Fish Tails for Lunch; Museum Miles to shore up!
Route Bangor, Me. to St. John, NB
If you’re up there in Maine this Summer why not take a jaunt by motor car from Bangor, to St. John on the Canadian side, a mere 200 miles as the crow flies. Try late Summer or early Fall when the leaves start turning crimson and russet and golden and yellow. Bring a camera.
The scenic route is 1A from Bangor to Bar Harbor on the ocean side then US 1 all-the-way to New Brunswick passing through the sea-kissed towns of Lubec, then Calais, then St. Andrews, before reaching your destination, the city of Saint John on the Bay of Fundy. The sister states of ME. and NB. have a lot to offer especially if you crave fresh seafood for your bode and cultural artifacts for your mind. You can’t beat it.
In Bangor it’s the Cole Land Transportation Museum. More than 200 original motorcars and crafts from the state from the last 100 years. But before to get there try the local crab and lobster fests along the harbor. You wont be disappointed. Then if this is not enough schedule a trip on one of the lobster boats in Bar Harbor. Their catch is your lunch. Mmmm! OK, you’re still not satisfied. Go visit the Mount Desert Oceanarium there. It has a real live lobster museum, and a lobster hatchery where you pick your own. After that you can stop in the Seal Cove Auto Museum where you’ll find over 100 cars and trucks and motorcycles. Kids love it here. If they don’t, then get down to the Abbe Museum right in the main quarter of Bar Harbor where they’ll learn about the state’s American Indian heritage. Moving north to Eastport you’ll hit the Tides Institute and Museum of Art and The Commons where local artists and craftsmen display their work, all of which can be had for a reasonable sum. After you’ve had your fill drive north where you’ll meet the Bay of Fundy where the highest tides in the world are located, and voted recently a New 7 Wonders of Nature award. Crossing the International Bridge from Lubec to Campobello Island you’ll visit the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, a museum that celebrates the life and legends of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. Have Tea With Eleanor is a favorite requisite. But don’t leave before you visit St.Andrews By-The-Sea, a lovely seaport town heavy on history and long on arts and crafts. There’s also the Kingsbridge Garden, a 27 acre compound recognized as one of Canada’s Top Ten Public Gardens. Another museum is the Fundy Discovery Aquarium at the Huntsman Marine Science Center. Here you’ll learn about “the tides.” After this you’re ready for the port city of Saint John, Canada’s first incorporated city where North America’s oldest City Market is found. But before you get there try the last museum on your voyage. This would be the New Brunswick Museum where you discover the Stonehammer Geopark, an actual geosite of the Bay of Fundy and the surrounding region. Now for more of that fresh seafood before turning in.
For more info on this leg of your Bangor-New Brunswick, Canada road trip call their offices in both ports of call. In Augusta, the state’s capital, trywww.visitmaine.com or phone 207-947. 0307. In New Brunswick it’s www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca or phone 800-561.0123. Tell ’em Michael sent you.
Michael Zufolo, Editor/ Let’s Travel! Radio
