This trip seems to be a planned trip of unplanned days. While I did see a little bit of blue sky before the sun set last night, the fog gathered on the coast by the end of the evening, and it stayed. It appeared that the puffins put in an order for fog so they could have a day without visitors. After calling someone on the island - I think someone from a Canada department of natural resources - and finding that the fog was so thick that the edges of the island weren't visible, the captain of the puffin cruise cancelled for today. I rebooked for tomorrow, but there weren't any spots available that will allow me to actually set foot on the island. As it turns out, there are 3 boats that run tours out to the island, and they work together to minimize the impact of the visitors on the birds. I believe each boat is only allowed 8 humans on the island each day, and the other people on the boat stay on the boat for a tour around the island from the water. I find it interesting that the set foot on the island tour costs $65, and the tour around the island is $100 - it seems to me that the get off the boat option is the more interesting of the two. Since they cancelled the tour, I'm not being charged the difference to switch to the only available spot for tomorrow. Of course I'm sitting here Tuesday evening looking through my window at fog - a bit lighter than yesterday since I can still see the dock - so it's entirely possible that tomorrow's tour will be cancelled too. If that happens I suppose I have a built-in reason for another trip out here. I really like this B&B, and I 'd love to have a chance to see these crazy birds.
Water? Where is it? Do you wonder why the hour and a half boat ride to Machias Seal Island was cancelled? The boat captain called out to the island, and was told they couldn't see the shoreline at all.
Breakfast was wonderful again. Maureen offers a choice of cereals (cold, or oatmeal) or her choice of breakfast entree. Today's entree was blueberry waffles - so that's what I had, along with fresh fruit. The fruit included Maine blueberries; knowing they aren't in season yet, I asked Maureen about them. She said that she takes blueberries from the August harvest, spreads them on a cookie sheet, and freezes them. Then she puts them in a plastic freezer bag. If I have access to good Maine blueberries this season, maybe I'll buy some extra and try that freezing trick. (If you've never had Maine blueberries, they are absolutely wonderful and far better than any other blueberries that I've had. I highly recommend trying them if you get a chance.) Breakfast is a favorite meal for me, and It could be very easy to get spoiled by these breakfasts. No complaints here!
No puffin tour meant it was time to pick a biking destination. With the cancelled tour I'm really glad I changed my plans yesterday and retrieved my 4-wheeled fossil-fuel-powered vehicle to supplement my self-powered bicycle! When I headed out this morning I was thinking it might be reasonable to ride in two different areas, but as it turned out I only had time for one ride. I headed to Campobello Island - a good hour and a half drive from here - then across the water and just across the border in New Brunswick. I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull off that visit to Canada because I don't have my passport with me, but I was able to confirm (based on Maureen's experience) that a driver's license would work, so off I went. One of Campobello's claims to fame is that it was the vacation destination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from the time he was a child through his presidency. And he was actually in his summer home on Campobello Island when he came down with polio. So I spent a bit of my time there wandering through the 34-room "cottage" that he and his wife & children used as their summer home.
I rode the all of the main paved roads on the island, not too much from a mileage standpoint, but a very enjoyable time. The ride out was easier because unbeknownst to me I had a tail wind pushing me along. I should have guessed based on the speed I was able to maintain. It still amazes me that a tailwind can be a secret, but I always know when there is a headwind. It would have been easy to think that the roads belonged to me as a cyclist because there was very little car traffic on the island. I suspect that most short-time visitors get to the Roosevelt Cottage and then head back off of the island. That's not a complaint by any means; it was very nice to ride on limited traffic roads.
Even though I intended to bring my sandals with me, somehow I left them in the car. Not a smart move when it came time to wander over to East Quoddy Light. I decided to enjoy the light from afar rather than traipse across seaweed-covered unstable rocks in my cycling shoes. The light is on a small piece of land that is off-shore from the end of Campobello Island, and there is a prominent warning sign before the very steep stairs leading down to the rocky "beach" connecting the two islands. The warning? That as the tide is coming in, the water level increases at the rate of 5 feet per hour, and that it would be very easy to get stranded on the lighthouse island. The warning went on to state that you could be stuck on that island for at least 8 hours. That doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
Hmmm... do I really want (or need) to stand next to the East Quoddy Light?
After I finished my ride, I headed back across the bridge to Maine. I was considering riding my bike over the bridge instead of driving, but I'm glad that I didn't. The bridge consisted on only 2 narrow lanes with no shoulder, so I was a lot happier in the car than I would have been on my bike. (Even though it's amazing to hear myself say something like that!)
Back in Maine, I headed out to West Quoddy Head Light, whose claim to fame is that it is on the easternmost piece of land in the United States. While there were actually some spots of patchy sun and blue skies when I was on Campobello Island, the area around West Quoddy Light was totally socked in. Heavy fog, accompanied by the constant sounding of the fog horn. Finally today I was in view of the Bay of Fundy... and according to the state park brochure "Strong tidal currents between West Quoddy Head and Campobello Island drive what is said to be the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere." I wonder if that is visible on a better (clearer) day.
Pictures, pictures, and more pictures, but I suspect that what I was trying to capture for a good part of the day probably eluded both me and my camera. It was just amazing how the foggy areas were hanging over the land.The fog banks were visible to the human eye, but they didn't appear to be visible in my pictures. I could be wrong about that because the only way I have of viewing the pictures now is on the camera. I guess I'll have to wait until I get home and can view the pictures on a bigger screen to see how much the lighting conditions fooled the camera (or should I say that the conditions let my camera get the better of me?).
Dinner tonight was at Tall Barney's again. There are two restaurants right in the center of town - a pizza place, and Tall Barney's. And there is supposed to be another family-style restaurant a mile or two past Tall Barney's. Since I do have my car here now, I could have driven to another town, but I'd much rather just walk to dinner. Another good dinner - this time I had what they called a haddock burger. It was really the same fish I had yesterday, but served as a sandwich on a hamburger roll. I also had cole slaw, and of course I needed dessert, so I ordered a chocolate chocolate chip cookie to take with me for later. My dinner cost all of $7.49! I remember getting meals at this kind of price in the small town I passed through on my cross -country trip, but that's not a price that I ever see around home. Amazing. This restaurant appears to be the gathering place for all of the people of Jonesport. I sat in the front room - in one of the booths. There is a very long table down the middle of the room, and people seem to congregate there. While I was eating, and older couple walked in and sat there. They were soon joined by someone waiting for a (called-in) takeout order, and 2 more folks who appeared to be the owners of the restaurant. A very friendly place, with reasonably priced good food...
I'm really hoping that the weather cooperates tomorrow so I can go meet some puffins. I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't, but only the morning sun (or lack of sun) will tell.
The roads I was riding all come to a somewhat abrupt end at the edges of the island. I have to admit I've never seen a sign like this before, a traffic circle at the end of the road and the edge of the land.
Really foggy! All things considered, I think the decision to cancel the puffin tour today was the right one.
East Quoddy Lighthouse is on the northen end of Campobello Island in New Brunswick, but is actually closer to Maine than it is to the main part of New Brunswick.
Hey - can I drive back to Jonesport? Back across the bridge? Wow, I've never been to Canada before!
Well Rover, you can watch out of the window, but since you can't reach the gas & brake pedals I'm going to have to drive. It really would be more of a help if you would do some pedaling on the bike... And actually, you have been to Canada. Don't you remember Niagara Falls?
Oh, but this is a different province!
