Last Lap:

 Now onto the next to last lap of our trip. We are on Campobello Island, on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. Arrived here this morning from Deer Island. Deer Island is an about 20 minute ferry trip from the mainland, and Campobello is another ferry ride from Deer Island. Last night we stayed at a b&b on Deer Island called the Lilac Inn. They have several rooms but I believe that we were the only ones staying there. Very friendly couple runs it.  The description mentioned a wonderful breakfast, but it seems they don’t do that at present. I was a little disappointed but they did serve us delicious pastries, blueberry and pineapple and cheese, which I believe were homemade. 

Before Deer Island, where we spent one night at the Lilac Inn, we stopped at the Alexander Graham Bell Historic Site in Baddock, New Brunswick. It was interesting and well worth the stop. We learned a lot about Bell, who invented a lot more than the phone. He and his wife lived there for many years. 

Last night we ate at one of the only food places on the island, called the 45^th Parallel. It was also a motel. Very local and low key. All the seafood was fried which would not usually be our choice, but it was in a light crispy batter. Good coleslaw too. The woman was very friendly, but had been swamped with customers when we got there, so our timing was just right. They were all leaving around when we came. At least a couple of the people there were staying at the motel.  Others seemed local, or at least summer local. We heard the owner talking to one customer with a family, saying he’d come there every summer as a kid. I heard the woman saying something about throwing a ball threw the window, but didn’t catch the whole story.

The ferry from NB to Deer Island was free! But the one from Deer to here was $25 for car and driver, and then an additional $5 per passenger. They are run by the same company so not clear on why one costs and they other doesn’t. The times and sizes of the boats are pretty similar.

Tomorrow we will visit Campobello, the Roosevelt’s “cottage” on the island.  I had known about it for ever, and long had a vague desire to visit. That was cemented by Sherry saying that she really loved visiting the place. 

 

We have driven around the east side of the island, and are now parked at the end of a spit where you can walk to the lighthouse. Loring has gone on a short hike out to there, and I have sat here writing.  He has just returned. There is a message from Carolina, she is waiting to get info from the doctor about her test results, and whether or when they will induce her to give birth.   

So, right now, our plans are a little up in the air. We could theoretically drive all the way home and arrive late tonite. Should know more in an hour or two when we get back to the Inn and can have a phone conversation.

We did leave Campobello Friday morning, without ever checking in to the wonderful looking Owens Inn with its many rooms full of antiques, art, and interesting things.  The manager was of course understanding and congratulatory,  but said she would have to let the owner decide about a refund or credit. She and we had the same thought that maybe we could get a credit to come back at a later date. I was sad to miss Campabello, but it was for a good reason!

We drove the whole way back, about six hours, with just a brief stop. Carolina gave birth to Julian early yesterday, Sunday morning at 5am. 

To catch up on the rest of our trip:

We stayed two nights at the Lighthouse Inn at the tip of the Cape D’or.  Our reservation with them had been very casual. The first two times we tried to reach them, before we left on our trip, by email and phone, and never received a response. Finally Loring reached  him by phone  and made a reservation. We called him a couple of days before, to reconfirm, and asked what he needed to hold it, and he said to just come. So we did.

It's several miles down a well maintained dirt road, and then a pretty rough road for 500 yards or so. Most people walk up, as did we. Loring was pretty sure we would have made it with out problem in the Prius. Pretty much everyone walks inn, at the Innkeepers advice.  In addition to the guests in the four rooms, quite a few people hike in just to see the site,  which is pretty impressive. We feel lucky to have found it, and had the opportunity to experience it in both fog and sun for two days. I especially liked having the light flash on our bedroom wall all night long, every six or so seconds.

The innkeeper, Darcy, is a man probably in his 50s. He has been there for 23 years. We later met his parents who helped out with meals and with changing the rooms between guests.  They must have been in their 80s, and looked awfully cute in their matching tartan aprons.

They serve breakfast for guests, and dinner for guests and others.  For our first night, Darcy recommended we eat at the restaurant in town, the Wild Caraway, in Advocate Harbor.  It’s not a very big town, but bigger than most of the others we have driven through, like Economy.  Seems like an odd place for a pretty gourmet restaurant, but it was popular and wonderful. It’s in an old house, with lots of art on the walls, ranging from paintings to hooked rugs. They have a set menu, for $60, that is Canadian dollars, so closer to $50. I accidentally burned the menu by putting it too close to the candle, so got to keep it.

 We think Darcy may have recommended Wild Caraway because he had a full house at the lighthouse that night, which was fine; we are glad we had the opportunity to eat there, and wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. They aren’t open Monday thru Wednesday.

 

There were two choices for each course, so we had one of everything!  Here are some of the items:

Local calamari with dulse and lovage seasoning

Local flounder with beluga lentils and marsh greens

Lilac bomb Alaska – coconut almond cake, lilac ice cream, toasted meringue, strawberry and haskap coulis

 I had to look up haskap. It's a berry with a number of names, including blue honeyberry and blue berried honeysuckle.  Haskap is the Japanaese name. Now I know what those things are that looked like elongated blueberries on the plate. But they are not related.

 

Our second dinner was at the lighthouse, cooked by Darcy. It was also a set price with just one choice, and also quite good, though not as sophisticated.

I saw Darcy as a bit grizzled native, who probably spent all of his time, and all of his years, at the Cape D’or.  But we when we said we’d see him at breakfast, he told us that he was off for California later that evening.   He was probably the most laidback inn keeper I’ve ever met.

The tides were impressive at the Cape, as they’d been at the Tidal Bore the day before in Truro, when we stayed at the cabins in Economy. The tidal bore is on a river when the tide comes rushing in, suddenly and strongly, where there has previously been no water at all. We sat at the edge of the river, along with a number of others, and the young man in the information office came out just before and shouted Here it Comes.  I think I may already have written about this. But it’s worth describing twice.

I just came across a story online about the Pope's meeting with indigenous Canadians to apologize for the Church's despicable treatment of native children, taken away from their families to boarding schools. One of the native women who met with the Pope today is a survivor of the Shubanecadie Indian School, the only one in the Maritime provinces. We passed close to the site last week, in Truro, where we watched the Tidal Bore on the Shubanicadie River.  But I didn't know that until today. 

Well I think I may have caught up. If I think of anything else I will edit it in and you will never know.

It was a great trip, first road trip in many years, and having to return home a bit early just gives us a reason to return, at least to Campobello, and maybe some of the other Nova Scotia sites we missed.