The Maine Coast - Part I

We have officially arrived on Maine's northern coast, which is ironically known as the Down East and Acadia Region. It is the authentic Maine we hoped for.


St. Croix was our first stop, where we spent a few minutes viewing the island in the middle of the St. Croix River where Samuel de Champlain developed the "first European settlement north of St. Augustine Florida" in 1604.

National Geographic erected this monument at the 45th parallel back in 1896. Reading the plaque, we learned that the monument is "in the vicinity" of the 45th parallel. Not bad placement for the time, though.



We hoped to see the World's Largest natural whirlpool in Eastport, but the tide was too low. And although the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse was "closed for the season," we were able to walk around and enjoy the view.


While at the lighthouse, we met two ladies from Massachuesetts who were on a 9-day road trip. The lighthouse had a pit toilet and the passenger-side lady expressed how much she wasn't looking forward to this bathroom experience. Richie had just come from the toilet a few moments before and warned the second lady that there wasn't any toilet paper in the stall, and he offered her some of our stash. Richie told her we were on a road trip for the year, so we had all sorts of supplies. She commented that they were on a road trip for 9 days and didn't think to bring toilet paper. Richie handed the lady the roll, and we both thought she was going to take a strip or two from the roll, but instead, she took the entire roll! There wasn't anything to say, so we didn't say anything.

Our first night on the Maine coast was in the small town of Lubec. We woke up the next morning to a typical breakfast and a most unusual view. There was a Coast Guard crew at the nearby wharf and a police officer in a black mini van. Thankfully, we were inside gathering our belongings while the Coast Guard moved a body from the boat to the Coroner's van. A fellow hoteller (from Austin, TX) approached us and commented on our "decked-out" car (the horns, specifically), then told us that he just watched as the Coast Guard moved the body from the boat to a body bag. A few days later, we read in the local paper that it was the body of a missing fisherman. Read the article here.

We spent most of the day thinking about the guy and how the family would be told and how they would react. It is the harsh reality of any job.

The wharf where the Coast Guard docked.