Passamaquoddy Bay and Maine, Part Two: A Visit to Eastport, with a side visit to St. Andrews and a shout-out to Helen's Restaurant

Hi all,

I don't know where the days are going, but summer is swiftly fleeting here.  There is a grand rumour that it is about to be very hot this week and I am not complaining...

Thought you might be interested in our next stop en route home last week after our visit to Campobello Island.

As we headed up route 1 towards Calais, we came upon the sign for Eastport.   I asked Barry if he'd ever been.  He had not and I was sure I'd not been there for at least 30 years, so we turned right and headed out to the ocean.

We could not have been more charmed.

If you'd asked me prior to last Tuesday to describe Eastport, I would have said "fishing village".  As of Tuesday, I would say "vibrant artist community".  The streets are lined with funky artisan shops, antique shops, little restaurants.

How about that bench to the right?

I don't know about you, but it so wonderful to see a vibrant downtown!

There is a lovely walkway along to the wharf

Every shopkeeper that I chatted with was friendly and interested in why we were in Eastport.  My favourite shop was a little candy shop called Sweeties Downeast, which is run by the loveliest woman (and her two terriers) who moved to Eastport from Pennsylvania for the lifestyle.

Source

I admit to buying a bag of popcorn and a bag of rock candy for my kids (they are 19 and 22 so I am sure they were not waiting for rock candy, but I was quite taken with it, because it looked like real polished rocks!)

After that we wandered over the Tides Institutes and Museum of Art.

Located in an old bank in the heart of downtown Eastport, it is a charming and friendly place.

The view from the window above the sign:

Sadly, they were just in the throes of dismantling a wonderful exhibit by Shoshanna White.  The images were haunting and would be a wonderful addition to any collection.

Upstairs, the gallery is a warm welcoming space and it is obvious that it is home to a vibrant community of artists and art lovers.

We also stopped into the Eastport Gallery, which was also home to some beautiful pieces.

Now that we have discovered Eastport again, we will be back soon.  Apparently, early September is Eastport's Pirate Festival, when the town swells to 15,000 people.

I don't know who came up with the idea for this festival, but it looks like a rip-roaring good time!

any excuse to wear a puffy shirt, I say!

Where would I stay?

Well the Kilby House Bed and Breakfast looks charming:

As does the Commons Eastport if you are not a B&B person (put Barry in that category):

nice morning breakfast view

Eastport is about 1/2 an hour from Calais, 10 minutes Lubec and around 1 1/2 hours to Bangor Maine.

About 20 minutes further south from Eastport, you will find Machias Maine.

When I was a kid, at least once every August, my dad would put us all into the car and we would drive the 45 minutes down the coast to go to Helen's Restaurant in Machias.

the original location - that looks like the old car parked out front! ;-)

It was, my dad contended, the home of the best blueberry pie in the world.  This was a man who knew his blueberry pie, so that's saying something...

look at the pies! yum...

Helen's has moved, but the pies continue:

if you click on pies link above, you will see that the blueberry is all caps, an indication to me that Helen's recipe endures

We didn't get down to Helen's on this trip, we ran out of time, but I see a late September/early October road trip for pie in my future...

After leaving Eastport, we drove 1/2 an hour around Passamaquoddy Bay to St. Andrews and had a mid-afternoon lunch at Kingsbrae Gardens's cafe, probably my favourite spot to eat in New Brunswick when it comes to a view.  

We settled under our favourite apple tree and ordered some libations and a good meal:

New Brunswick's own Picaroons beer and the end of my sauvignon blanc..

Barry deep in thought after a morning spent with Presidents and artists...

Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me...

It was the perfect end to a leisurely day.

Doing both sides of Passamaquoddy Bay is certainly do-able in a day, especially if you are only an hour away, but I highly recommend making a weekend of it and really enjoying the pace.  Driving up both sides of the St. Croix River is a feast for the eyes as well, and not to be missed.

This is the area of my heart.  I grew up in the middle of this area - St. Stephen - and I firmly believe there is a little house waiting for me down there in my later years!

And if you are coming, let me know - would love to meet you for a piece of pie...

Have a wonderful Sunday and stay safe out there!

Beloved Island - the Roosevelts (and MacKnights) in Campobello

Growing up in St. Stephen, whenever you had friends from "away", you always took them to Campobello.

I hadn't been for nearly 30 years, but decided I wanted to go again in advance of Ken Burns's upcoming series on Teddy, FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, set to air on PBS this fall.

And I don't know about you, but when Ken Burns sets his sights on telling a story, I am all ears.

Roosevelt began summering here with his parents in the 1900s and for over 50 years, there were Roosevelts on the island.

It was Barry's first time at the cottage.  Even seeing it from a distance, it never ceases to delight me...

The inside of the cottage is exactly as it was when FDR and Eleanor and the children summered there, save for 5 items that needed to be reproduced:

the master bedroom

It reminded me very much of Edith Wharton's house actually, though the setting here is all about the ocean beyond and lacks the formal gardens at The Mount.

The back of the house overlooking the ocean

the old ruined weir

The view from the backyard

A sailboat posed prettily for me as I was shooting...

The Hubbard "Cottage" next door

The view out the large oval window in the Hubbard cottage.  You can actually host conferences and meetings and stay here...

Me at the cottage:

It was sunny but cool and I was glad I bought a warm sweater to throw on..

The cottage has been lovingly maintained by the American and Canadian governments, who jointly run the International Park together.  Many people are surprised to see the Canadians champion the Roosevelts to the degree that they do, but on the Island, they were considered family.

Revisiting the cottage in advance of the upcoming PBS series was a treat and will make the watching of it that much more special to us.

Campobello is very accessible on the eastern seabord - only 4 hours from Boston (at most) and no need to take a boat, though I highly recommend taking the ferry from Campbello to Deer Island to Near St. Andrews.  You are sure to see all manner of birds and beast and often a whale or two.

If you want more information, by all means go here.

It was a lovely visit on a lovely day.

Someone come visit quick, so I can take you down!

Have a great day and stay safe out there!  xoxo wendy

Are we living in pre-revolutionary France?

Last week a good pal of mine sent me a copy of a TED talk  by Nick Hanauer about how the super-rich ought to be careful - the income divide between the rich and the poor is at perhaps its worst, and eventually people's frustration will get so great that it will bubble over.  He cites examples that are remarkably similar to France in the few years leading up to 1789.

This talk has apparently been quite controversial and no wonder - much of our definition  as to who we are as societies is built upon the concept of capitalism and growth, growth, growth.

I am not anti-capitalism.  Although I do admit for a good dollop of socialism especially as it relates to health care.

I do wonder, however, if our current way of living is in fact sustainable and if economic growth as we know it, can possible be sustained.  And I am mindful that first world economies are built in many ways on the backs of third world ones.

The internet certainly contributes to that.  We are invited to purchase things we might not have even known existed 40 years ago - luxury goods (which the rich would say now - and probably rightfully - are no longer truly luxury) are a click away.  The great maw that is the internet must be fed and many have the insatiable appetite to see where the rich and famous live, vacation, whatever.

What made me think of this this morning?

well the blog Political Style did a piece this morning on the closet of all closets.

I am not going to question whether or not the individual in questions, whose name I frankly have forgotten, should or should not have a closet that is 3000 square feet.

For all I know, the person is extremely hard-working, charity-driven and wonderful.  I am sure they are.

But I admit to discomfort about this "merchandising" of our lives.  The gap between these people and myself is the equivalent of the gap between myself and someone working for $2 a day in a factory making many of the things this person and I buy.

It doesn't seem so far-fetched to think of the people who can't pay their bills or are racking up debt to stay in their homes as being as being not unlike those in France who watched the court of Louis and Marie Antoinette and of the very rich with growing frustration.

I am reminded of the line in Howard's End "The poor are poor.  One is sorry for them, but there it is."

I don't aspire to a 3000 square foot closet.  Hell, my house isn't even 3000 square feet.  But I can't help but wonder how long this can all go on before it is corrected, though perhaps the next time it is corrected, it won't be by the stock market.

Interesting debate for sure.

Have a great Monday and stay safe out there!

xoxo wendy