back in the US of A and a little re-adjustment

Wow, talk about some changes. We have been dealing with culture change. A couple of days ago we were in small — check that — very very small town Nova Scotia. Tonight we are in Bar Harbor, Maine. Tourist town on steroids, crowded, vacation central, and would make any beach town look good too.  

First a side trip. On the way out of Canada, shortly after entering the US of A we re-entered Canada, going to Campobello Island to see the summer home of young FDR. Campotbello is off the coast of Maine but belongs to Canada. The international (co-owned/operated by Canada and US) park there is the only such park in the world.

FDR parents, James and Sarah, were the first family to build a vacation cottage on the island and this is where FDR spent his summers as a child. The parents' cottage is no longer here. The cottage next door was sold (for a pittance) by will to FDR's mother Sarah on the condition she give it to Franklin and Eleanor as a belated wedding gift from the previous owner. This is where FDR was when he contracted polio.  

The view out of the living room window toward the bay. The house as you would expect is quite nice (18 bedrooms).  However, no electricity. Did have running water.

View from the bay side.

Back to the culture shock. In Maitland, Nova Scotia a couple of nights ago, we ate dinner at a country store — we had the "hamburger platter" which included fries and a little pile of slaw for $7.50  Canadian.  Drink was a Jones Cream Soda for me and a Diet Coke for Patt.  No appetizer,  we did get an ice cream cone for dessert for an additional $2.75.  Not every night on our trip has been fancy. In fact a lot have not.  The country store was one of two buildings in town. There were no other buildings there. That was the town. It was an old store — a general store - you could buy shoes, groceries, and a hamburger, and a hammer.  Not a lot else.  Not a lot of groceries either.

Tonight our dinner menu had two lines of type just describing how the baked haddock was prepared (it was quite good I must admit). Those two lines of type were just one digit less than the total of the invoice for the meal — US.  We did have a nice chowder for an appetizer and a nice blueberry apple ice cream dessert.  Drink was the chef's choice, a French summer wine that required nearly a paragraph to describe.  It was nice and "crisp"  We did like it.

and there are Americans every where you look. Everywhere. The US license plate on the car is novel no more.  Ontario plates are scarce.

Saturday we will be playing in Acadia National Park.  And perhaps watching a little ESPN.