At the St. Stephen-Calais border we encountered a slight delay as a group of elderly veterans (or, seniors, as our son would say - he's been watching too much Corner Gas) having a little walk-across-the-bridge-with-flags ceremony. Turns out it was not only New Brunswick Day weekend, but the Calais bicentennial. Not sure what the significance of the ceremony actually was, but after about 15 minutes we were on our way.
For those of you who don't realize it, Campobello Island is in New Brunswick. That is, it is in Canada. So, by taking the land route we were passing through the US to go back into Canada. Around 8 pm we crossed the bridge and were on the island. Fortunately, even with the rain there was still some daylight. We headed up island on 774 and found Pollock Cove Cottages.
One of the owners was just about to close up. She had left a note on the office door and was going to leave the cottage open and the key on the table. But, as she was still there, I was able to pay up and get the key.
Now, let me first say that I really don't like posting negative reviews. This is exponentially true when the place I'm reviewing is a small, family business. But, I work hard for my money and you, no doubt, do, too. So, considering that...
I cannot give Pollock Cove a "thumbs up." First, we were clearly in one of the older cottages and they are not shown on the web site. But, I'm okay with old. As long as it's clean and the beds reasonable, I'm okay. But, this was not exactly, well, sparkling. I'm sympathetic to beach and ski resort places that face the constant challenge of outdoor enthusiasts who are less enthusiastic about keeping, e.g., the sand outside or the skiis off the walls. But, really. Nonetheless, we had indoor plumbing - albeit the kitchen sink doubled as the "bathroom sink" - and decent pillows. The latter is essential for good sleeping and I had forgotten to bring mine.
We decided to get up on Saturday morning, dress, and go - sans shower. Keep that in mind - I'll come back to that in a bit.
As it turned out, we had one of the most perfect weather days of the summer. Clear, blue, fabulous. First, we had breakfast at Lupine Lodge at the Adams Estate. It's a nice, old lodge with a great view. Breakfast was fine. Not spectacular, but decent. The server was very pleasant and, all in all, we were pleased. Good thing since there are about two places to eat on the island.
From there we went over to Roosevelt Campobello International Park. I really enjoyed this. First of all, it's free admission. No complaint there. The 17 minute introduction film and exhibits in the visitor center were great. Shortly after we arrived they started a free walking tour of the grounds surrounding the cottage. We heard about the Linden trees and the bees that literally fall out of them, "drunk." We heard about the grand old hotels for a tourist industry whose "hey day" lasted only about thirty years. We wandered down to the shore where a staff person was available to answer questions. That's the spot where FDR was carried off the island, having been stricken by polio. Then we toured the cottage itself. And, this is just one part of the park.
Then, being New Brunswick Day weekend, we went to a little - festival? BBQ? all are too grand - at the Campobello Public Library and Museum. It's a great little building. Unlike the photos on the website, it has recently been completely re-sided with beautiful cedar shingles that have not yet weathered. We had some sausages/hot dogs, chatted with a few folks, and were on our way.
On our way out to Head Harbour/East Quoddy Lighthouse, we stopped and booked a 4:00 whale watch with Island Cruises.
The grassroots organization that is now trying to save the lighthouse has set up a little "shack" where they charge $5.00 to hike out the lighthouse islands. Children under 12 are free. I'm not actually sure if they could stop you if you walked out and didn't pay, but I was happy to contribute to their efforts. There is a fairly steep, but not terribly long, set up iron steps down to a beach. Across the beach, a similar set of steps takes you back up to the next island. Then there's a wooden bridge. Finally, there's a much longer set of steps. With a bad knee, I passed on that last set up steps, while the rest of the family went on. The views are spectacular. From where I waited I could see not only the lighthouse, but porpoises just off shore. I highly recommend a trip out to the lighthouse, even if you aren't up to the final set of steps!
On to the whale watch. Now, I've gone whale watching before. I am aware of some of the controversy over enterprises such as these. I chose this one because I liked the fact that they actually do work re the whales. They have engaged in some major whale rescue efforts. I also liked that they have small boats, unlike the large vessels used in many other places (e.g., Provincetown). Our boat was limited to 20 passengers. The blue boat at the bottom left in the photo, below, is Mister Matthew, our cruise ship. During the two hour cruise we saw several minke whales, lots of seals, several porpoises, and an eagle. I'd call it a success.
Not having had a real lunch we were ravenous. We went to Family Fisheries, one of the two places on the island to eat. Note: Herring Cove Provincial Park apparently has a restaurant at the golf course, be we saw no advertising and didn't go looking for it. Although I had seen good reviews online, I was really disappointed. The onion rings were great. The lobster salad, tasteless except for the pieces that tasted, well, strange. I went away hoping I wasn't going to become ill. The place is constantly busy. I don't know if this is because there are so few options or because it is really a great place. I might go back, but I'd stick to something fried. On the other hand, my partner had scallops that she said were good. If I were a restaurant reviewer I'd have to go back another time or two before really drawing a conclusion, but, given how hungry I was, it was a real disappointment.
We got back to the cottage, planning on showering... Alas, the cold water tap did nothing but spin. And, the office was closed and nobody was home. I thought maybe they were because I could see a the flicker and glow of a giant flat screen television. Nope, apparently the dog was watching it and s/he refused to answer the door. So, no showers for us. CAD$100/night and we couldn't bathe. Lovely.
Later that evening we headed out to find the fireworks that the library event had advertised. Alas, we saw and heard nothing at or near the "ferry landing" that was noted on the flyer. More on this later.
On Sunday morning we went back to the Lupine Lodge for breakfast. I was hankering for some oatmeal. My partner asked for blueberries, bananas, and walnuts with hers. We knew they had some because they served a pancake that way. I asked for some walnuts. She received a nice side bowl of the mix. I received a small dish - the kind that nicer restaurants often serve ketchup in - of walnuts. I had to ask for brown sugar. But, after looking high and low, they were unable to find any. I knew it was usually served with it - I had seen it the morning before. I had to ask for some milk. So, I was a bit annoyed - are you sensing a theme here? - when they charged me $1.00 for about six walnut halves. The $2.95 for the fruit and nuts didn't seem unreasonable, but $1.00 for the nuts when they didn't have brown sugar and I had to ask for milk... on top of the $5.95 oatmeal. Let's just say, Cora's does it right.
We stopped at the Campobello Gift House just to check it out. I walked in and said, to the clerk at the counter, "Weren't you the librarian yesterday?" Indeed, she was. Such is life on the island. We were able to find out about the fireworks. Turned out that after scratching out "Herring Cove" on all of the brochures and writing "Ferry Landing," they had them at Herring Cove. But, as we had suspected, it was not a civic production, but a bunch of folks who went out and bought some fireworks to shoot off. Not really our thing. She said that they had tried posting the change to facebook... Uh, and we were supposed to check something online how? Oh, well.
We had decided to take the ferry over to Deer Island and check it out. Let's just say that we've decided that we are folks who require a little more in the way of infrastructure than the islands off New Brunswick provide.
But, we had a decent lunch - fish and chips for me, scallop burger for my partner, and chicken fingers for the boy - at the 45th Parallel Restaurant. It was another lovely day and we could see the water from the terrace where we were seated.
Driving further up the island, we then happened upon a nice little craft shop, Fireball. I overheard the proprietor/artist telling someone else about a great place to look for sea glass. I later asked where it was. She said, "Oh, that's over on Campobello." "Oh, that's where we're staying," I said. She went on to describe it as a small beach that looks private, but isn't, behind a motel of sorts. She looked it up in the tourist rag and said... "Pollock Cove...!" Too funny.
After driving around some really desolate
Here's an interesting little observation. We watched cars drive off the ferry from Eastport - that is in Maine. Each car stopped at the Canadian customs officer. There is no booth, no vehicle, just the officer standing in the road. Not once did she ask for ID. I repeat, not once. We then took the ferry over to Eastport. Driving off we could see the US Customs SUV and two officers. We provided our passports, answered the questions, and watched our passports be scanned. We were in. Note: I can't remember when we've been processed by a woman US Customs officer. About half of the Canadian Customs officials we've seen have been women. We spent a little time in Eastport, exploring the lovely "downtown" right on the water that is being renewed, its history being saved and "marketed." If the time had been right we would have visited the Pickled Herring as it looked great. Next time.
From there we drove back to Campobello. We stopped at Polar Treat in Perry, Maine - where I had the best coffee milk shake I've had in ages. We stopped at Monica's Chocolates in Lubec, Maine and picked up a gift for our gerbil-sitter. We also picked up two bon-bons for ourselves. Gotta taste-test, ya' know. And, before crossing the bridge back to Campobello, we stopped at the Atlantic House for some decent, but ridiculously over-priced (US$7.50) sandwiches.
All in all we had a good day. Perfect weather. No traffic. Two ferry rides. Decent food.
Upon our return we wandered down to the beach and, sure enough, found lots of sea glass! Of course we found mostly browns, whites, and greens - the most common, but we also found a few small pieces of blue - one of the most sought after. Now I just have to figure out what I can make from it.
On Monday we were up and on the road at 7 am. We had two chairs waiting for us at Hayes Unfinished Furniture in Brewer so we decided to take the long way home, via Bar Harbor - which my partner had never visited - so that we could pick them up. I made my first and only trip to Bar Harbor twenty years ago. I hope we'll get back soon so that we can spend some time at Acadia National Park. I'll save my thoughts on Bar Harbor for a post when we really have time to visit, but, in brief, you can't go wrong on the coast of Maine.
So, that's it for Campobello. It's beautiful and rustic. We've talked a lot about what would make it more appealing (for us), but how some of that would also - potentially - lead to what wold make it less appealing. Interesting tensions. We had the same reaction to Grand Manan, which we visited last August, though I never posted about it.
The Campobello Tourism site says, "Campobello has changed little over the centuries since it was inhabited" and that "New Brunswick, known as the gateway to Atlantic Canada, is one of Canada's most historic, picturesque and untouched provinces." Very true. And that is both the beauty and the challenge of it all.
Would we go back to Campobello? Yes. But, there are so many other places we want to visit that it probably won't be any time soon. And, we'd go better prepared - e.g., with a car full of groceries. But, do I recommend it? Yes, if you enjoy the natural beauty of the North Atlantic coast. Absolutely.
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