Island Ferries and River Lights

Yesterday we made our way up the rest of the Maine Coast on Route 1 and stopped at the F. D. Roosevelt (1932-1945) summer house on Campobello Island. He was elected for 3 terms and took our county  through the depression recovery and World War II years.  He caught the Polio virus and was paralyzed  while on the island in 1921- but continued in politics. He seems to have been dedicated to his wife Eleanor and their family-3 boys and a girl- and greatly enjoyed their time together (away from it all) here. We asked about food and they sent us just down the road- which took longer than we expected- everything is far apart in these parts.  This was one of the resort islands where you stayed in a big hotel built by the steamship companies or land developers and  built a cottage for the summer- the Roosevelts stayed for about 15 years for 2-3 months each year- their cottage had 34 rooms, with several bedrooms for servants and guests.

We asked about getting to St. John and they recommended the local ferry, with a dirt road ending at the  water- no dock or pier- so we wondered while we sat waiting.  It finally came about 15 minutes late because they had been hauling road paving equipment to the island all day.  When they unloaded the equipment we had the  ferry to ourselves.  We drove across Deer Island with lovely scenery along the roads with glimpses of the water at some spots.  The next ferry was public (free) with a large terminal and three rows of cars and trucks that took us to the mainland closer to St. John. There are several islands along the coast with many ferries-like British Columbia and Puget Sound.

We visited St. John today, located at the mouth of the St John River that is the largest river entering the Bay of Fundy, draining most of New Brunswick's forests and valleys.  The museum had good displays about the early industries of logging and shipbuilding.  The ships were built with very large beams- they all looked to be 12" x 12" and fit together with drilled holes and dowels- and all by hand labor until 1800 when water-powered saw mills became more common.  It all looks like hard work- cutting the logs, floating them down the river, building the ships, sailing the ships.  The countryside is only sparsely inhabited- a newspaper article said that New Brunswick is gradually losing population.  We think living here would be like being in the wilderness- beautiful but too isolated.  A fun surprise was the City Market- built from wooden beams like an upside down ship in 1878- with vegetables and meat and fish vendors as well as art and crafts and gifts.  We went back there for a nice lunch.  The hanging butterflies are a special exhibit that added a lot of color- it was my favorite part of the city.

We were feeling a little droopy so we took a late nap and then drove about 25 miles up the St John river valley to view the countryside and look for old wooden river lighthouses and old churches that were generally located with symbols in a travel brochure.  It was a discovery tour because the general location was not quite enough to find them- down side roads.  We found two lights and a large octagonal meeting hall from a church camp established in 1887. The valley looks just like the pictures of the Hudson River valley (we haven't actually been there).  We guess there has been river boats or barges- and the lighthouses apparently still operate (automated), but we didn't see any boats besides fishing boats this evening.  The riverside was quite beautiful, especially as we walked down the path and along the beach to find spots for good pictures of the historical structures.  The lights were located at narrow points along the otherwise wide (1 mile) river- looked like a lake.  The lights reminded me that I need God to be my lighthouse along the river of my life- every day- because I surely don't feel I know where I'm going.  Jesus is the light of the world- look to him every chance you get for guidance and help. And look at the beautiful lupine flowers- sort of the poppies of Maine and New Brunswick- these spring flowers brightly proclaim God's royal creation.

Tomorrow at noon we are taking our large ferry ride across the Bay of Fundy to Nova Scotia. Smooth sailing we hope. All aboard.