MaineLee Canada

Campobello is a really interesting place. An international park run by the U.S. and Canada on Campobello Islandd, New Brunswick. FDR’s “cottage” is there with all of its original furnishings. FDR designed and played in a golf course there before he was stricken by polio. Guides were clear to say that he did not contract polio there, although he was in Campolbello when it leveled him. The actual contraction took place in Bear Mountain, N.Y.
Anyway, it is a beautiful place with lots of history. Before leaving we dined at a nice restaurant where the locals go called Family Fisheries.
Leaving Campobello, we crossed to Lubeck, Maine in the good old USA. We could not get a room in Bangor, so drove down to Pittsfield, Maine where we got a old fashioned yet clean room. Norman, the desk clerk was pleasant too. We did not meet his mother.
Next, we head for home.

We visited Freeport, Maine on the way home, and managed to spend just a few bucks for lemonade and a kraut dog.
Downtown Freeport is all factory outlet stores. You name it, and it's there. The flagship among the stores is a flagship itself. The main store of L.L. Bean covering at least three buildings. Paradise!
Jim's left hand reached for his credit card several times, but each time his stronger right hand held him back. Hard to believe, but we did not buy anything. Except gas for the car.
Now, we are back home, the car is unloaded and we are bushed. We had a great time.
Many thanks to Mary for planning this trip. It took a lot of time on her part, figuring out the route, booking motels and researching places to visit. Everything went like clockwork. She made sure we had Internet in nearly every hotel.

Saint John, spelled out thank you, is a pretty big town, maybe 70,000, which prides itself on being multi-cultural. We stumbled upon the Fundy Bay Festival, sipping drinks from an open-air café as we watched dancing and singing by members of the Sierre Leone Club of Saint John.
Leaving Saint John, we stopped at an overlook of the Reversing Falls, where the extremely strong tide of the Fundy Bay actually stops the flow of the Saint John River at high tide. We were there when the tide was slack, but we could still see the powerfull effect to the Fundy tide, said to be the most variable in the world, 48 feet from high to low in one part of the Bay.
We stayed in the Tara Manor Inn in St. Andrew’s, where we had a pleasant breakfast before leaving for Campobello Island. We understand that we have to take two ferries to get there.

When we left Charlottetown, it was raining at a pretty good clip. By the time we got to the Confederation Bridge which would take us to New Brunswick, the rain had stopped. But, it was so windy the authorities were stopping trucks, cars with trailers and motorcycles from crossting the 8 mile bridge. Cars, such as ours, were let through and we crossed the bridge with no incident.

Along the way to St. Martens, we stopped at the Hopewell Cape Rocks. The tide was out so we walked down on a long series of steps to the ocean floor. There, we saw massive rock formations worn over the eons by water and wind. After we left, the tide rose 35 feet to cover most of the rocks.

Once at St. Martens we checked into the Quaco Inn and then had a bite to eat at the Caves Restaurant featuring their “World Famous Chowder.” Next, we will head out to St. John’s and St. Andrew. And tomorrow, we are planning to go to Campobello Island where FDR spent some time. It takes

We started the day by being treated to a "how-to" on grilling seafood. It took place in Cavendish Grove. Two young ladies showed us how to grill oysters, mussels, rainbow trout and haddock. And of course there were free samples. Yummy. While in Cavendish we visited the house which was the setting for the Anne of Green Gables novels. Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author, is buried nearby. She wrote some 21 novels about Anne and others in the early 1900's. Today, here novels live on providing a nice economic boost to the area. You can everything from a Anne of Greene Gables diary to a little hat with red pigtails.
Thanks to Mary's planning, we drove out to Malpeque, the oyster center of PEI. Jim had a full dozen of Malpeques at the Oyster Barn, a rustic place on the second floor above a fish market. He is still savoring the taste. Malpegue is in an outlying area over a couple of dirt roads. It was well worth the trip. After that, we drove to Summerside, a touristy area where we got our gift shop fix. We finished the evening watching the Simpsons in Chartlottetown. The movie had its moments but we were disappointed. The animation was excellent. It rained during the night. Wind warnings in effect for 8/9.