View from our campsite at Seaview outside of Eastport, Maine

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

So yesterday we decided to spend an extra day here in Eastport.  We will head to Canada on Wednesday instead of today.  Why, you might ask.  And so I will explain –

Yesterday was a great day.  We left Seaview, stopped to get a few groceries from the local IGA and proceeded into Eastport.  Ferry to Deer Island was closed, so after stopping at the library to try to get something off to son Adam (didn’t have it on my computer, so need to track down the document), off we went to Shackford Head State Park for a bit of a hike.  Shackford Head is known for a few reasons.  It is a marine research site for the farming of Atlantic salmon.  Raised in pens in the bay, scientists are able to determine optimum the maturation period for catching without overfishing (and thereby decimating) the species.  A good thing for we lovers of salmon salad and grilled salmon and baked salmon and Cajon-style salmon, etc.  And then as we read signs posted on the grounds of the park, we see that this is where several old ships from the Civil War were brought and burned.  WHAT?!?!?!  Well, it seems that a number of entrepreneurs decided that there was quite a bit of copper and other metal, as well as salvageable artifacts left in the old ships.  So, in the early 1900’s, four ships were brought up to the harbor, stripped of the salvageables, and then burnt down so that the metal could be pulled out.  Of course, this was during the years of World War I when metal was at a premium.  And on the signs were the names of the 14 Union soldiers who hailed from Eastport.  OK – enough about the history of the area.  We want to walk.

Undeterred by the sign warning of an overwhelming infestation of fire ants, we started hiking through the sun-dappled forest to the cove.  Beautiful – I’ll send you pictures.  Then a lunch I town at the Happy Crab because I was famished having had nothing to eat for breakfast besides a few nibbles of Kashi Go Lean Crunch.  First rule of hiking – eat well prior to starting out.  Rule #2 – take water.  Bad Dona!!!

At the Happy Crab we are greeted by a couple of a certain age.  “Aren’t you staying at the Seaview?”  Seems like once you’ve been seen, you are part of the family.  Something we like about this way of living.  You get acquainted with people very easily.  Our fellow Seaviewers have recently arrived from traveling in the maritime provinces and tell us all the places to see (and not see).  They also bemoan the tight sites in Canadian campgrounds, but tell us that we, in Goldie, will have no problem.  Also no problem getting on the ferry from St. John to Nova Scotia.  They had to drive the long way since they didn’t have a reservation for their 45-footer.

A beer truck is parked behind Goldie!!!  Think it was a Budweiser truck – in a land known for good local beer L  No problem.  We maneuver our way down and around and out and head back to Seaview.  Let’s take our showers and decide what we want to do for tomorrow.  Yep – let’s stay another day and figure out where we want to go when we leave here.  And let’s get another bit of laundry done, because we’re hot and sweaty and don’t have much space to keep dirty clothes and because the washers and dryers are empty and fairly reasonably priced.  And then another couple of a certain age check into Seaview, come up to the laundry room, and – yes, they just came in from Canada.  So, again, we are regaled with where to go and not go and what to see, etc.  Seems like everyone is coming FROM Canada.  Maybe that’s good.  Maybe there will be less of us (or is that we) Americans infecting Canada when Rick and I get up there.  And, besides, Goldie DOES need a bit of cleaning inside.  Just like a bricks-and-sticks home, housecleaning should be done once in a while to keep the dust bunnies (or, in our case, mosquito carcasses) at bey.  So – dinner and a movie and we will get to see the sunrise and the incredible tides again for another day here in this “piece of heaven” known as Seaview Campground and Cabins.

And maybe I’ll get to finish crocheting that hat I started a few days ago J

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Well, we didn’t just sit around yesterday.  We decided to go explore some more of the surrounding area.  Headed into Calais, ME – and realized that we had been down that road and through Calais a number of years ago when we visited the Bay of Fundy (talked about in Monday’s blog).  Of course – it’s the way the road goes!!!  We realized this was a repeat when we stopped to explore the St. Croix Island International Park, home to one of the earliest French settlements in the Northern Hemisphere.  But when we were here 10 or so years ago there wasn’t a visitor’s center.  So we went in and were greeted by Jessica.  An amazing National Park Service Ranger with more energy than should be allowed in any one person.  Assigned to this post because she was bilingual in English and French (of course).  And told us that when she was first assigned, her friends and family thought she was going to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands.  We all had a laugh at that.

Ranger Jessica asked us where we were going next – Canada, said us.  She then went down through the list of EVERYTHING that one needs to have to border-cross and was very excited (I mean more so) when we assured her we had made the proper preparations.  Ranger Jessica then took us by the hands – really she did – and led us to a map of the area.  It was a large wall map from the 1600’s, but that didn’t seem to matter.  With wide eyes and rapid speech, Ranger Jessica pointed out ALL the things we needed to see between Calais and St. Andrew – including everything in St. Andrew.  She told us about stopping at the visitor’s center as soon as we cross over into New Brunswick so that we could get maps and information.  And then, almost breathless, Ranger Jessica talked with us about traveling further into New Brunswick and going to Quebec or turning and going into Nova Scotia and the rest of the maritime provinces.  Finally, mercifully, some other visitors came into the VERY SMALL visitor’s center.  We had spent an hour in the delightful company of Ranger Jessica and were EXHAUSTED by her overwhelming energy.  We thanked her and left for lunch in Goldie, as Ranger Jessica greeted the next round of unsuspecting civilians.  We LOVE National Park Service Rangers (yes, Meredyth, that includes ones who are retired J ).  The rest of the day was very much uneventful given what we had just experienced.  So – here’s some pictures to catch you up while we break camp after four nights at the Seaview Campground and Cabins and head into Canada…..



Wild Blueberry Land



Low tide at Seaside Campground



Not even high tide at Seaside Campground



Shackford Head State Park

St Croix Island



One of the many bronze statues at St. Croix Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another statue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the journey…Dona and Rick

Here we are just outside of Eastport, Maine in a grand, quiet, somewhat unknown campground with very poor internet connection – and a somewhat confusing way of keeping time (we’re right between the eastern and Atlantic time zones).  Thus no checking e-mail or doing other things that have become part of my regular morning routine.  So, instead, I spend an hour or more watching the sun come up.  It was truly amazing and I did write about it in my personal journal.  But I don’t want to bore you with it.  Tell you what, if you’re like me and kinda take for granted that the sun will come up every day, get up early one day, find a great spot, and watch the sun come up.  I mean, truly experience it.  But make sure it’s a great spot.

So where are we – well, we are in a place that says it’s the farthest eastern point in the U.S., which means that the sun hits here first as the earth makes it daily rotation around its star.  We are at the Seaview Campground and Cottages located on Passamaquoddy Bay just outside of Eastport, Maine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passamaquoddy_Bay).  Found this campground looking in the Woodall’s/AAA campground book for something just outside of Canada.  What a hidden treasure.  Owned by Basil and Sue Pottle – she runs the place.  May 15 – October 15.  Big rig to tent friendly – with 9 full furnished and supplied cabins ranging in size from studio to a 3 bedroom that has a washer and dryer.  And, on Saturday nights, an on-site restaurant and bar – The Old Sow.  If you put your name down early, you can get prime rib.  So Saturday night we treated ourselves – splurged actually – on a prime rib dinner for Rick and a lobster roll/clam chowder dinner for me.  And drinks – I got a strawberry daiquiri which was heavy on the daiq and light on the uiri.  Rick got two fingers of Doers scotch on the rocks with a water chaser.  And, for dessert, a small helping of chocolate lava cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Yesterday (Sunday) we tried to walk 20,000 steps to make up for Saturday night.  Didn’t quite make it.  But maybe today.  We are staying for three nights (Saturday, Sunday, Monday) – maybe we need to stay longer.  It’s “a piece of heaven” – as Sue and Basil have written in their small brochure.

On Saturday, we had a lot of fun getting here from Mount Desert.  We drove U.S. 1 and the drive was grand.  Many fewer cars on the road – a less-populated area with fewer visitors and, of course, it was Saturday.  So we had fun and took our time.  A farmer’s market provided us with a beautiful head of broccoli, a small watermelon (with yellow, seeded flesh – so tasty), and a homemade loaf of bread baked by a guy who didn’t mind spending time talking with a fellow baker – Rick.  I think that’s the main thing Rick misses.  Goldie doesn’t have an oven, so he can’t bake breads and cookies and other tasty (and maybe we shouldn’t eat it anyway) foods.

Back to our drive.  WE FOUND WILD BLUEBERRY LAND.  We first stumbled across Wild Blueberry Land (www.wildblueberryland.com) on our trip to the Bay of Fundy back in 2005 or 2006.  I have to look up the dates.  We drove up through the farthest eastern part of Maine (Downeast Maine to the people who know), up through Lubec into Canada.  Saw FDR’s Campobello and the Bay of Fundy.  Dutifully reported back to Mom Annette because she had insisted that we come up to see that fantastic site of the tremendous tidal fluctuation.  And there, as we traversed Rt. 1 and 187 in Columbia Falls, ME was this GREAT BIG BLUEBERRY edifice.  And it’s still here.  When we first came through it was only a few years old, having been built in 2001.  And now, 2016, still going.  Hope it’s there when our grandkids (or great-grandkids) decide to do some trekking on their own.  The BEST blueberry pies and other blueberry-laced delicacies.  Wild Maine Blueberries – if you haven’t tasted them, you don’t know how good blueberries really are!!!

Postcards purchased, two slices of freshly baked pie stashed in the refrigerator, bladders emptied and back on the road we go.  After all, we’d like to get to our next overnight location in daylight.  But it’s getting time to eat – our stomachs are starting to mention it to us – so as we drive through Machias, Maine, I see a sign that says “Jasper Beach – 10 miles”.  Ten miles takes 30 minutes or more since it’s a windy, narrow road through some little towns.  But we find it – large handmade sign points us down an even more narrow dirt road.  No large rocks protruding up through the road “surface” to tear up our undercarriage (Goldie has very little clearance), so let’s go.  And we did.  End of the road is a large dune of stones – with a jeep sitting atop it.  Cars parked along the side of the road.  This must be it.  Find a place to park and out we go – climbing to the top of the dune to see the rocky beach below.  We are just outside of Buck’s Harbor (“THE BUCK STOPS HERE”, the sign said as we drove very slowly through – it was a town event day) on Machias Bay which is a subset of the Gulf of Maine.  Interesting tides (more about that in my next blog post) deposited what I think must be the largest amount of rocks EVER at Jasper Beach.  Looking down the stone dunes we see another vehicle, seemingly stuck.  And in talking with the jeep atop the dune, we learn that you have to be a local to know where – and where not – to drive on the rocks.  Seems the tide is coming in and stuck vehicle may end up floating out to sea (or sinking).  We don’t stick around to watch – and obviously can’t help.

So back we go to Goldie for a pb&j lunch.  Two women of a certain age walk by to their car and stop to chat about Goldie.  Didn’t get their names but – we now know the name of a plumber to call back home because he is the nephew of the older sister.  Yep – small world.  A casual walk-by and shared greetings led to a “where-is-home” and “of course I know where Walpole and Langdon, NH are – I have a nephew there who is a plumber”!!!!  Amazing.

Finally make it to the Seaview Campground and Cabins in time to spend better part of an hour getting the right spot.  And deciding that splurging for dinner at a restaurant that is only open one night a week made good sense.

So – here we are on Monday.  One week into our trek and we’ve drive a whopping 487 miles.  Rick’s ahead in the ongoing cribbage tournament – something we do ONLY when we trek – and I’m loving the fact that I can reach the highest cabinet in our home.  J

Today we are going to explore Eastport and other areas around here.  There’s the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere that begs to be photographed and Minke whales needing spotting.  Tonight we will decide what we do tomorrow.  And, hopefully, we will find some good internet connections so that I can upload some pictures in the next blog posting.

Enjoy the journey…Dona and Rick

Very early Saturday morning:

Yesterday we did laundry.  Exciting – well, it is if you only have enough fresh clothing to last a week or so.  And if it’s hot and humid and your body is reacting to the climate, having clean, dry clothing and bed sheets is, indeed, exciting.  And after doing laundry, we put a small roast up to cook in the crockpot.  Then it was time to get to enjoy our day.

We like Acadia National Park – I mentioned that yesterday.  It is truly an amazing place.  And if we can’t stay in the park itself (usually very difficult to get a campsite unless booked a bit in advance), we can find a campground fairly close by.  And – the beauty of this is – LL Bean is spending your money to fund a bus system that provides FREE transportation all over the island.

 

The Island Explorer is SO rider-friendly, you can call in from anywhere and they’ll pick you up.  Drivers even stop for people hailing them from the side of the road.  An amazingly good use of corporate funds.  Like other national parks, reducing the amount of cars moving through the area has become an imperative on this island.  So, kudos to LL Bean (in partnership with Friends of Acadia and the National Park Service).

Anyway, having the bus available meant we could leave dinner cooking and hop on a bus to get into the park.  And since we have our passes, we can get into the park for free.  [By-the-way, when you turn 62 you become eligible for a National Park LIFETIME senior pass.  For $10 you get a card that gets you in FREE for the REST OF YOUR LIFE to ALL national parks and other federal recreation sites.  We have found it’s even honored at some state parks.  Think of it as your federal tax dollars being spent on YOU instead of something you might not enjoy.] 

Acadia National Park was conserved about 100 years ago (yep, it’s celebrating a centennial as well) from land donated by Hancock County, Maine and more lands purchased by John D. Rockefeller and others.  It was the first national park created solely from private donations.  And it has a 45-mile system of “carriage roads”.  Built first by Rockefeller for horse-and-buggy travel (because Rockefeller didn’t want those new-fangled gasoline guzzlers to ruin the pristine nature of the land), the carriage roads are now used as bike-and-hike trails.  NO HORSES ALLOWED (which is nice because you don’t worry about stepping in horse manure – only doggie-doo).

 

 

What we also like about visiting here is that MOST people usually visit Mount Desert Island to go to Bar Harbor (or as we New Englanders say “Bah Hahbah”).  And find places to eat lobster.  So, most of our visits, we find that there aren’t that many people in the park and certainly not on the hiking trails.  But – when we arrive, we realize that EVERYONE is getting in for free this week-end.  OF COURSE – it’s the 100^th anniversary of the National Park Service.  So, August 25^th-28^th everyone gets in free.  What fun – how crowded L .  But, we’re good sports and we don’t mind sharing, so off we go to get our 10,000 steps in by traversing the carriage roads.

Yep -- we're here

 

Let's walk already!

 

Carriage Road to Witch Hole Pond

A fungus among us :-)

Speaking of hot and humid, it was like Florida up here at Acadia National Park.  We were supposed to get rain, but all the moisture just stayed in the atmosphere.  Not a pleasant day for a hike.  So…after going about a mile, we turned around and headed back.  Call us wuzzes or old fogies or just plain out-of-shape seniors, we decided to catch the bus and ride around.  Which is what we did – with the idea that maybe this would be a good time to get in a swim.

Got back to the campground to find the pool FILLED with jumping pre-pubescent adolescent males having a great time showing off to each other (and maybe the couple of “I’ll feign to not care less, but some of those boys are kinda cute” teenage girls [yes, I realize that is a hetero-centric statement] their grand skills of cannon-balling .  Of course, there were also the several floaty-adorned ankle-biters kicking around besides the steps.  So…

Doomed to a hot, humid, uncomfortable early evening, we gave up the pool idea and cooked up some fresh vegetables to go with our nicely-cooked roast.  Cleaned up the dishes, took a refreshing shower, and sat down to a rousing game of cribbage.

Very boring, you say.  Not really, says us.  We DID get our 10,000 steps in by all the walking we did around the campground and the bit at Acadia.  And we had caught up with enough news through various on-line sites (CNN, New York Times, LA Times, Huffington Post, etc.) to know that it was OK that we hadn’t seen any TV since we left on Monday.  And we did look at the map to know that, even though we only have about 115 miles to go to our next stop, it was going to take us about 5 + hours because “you can’t get theh from heh” unless we travel on US 1 which takes us through all the centers of little towns with Saturday farmers’ markets and shopping etc.

So – coffee is made and in a bit, Rick will wake up.  We will have breakfast, stow everything, break camp, and off we will go to where the sun hits the U.S. first – Eastport, ME right across from Campobello Island (FDR’s retreat) in CANADA.  We’ll catch up with you from there.

 

Enjoy the journey -- Dona and Rick

My first blog post

Friday, August 26, 2016

Greetings from Maine – home to the most easterly point in the United States (we will be there on Saturday) – and Acadia National Park, the Rockefellers’ gift to the United States.  We left on Monday and have traveled less than 400 miles.  Taking it slow and enjoying the trip.

Many of you have asked that I send info and pictures or post on Facebook, etc. so that you can enjoy our travels.  I've decided this is an easier way to do it – via a blog.  Several of you don't Facebook, and sending a lengthy, large e-mail would just jam up your mailbox, so blogging seemed like the best solution.  That way, you can go in and read at your leisure.  Please bear with me – this is my first attempt at blogging.

Sorry – had had to pause writing and go make coffee.

So “Notes from the road” (greetingsfromgoldie.blogspot.com) is about our travels in Golda (or “Goldie” – she answers to both) our 2008 Roadtrek 190 Popular home (see www.roadtrek.com for specifications).  Here's a couple of pictures for those of you who don't know what she looks like:

See our new “home addition” – a lovely screened porch from which we can enjoy dining al fresco without too many local winged wildlife infringing on our meal.

This 2nd picture is just to give you a sense of scale.  Golda is SMALL in comparison to many of the RV's we see on the road and in campgrounds.  But we find we have enough space for everything we really need, as long as we do laundry weekly and eat sensibly.  Golda’s interior makes most tiny homes look HUGE by comparison! 

Our bricks-and-sticks home has not sold.  Due to where we live in New Hampshire, it takes some time for property to move (yes, dad – location, location, location).  But since we have boxed, sold, donated, or otherwise purged as much as we can for now, it was time to try out living tiny.  Thus, we have hit the road for the wilds of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes.  We’ll be on-the-road for approximately four weeks before heading back to Walker Hill.  Doctors’ appointments and such.

So – if you care to join us in our updated-as-we-can adventure, please subscribe to this blog.  That way you’ll get notifications when there is another posting.  Just go to “greetingsfromgoldie.blogspot.com”.  I think there’s a spot where you can ask for updates to be sent to your e-mail.  That notification should include a link.

Enough for now – enjoy the journey…Dona and Rick (formerly known as Fred)