Monday Morning:

Today we woke up...about 11:00 AM to the sounds and smells of my wonderful wife making pancakes and bacon. Mmmmmmmm good stuff. We had originally planned to spend the day relaxing here at the cabin but we still haven't found our "monster" lobster. Richard was going to try and find one for us outside of the "normal channels" but the bad weather and the rain (fresh water kills lobsters) coupled with the fact that market price jumped .75 cents a pound over the weekend meant that they sold everything they had.

We decided that, since the Americans had us at a stand still and we only had one day left, we were going to see what we could find back over on Campabello Island. We went back to the restuarant from yesterday where they also had a fish market and found some great looking lobster.

We got a couple of 2 pounders and a couple of 3 1/2 pounders (which are illegal in the U.S.) and loaded them in the cooler. Now that we had our catch for dinner we still wanted to find that "monster" so we went down to the harbor only to find out that they had sold an 18 pounder just yesterday (aaaarrgh...so close!!!). We stopped by two other places but no luck so I guess the big dog gets a free pass on this trip. That's OK though because I don't think it'll be the last time we come out here.

We brought our catch back to the cabin and proceeded to have one of the best dinners EVER!!! The downside was that we really had to work for our food because we didn't have any shell cracker thingys. We had to do it all with forks and fingers (typing gingerly right now). It was a real mess and a whole lot of fun.

OK, it's 1:30 AM and we've got a lot of driving ahead of us tomorrow. I'm not sure if we are actually coming home or stopping somewhere along the way but we have all week so I'm sure we'll make the most of it.

Bye: Craig

Sunday Night:


We were worn out from all the hiking and climbing we did at both lighthouses so everyone ended up taking a nap. I dozed off and woke up to hear Dylan laughing as he watched something on his laptop and Braxton and Marcie were having a lively discussion. I promptly fell asleep again and woke up a second time to the sound of snoring in 3 different octaves. Yep...all 3 of them were sawing logs with ridiculous enthusiasm. No dozing off with all that noise going on.


We were ready to have a relaxing evening.


We made a bunch of popcorn and started a nice game of dice which quickly turned into an all out war. New rules were made to keep things fair and honest but it didn't matter...Marcie won anyway. Dice was followed by the loudest euchre tournament I have ever witnessed. We ended the evening by watching a movie and we are kicking back to read until we fall asleep.

Definitely looking forward to tomorrow: Craig

Sunday Afternoon:

Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada

We took the short drive through Lubec and crossed the bridge into Canada on the way to visit East Quoddy Lighthouse. The island is 9 miles long but only about 3 miles at the widest.

East Quoddy Lighthouse is unique because it sits on the last of a series of 3 small islands...at least they are islands during high tide. When the tide is out, however you can descend the rickety stairs and walk across to the next island until you ultimately reach the lighthouse. This trek is definitely not for the "easily winded" I can tell you that. The challenge is to make sure you get back before the tide comes in because if you don't make it in time you will be stranded for about 8 hours (so bring a deck of cards or a harmonica or something because there is nothing to do except watch the waves).

The lighthouse itself is like everything else up here. Very scenic, quaint, rustic, unique, etc... We had a lot of fun even though it was locked up tight as a drum. Dylan kept trying to find a way in until he actually read the notice on the door warning of intrusion alarms. We're not sure how many he set off but was probably more than one.

We stopped at a little restaurant on the way back for a Father's Day lunch. Marcie, Dylan and I had clam chowder and lazy man's lobster which was 2 pounds of lobster meat that they had already removed from the shell. No fighting for it. Braxton took the easy way out and ordered a pepperoni pizza... think about that one for a minute. We go all the way to Maine for...pizza? He won't live that one down for a very long time.

Our last stop on the island was at former President Franklin D Roosevelt's summer cottage. How anyone can build a 34 room mansion, call it a cottage and only visit it three times is beyond me. I think they meant to say that he visited 3 times after becoming president but it still seems a bit extravagant. Nice place though.

That's it for now: Craig

Sunday Noon:

As the fog slowly retreated out into the bay, the family of 4 frolicked around the light house like the tourists they were, unaware of the man eating lobster approaching out of the mist...............

Sorry, I guess I should leave the fancy writing to Braxton and Janae.

The lobster approached the odd contraption sensing something was not right. Dinner did not usually present itself in such a gift box. Hunger egged him on. Like a bird to the proverbial worm he edged inside the door. His intuition kicking in too late he tried to back out only to be rudely smacked on the behind by the same door that had so powerfully invited him in.

Okay, my family is telling me to get back to blogging about our day. Sadly we could not go up into the lighthouse so we headed off into the park to find a way down to the beach. The scenery is beautiful. Dylan and I wanted to take little side trails that offered more adventure but Pa (Craig) and Ma (Braxton) kept threatening a good whoopin if we did not stick with them on the "safe" trails.

We finally made it to the beach and proceeded to climb, hurtle, jump, limp and wind our way around. The exploring and climbing out here is amazing. Caution: Do not wear sandles as Craig soon found out. All the rocks that you see us climbing on will be under water at high tide. There are tons of shells and "things" galore to find.

It is amazing what you can do with photography. Sheldon and Erika we are not sure what happened to your camera but you should see our "new" one. We are quite happy with it.

After much climbing, some sore legs, backs and feet, not to mention a sore tush that I will refrain from mentioning to whom it belongs, and we decided to head back to the cabin for more appropriate attire before heading to Campabello Island in Canada.

See ya on Campobello Island. Marcie

Sunday Morning:

Breakfast is over. Cleanup has commenced. We (I) made a rule that if you cook you do not have to clean up. This was not as strategic as I had thought when I discovered the boys had done the dishes in greasy water and I had to rewash ALL of the dishes. After stocking the refrig with all of the necessary items we have decided that since the day is clear even if there is no sun, the fog has lifted and we are headed down to the boat house and then on to see a light house up close and personal.

Though the boat house looks rickety it has tons of character and exploring the beach turned into a damp if not downright soaked experience mostly because I was not expecting the wave to hit as fast as it did. Dylan thought it quite funny but I am heading back to change into dry clothes.

The mist off of the ocean must have some strange effect on mid-westerners. Give me your feedback on this but they usually aren't this silly are they?

Okay, maybe you better not give me feedback on that. There is not enough room on this or any other blog for you to share all of the instances that come to mind. On to the lighthouse!

Bye for now, Marcie

8:00 AM, Sunday

I woke up to the sound of dad rooting through the cupbords and grumbling about no coffee, so of course he woke me and Braxx up to go to the store to get some of the miracle liquid. Also, the donuts that were added onto the grocery list under my recommendation were amazing. After that little side trip to the store dad made coffee so strong that it marched itself over to the cup got in and yelled "Come on, let's get this over with!!!" Once Braxx had taken a drink and immediately spit it back out dad decided to make us all a breakfast of what looked like ham, cheese, and eggdrop soup until he realized that the burner had been turned off 'snicker' and then knew that turning on the burner was the key to his perfect breakfast. Well, time to eat a wonderfully homemade breakfast and then it's off to the lighthouse to explore.

After settling in Craig and I ran to town for some supplies. They must still be in the 1800's here because when asked if there was anyplace to buy jeans (we mostly brought summer clothes) the young clerk smiled brightly and replied "Sure. You can probably go into Ellis. They would have some". I proceeded to ask how far that is and she replied "Oh, about an hour or so". I knew I was in trouble then. What, no place to shop? All the clerks keep whispering every time I come in. I have been to the IGA 3 times in one day. They are used to seeing people once a week or once a month.



On the way back to the cabin we decided to sneak down to the lighthouse and take a peek. The fog was rolling in and gave it the perfect look. It feels like we're in Scotland or something.

After returning we dined on a gourmet meal of Hungry man (too tired to cook and it is one of the boy's favorite not good for you meals). I was in my element when we discovered a 550 piece puzzle. I proceeded to drift into my own little world with only a few times of being rudely yanked from that world by obnoxious laughter from the other side of the cabin as the guys watched a movie. My side of the bed and a book are softly calling my name. The pull is g e t t i n g s t r o n g e r. C a n ' t
r e s i s t a n y l o n g e r. Goodnight
Marcie

Saturday 2:37 PM

We're here!!! Finally!!! This place is so cool! We took the scenic route so we we actually came through the middle of Maine rather than up the coast. We went through a bunch of those neat little New England towns along the way. Dylan saw a Chevy Blazer that has catepillar treads instead of tires so we had to turn around a get pictures...and listen to Braxton wailing in the background because I slowed down to fast and all the luggage fell forward and came piling down on top of him. I was sorry it happened but had trouble expressing it because I was laughing so hard.

We got to Lubec and had to turn around and drive around the bay to get here. It is an old Coast Guard station that has been renovated. The cabin looks like a 20x20 cracker jack box with no character until you walk through the door. It's all open except for a partition that separates the bed from the rest of the room and a wall around the bathroom that doesn't go to the ceiling so all the rude sounds can be heard plain as day. Mom just has to suck it up and not worry about it. The guys don't seem to care... in fact I think the noises are intentionally getting louder and more rude.

The caretaker forgot we were coming so we had to get ahold of him to open our room up for us. That seems kind of normal because the lodge entrance has a table with notes to other incoming guests that simply say stuff like "Hartman's you are staying in the Washington room. It is unlocked and the key is on the counter. Enjoy your stay". And that is how people are greeted so it is a pretty laid back atmosphere.

When Richard did finally show up we asked him about the area and what there is to do here. He just looked at us and said "You do know you are at the end of the earth here right? There really isn't anything to do unless you want to see the lighthouse." He is actually a great guy and has friends that are lobster fishermen and offered to find us some lobster for our Monday dinner. You can only keep lobster that have a 5" inch back (which gives you about a 2 1/2 pounder) in the U.S. but the Canadians can keep anything so when the Americans catch the really big ones and toss them back the Canucks snatch them up and take them home. This is our government's preservation law at work...preserving nothing and giving it all to someone else!

We're getting unpacked and settled in so we'll post more later.

Craig

10:30AM, Saturday Morning:

Driving through the clouds in the mountains of Maine tells us we're getting closer but man this is a loooong road trip. Dad has done almost all of the driving as we have lost faith in Mom and never really had any in Braxx (evil laughter). I have watched 7 movies so far and eaten about 10 Slim Jims, half a barrel of cheese balls, 2 uncrustable PBJs (yum), 4 Monster Hitmen and a lot of water and pop so it's been a great ride so far. We have the A/C cranked and are bundled up in blankies and it is amazing! (Dad needs help in his taste in music but I digress).

We all slept pretty good while crossing Massachusetts, including Dad who was actually driving at the time (we now have trust issues with him as well. Helpful suggestions are desperately needed). He did pull over and sleep a little bit right before crossing into Maine. I'm going back to sleep now as it's call is overpowering me... Dylan signizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

5:03 AM, Early Saturday Morning
Temperature: 65 degrees, pleasant
Condition: Happy in a tired sort of way

Mom’s asleep, Dyl’s watching a movie, and me and dad are crying as we sing loud and proud to the deeply moving love song coming over the radio…no doubt off key…that is all.

4:00AM, Early Saturday Morning
Temperature: slightly frigid but not seeming to mind
Condition: A little sleepy

It has been a few hours since our lasts post so I guess it is time for an update. We’ve hit a bit of snag, whether it is the fact that dad took a break and let mom drive or faulty Garmin technology is yet to be determined, nevertheless, suburban New York will never be the same. After yanking dad from his restful repose, Maine is once again the destination instead of the dream. Apparently, or according to mom, the Garmin lied to us (Dylan here, in other words mom got us lost)…Dad says that the GPS is obviously female.
Back on the road again, we are a hundred and fifty miles from Boston (not exactly sure how to incorporate the accent via laptop so I’ll leave that up to the imagination). We’ve traveled from Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, to New York and on the way to Massachusetts. To say we’re aching and that our backs our all out of place would be an understatement, I personally am stuck in the back with Dylan who started the trip as a small child and, in 10 hours, has grown at least 5 inches. The comfortable nest I’ve created is growing increasingly smaller. So (yawn) I feel the eternal calling of sleep seeping back into the deep recesses of my mind…until next time.

Sincerely, the Maine-anites

As I write this we are two hours out and the van has become our new home for a time. This wondrous place we are riding towards holds beautiful oceanic views of…the…ocean I guess. This has greatly accelerated my excitement as the last time my eyes reverently touched the rolling waves was when I went to Mexico and became king of the penthouse. My subjects still deny this fact even to this day. I forgive them.
The miles tick by and I find me and my dad discussing different ideas of what we can do on this trip. Outside cars rush by on the interstate; the slipstream swooshing off their sleekly painted vehicles pushes our van from side to side. A giant Semi truck slides by, the logo reads of a beer company and we observe the massive tanker filled with the amber liquid with a sense of amusement. We then began to discuss the position Maine had on gun laws. Father reported that they do not recognize Indiana firearm permits so the aresenal stayed behind. Well, there goes all my dreams of lobster fishing (I fish my way...you fish your way!).

Sincerely, Braxton (King of Mexico)

4:23 PM, Friday Afternoon
Temperature: Can’t tell because of the sweet, sweet A/C
Condition: Waterlogged

NOW the journey begins. For some unknown reason, our departure couldn’t have been timed better, the storm had ended and after nearly an hour in the car without it moving from our driveway, I felt the familiar bump of the van’s tires touching down on asphalt road. The engine revved and my heart flipped (not literally…this would hurt) and the trees began to pass as each danced by in different poses. Life was good; me and Dyll were splayed out in the back, laptops full of movies and brains full of adventure; mom and dad sat in the front seats listening to music. We were all wet from the torrential downpour mentioned earlier, but none seemed to mind as we prepared for the twenty hour long trip ahead of us by stopping at TACO BELL and arby’s (I capitalize TACO BELL because it is way better than that other place!). After we left we crossed Six Span Bridge only to be greeted by the first odd sight of a trip that was sure to provide many others. Orange traffic cones alerted to drivers of the renditions being applied to the bridge, but on one crane in particular was a speed boat being hoisted fifty feet above the river (Dad swears that it is some kind of a conspiracy). Cameras, to say the least, were not prepped or rolling; so taking the situation to outside sources was the only option…by the way, thank you Lola Gunderman for the help.

We're Ready To Go And It's Pouring Rain

12:30 PM, Friday Early Afternoon
Temperature: Way too hot
Condition: Itching to leave
The Journey Began! Well that had been the idea anyway. Due to the time infractions between schedules, the majority of that being the most time caustic individual in our travel weathered band (Marcie), we did not endeavor to actually leave the driveway until after 3:00 PM. As grandparents and other family members arrived to see us off, a horrendous lightning blast shattered the tranquil sounds of the day. Soon after, a sheer sheet of rain bombarded us from all sides, making life a little more difficult as we tried, victoriously, to carry our supplies to the car. Once this was completed and mom had turned some good old gospel music on for Ruger so he would not go “Ding batty” as she put it (no doubt a reference from her childhood…somewhere out of the early sixties would be my best estimate), we all piled into the car. The only thing left to do was to figure out where we were going.
To do this we had to first get directions; now someone (meaning me…Braxton Troyer) might question the sanity of certain individuals who had waited until all was situated and everyone was placed in the car to acquire the appropriate address of our eventual destination. But as it stands, the four of us sat there in the van while Marcie, aghasted and angered at our lack of silence as she listens to weeks old messages of the address on her phone, communicates to the three men the importance of said message through less than cordial means; namely…she yelled at us.

Sincerely, the Maine-o-nites

PS: Dylan here, I am posting this for Braxton, I apologize to everyone for Braxton's overdeveloped sense pen-man-ship. Please do not lose heart future posts will be written in English.

The Maine-o-nite Mission Statement

Our quest:

• To find a lobster so big that it scares us
• So good that the taste can never be forgotten
• And so cheap that no one believes it.

The adventure begins!!!