Campobello Island, it's a Hidden Gem

  We got all packed up last night at Acadia, had an earlyish breakfast, hit the station to get full and empty in all the right places, and were out on the road by 8 or 9 am.  We stopped for gas, getting there on fumes with putting 25.6 gal into the 26 gal capacity tank.  At 10 mpg, that's about 4 miles left.  We carry two extra fuel jugs with about 10 gallons between them, for the generator and times like this.  Fuel was 2.24 near Acadia, and I thought maybe it would be less when away from the tourist area, but it was the opposite.  We went on for a while passing towns with only one gas station and higher prices, and then plenty of towns with no gas, and then finally a station and with it back at 2.24 a gallon.  Moral of the story, should have filled up earlier.  When will I learn?  Probably when we're not carrying extra fuel.
  We stopped for a small grocery shop in Machias, and found an unexpected Schnitzel Wagon lunch food trailer.  Who would have thought, is Schnitzel a Maine thing?  This picture is for Randy, the Schnitzel man.

  The border and bridge to Campobello is quick, easy and free.  The island is unique that it has a bridge to the US, and only a ferry to Canada (and only via some other small islands).  This time of year the ferry is closed.  To get to Canada is about an hour drive through the US. 
   As soon as we got onto the island we stopped at an overlook above Friars Bay, which looks across to Welshpool where we were staying.  There are fish farm pens in the bay, probably the big tidal currents work well.

   It was warmer and not raining when we arrived and set up.  Alice did some math outside under the awning, but then it started to rain.  The wind picked up and it started really pouring, and lots of wind all night.  But we were all hooked up and snug inside, Annie & Alice made a very good apple pie (apples from Peter and Grace in N.H., near the Pond of Safety).
   On thursday morning, Elliot and I took a bike ride around the Welshpool thumb of the island, and over to Herring Cove with the big sand beach.  At low tide the beach was very wide.  Yesterday afternoon was record high tides with the full super moon, and the low tides today may have be much lower.  In any case the tides here have a lot of height near the bottom of the Bay of Fundy.
   In the afternoon is was still cold and windy, and we drove around in the truck to see most of the island, except the main international park.  The beach was a lot narrower with the tide most of the way up.

   Later in the evening Peter & Bea invited us in for cookies.  They are great hosts and we all had a nice time.
   On Friday morning, we all took a bike ride, over to Herring Cove again while the tide was out.  Big difference, eh?

   Then we went to the Roosevelt cottage.  That by itself can be a half day if you thoroughly check out everything.  This is where FDR grew up and lived during the summers.  The lake or pond where he went swimming the day before polio crippled him is behind the Herring Cove beach.
   On the way back, I picked some wild apples and explored off the road.  I found a neat old generator house by the top of the cliff over Friars Bay at the far edge of the international park.  Generator long gone, but still a couple spare parts (brushes) and other old bits on the shelf.  Maybe this was for one of the other cottages along the bay near the Roosevelts house.

 

   Later in the afternoon Peter was giving a tour of the island and invited us to come along.  Thanks Peter!  There's really a lot more to know about a place by taking a tour than just bumbling around on your own.
   After dinner, Annie and I visted more with Peter & Bea.  They told us about their favorite place for camping in Arizona, east of Holtzville on a BLM area.  Sounds fun, and we hope to go there.   Their blog is at american-traveler.blogspot.com
   The next day as we were leaving, we stopped at the lighthouse across from Lubec.   The channel is where FDR once piloted a navy ship through when the captain demurred his request to take the short route in.  Now the is only smaller fishing boats that go through this way since the bridge was built.  The current is very strong here, and the noteable Old Sow whirlpool occurs just up the bay a mile or two.  There are a couple of seals in the picture, hanging out to have dinner washed through to them.