3 Jul 2024 - Road Trip with Air Force Buddy Chick & Joanne McCoubrey

 

We had a great first day in Downeast Maine today!  Chuck "Chick" McCoubrey and his wife Joanne live in Meddybemps which is south and a little west of Calais and not far from where we are camping.  We drove to their house at 0900 hrs, loaded up in their car and hit the road for a day of sightseeing and reminiscing.  The last time we saw them was in 2016 w hen Doreen and I were on our very first long trip with a fifth wheel.  Prior to that we had been in touch via social media but Chick and I had not seen each other since around March 1976 when he departed Loring Air Force Base where we both served.  A few pictures from back then:

1975 Sgt McCoubrey and baby Michelle

Assume this was after he was out and came back up to visit

Chick, Greg Noskowiak and me

1975 Another with a very young Doreen, baby Michelle and Chick

Chick and Joanne owned and operated a greenhouse business in Meddybemps for many year but have sold it in preparation for retirement.  We visited the property this morning and then visited Chick's camp which is on the same land.  In the summer of 1976 Chick invited Doreen & I and a group from our site at Loring for a weekend party and lobster feed at this same camp!

Ed with a lobster and baby Michelle looking on

Doreen and her lobster

Doreen, Ernie, Chick, Hammy and Deb at Chick's camp

The feast is on!

Look at all of those "bugs" (lobstah's) before they were cooked!!

I did not get any inside pictures back in 1976 but here are a few today:  

Nearby stream

I suspect the door shown in this picture is the same as the one in the picture from 1976, above.

Beautiful camp!

On the way out of the camp we passed by the greenhouses that are being sold.  

After leaving the camp we drove through Calais where Joanne attended school, and then down Route 1 stopping by the Whitlock's Mill Lighthouse.  It was suspect when there were no obvious signs, only a small street sign!

  So we proceeded down a narrow trail through the woods and at the end we found ourselves at what appeared to be a private residence with a lighthouse sitting next to it!  And that is exactly what it is!  I hopped out of the car and asked the gentleman if this was private and he said "Yes!.  Oops, but in our defense there were no signs to that effect!  The gentleman asked if I was a military Veteran (my Air Force hat was a dead give away) and I told him both myself and Chick were Veterans.  He said we were welcome, so everyone got out and we greeted him.  He introduced himself as a Navy Rear Admiral (retired) and the conversation went on from there!  He and his wife retired from the Navy and bought the property which included the buildings but not the lighthouse itself .  It is owned by a historical society, and the Coast Guard still maintains the lighthouse mechanism.  

The keeper's house owned by the Admiral.

The Whitlock's Mill Lighthouse

We enjoyed our conversation with the Admiral but did not stay long so as to wear out our welcome!  He signed and dated Doreen's lighthouse passport before we departed.  That was so awesome!

Our next stop was the St Croix Island Visitor Center.  Pierre Dugua's French expedition occupied the St Croix Island in 1604-1605 and that was the beginning of the French presence in North America.  That winter was extremely brutal as they found themselves iced in and cut off from food and water.  35 of 79 men died and the expedition moved on by summer.  The Visitor Center was built including an interpretive trail, including bronze sculptures of French settlers and Passamaquoddy people,  It overlooks the St Croix river and the island in the distance.  Visiting the island is apparently not permitted. 

St Croix Island in the distance

Not far past the St Croix Island Visitor Center we stopped at the 45th Parallel marker.  They have a nice pull-off there and a very old stone marker on the site.

 

We loaded up and headed to Lubec Maine from here.   Lubec was settled in 1785 and incorporated in 1811.  It is the easternmost municipality in the contiguous U.S. with a population a little over 1200. Lubec's history revolves around the sea and it was once a proud and bustling sardine canning and fish-smoking center. The downtown is quaint with shops and a brewery.  We cruised through town and they were preparing for the Fourth of July festivities tomorrow. On the Canadian side the Mulholland Point Lighthouse is visible so a picture was a must. 

 

A look down main street in Lubec

The Mulholland Point Lighthouse

We stopped at the Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant for lunch as they had outside seating and Liberty was welcome.  The food was outstanding  and the scenery was great!  

Doreen's blueberry margarita!

Joanne, Chick, Ed and Doreen

Next stop was the famous West Quoddy Lighthouse.  We were there back in 2016 but it was closed.  As we drove to it we passed the Lubec Channel Light, which is nicknamed the "sparkplug".  It is out in the middle of the channel, so this is a stock photo from Maine's website.

On down the coast the tide being out provided an opportunity for clam digging and there were quite a few out there doing so!  

You can see the Lubec Channel Light in the upper left corner

The tide raises and lowers 20-30 ft here.  Amazing!

Soon we arrived at the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse.  This is the eastern-most point in the USA!  It was built in 1808.

Doreen inside the gift shop

Daughter Michelle and son Dan and I have enjoyed a few of these!  

I like the mustard ones.  Jennifer is not a fan!

Next stop on our trip was Cutler Maine and Bailey's Mistake Harbor!  Legend has it that Bailey's Mistake in Lubec got its name from a captain who ran his cargo ship aground in the bay on a foggy day in 1809.  Apparently it contained lumber and so it was used to construct nearby structures. I want to watch the You Tube on this when I get time.  Again the tide was out, so some incredible pictures!!

An anchor run aground!

Tide is way out!

Fishing boat left high and dry!  The house in the background if so sale, if anyone is interested!!

Before we left the Cutler area we drove to the Naval  Station.  Here they operate specialized radio equipment among other things.  The antennas are amazing!

We headed back and arrived at Chick and Joanne's house.  They showed us 

their wild blueberry bushes  and the beautiful view from their property in Meddybemps! 

Ed and Chick!

Chick and Joanne

High bush blueberrys not yet ripe

Their home greenhouse,

Some low bush berrys were ripe.  Delicious !!

Low bush blueberrys

Thank you so much to Chick and Joanne for driving us all over the area today and for the tomatoes from their greenhouse!  It was so great to see them again and reminisce about our time at Loring.  We plan to get together with them again before we depart the area.  

Our Fourth of July tomorrow has yet to be planned.  It will likely be a light day for us, with some relaxing in there too!

2 Jul 2024 - Arrived at Hilltop Campground near Robbinston Maine (South of Calais) + Stats

 

We departed Grand Isle Campground this morning at 0844 hrs and headed southbound on Route 1.  The trip was uneventful but beautiful as we transitioned from Aroostook County, better known as "The County" to the southeast part of Maine better known as "Downeast".  

     

There was very little traffic on Route 1 all the way down.  It was a great drive.  Relaxing, sunny, smooth sailing!  

Broccoli fields in Aroostook County.  The alternate crop for potatoes.

Potatoes in bloom.

Nice road and no traffic!

As we rounded the corner and headed east through Calais for our final leg, Canada came into view.  We are divided only by the St Croix River. 

We arrived at Hilltop Campground at 1330 hrs after driving exactly 200 miles.  We made two stops, one at Houlton and one west of Calais.  It was 82F as we rolled in - a warm one here today and nice weather projected through the 4th of July.  I was greeted by Donna who I had corresponded with since the first of the year when I made the reservation, and she got us checked in quickly..  

Our site is a full hookup pull-through, plenty long for both the coach and the big ol' brown truck!  The site is terraced, hence the "Hilltop" Campground.  The steps are on the downhill side which means the first step is a "loo-loo"!  There are quite a few "seasonal" campers here but very few transients.  For a holiday week we were surprised it is not any busier than it is.  We have no neighbors, not complaining at all!

The campground has a nice community building where it looks like they might have bingo and other events, plus that same building is where the laundry facility lives.

We are here 2-7 July, so five nights including the Fourth of July and then we head to Old Orchard Beach south of Portland Maine.  We will look to see what celebrations they have around here on the Fourth, but the Mainers are patriotic folks, so it should be a good time.  Our friends and Loring Air Force Base buddy Chuck "Chick" and Joanne McCoubrey live just 12 miles from here and we have to be at their house at Meddybemps Maine at 0900 hrs tomorrow as we are going to do a road trip to see the sites!  That will be fun!  We have not seen them since 2016, the last time we were in Maine.

Stats:  This is campground #24 of 42 

# States Traveled Through So Far This Trip, in order: 15 (IA, MO, KS, OK, TX, AR, MO, IL, IN, OH, PA, NY, VT, NH, ME)  

# States left to visit on this trip: 17 (MA, CT, NY, PA, MD, WV, VA, NC, TN, AL, MS, LA, TX, OK, AR, MO, IA)

Baseball Parks Visited So Far This Trip:  2 (Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City OK; Texas A&M Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park)

Lighthouses visited:  5 (Olcott Lighthouse, Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse, Old Orchard Lighthouse, Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, Rock Island Lighthouse

Lighthouses climbed:  1

Point to point travel miles:  5048 miles 

  - Avg point to point travel miles between campgrounds:  194 miles

Vicinity miles:  3001 miles 

  - Avg vicinity miles:  125 miles

Total miles driven:  8049 miles 

Total point to point driving time:  106 hrs 42 minutes

Total diesel fuel purchased: 709.510 gals 

Total diesel fuel cost:  $2642.62 

Average diesel fuel cost/gal:  $3.738

Max diesel fuel cost:  $4.499 (Wilson NY) 

Min diesel fuel cost:  $3.179 (Corpus Christi NAS TX) 

Avg MPG:  11,49 miles/gal

Cost/mi of operation:  $0.34

# Nights at end of this stay:  114 (Includes Griff's start)

Total lodging cost:  $4687.78  (includes Griff's start)

Average cost/night:  $41.12

1 Jul 2024 - Happy Canada Day! Lunch at Greg, Dianne and her sister Georgette

 

Our last day in Aroostook County.  Dianne and Greg invited us down for our last lunch together on this trip and some traditional Maine / Acadian treats!  Dianne had the rotisserie going with a chicken roasting and ribs cooking.  She prepared a delicious shredded potato-cheese bake topped with bacon.  On the stove we had some fiddleheads cooking and Dianne's sister Georgette prepared some ployes!  

Chef Dianne at the rotisserie!

Gordon Ramsey would serve this in his restaurants!!

Fiddleheads are the coiled tips of young ostrich ferns that grow near Maine lakes and streams in the Apr-May timeframe depending on when the snow melts. Because they must be picked before they unfurl into the large fronds of the fern, their fiddlehead-picking season is just four to six weeks long.  Fiddlehead harvesting is a Maine tradition.  Many Mainers can recall the time-honored family tradition of fiddleheadin’ with their parents and grandparents, and it has become a cherished springtime ritual. 

Today we got to sample this Maine delicacy.  Fiddleheadin' reminds me of  mushroomin' back in Iowa.  No one will tell you where they go to get them! It's a closely guarded secret! Unlike our morel mushroom, fiddleheads must be cleaned and recleaned, then they are usually par-boiled, quickly cooled and frozen for future use.  They are delicious, with a woodsy taste like asparagus, spinach and mushrooms combined. They are high in vitamins A and C, rich with assorted minerals and low in calories.  I was brought up eating asparagus, spinach and mushrooms, so I really enjoyed the fiddleheads!

  

Ployes:  I described ployes a couple days ago when our campground owner brought over a couple for us to try.  Today Dianne's sister Georgette joined us for lunch and she is a master of the ployes! They are a French-Acadian flatbread that originated in Nova Scotia and are popular in Maine and New Brunswick. They are made from a batter of buckwheat flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, and water, and are often compared to pancakes or crepes, but are different from both.  A premix is sold in all the stores up here, but it is the extra ingredients, the consistency of the batter and how they are cooked that makes the difference.  

Georgette showed us how she prepares her batter, with a mix of water and evaporated milk.  She said it is to be mixed until the sound it makes is like "ploye, ploye, ploye"!

  

Once the batter is ready, a cast iron skillet or flat iron is prepared with a little Crisco and it has to be hot.  Our campground owner said 400F degrees.  The ployes batter is ladled onto the skillet and it will be very thin, unlike a pancake.  It will bubble and will brown on the bottom.  Some people don't flip them over, but Georgette does.  

She applies butter, then rolls them up to eat. 

Some people use cinnamon sugar, some use maple syrup, and some use molasses.  

Her ployes were wonderful!  We each had a couple of them.  Greg says he likes them with a beef roast and he will dip them into the au jus.  Thank you, Georgette, for preparing them today and for your company!  It was great to see you again!

Words cannot describe how thankful we are to have had the opportunity to reconnect with Greg and Dianne Noskowiak.  We've had a fantastic time here seeing our dear friends and reminiscing about the old times in Maine and later in Wisconsin.  Greg and Dianne are like family to us - we love them so much. It is sad to leave them knowing we have so many miles separating us, but we will have to rely on phone calls and social media to stay in touch until we meet again! 

Tomorrow morning we pull chocks, departing "The County" and head down Route 1 to the "Downeast" area of Maine and the Hilltop Campground near Robbinston, just south of Calais.  Another Air Force buddy Chuck "Chick" McCoubrey and his spouse Joanne live a short distance from there in Meddybemps Maine.  They have invited us on a road trip on Wednesday to explore the coast!