Downeast Information CenterWay Downeast

LUBEC

Lubec, the country's easternmost town, once was home to nearly two dozen sardine canneries. Just two remain: Peacock Canning and Lubec Packing Company.

Alan and Gretchen Mead have opened Cottage Garden to the public. Their primary mission, they say, is to educate people about gardening by showing them their phenomenal perennials. Situated four-and-a-half miles down the N. Lubec Road, the Meads also have a herb garden, a stream-side damp garden, and an alpine collection. You can get dried flower wreaths at the Herb Shop as well as unique decorated garden benches, bird houses, and framed bird and botanical prints. They're open 10 to 4 Wednesday thru Sunday and other times by chance or appointment. Admission is free.

Near Lubec is Quoddy Head State Park, adjacent to West Quoddy Head Light, Maine's famous red-and-white striped lighthouse The grounds are accessible from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The state park offers scenic grandeur, hiking trails, and picnic sites.

The Roosevelt International Bridge connects Lubec and Campobello Island, where Franklin D. Roosevelt summered as a young man. The Roosevelt cottage, a museum, is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until mid-Oct. Admission is free. The Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, established in 1964, occupies 2,800 acres of the island and includes hiking trails, picnic areas, and numerous scenic vistas.

The grounds of East Quoddy Head Light at Head Harbor at the island's northern tip are accessible at low tide.

Twenty-five foot tides in the Bay of Fundy are among the world's highest and produce a spectacular rush of water well worth watching. This area might also be the world's foggiest.

Even at the peak of the season, Cobscook Bay State Park rarely fills. You have a good chance of getting a campsite even without a reservation. Numerous sites overlook the bay. Unlike many state parks, Cobscook offers hot showers. Call 207-725-4412.

At the Red Wagon Quilt & Craft Shop in Pembroke, Alma Bednarik has developed a way to knit the world’s warmest mittens.

The nation's easternmost city, Eastport has seen some hard times since the collapse of its sardine-based economy, but seems to be bouncing back. The downtown area, once noted for its abandoned buildings, is coming alive with shops and galleries. Eastport also has a busy working waterfront and seaport. Of late, salmon farming has been among the enterprises providing the area an economic boost. The annual Salmon Festival, held the first Sunday after Labor Day, is a gala event.

Three miles outside of Eastport is the Pasamaquoddy Indians' Pleasant Point Reservation. The Waponahki Museum has a fine display of Indian artifacts and books on the history of the Passamaquoddy people and their language. You can buy Indian baskets here. Each august, there is a celebration of Native American heritage.

The Old Sow off Eastport is the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. (It may even be the world's largest; depends on which Atlas you believe.) Caused by massive colliding tidal currents, the spectacle can be observed from the shore near Dog Island at the northern end of Water Street. It is at its best on windy days or when tides are especially high. If you're brave and want to see the thing up close, you can take the auto ferry to Deer Island. On some trips, the ferry passes right through it.

The Eastport Arts Center provides local artists, sculptors, and craftspeople display space. During the summer, classes are held. Call 853-4133.

The Eastport Gallery has moved to new quarters at 69 Water Street.

Stage East, an Eastport theater group, has been offering spirited performances at rock-bottom prices: $5 a head ($4 for students and senior citizens; $12 for a season pass into three performances.) Write Stage East, P.O. Box 127, Eastport, ME 04631.

The Raye family has been making mustard in Eastport since the turn of the century. It began by servicing the town's several sardine canneries. Today, J.W. Raye & Co. Inc., having survived the downfall of this industry, still does things the old way, grinding carefully selected mustard seeds and spices between huge granite stones, then aging them in an ancient method that "marries" the flavors and produces the distinctive aroma of fine mustard. You're welcome to tour the Mustard Mill Museum; when it is in operation a yellow flag is flying. The Pantry Store features Raye's products along with other natural foods products and crafts. Gift baskets are made to order. Call 1-800-853-1903

Up the street, half-a-buck will get you into the Eastport Aquarium. Upstairs is an interesting collection of books dealing with the oceanic environment compiled by the Quoddy Foundation.

A new state hiking trail, Shackford Head, is situated behind the Marine Trades Center.

The MOTEL EAST provides one of the region's most spectacular panoramas. From one of its balconies, you can look across Passamaquoddy Bay to Campobello and Grand Manan Islands. To the north lies St. Croix Bay and the coast of New Brunswick. Call 207-853-4747.

Watch for the small, red, granite stone marking the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole. It can be found at a roadside park on Rte 1 a mile-and-a-half from Rte 190. There is an interesting gift and antique shop here.

Katie's On The Cove in Robbinston makes chocolates the old-fashioned way—by hand in small batches. The company, which specializes in Maine potato candy, has some well-loved recipes dating back more than a century. Katie's has been talked about positively in "Down East Magazine," "The National Enquirer," "National Examiner," "Woman's World," the "Bangor Daily News" and was featured on Maine Public Television’s "Made in Maine!" Her truffles and chocolates have gotten rave reviews from several best-selling travel guides, including "Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England 2000," "Off the Beaten Path" by Wayne Curtis, "Moon Handbooks-Maine Handbook," by Kathleen M. Brandes, and new in 2003, "An Explorer’s Guide to Maine," by Christina Tree. Call 207-545-8446 or order online at www.katiesonthecove.com.

St. Croix Island International Historic Site will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2004. St. Croix Island was settled by the French nobleman Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, in 1604. He brought 78 men with him, including Samuel Champlain, but the island proved an inhospitable winter site, and several of the men died. In 1605, Dugua moved his settlement to Port Royal in Nova Scotia. Today, there is no public access to St. Croix Island, but it may be viewed from the shore of Red Beach.

CALAIS

The most direct way to get to Calais from Bangor is on Route 9, commonly called The Airline. This is not a road for the faint of heart. Sometimes it seems like people driving have reached a tacit agreement that all speed laws have been suspended. Pulp trucks rule here, and people in cars are advised to steer clear.

Calais, Maine's busiest border city, shares an unusually close relationship with St. Stephen, its Canadian neighbor. Each helps to celebrate the other's holidays, each responds to the other's police and fire emergencies, and St. Stephen provides Calais drinking water. It's one of just two places in the world where potable water is imported from a foreign country. An annual week-long festival celebrates the spirit of friendliness here.

Marilyn Bernardini, owner of Bernardini's, an Italian restaurant on Main Street, was named 1999 Restaurateur of the Year by the Maine Restaurant Association.

The CALAIS MOTOR INN has Washington County's only heated, indoor, Olympic-sized swimming pool. The stately Brewer House B&B was once the northernmost stopover for the underground railroad.