The WiFi is a bit iffy, so pictures are being troublesome loading right now. We will add them as soon as we can!
We left our home away from home, ready to explore and camp some more. We stopped for breakfast at a local eatery and enjoyed the "Fisherman Breakfast" which was tasty: 2 eggs (over easy), sausage, fried potatoes, toast and jellies.
Our goal was the eastern most part of the United States, West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine. It was quite a scenic drive; it is interesting to see how different communities look and live. Some need some TLC and others less so. The road sides were abloom with purple, pink, and white flowers. They looked familiar and the guess was correct: lupine. So pretty! Apparently they love it here and grow rampantly along the roads and bloom for several weeks before dying off and letting another flower or plant take over. The natural look of the roadways and yards is definitely natural! Yards are not mowed within an inch of their lives, there are flowers and flower beds and native grasses, very pretty!
The lighthouse, once we arrived, was red and white striped!! It has been rainy most of the day and much cooler. The temperatures didn't even make it past the mid-60s? The lighthouse actually just opened up a few weeks ago and isn't open for tours until July and then only Saturdays! It was neat seeing the rolling ocean and crashing waves and foggy presence with the flashes of the lighthouse. The lighthouse is literally the most Eastern point of the USA. Shipping merchants and sea captains first urged Congress to build one here in 1806 and the first stone was set in place in 1808. This was the only lighthouse to be under control of a foreign government, very briefly, while Great Britain occupied Eastport during the War of 1812. This is actually the 3rd to be built here with this one standing since 1857.
While we were leaving we came upon several motorcycles slowing traffic. They were spaced just enough where we didn't think our truck would make it through. Andrew got out as it looked like they might need some assistance. It turned out that one of them "laid it down". The road was wet but apparently some of the roadway gave way as they drove near the edge. The two bikers were okay and they drove on. They asked us to get rid of part of the bike that came off as it was no longer attached and they couldn't really take it with them. It could have been so much worse for them.
While in Lubec we stopped at the easternmost library of the United States (It was closed!), and borrowed another book from a "Little Library."
From Lubec you see Canada. Our plan was to cross here with a ferry to save some drive time. One of the shops we popped into thought maybe the ferries weren't running yet but she wasn't sure. We drove over, showed our passports, were asked the questions always asked when entering a new country, and when asked what our plans were for Canada we told them we were going to take the ferry and tour around for a few weeks. She smiled and said the ferries weren't running yet. Another couple of weeks. So we went to see the Mulholland Point Lighthouse (built in 1885!) and listened to a very interesting guide talk about the lighthouse, the Bay of Fundy whales, and other things about the area. Franklin D Roosevelt's parents had an estate on Campobello Island. The island itself has no real road connection to Canada except in the summer when the ferries run! FDR then bought his own estate and owned it until Eleanor sold it to their son Elliott in 1952 to some brothers from Boston. They tried to sell it in 1963 but they had no takers so they donated it to the US and Canadian governments as an international park. It is the only one of its kinds because it is run by both the Canadian and American governments!
There was a smaller lighthouse in the bay itself, built around the same time as the bigger one. It is an active one, whereas the Mulholland one is not. Even though it is privately owned, it is maintained by the Coast Guard.
We drove and found our route across Canada, near a town called St Stephen in New Brunswick. There was a faux lighthouse on the pier. :) Actually we found another in St John that looked familiar so we think perhaps it is something to be on the lookout for. We grabbed an early supper/late snack at a train depot turned microbrewery. Andrew had shrimp and Cheryl had a salad and cream of carrot soup. All was GREAT. The bread that came with the soup was presented so lovely! :)
Our camp spot for this evening is a camp ground IN the city of St John. RVs get to camp on a parking lot (a nice one as far as parking lot/RV campgrounds go!) but our lot is sort of wooded, with electric and water. The attendants were great about getting us all set up and then warned us that they had a freeze warning in affect for the night. :D Too funny, when it is super hot and humid at home. Sorry, Indiana folks.
We found the spot and then headed to town to see what we could see. The Saint John River experiences a phenomena as "reverse falls." The river runs through a narrow gorge; a series of underground ledges and the force of the bay tides force the flow of water to reverse against the current when the tide is high. More on those by tides tomorrow!
We walked around town some, Andrew surprising Cheryl with a really nice church, almost up there with the European ones! Nearby was a park with TONS of tulips still in bloom. It is June but it feels like March! In fact, tulips were planted nearly everywhere they could be on the walk back to the truck. We did find it interesting that the streets were really empty of people. A few wandering around with backpacks and some entering and leaving restaurants. Perhaps the cold and it being only Thursday keeps this part of town quiet.
Tomorrow, the Bay of Fundy!!
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