It’s Gonna Be A Bright, Bright, Sunshiny Day.
Day 89 – We woke up to the sun shining over the Bay, so bright that when Rob was sitting out, even with dark sunglasses on, he held his hand up blocking his eyes. Back in Downeast Maine. It was 44 degrees when he got up; I followed an hour later. We’d parked the RV so to maximize sunlight on the dash – the girls were all up there, doing their passive-solar exercises. Rob took a walk around part of the campground, got lots of pictures, he said the campground was fairly full. Many Warblers were passing through – migrating south. I grabbed my camera & went out for a walk, too, and Rob joined me. Some of the trees were definitely showing their fall colors, and it’s only early September. Lots of flowers on the bushes. What a beautiful day!
Click on any picture below to see a slideshow.
While I changed clothes & put together the grocery list, Rob took his camera out to the tide pools. It was low tide & the critters were out & about. We’re out of bread for sandwiches, mustard & a few other items. That’s a good excuse to take a drive to Eastport.
We left around 11 a.m. Eastport is an old fishing & cargo port. It’s a city consisting of small islands connected to the mainland via a causeway. The city closest to our land is Lubec. You can see Eastport from Lubec; it’s right across the Bay, yet it takes close to an hour to get from Lubec to Eastport by car. Cobscook Bay State Park, where we’re camping is halfway between Lubec & Eastport. A much shorter drive if we make our annual trek to Eastport now, rather than when we’re soon camping on our land. Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada is across the bay, and international border, from both Eastport & Lubec. From Lubec, you can get to Campobello Island simply by crossing a bridge. From Eastport, you have to take a ferry. The Ocean waters in these areas are extremely rich with sealife. Scallops, clams, haddock, and lobster are all caught here,
On the way to Eastport, we stopped at an entrance to Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge (the Edmunds Division) to read the signs about what activities are permitted. It’s just across Route 1 from the State Park. We will go back there soon since their roads are open this time of year. Then we stopped & checked out Sipp Bay Preserve. The Preserve includes hiking trails, a boat launch, fishing opportunities, and is used for marine harvesting as well as recreation. From a pamphlet by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, “Sipp’s Bay is named for Scipeo Dalton, an African American who lived with his wife in a cabin above the Narrows in 1790. Before the non-native settlement of the area, the Passamaquoddy Indians called this place Kci-puna-muhkatik, “big frost fish spawning place”. The entire region is important to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, as their ancestors would have camped and hunted on what is now the preserve while accessing the bountiful fishing grounds in Sipp and East Bay by canoe. The Sipp Bay Preserve now consists of 92 acres which include the former Knowlton Campground and Dairy Farm with its excellent views of both East and Sipp’s Bay. The fields & woodlands provide for many species of wildlife. Much of the low ground is wet cedar forest which provides winter habitat for white-tailed deer and cover for many species of birds. On the higher elevations, red oak and white pine provide additional food and shelter. A pair of bald eagles has nested here for many years. Large portions of both the eastern and western shores include commercially valuable and easily accessed shellfish habitat as well as important tidal wading bird and waterfowl habitat. The preserve has long been used by local fishermen for harvesting clams and periwinkles.”
Then we drove on to Eastport, first driving thru Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation land. As we got to Eastport, we saw that roads were blocked off due to the annual Pirate Festival Weekend. We had no idea it was this weekend. Because of this & the crowd and parade and street vendors, we limited our time to visiting familiar places, taking care of our chores, and not walking through town browsing thru the stores & galleries.
It was time for lunch & we stopped first for lunch at Eastport Chowderhouse. We sat outside on the deck. We saw a Finback Whale right from our table! The Whale Watch Boat had just docked; we hoped they saw the whale, also. We each had soup (Rob had the Fish Chowder which they are known for & I had Lobster Bisque) and we split an order of Garlic Bread, plus we split the Blackened Sea Scallops appetizer. It was very good. The weather was beautiful & the views from the deck were great.
Then we went around all the blockaded streets to the other end of Eastport to another place we always come to when we’re here – Quoddy Bay Lobster, a lobster pound which is very popular. We ordered our dinner to go: a lobster roll & a crab roll – they are fantastic here. They were crowded, we placed our to go order, and walked around the dock for some pictures while we waited.
Off to the grocery store & then to Raye’s Mustard. This is the only mustard we eat & we buy a year’s supply whenever we are here. (10% off a mixed case & no shipping this way) They also have a tour of the mustard mill; we’d done it in the past so did not repeat it this time. They have samples of their many mustards – there is something here for everyone.
Raye’s Mustard, Eastport, ME
Raye’s Mustard, Eastport, ME
At all the places we stopped, there were flowering bushes and plants. Those pictures are included here.
Back at the RV we went out to the screened tent until dinner time when we came in & ate our lobster & crab rolls. They were better than either of us expected, and that’s saying a lot! The high today was 68 degrees, sunny, breezy. A great day.
Beautiful photos, as always!