"Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done." -Eleanor Roosevelt
Today we decided to take a ferry to Deer Island and then to Campobello Island. Both islands are part of the Fundy Isles. They sit at the entrance to Passamaquoddy Bay and were first settled by colonists around 1770. Deer Island is the smallest inhabited island among the Fundy Isles, and is lined with many herring, lobster and salmon fishing villages. Popular activities on Deer Island include beachcombing, bird watching, fishing, nature walks and sea kayaking.
Today we decided to take a ferry to Deer Island and then to Campobello Island. Both islands are part of the Fundy Isles. They sit at the entrance to Passamaquoddy Bay and were first settled by colonists around 1770. Deer Island is the smallest inhabited island among the Fundy Isles, and is lined with many herring, lobster and salmon fishing villages. Popular activities on Deer Island include beachcombing, bird watching, fishing, nature walks and sea kayaking.
Boarding the ferry to Deer Island. Ferries are the only way to get to many of these small islands.
I think we could have spent hours visiting with the local fishermen on Deer Island...what a beautiful day for exploring and amazing people we met.
After driving around Deer Island we took another ferry to Campobello Island. Here we spent time visiting a couple of lighthouses and the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. This park is the only international park in the world.
Head Harbour Lightstation is the second oldest lighthouse in New Brunswick, built in 1829. The tower has a white-shingled exterior, painted with a red cross. It is believed this distinctive day mark has been on the tower since at least 1850.
During low tide you can walk across this area and visit the lighthouse and light keeper buildings.
Roosevelt Campobello International Park is jointly administered, staffed, and funded by the peoples of Canada and the United States. The focal point of the park is Franklin D. Roosevelt's summer cottage, but there are also over 8 miles of trails to explore and a visitor center with a small museum. As a boy FDR spent his summers on the island learning to sail, fish and hunt. As an adult he brought his family to his beloved Campobello Island for summer vacations. Although he visited less frequently after contracting polio in 1921, Campobello remained important to FDR. Today Roosevelt Campobello International Park serves as a memorial to FDR and a symbol of cooperation between the U.S. and Canada. The park is also used as a conference center and several remaining cottages from FDR's time are used as accommodations and meeting rooms.
We had lunch in the Prince Café, which is located in the Prince Cottage. We sat on the deck and had a wonderful view of Passamaquoddy Bay and Eastport, ME.
This is the Roosevelt's summer cottage.
The view from the cottage porches.
They give guided tours of the summer cottage. It was very interesting to learn about Roosevelt and his family. Pictures of the playroom and the children's classroom.
Pictures of the living room with an amazing view of the water and Eastport, ME.
The study and dinning room
The kitchen
The pantries
The Roosevelt's bedroom and a few of the guest bedrooms. There are 18 bedrooms in the cottage.
Some of FDR's children's bedrooms.
Some of the bathrooms in the cottage.
Visitors can also tour the Hubbard Cottage, built in 1892. It was home to fiends of the the Roosevelts. Today the cottage is used for Open Tea with Eleanor and the Conference Program. Unfortunately the home was closed when we were there.
In Roosevelt's time the only way to access the island was by boat. The Roosevelts would take a train or steamship from New York to Eastport, ME and then have someone pick them up and take them across the Passamaquoddy Bay to their home on Campobello. The Roosevelt Memorial Bridge opened in 1962, linking the province of New Brunswick to Lubec, Maine.
These rings are floating cages for raising Atlantic salmon. Young salmon are raised from eggs in a freshwater hatchery and moved to the pens to grow into adults (8-11 pounds), which takes about 18 months. Each pen can hold tens of thousands of fish. The harvested fish are processed locally and then shipped to markets around the world.
Lubec, ME is the easternmost village on the U.S. Atlantic coast. The people here are the first to see the sunrise each day in the United States. The town was first settled about 1775 and was part of Eastport, until it was incorporated in 1811.
After visiting Campobello Island and Lubec we drove out to see West Quoddy Head Light. I've seen pictures of this beautiful lighthouse for years, but we've never been close enough to see it...it's a long way from anywhere. The original light was built in 1808, by order of President Thomas Jefferson, and replaced by the current tower in 1858. The red and white tower is the only "candy striped" tower in the United States. We visited quite a few other lighthouses today, but I'll do a separate blog post on all the lighthouses we've seen on this trip a little later.
This is a video I took on the ferry to Deer Island
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