Lubec .. Campobello .. Beals Island ..A Bit of Maine and More...

And so..now back to our Downeast Maine trip....

In my post of August 8th I delved into the charms of Eastport. Well I'm happy to say that there are lots of other "charming" spots on the Downeast coast of Maine. Charming may not be the term to describe those areas if you're a resident and trying to scratch out a living but to most of us who are traveling thru the word accurately describes Lubec  and Beals Island.   I don't know if Campobello Island fits into the same "trying to scratch out a living" category as the other two but it definitely fits into the charming category.

I've lived in Maine my entire life but up until 3 weeks ago have never visited these areas even though Campobello has always been on my bucket list.  And since I married into the Bailey family with their roots firmly entrenched into the hardscrabble Calais soil, I have been joyfully exploring Downeast Maine with my wife and her two brothers expertly guiding me through this "other Maine".

On our way back home to Belfast, we turned off Rt. 1 and soon found ourselves dodging all the traffic in downtown Lubec.

 

It's charm is evident in it's architecture and waterfront buildings

  

which harken back to better days of fishing and boat building. However even now it has it's draws,  such as West Quoddy Head and being  the gateway to Campobello. There are of course fishermen in the town who I'm guessing bring to market a good amount of lobster.

  

Living in Belfast, I've always been amazed at the power and influences of the tides particularly the difference between high and low in our area of the mid-coast. But our tides don't stack up at all to those in the Eastport - Lubec areas.  I'm not sure if the photo above was taken at the low water mark or not but it will surely give you an indication of what their tides are like. They would definitely take some getting used to.

After our tour of Lubec we crossed the International Bridge onto Campobello Island and my first visit to the Roosevelt International Park. Simply awe inspiring..

So much history of a fascinating family and era..

 

 

Cottage and grounds..

  

Beach and wharf..

  

View of Lubec from the island...

Moving on we next took a quick tour of Beals Island

  

a lobster fishing enclave if I ever saw one..

  

And one thing , among many, that struck me was that there were so few recreational boats. Spending most of my time in salt water of Belfast , Searsport and Camden I am used to seeing harbors jammed up with all sorts of boats dedicated to fun and tourists.  Perhaps I wasn't looking in the right spots but Eastport , Lubec and Jonesport Beals salt water dedication seems to me to be  directed toward making a living and not frivolity.  It was nice to see that part of Maine's heritage still exists.

Maine Matters will definitely return to the Washington County's portion of The Bold Coast to explore and report..until then..