Home away from home

During the week of the fourth my family and I spent it at one of my favorite places, Lubec, ME.     

Lubec, is the eastern-most point in Maine and it is a lovely fishing village the quintessential Maine coastal charm. It also happens to be Bryan's hometown, and his parents still live in Lubec, so we are fortunate to always have a place to stay when we visit. The beginning of the week was rainy, but we still got out and about, and enjoyed the fresh sea breeze.

We decided to go ferry hopping over to Deer Island, Canada then on another ferry to St. Andrews to check out an aquarium.

While we waiting for the ferry to arrive we explored the beach.

 

With the rain came the fog.  On foggy days you can hear the fog horn sound from Quoddy Head Lighthouse; the foghorn gives 2 blasts at 30-second intervals.

You need to visit West Quoddy Head if you visit.  I've been numerous times, but it's still one of my favorite spots and they have a great hiking trail that goes along the coast.

 

Our ferry has arrived!

 

Bryan waving to us as he puts the car on the ferry

It was misty, but we were still able to enjoy the ride out to Deer Island.  It was too foggy to see a lot, but we were told that many times you can see whales and seals.

 

 We arrives in St. Andrews and easily found the aquarium.  It is a research and education center and they just recently added an aquarium, so they did not have many exhibits, but the highlight of the place were the touch tanks!

Can't put a price tag on a smile like that!

 Bryan and Jack looking for skate (similar to a ray)

Found one!

 They had two seals Snorkel and Luki.  The day that we went was Snorkel's birthday, and they had a table set out to make him a birthday card.

 From the look on his face I think Jack had fun!

 Now just because it was cold and foggy it didn't stop us from going to the beach.  Lubec has several rocky beaches.  The one near his parents is called Mowry Beach.

 It was low tide and very muddy!  Both these scenarios equals a very happy and messy 3 year old!

 Izzy loves coming with us to sniff and run about.

 When not jumping in the mud we are throwing it.

 This video pretty much shows what he did the entire time we were there.

 Showing me a nice chunk of mud he found

 Now that is a look of contentment right there.

 Showing off a crab.  Don't worry folks it's dead. :)

 Isn't Izzy the cutest?

A sign washed ashore from Calais a town about 50 miles away.

We LOVE the beach!

By the end of the week, the temperature had changed from 55 degrees to 95 degrees, which for Lubec is very unusual.  Most of the time there is at least a 15 to 20 degree difference when you drive into town.  There is a spot that is my absolute favorite when we drive in.  It is just as you are passing Uncle Kippy's restaurant on the right, if you look to your left there is a gorgeous view of the bay, and you can feel the temperature drop.  During the summer, as we drive in,  this is when the air condition is shut off, windows are rolled down and we breath in that salty sea air.  Even our dog, who sleeps most of the ride down, wakes up and sticks her face out the window.

For the Fourth we went down to the breakwater to sit on the grass and to partake in some all American hot dogs and ice cream.

 

Campobello, Canada

Friday was another hot day so we ventured to Machias (where both Bryan and went to college), and hit Roque Bluffs; a sandy beach with many great memories tied to it. When the first warm spring day hit campus a bunch of my girl friends and I would pile in a car and sit on the beach.  You always needed to bring a sweatshirt because even though it was 60 degrees inland, it was always much colder on the beach.  However, on this particular day we traded the sweatshirts in for bathing suits.

 Like father and son.

Great trip as always, and look forward to returning again soon.