After a rainy start to our time in Maine, we woke up to a beautiful, but cool and windy day in Lubec. I was glad to have a jacket and a hair tie. Our goal for the day was to get to Bar Harbor where we’d spend the next three nights. But before that, we had a few things to see and do along the way.
This is also the site where you’ll find another important
geographical marker indicating the Easternmost point of the United States. We had been to the Southernmost point in Key
West, Florida, last year on our road trip, so we thought it only fitting that
we made it to the Easternmost point, too.
I actually didn’t know that about this place until we saw the marker.
Our next item on the day’s itinerary was to cross the border into Canada so we could go to Roosevelt’s Campobello International Park. The crossing and return were both easy and didn’t take much time.
FDR first went to Campobello Island when he was about 18
months old. His parents loved the island
and had a summer home there. Later on,
his mother was able to buy the house next door to their place when the owner
passed (and left instructions to give her first option) and his mother gave it
to him. He and Eleanor and their
children spent many summer days over the years at the house on what they called
“the beloved island.”
It was at this house that one of their sons was born, and it
was at this house where FDR was stricken with polio (although they are quick to
say he didn’t catch polio on the island, just that his symptoms started
there. After five weeks of being
bedridden, he was finally stable enough to be moved to the mainland. He only returned to Campobello a couple of
times after that.
After watching an orientation film, we took a guided tour through
the house that was very interesting. We’ve
seen several homes during this trip; this one had the most scenic view – which didn’t
surprise me after seeing the view that the Roosevelts protected at their home
in Hyde Park, NY. One of the pieces of
furniture had an interesting return story.
It was Eleanor’s desk that she gave to someone in her will. The woman kept the desk all these years and
when she passed away, her will stipulated that the desk be given to the
Roosevelt Campobello site. The docent
said a big box just showed up one day that had Eleanor’s original desk in it! Here are some pictures from inside the house, including Eleanor's desk and FDR's potty chair from when he was a very young boy.
There are two Roosevelt grandchildren who serve on the board for the site, and sometimes there are Roosevelt reunions held on the property. That must feel like a wonderful connection to their grandparents.
While we were on Campobello Island, we also went to see the
Mulholland Lighthouse that sits just across the water from the fishing town of
Lubec, Maine.
When we got back to the U.S., we stopped at the post office
so I could mail our son his birthday card.
Then we headed toward Bar Harbor.
We got gas at a place called Archibalds One Stop. It’s the kind of place where you actually
pump your gas and then go inside to pay cash or credit (same price). It was $4.29/gallon.
From there we headed to Bar Harbor. I’ll make a new blog post that will combine
our days at Acadia National Park instead of doing one for each day.
~ Cindy D.
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