Campobello–New Brunswick–Canada and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Little Summer Cottage

Events of July 20, 21, and 22

 

Besides Lubec Maine being the Easternmost town in the United States,

it’s also where you can drive the International Bridge to Campobello Island

in New Brunswick, Canada. . .

home of Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt’s
small little summer cottage. . .only 34 rooms. . .

 

it really was not at all an ostentatious mansion like many of the other

“summer cottages” we have toured in our travels. . .

actually a very modest home. . .the square footage was much, much

less than what the “34 room cottage” would lead you to believe.

the children’s play room. . .there was much discussion about the glue bottle. . .

we all remembered using that stuff in school. . .and when I was in school,

it was still a glass bottle, and you had to press down really hard to get the glue to spread. . .

Scrabble, dominos and a telescope set up in the corner of the parlor. . .

and this glorious view overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay. . .fabulous!

according to the docent. . .Mrs Roosevelt used this megaphone

to summons her five children and, or her guests from their outdoor activities.

 

The docents, placed strategically though the cottage made the tour very enjoyable. . .

they simply explained what you were looking at, and then you were free to move on,

or, if so inclined, you could ask further questions and actually have a discussion. . .

in other words, it wasn’t one of those long drawn out speeches,

where your eyes are rolling back in your head, and you’re wondering. . .

am I ever going to escape. . .it was a very, very pleasant way to do a tour. . .

we enjoyed it very much, and highly recommend it. . .

on the back porch of the cottage were these old bicycles, and this chair designed to bring

Mr Roosevelt from the dock up to the house, after he was diagnosed with polio.

the family were all athletic and enjoyed outdoor activities. . .

I loved the stitching down the side of the canoe. . .

leaving the house, we made our way down to the dock. . .

which was quite a distance from the house. . .

all summer residents of the island would take a train to Eastport Maine. . .

and then travel by boat to the island. . .

before you do the house tour. . .stop by the Campobello FDR Visitor Center. . .

get a map. . .and see the movie about the Roosevelt’s time on the island. . .

it will make it all come alive for you, and is well worth the time spent. . .

the neighboring “cottage” to the Roosevelt’s was even a bit more glamorous.

. .

it is now used as a conference center. . .you can certainly see why. . .just beautiful!

and if you are so inclined. . .this is where you can have. . .

“Tea with Eleanor”

(free tickets are given out at the visitor center)

 

we also drove out to see the Head Harbor (East Quoddy) Light Station. . .

you can only hike out to it at low tide ($5 pp fee)

using some rickety, kinda rusty stairs,

and climbing over some slippery, slimy rocks.

 

I had pics of all of it. . .even the eagles we saw on the hike back. . .

but somehow I deleted them out of my camera. . .

I’m just sick about it. . .but, what’cha gonna do?

 

so the above pic of the lighthouse from the first sandbar is the only one I salvaged. . .

I’m just thankful for that one. . .or I would’a had to be “borrowing” one off the internet. . .

some ladies standing at the top of the stairs swore these were whales. . .

I don’t know. . .I’m not quite convince. . .but hey. . .okay. . .

we saw whales while we were in Canada. . .yaaaa!

we did drive out to Liberty Point where we absolutely did see harbor seals. . .

my zoom wasn’t strong enough to get pics of them in the water. . .

but they were very visible up on the rocks. . .

and also from Liberty Point. . .this beautiful view of the West Quoddy Lighthouse. . .

which is located in Lubec. . .

and which we had visited up close and personal earlier in the week

at West Quoddy State Park in Lubec. . .so beautiful. . .

you gotta love the stories. . .

we hiked down to the beach for a different view. . .

this was the beach. . .I tell you what. . .my grandson Jordan and I could have used a few

of these awesome rocks back in the day when he and I used to do painted rock sculptures. . .

one more beautiful view from the beach. . .

and one last hike above the West Quoddy Lighthouse. . .

it was almost a rain forest type atmosphere. . .with all this peet moss underfoot. . .

I wish I could explain how great it was to walk on. . .

almost like one of the cushy gel mats you put in front of the kitchen sink. . .

such a beautiful place. . .we loved it all. . .

 

Sorry this has been such a long, long post. . .I just wanted to get it ALL in. . .LOL,

 

‘til next time,

Janice and Dave

The Most Easternmost of the Easternmost. . .you figure it out

We were going to be within two hours of the most Easternmost point in the United States. . .

we gotta go. . .right. . .well of course we do!

Lubec Maine.. .the Easternmost TOWN in the USA. . .remember that!

I appreciate artist’s renderings. . .and this one with the East Quoddy

and West Quoddy Head Lights is especially great. . .

another rendering of Lubec Welcome. . .

we stayed in the Easternmost CAMPGROUND. . .

very nice. . .lovely views. ..water and electric with a dump station. . .

I was a little confused as to why it was called Sunset Point. . .

when I would think being the Easternmost Campground . . .Sunrise would be the focus.

well. . .this is why. . .beautiful sunsets across the cove

however. . .I was specifically focused on the sunrise,

and was determined that I would get up in time to photograph it. . .HA!

this is the best I could do. . .

seriously people. . .the sun rises at 5:15. . .that is WAY before I usually get up. . .

I did get this shot from the bedroom window the first morning we were there. . .

and then we had several cloudy, foggy, rainy mornings. . .

not that I was up to see them, you understand. . .but I could hear the raindrops hitting the roof. . .

all the reason I needed to stay snuggled in for a couple more hours. . .

 

On to more Easternmost stories though. . .we visited Eastport Maine. . .

the Easternmost CITY in the United States. . .just so you know!

here’s a beautiful view of Eastport taken from the Canadian Island of Campobello. . .

my suggestion. . .if you want to visit Eastport. . .just take the ferry from Lubec. . .

it’s not really a pretty drive over there. . .and once you get there,

I can’t honestly say there’s that much to see. . .it was okay, I guess. . .

and if you’re that close and you want to go. . .then you should. . .

 

Okay. . .last story. . .

we had been told that the first place to see the sunrise in the United States

is Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. . .so when we visited up there yesterday,

I was curious to see what they had to say about it. . .

 

Okay. . .I can buy the claim that if you are on the summit of

Cadillac Mountain at 5 AM,

you could possibly be the first to see the sunrise. . .

 

It all intrigues me somewhat. . .whose claim is the most valid? 

I don’t know. . .I’m just gonna enjoy the uniqueness of it all. . .

that’s their story. . .and they’re sticking to it!

 

Til next time,

Janice and Dave

Portland Head Light–and a Fabulous Island Visit With Friends

In 2009, when we met Al and Diane in San Antonio TX. . .

who would have ever dreamed that four years later, in 2013,

we would be visiting them in their fabulous little cabin on and island in Maine. . .wow!

Our very first workamping job was as the Activity Directors at Admiralty RV Park. . .

we had so much fun. . .and Al and Diane were part of our volunteer corps. . .

Al ran the poker games and tournaments. . .and Diane was the ambassador for the activities center. ..

she would always say. . .oh I don’t really do anything. . .but really, she excelled at making folks welcome. . .

all the ladies would be up there quilting. . .someone new would walk in, and Diane would say,

'”come on in. . .where are you from” and if they were interested in crafting at all,

she would give them a tour of the facilities, make sure they knew where the schedules were. . .

just really great stuff. . .not anything that she had to do. . .she did it because she chose to. . .

and as we just discovered this week. . .it’s because she’s just a natural at it. . .

the ferry ride over . . .Al was telling us that back in the day when they still

brought their motor home back with them, there were times he would be loaded

on the ferry with his backside hangin’ off. . .aiii yaiiii yaiii. . .

that would make quite a picture wouldn’t it?

not sure why they didn’t offer to pick us up in their private plane. . .ha ha. . .

just kidding. . .it was really one of the neighbors planes. . .

we got a little driving tour of the island. . .it was much bigger than it appeared from the water.

This was taken at one of the beaches. . .

the little harbor. . .

mountains as viewed from the island. . .we really drove down to this little beach

to see the lighthouse. . .but the owner had the top off making some repairs. . .

what are the chances?  ha ha. . .

after the driving tour. . .as Diane and I sat on the back deck

grilling a pork loin and some veggies. . .one of the locals stopped by to visit. . .

Dave and I had the privilege of spending the night in the “puzzle room”. . .

I loved it, and wish I would have gotten some better pics. . .

As they’ve collected puzzles in their travels,

they’ve fastened them to the walls and ceiling in this bedroom,

until it actually looks like wallpaper.  It wasn’t til I was lying in bed looking at the ceiling,

that I realized they had also added pics of themselves to the puzzles. . .

it was so great!  I’m kinda sad that this is the only picture I got. . .

but, I didn’t wanna just go around snapping pictures of someone else’s house. . .

 

Al’s parents bought a lot back in the 60’s

and built the cabin. . .Al and Diane have done lots of improvements over the years. . .

taking down a wall to open up the sunroom. . .it was really, really a great space. . .

 

The next morning, after a breakfast of blueberry pancakes. . .we all loaded up in both vehicles,

and headed back to the ferry, where they loaded us on with a dump truck AND a cement truck. . .

I’m glad I was riding with Diane, and we kept a conversation going that kept my mind off of it. . .LOL!

We parked our car at the mall. . .and joined Diane and Al for a private tour of Portland. . .

seriously. . .it just doesn’t get much better. . .

first stop. . .Portland Head Light. . .so, so beautiful. . .

just one more view. . .of course I have many more views in my folder. . .

these are just the ones I loved the most. . .

commissioned by George Washington . . .

I loved this too. . .

next stop. . .yup. . .lunch!

Whole body clams. . .delicious. . .fried scallops. . .delicious. . .perfectly cooked. . .

then on to the “Bug Light”. . .

and a view of Downtown Portland. . .

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Al and Diane, and hope they know

how much we appreciate them taking the time to play hosts. . .

‘til next time,

Janice and Dave