Leaving Maine...but taking the LONG way

Hey Everybody,

I'm almost caught up with blog posts....it was not easy packing up to leave the campsite, but it helped that I drove a great deal of Maine's coast before beginning the westward journey - via Canada.

After another trip down the Ocean Path I was off to Lubec, the easternmost town in the U.S. Lubec has one of Maine's prettiest lighthouses, and also happens to provide a bridge to New Brunswick, which is home to the Roosevelt Campobello International Park.

This is the West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec.

The Roosevelt home...he spent many happy summer vacations here. Since it was a Canadian holiday weekend I couldn't get in the house (or even in the visitor center) and the only available map was in French. It got me through, but I'm quite sure English would have been far more helpful.

The beach behind Roosevelt's place...the water was quite cold, but I walked in it for a few minutes to make the border crossing more authentic :-).

After wandering around the deserted (almost!) park I decided to follow the Canadian Hwy - 774, I think it was - to explore a bit more. Who knew it would deliver another cool lighthouse?

This is the East Quoddy Lighthouse. It's on a small, rocky island just yards from where I stood. Interestingly, there is a rusty old ladder down to the rocks/water (no beach!) on the viewing island and a matching ladder on the other island...but ALL signs stress the hazards of entering the water. I ask: why the ladders?! Really, they just make me want to swim over there!

New Brunswick had some nice homes, but mostly struck me as dealing with the same economic hardships as the U.S. It's a pretty place, but just looks a bit weary. After an hour or so, I made one last stop at the International Park before crossing the border. This is the Mulholland Point Lighthouse (1885). It was decommissioned in the early sixties because the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge (1962) provided navigational aid.

This is purely for fun: I passed a place, Wild Blueberry Land, on the way to Acadia & vowed to stop for a photo on the way out of Maine. If only it would have been open.... Best of all, a jeep pulled up right behind me on the roadside (Maine lic. plate) for the same reason.

The Marshall Point Lighthouse - one of Maine's most famous. It's on lots of postcards & gets decorated for Christmas. I accidentally passed it on the way to Acadia....

And this is the Owl's Head Lighthouse (1825) on Penobscot Bay. It's about 20 minutes from the above, which I didn't know until a visiting couple told me when our paths crossed at Marshall. I got there just before the park closed.

Better than the lighthouse, however, was this find just down the road:

I have been trying to find a cool buoy display that was accessible...lots of restaurants and homes have buoys, but most of the time I can't pull over or I don't want to trespass. I want to return to Maine someday!

Because no trip would be complete without this...I made a brief stop at the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport.

Just so you know...you cannot climb or drive the boots!

So long East Coast! When this trip started I feared it would never end...you know, for a few days. Now I cannot believe it's time to go west! Off to Niagara Falls....more soon. Thanks for stopping by!