3 of 17: A Motorcycle Tour of the Canadian Maritimes, Summer 2018 Northern Virginia to Nova Scotia, PEI, the Gaspé Peninsula and Back

6.23.18. Saturday. Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Steuben, Maine.

Headed up the coast. We planned to spend the next two nights with my brother and sister-in-law at their new (as of 2017) Maine get-away. Since I wanted to arrive at Maryanne & John’s by 4:00 p.m., we did a lot of highway riding rather than take the more scenic coastal route.

We stopped in Freeport ME for the iconic boot photo and geocache opportunity at L.L. Bean – my first visit there. (Despite a lot of chatter about late night college treks, we never made it that far north during my years at Smith). Heading inside (for the restrooms) a man held the door open for me and commented that he had the same kind of helmet. After chatting a bit, I learned that he was from the Virginia suburbs of DC and had just ridden his bike up to his summer place in Maine. I asked if he was a long-distance rider and after mulling over the question, he said, “I guess so.” Jeff’s assessment was that he apparently was not, since he clearly had no idea what I meant.

We made a short stop in Brunswick Maine (virtual geocache at Bowdoin College) and then cruised Camden ME because Jeff remembered it as charming. It was! A definite come-back-to spot (16 Bay View, Hotel Camden!).

Also stopped in Lincolnville with its beach, cannon, seaside restaurant, ice cream shop, and art galleries. A couple walked pass the bike and the woman – maybe 65 to 70 years old – stopped and began checking out the bike as her husband continued on. As we approached the bike, she remarked what a great-looking bike it was. She said that she and her husband used to ride (she had a Yamaha and he had a Hog), but stopped because they felt that other motorists weren’t considerate. Both of her sons ride. One has a Ducati. As she spoke to us, she barely took her eyes off the bike!

Another stop was at a cemetery in Bucksport, where a town notable, Colonel Jonathan Buck, who died in 1795, has an unusual stain on his memorial -- shaped like a boot. The theories as to why include a curse from a woman he accused of witchcraft.


Continued on to Steuben and managed to maneuver the rough road up to John & Maryanne’s. However, I gave Jeff the wrong house number and the GPS stopped us at yet a third location (a driveway that belongs to their friends, Bonnie & Mike). After a quick phone call, we ended up in the right yard. John has the house number painted as an interstate symbol, so it’ll be easy to find next time. There is also a lovely rhododendron near the foot of the drive and a daisy and lupine field near the garage.

Great house with stunning views! We opted for the loft guest room. Relaxing evening, tons of snacks and a great dinner with lots of red wine (that gave me a headache the next morning!).

15 of 17: A Motorcycle Tour of the Canadian Maritimes, Summer 2018 Northern Virginia to Nova Scotia, PEI, the Gaspé Peninsula and Back

7.5.18. Thursday. Rivière-du-Loup, Québec to Wilton, Maine, US.

Motel Loupi in Rivière-du-Loup was a nice find. It’s a simple but comfortable Mom & Pop place with a cute gazebo and garden, including a number of raised vegetable beds. It’s across the road from what appeared to be an amusement park, the Noël Au Chateau, which was brightly lit the night we arrived. There were a number of other motorcycle parked in the lot.

We breakfasted at Tim Horton’s, amazingly our first stop at this iconic Canadian chain on this trip. We drove through the little town of Rivière-du-Loup, which was just a charming by day, and stopped at a park and historic hydro-electric project just outside of town that had a picturesque water fall set against a dramatic cliff.

We then set off for the northernmost crossing point between Canada and Maine, which first took us along the shores of Lake Pohénégamook on the Canadian side of the most northern tip of Maine. We passed signs advertising the area as a four-season resort; and for the “Musee Elvis,” among other things.

Our destination was the Parc de la Frontière. This tiny unguarded border has a foot bridge that was originally built around 1904 as a larger bridge to connect the Canadian towns of Pohénégamook and Estcourt. The original bridge inadvertently crossed the international border. Once the boundary was more clearly drawn, a new bridge was constructed wholly on the Canadian side, and the international bridge was reduced to a footbridge. That original bridge has since been destroyed by flood and rebuild.   The current configuration is such that you can drive from Canada down a small access road into the little Parc de la Frontière , crossing into the US at the park’s border, and then walk across a pretty foot bridge, decked in flowers and flags, back into Canada.  The lax border control reflects the fact that this little chunk of the US isn’t actually connected to anything else by road. There is a customs station down the street, and presumably a more rigorous check if you take the road in the other direction into the US.

After that little excursion into and out of the US, we continued south on the Canadian side of the Maine border. The scenery was stunning, the little towns and buildings a random mix of quaint or run-down, interesting or ordinary. We crossed into the US at Fort Kent. US Route 1’s most northern point terminates (or begins) here, so we took the obligatory photo.

Our next stop was Four Corner’s Park in Madawaska, Maine. This marks the northeastern of the “Four Corners” motorcycle tour. Despite the strong Harley-Davidson connection, all motorcyclists are welcomed here (and four-wheel vehicles too). The proprietor insisted that rather than just park, we drive around to the front of the monument for photos first. The tiny gift shop deals primarily in HD mementos and patches, but Jeff found an appropriate memento and we were on our way again.

Back in the States, our hunt for Liberty Bell replicas resumed. Maine’s is on the grounds of the state capitol in Augusta. We successfully captured it!


That evening, we stayed at the Wilson Lake Inn, a family run place in a lovely setting. It was adequate, but only adequate. A shower grab bar tends to be more effective if it is firmly attached to the wall; having it detach itself when I grabbed it was almost more disconcerting than slipping on the shower floor.  Also, “hair dryer on request” can only work if there is someone in the office from whom to request it.  But the folks were very accommodating when we let them know we’d be late, leaving the keys on the ice machine for us. Breakfast was adequate, if you like bagels and cereal. And the setting was really, really, lovely, even if we had little time to enjoy it.

Unfortunately, we had come in very late – too late to even get a bite to eat at the counter in the gas station / truck stop which closed at 10 p.m. – so dinner was composed of the paltry snacks we picked up in the gas station convenience store.  As we were checking out from the convenience store, the clerk told us that there was a Walmart open until midnight just a mile away, which undoubtedly would have had a better selection of things to eat than that convenience store.  And, as I discovered the next morning, the real hot spot was Steve’s Market & Deli – everything you could want, including a full selection of liquor, a deli and a grill (they were turning out breakfast sandwiches when I stopped in for water) – but alas, they had closed at 9 p.m. the night before.  Future travelers, however, take note!