Campobello–New Brunswick–Canada and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Little Summer Cottage

Events of July 20, 21, and 22

Besides Lubec Maine being the Easternmost town in the United States,

it’s also where you can drive the International Bridge to Campobello Island

in New Brunswick, Canada. . .

home of Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt’s
small little summer cottage. . .only 34 rooms. . .

it really was not at all an ostentatious mansion like many of the other

“summer cottages” we have toured in our travels. . .

actually a very modest home. . .the square footage was much, much

less than what the “34 room cottage” would lead you to believe.

the children’s play room. . .there was much discussion about the glue bottle. . .

we all remembered using that stuff in school. . .and when I was in school,

it was still a glass bottle, and you had to press down really hard to get the glue to spread. . .

Scrabble, dominos and a telescope set up in the corner of the parlor. . .

and this glorious view overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay. . .
part of the Bay of Fundy. . .fabulous!

according to the docent. . .Mrs Roosevelt used this megaphone

to summons her five children and, or her guests from their outdoor activities.

The docents, placed strategically though the cottage made the tour very enjoyable. . .

they simply explained what you were looking at, and then you were free to move on,

or, if so inclined, you could ask further questions and actually have a discussion. . .

in other words, it wasn’t one of those long drawn out speeches,

where your eyes are rolling back in your head, and you’re wondering. . .

am I ever going to escape. . .it was a very, very pleasant way to do a tour. . .

we enjoyed it very much, and highly recommend it. . .

on the back porch of the cottage were these old bicycles, and this chair designed to bring

Mr Roosevelt from the dock up to the house, after he was diagnosed with polio.

the family were all athletic and enjoyed outdoor activities. . .

I loved the stitching down the side of the canoe. . .

leaving the house, we made our way down to the dock. . .

which was quite a distance from the house. . .

all summer residents of the island would take a train to Eastport Maine. . .

and then travel by boat to the island. . .

before you do the house tour. . .stop by the Campobello FDR Visitor Center. . .

get a map. . .and see the movie about the Roosevelt’s time on the island. . .

it will make it all come alive for you, and is well worth the time spent. . .

the neighboring “cottage” to the Roosevelt’s was even a bit more glamorous.

. .

it is now used as a conference center. . .you can certainly see why. . .just beautiful!

and if you are so inclined. . .this is where you can have. . .

“Tea with Eleanor”

(free tickets are given out at the visitor center)

we also drove out to see the Head Harbor (East Quoddy) Light Station. . .

you can only hike out to it at low tide ($5 pp fee)

using some rickety, kinda rusty stairs,

and climbing over some slippery, slimy rocks.

I had pics of all of it. . .even the eagles we saw on the hike back. . .

but somehow I deleted them out of my camera. . .

I’m just sick about it. . .but, what’cha gonna do?

so the above pic of the lighthouse from the first sandbar is the only one I salvaged. . .

I’m just thankful for that one. . .or I would’a had to be “borrowing” one off the internet. . .

Our RV friends made it over to the lighthouse. . .
you can see their incredible hike and pics at this link:

In the Direction of Our Dreams - East Quoddy Lighthouse

some ladies standing at the top of the stairs swore these were whales. . .

I don’t know. . .I’m not quite convinced. . .but hey. . .okay. . .

we saw whales while we were in Canada. . .yaaaa!

we did drive out to Liberty Point where we absolutely did see harbor seals. . .

my zoom wasn’t strong enough to get pics of them in the water. . .

but they were very visible up on the rocks. . .

and also from Liberty Point. . .this beautiful view of the West Quoddy Lighthouse. . .

which is located in Lubec Maine. . .

and which we had visited up close and personal earlier in the week

at West Quoddy State Park in Lubec. . .so beautiful. . .

you gotta love the stories. . .

we hiked down to the beach for a different view. . .

this was the beach. . .I tell you what. . .my grandson Jordan and I could have used a few

of these awesome rocks back in the day when he and I used to do painted rock sculptures. . .

one more beautiful view from the beach. . .

and one last hike above the West Quoddy Lighthouse. . .

it was almost a rain forest type atmosphere. . .with all this peet moss underfoot. . .

I wish I could explain how great it was to walk on. . .

almost like one of the cushy gel mats you put in front of the kitchen sink. . .

such a beautiful place. . .we loved it all. . .

Sorry this has been such a long, long post. . .I just wanted to get it ALL in. . .LOL,

‘til next time,

Janice and Dave

Don't miss these additional stories and tales about Campobello Island:

On To Lubec - In the Direction of Our Dreams

Of Lighthouses and Bogs - In the Direction of Our Dreams

West Quoddy Light - In the Direction of Our Dreams