The Honeymooners Part II

             

             Day 3 was bright and sunny so we started the morning with a walk across the World’s Longest Covered Bridge because why not!  There is a covered walking path along the side and it was begging to be walked on.  One Grocery store we went into had a line of products that were called No Name and in fact had plan labels with No Name written on them! 

                We crossed back into Maine via Houlton and went to Littleton to the Covered Bridge, which means I have now see all the covered bridges in Maine.  Of course now I need to take Kate to see the others, which I will enjoy doing.   We grabbed a 50 pound bag of potatoes in Houlton for only $10!!

                We stopped in Linneus at Grammy’s Country Inn for lunch, as suggested by a co-worker.  She was right the food was great, but the portions were excessive!  By happenstance we ran in my Uncle Dee who is doing work in the area.  It was nice to see him and quite the surprise.

               

              The drive the Calais was the lengthy but broken up by a stop at the Million Dollar View between Danforth and Orient.   

              The village of Danforth also had this wicked nice building that I just had to snag a photo of.  It looked completely out of place with the surrounding buildings.

                Our next stop was to view Whitlock Mill Lighthouse in Calais, the northern most lighthouse in Maine.  The keepers house is privately owned so now the only way to see it is from a turnout and at a distance.

                Perry, Maine has the distinction of being located on the 45^th Parallel that is marked by a stone marker and down the road a bit a funky gift shop that has a stuffed lion!

               

               Rolling into Cobscook Bay State Park right at 5pm we barely were able to get firewood from the Park Rangers as they were just locking up the fire box.  We decided to stay two nights and as it’s off season it was only $10 a night to camp.  We settled on site 49 and commenced to setting up the tent and starting a fire.  Our site was right on the bay and was just stunning!  We cooked up hotdogs over the open fire, it was awesome!

               
            We arose early and made a breakfast of bacon and eggs on the coleman stove.  Today’s adventure started in Eastport at Raye’s Mustard mill.  The only stone ground mustard mill in operation and we were lucky enough to get there while they were making mustard!  There are no photo’s allowed to be taken but it was very fascinating to check out.  We ended up buying two of their mustards that we can’t get locally and tasted great!  Winter Garden and Moose-a-maquoddy Molasses. 

                We explored downtown Eastport finding a fantastic bakery, Moose Island Bakery, reminded us of the old MacDonald’s Bakery.  The chocolate eclairs were huge and only $2!  Our next stop was in Pembroke at the Reversing Falls.  We got there when the tide was too high so we didn’t get to experience it to its fullest.  However we enjoyed watching the harbor seals and eagles.  The tide did go out while we were there and the water went from calm and silent to very loud and rapid. 

                Next we drove to Lubec and West Quoddy Lighthouse which is also the Eastern Most Point in the United States.  The weather was just perfect.  As a matter of fact the was weather has been perfect since we woke up Tuesday morning. Along the way to West Quoddy and back of course we passed Lubec Channel Light, a spark plug style lighthouse.

                Last minute we decided to go to Campobello Island, however we were concerned about going into Canada with the firewood in the van, we had picked it up at the Ranger Station in case they were closed when we returned, and the bag of potatoes.   I went into the customs office and asked about them, they said the we would definitely loose the firewood going into Canada and they were unsure about the potatoes, so they offered for us to leave them on the lawn on the side of the building until we came back!  One of the guys even came out to give us a hand moving them.  Even more hilarious, I told him the potatoes were in a bag marked Long Island, NY but we bought them in Houlton.  He knew exactly where we got them as he used to work there.  He even said they always buy the cheapest bags they could get! 

                Campobello Island is beautiful! As you drive over the Roosevelt Bridge you can see Mulholland Light off the to the left Lubec Channel Light off to the right.  The Roosevelt International Park was stunning!  They do such a wonderful job maintaining the grounds and the buildings.  When touring the Roosevelt Cottage the staff are very well informed with the history of the place and can answer any question you have.  What I really can’t believe is that it is all free! 

               

                At the far end of the Island is East Quoddy Light, also called Head Harbour Light, the only other lighthouse on the Island.  We drove down to it and hit it just at the right time.  When the tide is low the Lighthouse and it’s grounds are accessible, but if you stay at the lighthouse island too long and the tide comes in you will be stranded for 8 hours until the tide goes out.  In this area the tides are about 22 feet which is tremendous! 

                In order to get to the Light we had to go down a sketchy ladder, traverse slippery seaweed covered rocks, walk across the ocean floor, scale an even sketchier ladder, cross a bridge, go down the sketchiest leaning stair/ladder, once again cross the ocean floor, and finally climb another unsafe ladder onto the lighthouse grounds island, and we paid $5 to do so!

                They “Friends of Head Harbour Light” are doing a fantastic job refinishing the buildings.  The Lighthouse is made of wood and was built in 1820, the keepers house was added in 1840.  We paid for a tour of the keepers house and were able to go up into the lantern room of the light.  Just a wonderful experience!  Then off course we had to cross the obstacle course of doom back to the mainland.  I would do it again! 

                Before leaving the island and Canada for the last time this trip we visited the grounds of Mulholland Lighthouse, marking the 4^th lighthouse of the day! 

                We cooked potatoes and hotdogs over the fire and enjoyed the campfire while listening to some great tunes on the IPOD.  The Potatoes were so good, Kate did a fantastic job on them! I really can’t believe just how good they were!

                It was the perfect end of the day!

Later Readers!

The Honeymooners!

                Here’s the blog you’ve been waiting for!  Part 1 of unknown of our honeymoon adventure!

                We left Sunday morning 15^th heading north making our first stop at Bagel Central in Bangor for a delicious bagel breakfast and we pick up a dozen of our favorites to bring with us.  We left the interstate at exit 264 and continued north on Route 11 until we finally reached Fort Kent!  We made excellent time. 

                In Fort Kent we checked out the Fort Kent Blockhouse and the Route 1 monument that signifies the beginning of US Route 1 which stretches all the way down to the Florida Keys.   Kate has now had her photo taken at both monuments! 

                We made our way to Lakeview Campground in St Agatha (pronounced A-gath) and set up our site.  We did a great job too!  It’s a nice campground we got a site with electrical hook up for my cpap machine.  They had very nice showers and bathrooms.  The only downside to tenting this night was that it rained and the wind was pretty intense.   It let up in the morning long enough for us to get pack up and get in the van.

                However, Sunday night we went to the Skylite Drive In in Madawaska!! I will call this my first time ever going, my mom will say that she took us when I was a kid but I don’t remember going so it doesn’t count.  We saw R.I.P.D. starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges it was great!  You could either listen to it on 88.5fm or they had the old style speaker boxes.  We opted for the speaker box, going old school!! 

              

 We went into the concession stand and spoke with the owner’s wife and son.  Very nice people, it’s rather sad as this is the 40^th year that the drive-in has been in business and it will probably be its last.  With the movie industry switching from 35mm prints to digital it requires both theaters and drive in’s alike to upgrade to a digital projector at $80,000 each.  Sadly they can’t afford it and many other small theaters can’t either.  Recently the Saco Drive In won a projector from Honda who had a contest to give away 5 projectors to drive in’s.  Because of this change many theaters are closing including the Century Theater in Fort Kent.   This same family also owns the Fox Theater in Madawaska and said they will be putting it for sale.  It’s a damn shame that people like this and many others are losing their lively hoods because of a technology change.

                I asked them if they had any magnets or other souvenirs for sale, she said no but she saw a 40 year old bumper sticker under the counter the other day.  After a brief search she came up with it, it looks brand new, and gave it to me!  Her son laughed and asked, has that been under their the whole time? It was so nice of her!

                Monday morning we made our way south on Route 1 and had breakfast at Dolly’s.  The Acadian region is known for their regional food Ployes, and the great people at the Skylite recommended Dolly’s.  Sadly though they don’t usually start serving them until 830am and it was only 7am.  However, our waitress Sylvia took pity on us and fired up the hot plate.

                Ployes are a made with buckwheat and the thickness is between a crepe and a pancake.  You only cook them on one side until done and they are eaten traditionally rolled with either butter, maple syrup, or molasses.  We each got an order of 3 and had one each way.  We both preferred the molasses. 

                Our waitress Sylvia was wicked nice and after explaining to her our honeymoon plans she referred us to a place in Ellsworth called Sylvia’s Café that she owned for 20 years before selling it to the head cook.  She said to ask for Pat and that Sylvia sent us. 

                We traveled along route 1 stopping to photograph some beautiful churches until we entered Canada for the first time in Van Buren.  It was Kate’s first time in Canada and my first time since my French Club trip my senior year in high school. 

                We visited Grand Falls which is beautiful and needs to be seen to truly appreciate it.  Pictures can only do so much.   

               

We came back into the US and at customs had to surrender our contraband cherry tomatoes in order to enter the country.  We continued south stopping in Caribou at Burger Boy, a classic 1950’s burger joint.  I got a Whistler Dog, which is a red natural casing hot dog stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon, and deep fried!  Yes it tasted that good!  Kate got the regionally popular pizza burger, a hamburger topped with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.  It was good stuff!

                We made a stop south at the Fort Fairfield blockhouse and enjoyed the Windmill Farm at Mars Hill.  Some of you may not know this but Northern Maine has a small Amish Population and we saw on riding her buggy down the roadway.  At my urging Kate took a photo, which angered the young lady.  I will add that Kate didn’t want to do it. 

              

              We crossed back into Canada and stopped in Florence-Bristol at Potato World.  We has some real poutin made with cheese curd and not shredded cheese like every place else that advertised it.  Apparently McCain is a Canadian company founded right in Florence-Bristol , New Brunswick. 

                Our next stop was Hartland, New Brunswick home of the World’s Longest Covered Bridge, 1,292 feet!  It’s a impressive site to see people patient navigate this one lane bridge.  Also in Hartland we toured the Covered Bridge Potato Chip factory.  They were kind enough to cook up another batch of chips so we could watch the process down the production line.  We also got a sample bag of fresh cooked chips that had no salt or flavoring on them.  You could eat them as they were, which was delicious, or go to the flavor station and try many different flavors. 

                Because the temperature was dropping down below freezing we decided to get a motel room and why not stay in Canada.  So we checked into the Je Sa Le Motel in Hartland to end out 2^nd day of our Honeymoon.  New Brunswick is in the Atlantic time zone so they are one hour ahead of us.  Kate didn’t think it was such a big deal to go to fall asleep at 815pm, except for us, it was 715pm.  And she was comatose! 

That's all for part one, more to come!

Here's a link to the Skylite Drive in web page and facebook page

Here's the trailer to R.I.P.D. 

Later Readers!

Neighoff Social Gathering

Taking our van on its first road trip, not to mention our first road trip together, we loaded up our gear along with Caleb and Emma and headed to Centreville, Maryland for a social gathering of 27 individuals who share a relationship involving the surname Neighoff, but don’t call it a Family Reunion.

We left at 1am on Friday August 2^nd our Wagon Train consisting of us in our van following Mama Mueller, Bob, Andrew, & AJ who stayed awake until just moments before our arrival at Jim and Linda’s some 10 hours later.  The only downside to the drive down was the frequent torrential downpours we were plagued with in Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.  We stopped on the way down at the TA in Willington, CT a rest stop in New Jersey and finally in Middletown, DE where Katie recalled there was a Chik-Fil-A and after a moment’s debate we hit the drive thru for sweet tea and chicken biscuits!!

Jim and Linda hosted us in their beautiful home that is right on the Corsica River. In total there was 27 us and they were, Gran dad, Jim & Linda, Allison, Eric with Faith, Steve & Laurie, Carolynn & Jack, Krista & Bret with Landen, Caiden, & Camryn, Seth & Erin with Will, Mama Mueller, Bob, Andrew with AJ, Emma & Caleb and Kate and myself.  On Saturday and Sunday Uncle Jack joined us.

Even with 27 of us, their home was more than adequate to accommodate all of us as we congregated in various rotating groups on the dock, the pool, back porch, kitchen, living room, and what I’ll call the music room. 

Food was never an issue as Friday we had giant vats of pasta, Saturday was a Taco blow out of epic proportions and Sunday, those not allergic, indulged in a steamed crab feast.  Saturday’s breakfast was a fleet of muffins that Mama Mueller brought down with her and Sunday morning Krista prepared a delicious pancake and bacon breakfast.   Couple this with coolers of ice cold beer and how could it not be a great weekend!?

Saturday and Sunday found me with Aunt Carolynn spending hours on the dock with some very productive fishing!  We weren’t the only ones as most everyone tossed a line in the water and they were met with a successful catch.  I myself over two days pulled in 36 fish, however Mama Mueller’s only day of fishing, Sunday, netted her 31.  Landen got the biggest catch, a good sized catfish, that I bet I would have beat had my line not snapped as Seth and I tried to get this Denison of the deep on the dock.  Other than catfish we hauled in, Sunfish, yellow perch, white perch, striped bass, “rainbow” fish and crab.  That’s right crab! 

You can tie a line around a chicken neck and toss it to the bottom.  The crab will commence to eating and you slowly pull the line up to the edge of the water and someone nets with crab with this metal net.  Apparently the crab does not notice they are being lifted off the bottom of the river.   We managed to haul in 7 and a couple were keepers, but getting them in the net resulted in some pretty hilarious mishaps.  Many there that were familiar with catching crab said that this was the worst they had ever seen.  It was not uncommon to haul in dozens in the past.

The Neighoffs are a very musical oriented family with several boasting some great guitar skills.  Throw Caleb in the mix and it became a weekend of musical accompaniment.  There were various jam sessions throughout the weekend, however Saturday night was family band night as we all gathered in the music room to hear Caleb’s “Rafting Song” an original song by Steve, and covers of Let it Be, Yellow Submarine and others. It was a hootenanny if there ever was one!

Steve has been in several bands over the years including playing at the World Famous CBGB’s in New York City and he’s released a couple albums.  Caleb managed to get his hands on them and ripped them to his computer.  He was in such bands as (and I’m probably spelling them wrong) The Gyros, The Delphins, and Dirt Club Heroes.  On a trip to the store Caleb and I listened to a few tracks and they were solid!  He plays it down like it was nothing, but I think it’s pretty cool!

One hilarious aspect with the vacation is in the evening when it was time to call it a night 21 of us would head back to the only motel in town, The Hillside Motel, where we rented 6 of the 7 rooms and proceed to hang out on the porch a bit longer or traverse from room to room where an open door was an open invitation to enter.  Saturday night there was even a rather poor band playing horrendous covers at George’s Restaurant which shared a parking lot with the motel.

We left at 3am Monday Morning to return home and even though we missed out exit and had to take the George Washington Bridge, we hit no traffic and made it home in good time.  Emma’s EZ Pass made the journey even better when it came to the tolls.  The Ipod battery survived the whole trip with no recharging and provided some great entertainment save the couple hours on the way down and back that Kate and I listened to Coast to Coast.

In total the trip was 1194 miles, it was a fantastic weekend and I got to meet some great new family members.  I look forward to future social gatherings of individuals who share a relationship involving the surname Neighoff!!

Here's a link to the entire photo album of the trip located on my face book page.

Here's a link to my You Tube page to see all the video's I recorded that weekend. 

Later Readers!

Mike