My mom took a road trip by herself a few years ago, driving all the way up the coast of Maine. She stayed in Lubec for a few days, driving over the bridge onto Campobello Island and into Canada. Lubec is the northeastern most point of the US, and its lighthouse is iconic. She told us all about the trip, and I’ve been dreaming about going ever since. In May, when Soni and I were planning a trip to Maine and Nova Scotia to visit both of our families, we decided to fly to Portland, stay with my family for a week, then take the ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. This was another dream of mine, to take the ferry again to Nova Scotia. When I was a kid, we took a family vacation to Nova Scotia and rode the ferry. I loved it! I especially remember my dad sneaking me into the casino where I used a slot machine for the first and only time in my life.
All Summer long we got updates from the ferry, they were building a new terminal, and everything was delay, delay, delay. Then they refunded our tickets without letting us know that they’d canceled. The thought of another multiple connection flight to get to Halifax from Portland was exhausting. We mapped the route and decided to rent a car for one way. This way, we could stop in New Brunswick on the way to visit Sonia’s grandmother. I told my mom of our updated plan, and she said no way, don’t rent a car, I’ll drive you. Can you get Soni’s parents to meet you in New Brunswick?
The drive from Kennebunk, Maine to Moncton, New Brunswick is an all-day trip. My mom has been dealing with lyme disease and it’s kind of an exhausting trip for her, so I suggested that we make it into a road trip, doing two shorter days of driving, and stopping in Lubec. I booked us rooms at the Eastland Motel, and we were set. This way, I get at least one of my Maine dreams on this trip!
September is a funny time in Maine. Fall is beginning, but there are a few wisps of Summer left. The first day I was in Maine, I got a warm day, warm enough for a beach day. The rest of the nights were cool, and the trees were beginning to change colors. October is prime leaf season in Maine, but in September there are tiny pops of red along the roads and here and there in the forest. The drive to Lubec was beautiful. We got there in the early afternoon and caught some beautiful light at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. From the lighthouse and the beach, you can see Grand Manan Island in Canada. On the beach, our phones all switched over to Canadian service, unclear of where the US/Canada border is. Grand Manan Island looked like one long cliff, a giant island with nothing on it. Sonia told us that her mom lived there for a while when she was younger. In the parking lot, we found a map of the islands, and it appeared that the other side of the island was more accessible by boat, and that was where the majority of the inhabitants lived. After visiting the lighthouse, we went out to dinner in downtown Lubec, at the Lubec Brewing Company, a cute farm-to-table restaurant on Water St. (the main street in town).
I’ll always love Summer in Maine, when you can stay in the water for hours. But growing up in a tourist town in Maine, there’s something so magical about the off season, when most of the tourists go home and the beaches empty out. Even when I am the tourist, I love the quieter time of year. I don’t mind the weather, it’s just lovely to be there.
