further delay, as the combination of various chargers stuffed in the upper part of the bag and the "rocket blower" for blowing dust off things looked suspicious. I'll pack the rocket blower in my checked luggage next time...in any event, we made it through security and had plenty of time before our flights home.
All in all, it was a different kind of trip from what we've done before. There weren't amazing destinations as much as it was just a different way of life. It's a beautiful, remote, rugged part of the country, where the majority of people make a living from the sea (as evidenced by the lobster pots we saw everywhere).
