Our itinerary today was short (in miles), so we took a detour of a few miles south to Blacks Harbour. There are a few small fishing settlements along the road, and the town itself proclaims it's "Home of the World's Largest Sardine Cannery." We stopped in the small grocery store for a few items. You can't buy a can of sardines there, but you can buy a case of 18 cans, in any of a dozen varieties. Or, if you prefer, you can buy a whole pallet of cases, flavor of your choice.
We worked our way around a small bay to Letete, to catch the ferry to Deer Island. The small free ferry only holds about a dozen cars and trucks, and we made it to the "bubble", front of the line of boarding vehicles, but had to wait another half hour for the next ferry. Meanwhile, a 20' open boat pulled up to the quai, loaded so heavily with seaweed that it only had about 8" of freeboard. With the help of a mate up on the seawall who operated a small hydraulic crane, it loaded the seaweed up into huge containers, scoop by scoop. The seaweed is used as fertilizer. Don't know what technique they use to collect the seaweed; no special equipment in evidence on the boat.
By the time our ferry loaded us there was a dense but spotty fog. The ferry worked its way out past many small islands on the trip of a few miles to Deer Island. I can only guess how they managed it in the days before radar and GPS. We drove the length of Deer Island, maybe 8 miles, looking for a restaurant for lunch but not finding one. Deer Island could make itself into a cute tourist destination, but has not. It's downscale and somewhat junky- I mean real junk, not t-shirt shops. Some fishing settlements, but again, the tidal range is absurd, so any dockage is a major construction outlay. We reached the south end of Deer Island and ate our picnic lunch at a private campground on Deer Point, overlooking the "Old Sow," the largest tidal whirlpool in North America. Today it was just some disturbed water.
After lunch we moved nearby to line up for the second ferry, this one to Campobello Island. The Quebecois in the car in front of us came back to report that the ferry was broken down and it was unknown how long it would be out of service. I asked why, then, there was a line of cars waiting. "I am Catholic", he said, "so I believe in miracles". We pulled our chairs out and sat in the shade, thinking that in the worst case we would drive back up the hill to the campground, or maybe just stay in line and sleep there. In the end, we were only delayed about an hour. And the ferry crew said that in recognition of our patience, the trip was free. Never will know how much it would have cost; $30 would be my guess, with the trailer. The weather was clear and warm, and we could see Eastport, Maine only a few hundred yards across the bay. The ferry is just a barge, powered by a tugboat with a hinged attachment to its side. The ferry landing on Campobello Island, well, imagine a one-lane concrete boat launch ramp on an otherwise unobstructed beach. Once ashore, we drove a few miles to Herring Cove Provincial Park and set up camp. The park is almost empty. They are finally getting summer weather and the summer is already winding down.
We'd planned to spend only one night here, but by the time we set up camp it was 3:30 so we decided to sign up for two nights. We drove a few miles to visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt International Park, which occupies the area around FDR's family summer home. He was here every summer throughout his childhood and early adult life, but after he came down with polio here in 1920, he came back only a few times, and briefly. The "cottage" is large but not luxurious. Small rooms, no insulation, no electricity, but room for a large family and many guests and staff. The furniture is mostly original, including a huge megaphone Eleanor used to call the kids in for meals or bedtime.
After dinner, a neighboring camper named Jack, from Rutland, Vt., took out a banjo. So I brought out my dulcimer and we played a few tunes together. I've been practicing on the dulcimer this summer, and a couple of the CDs I've picked up on our travels will give me some raw material to learn more tunes to play on it- basically, fiddle tunes that aren't too fast.
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