Maine disintegrates at its eastern most point into a series of islands located in the Passamaquoddy Bay. The tides here, while the most extreme by US standards at 14-20 feet, are not nearly as high as the northern end of the Bay of Fundy. It was still incredible to me.

Crossing the international bridge from Lubec (loo-beck), the eastern most town in the United States, the first notable thing you’ll run across is Franklin Roosevelt’s summer home on the island of Campobello. It was here on vacation that he contracted polio and I found it odd to see pictures of him as a young man, sailing and vigorous.

Continuing on, one takes a ferry to Deer Island, past “Old Sow”, the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. There’s a campground on the tip of the island, that overlooks the swirling tides and offers plenty of opportunitity to watch for porpoises and whales. I saw 6 porpoises in my evening here.

It takes one more ferry to reach mainland New Brunswick and the long ride into St. John. It is mainly trees, a wide shoulder and no services.

I would love to come back here with a kayak to explore the bay. I like having my bike on ferries.

Downeast Maine and on to St. John