Scallops & Deserted Beaches Downeast

It is not the journey that we had sketched out in our minds, a trip that would have taken us through the rain forested Pacific Northwest, landing in the redwood forests of Northern California as autumn turned cool.
 
We have landed instead in Bangor, Maine, where we can assist my mother as she recovers from a bad fall.  Mark and I arrived three weeks ago and between visits to the skilled nursing unit we have managed to find moments to explore the beauty of  Bangor and further Downeast.

Who can resist the allure of a meadow on a late summer afternoon?

​Just over two hours north and east of Bangor lies the easternmost town, Lubec, and the easternmost city, Eastport, in the United States.
 
Lubec is a quirky fishing village with an artistic fringe.

Fishing for mackerel in Lubec harbor.

​ Canada lies just a stone’s throw away and the two countries feel very close.

Looking north from Lubec. The lighthouse is in Canada.

A short bridge takes you right to Canada, to Campbello Island.​

A view of Lubec from Campbello.

On the island we found empty beaches and oceanside trails so beautiful we came back two weeks in a row.

We camped at Herring Cover in our rig.

Scallops Fresh from the Boat

​Our most exciting find was in Head Harbor where we found  two ships laden down with thousands of fresh scallops just scooped out of a fishery off the coast of Nova Scotia. The fishermen called in a crew of local men and women to shuck the scallops from their shells and get them quickly to market.

We had a bird’s eye view of the action and caught the wrist action of the shuckers in this video.

​That night we turned the skillet on hot and seared up a huge panful of the fresh scallops that we purchased at boat side in Head Harbor.

​And took a drive to watch the sunset between Campobello’s lighthouse and Lubec.