Bienvenue Au Canada! (09/29/2010)

We woke to wind and fog.  The road from Lubec to Calais was narrow, uneven and generally in awful shape!  And, despite the overcast, the colors were still vibrant.

Once we crossed into St. Stevens Canada, however, the road was vastly improved dramatically.  And, while we still had lots of color 

and a number of stratified rock formations  which reminded us a bit of what we saw in the West last spring

the weather remained fickle ... ranging from mostly cloudy to

with visibility getting down to as little as 100 yards to something we have seen very little of these past few days

sunny skies!

The drive through Fundy National Park was pretty but not spectacular.  It ended is the small fishing village of Alma.

The drive from Alma to Hopewell Cape became more interesting as we began to get glimpses of the Chigneeto Bay (which forms the northeastern portion of Fundy Bay) and vast marshes which line much of its upper western shore.

Walking on those marshes is like walking on a wet sponge. You bounce along like you would on a trampoline, occasionally (as Debbie did) sinking ankle deep in to muddy water. 


Our campsite for the next three nights provides us with an unobstructed view of the marsh, bay and famous Hopewell Rocks (where the tidal range is close to 53' ... and which we plan to visit tomorrow).

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Lubec and Campobello (09/28/2010)

We'd originally planned to drive to Oak Bay, New Brunswick enroute to Fundy National Park. However, shortly after we left the sun began to poke through the low overcast so we opted to take US Route 1 north along the Maine coast

to Lubec, the most easterly city in the United States.

Our campground is small and situated on a peninsula where we overlook a bay.  After unhitching our Jeep, we took the short, 2 mile, drive across the FDR Memorial Bridge

to Campobello Island to visit the Roosevelt Cottage and Campobello International Park.

FDR's home was fascinating and the grounds beautiful  From there we drove the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, along a series of smooth gravel roads over which the the boughs of the trees formed an arch.

and took several side roads to spectacular ocean views

Tonight, the wind is howling and our motor home "swaying" with each gust ... which Debbie would like me to make go away!

Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain (09/27/2010)

Our hopes for a clear day were short-lived.  Again, the skies were gray and overcast.  However we set off to drive the Park's Loop Road.  One of the highlights was to be Thunder Hole ... which was advertised in the brochures as (not our photo)

at high tide.  We arrived just minutes for for that time only to read a sign which indicated that the best viewing for the spray and "thunder" was about mid-tide.  So, while we missed the most spectacular display, we still saw some pretty amazing waves breaking on the rocks just off shore.

The roads remained trimmed in fall colors

that is until we drive up Cadillac Mountain, where the sun first touches the US each day.

At the summit the wind was blowing hard and the visibility was down to no more than 50 feet!

Touring Mount Desert Island and Biking the Acadia Carriage Trails (09/26/2010)

With the weather overcast, we decided to drive around Mount Desert Island and try see the several villages (other than Bar Harbor which we'd already toured) and outlying areas.  The drive took us along tree-lined roads surrounded by some spectacular fall color,

 small villages, farms

and idyllic coves dotted with boats.

We were not surprised to find sections of very modest houses with yards often littered with old cars and other discarded items as well as large,exquisite homes surrounded by manicured landscaping

and generally spectacular ocean views.

We stopped in Southwest Harbor and had a fantastic dinner at Beals where the lobsters were right off the boat.

The lobster meat was so tender and tasty, we hardly used the melted butter.

We also took a bike ride on several of the Acadia carriage trails (on which no auto traffic is allowed) around Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond.  Again, the foliage was gorgeous.

Tomorrow, we're off to the main park and Cadillac Mountain.

Scarborough to Bar Harbor (09/25/2010)

While overcast this morning, the still water and muted light provided some excellent photography.

During our drive from Scarborough to Bar Harbor, we began to see some truly spectacular fall foliage.

We arrived at our campground, just north of Bar Harbor and with a view of the ocean, in mid-afternoon.

Bar Harbor sits on the east coast of Mount Desert Island, just a few miles from Acadia National Park.  The town contains a beautiful harbor looking out on many islands

and yet has the look and feel on all too many tourist destinations with store after store peddling  tee-shirts, crafts, jewelry and artwork, not to mention dozens of restaurants and bars ...

each hustling patrons for their "early bird" specials and "happy hours".

Maine at Last (09-24-2010)

 We finally crossed the Piscataqua River into Maine

(the 28th state we've visited in our motor home) this morning enroute to the York Harbor Inn,

owned by one of Debbie's closest childhood friends, Jeannie Dominguez, and her husband, Joe.

They have done a truly spectacular job on the original building, including the transformation of the lower level into a tavern and lounge, finished to resemble the below-deck of luxury sailing yacht, with hand-crafted mahogany and other exotic woods ... and the Harbor Crest Inn, once owned by the founder of the Moravian Tile Factory (Doylestown, PA).

Heading north from York, we began to see more and more fall foliage colors, although they were still muted due to the overcast sky.

We arrived at the Wild Duck Campground in Scarborough, one of the prettiest campground we've ever visited.

Bedford, NH (09/20-23/2010)

Monday, Debbie and I got caught up on  some work while Taylor at school and Jake at preschool.  However, that evening was all play!

Nancy, Jason and Taylor left at the crack of dawn on Tuesday.  Over the course of the day, Nancy did email some pictures Taylor's first day - 5 hour IVIG (intravenous immunogloulin) treatment to, hopefully, help cure her PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections).

Even her bear had an IV!.

We had a great evening Jake.

Wednesday morning we talked with Nancy and Taylor had a good night.  After dropping Jake at preschool, I drove around the area, both taking some fall foliage pictures

and through some of the residential subdivisions I did while in the real estate development business between 1984-1994.

Taylor's second treatment day was shorter than anticipated and she and parents got home before dinner.

As Taylor asked us to stay for her first grade back-to-school night on Thursday, we stayed an extra day in New Hampshire and will be leaving for Maine on Friday morning.