Notes from the road

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…..