Eastport and Lubec

Traveling from our campground to Eastport and Lubec, we can clearly see Canada on the far bank of the river we are running along. In fact, our cellphones are on Canadian time, (an hour later) and when Gene attempts to make a call, he is warned that considerable international charges are likely to occur and quickly abandons that effort. I found these two towns to be so charming on a previous visit because they are "real." There are tourists, but not hoards of them. They are situated on peninsulas of a bay and you can see one from the other if it is clear, but there is no mode of transportation between them other than driving around the bay. The tide change here are the most dramatic of any in the U.S. (world?). Look at the water line on the picture of a building on a pier. It comes and goes rapidly with a big current. In the foggy, rocky beach pic, the tide is coming in and the beach was separated from the high rock by about a foot. Within 30 min, that separation was 5 ft. or so.

Eastport is home of Sarah Graves, author of the Home Repair is Homicide series, and the hardware store carries autographed copies of her books, all centered around the renovation of an old house in this town. We are told by the hardware owner and others in Maine that global warming is real. The ponds and lakes that formerly were frozen by Thanksgiving, now might not freeze until January, if at all. They miss the recreation of skating or ice fishing them. Fog is playing cat and mouse in the harbor and it is fun to watch. At one point there is a mound of it like whipped cream, and a sunbeam is lighting the middle, giving in an opalescent glow. The lovely islands we see in the harbor are Canadian as is Campebello Island which is just out there too. One can boat around them, but not land, unless you can avoid getting caught the hardware store owner told us. The whale watching sailboat is full today so we move on to Lubec. You will notice a photo of me daydreaming of living in that house on the bluff. What a quintessentially Maine house in the perfect setting!

On the outskits of town we immediately come upon Monica's Chocolates. Well, gee whiz, we sure cannot pass this up. The business is located in a house where chocolates of all description are displayed in an L shaped room. A bedroom to the left holds Peruvian textiles. The dining room is a tea room that serves meals 5 days a week. Monica is Peruvian and enthusiastic and you only understand part of what she says, but she insists that all of us go into the basement to see the chocolate being made and there are four people down there busily working on various types of candy. Another part is for packaging and storage. She has been in business for 5 years. Does not like internet business as it is too much for her to keep up with. She says go on internet to get information, but to order "you call." Each truffle or bon bon is about $2, but they are truly to die for. And you cannot eat more than one at a time because they are so rich. She gets her chocolate from four differnt countries. I asked what she did before this and she said she was a clothing designer in Peru. Thats a real change.

After going out on the jetty to look for the seals that are not there this visit, we pick up blueberry treats for our dessert and drive out to Quaddy Head Lighthouse, the most photographed of any...guess because of the red and white stripes. (But, hey, how do they know?) We follow a path along the bluff and on the right is a charming forest, all mossy and mushroomy and damp from the fog. Gene is sure that is where the Hobbits live. We descend a stairway to the very, very rocky beach and have trouble focusing because there are so many interesting shapes and colors. The tide is coming in and waves are crashing against the larger outcroppings. We hear lobster boats just out there, but cannot see them. This little excursion was so enjoyable.

After taking a more inland route back home, we are shocked to find people setting up a twin to our camper two spaces over. Actually, upon inspection, is it 2-3 feet shorter. We make contact and take tours of one another's rigs. Theirs is a few years newer and some things are better. They have two wardrobes and more bathroom storage, and a larger kitchen, BUT no sofa. We would not trade storage for the sofa, because their only living space is the dinette. They are intrigued with our "back porch," the platform the previous owner installed with a large tool box and room to strap other things on. Speaking of which, I neclected to mention the woodie station wagon and camper we saw in Eastport parked in front of the Woodie Club. How would you like to camp in that? Claustrophobic City!! The wagon is 1946 and the camper 1939. Notice the little wooden trunk in from of it.