Where FDR Took R&R;

At first there were only a few cars on the pier across the bay waters to Canada’s Campobello Island. Eventually, half a dozen more parked in the evening dusk.

An outsider might have figured they were waiting in line for the last ferry of the day across Passamaquoddy Bay.

But an outsider would have been wrong. In this tiny Maine town of Eastport--actually, in most towns on the bay--visiting the pier appears to be an evening ritual, sort of like stopping for ice cream. Neighbors chat, kids horse around and everyone gets something delicious to end the day--the sunset.

Eastport is a small town sitting about as far north as you can go in Maine--about 75 miles up the coast as a crow flies from Bar Harbor--and still be on the Atlantic seaboard. It is just across the Canadian border from a series of islands and other seaside towns that are part of New Brunswick.

On this night, the sunset began with a few clouds that drifted in as the sky turned pink, then mauve, then nearly red as gold light played across the edges of things. A rainbow appeared for the last five minutes and faded with the light.

It was all over in less than a quarter of an hour, and then everyone said their good nights. Simple pleasures are what a trip to “Down East” is all about.

Publicizing something called the Quoddy Loop--a day trip around the communities on Passamaquoddy Bay--is pretty much all there is to tourism promotion in these parts. The Loop is a road and sea route that takes a traveler on an interesting journey by ferry and car to two small islands--Campobello and Deer Island--and to a major Canadian summer resort town before circling around back into Maine. For some, it might be more comfortable to make the trip in two days, giving extra time to appreciate the wild beauty and quiet pace that drew the wealthiest families to summer here a century ago.

The region’s unspoiled charm offers sightings of seals or whales, not T-shirt shops. That’s especially true in Eastport, the final stop on the Loop. Eastport’s history has been shaped by the ebbs and flows of the fishing and fish-packing industries, a pattern that has left deeper marks on its neighbor to the south, Lubec, a struggling town that once boasted 24 sardine factories.

In addition to their similar pasts, Eastport and Lubec share a good-natured rivalry about which is the easternmost point in the United States, first to see the sun rise. Eastport is the place to end the Loop and stop for a meal or browse in a shop or two.

The start of a journey on the Loop will likely begin at FDR’s beloved Campobello Island.

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Campobello was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s oasis of tranquillity every summer from 1885 until the summer of 1921, when he contracted polio there.

It remains a Canadian oasis for all who visit its isolated shores, either to see FDR’s summer home--open to the public since 1964--or to watch for whales near the East Quoddy Lighthouse, known as Head Harbor.

Within the 2,800-acre Roosevelt-Campobello International Park are the cottage and grounds where FDR vacationed--sailing, hiking, playing games and horseback riding.

The house is modest compared to the image you might have of a compound for the wealthy. But it’s not small. Its 34 rooms--you only tour 26--accommodated the Roosevelt brood as well as a large contingent of servants. It retains a rustic feel, however; there was no electricity or telephone at the house until 1952.

Tour guides take groups through the house and offer information about daily life at the compound and some interesting historical tidbits. In addition to describing the rooms and furnishings, the guides point out items such as a set of dueling pistols FDR and wife Eleanor bought while honeymooning in Paris (they were never used) and a wooden ship he carved for toy ship races with his children.

Before taking the brief, flower-edged walk to the summer cottage, most visitors stop at a welcome center where they can see a 15-minute film. Many grainy black-and-white photographs of the Roosevelts tell of the family’s history. Visitors also can see an exhibit that includes audio of Roosevelt speeches and some old film footage of him and various family members.

The film is narrated by Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., who was 6 years old in August 1921 when his father became seriously ill with a very high temperature. “His legs just wouldn’t stand up,” he says on the video, recalling that his father remained at Campobello for several more weeks before agreeing to seek medical treatment.

As FDR was carried down to the family yacht on a stretcher, his son recalls, he was upbeat. “I’ll never forget the wonderful, confident smile that he was going to lick it. . . . But he didn’t come back much after that,” he says. After the polio, FDR returned to Campobello only a few times--hampered by his condition and distracted by his increasingly important political roles--although the family continued to summer there.

FDR, who was governor of New York from 1929 to 1933, later was elected president an unprecedented four times.

A few miles from Roosevelt park is an inconspicuous dirt road, down which is the path to the next leg of the Quoddy Loop--a ferry ride to Deer Island.

If it weren’t for an official-looking sign with ferry times, you might think you’d come upon a local swimming hole. But no, it’s the launching site for the Deer Island ferry, which looks like a barge with a small wheelhouse nailed to its deck. It can fit about a dozen cars. (Ferries arrive about every 90 minutes during the summer.)

On a beautiful morning, the ferry ride is a blissful 40 minutes, just enough time to look for dolphins and catch a glimpse of Old Sow, one of the largest whirlpools in the world. On Deer Island, population about 360, you are bound to find the world’s three largest lobster ponds. Here you will also find two main roads and both get you to your next stop--the ferry to Letete, on the mainland in New Brunswick.

Letete is camper country. At least every household seems to have one in the driveway. The scenery remains unremarkable heading west on the Canadian Highway until you pull into St. Andrews in New Brunswick about an hour later.

St. Andrews is a summer resort out of a yesteryear painting--elegant, uncrowded and picturesque. Perched on a spit of land sandwiched between the St. Croix River and the Passamaquoddy Bay, St. Andrews has historic homes worth visiting, a century-old hotel worth staying in, as well as many smaller inns and restaurants definitely worth dining at.

The main street--Water Street--is lined with beautifully restored buildings and docks, quaint shops and restaurants.

Just up the block from All Saints Church is the Ross Memorial Museum. It is a decorative arts museum--a house bought by the Ross family to be a museum space for its wide variety of antiques, paintings and furniture from different times.

“It’s an odd little surprise in a town this size,” said senior guide Gwenda Gauley. It took 2 1/2 years to bring all the pieces together--and another 30 years to settle the wills--following the death of the couple (within eight days of one another) in 1945.

Open from mid-June to mid-October each year since 1980, the Ross Memorial Museum is a must for anyone interested in antiques, paintings and furniture.

If you’ve still got energy and the tide is out, consider a visit to Minister’s Island. Be sure to time your visit right. The 500-acre island is accessible by the Bar Road at low tide; high tide puts the road under about 8 feet of water.

In the late 1890s, the extremely wealthy president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, William Cornelius Van Horne, built his summer home Covehoven on the island. Eventually it grew to include greenhouses, a barn with purebred Dutch cattle, a windmill, a creamery, a caretaker’s cottage, stone bathhouse and workers’ quarters. The property can be toured daily in the summer, depending on the tides.

Covehoven was built just after the majestic Algonquin Hotel opened for business, far enough from the waterfront to have an 18-hole golf course and a stop on the railway line. The Algonguin remains a stunning summer resort and its wide porches are an inviting spot for lunch or a short rest before the last leg of the Quoddy Loop.

If you dined before reaching St. Andrew’s or just don’t want to sit still, consider a visit to the Huntsman Marine Laboratory-Aquarium. About 30,000 people visit each summer to see the harbor seals and local plants and salmon, lobster, crabs, clams, mussels and limpets.

The Quoddy Loop day trip is for anyone with a sense of adventure and a willingness to press on when others might quit. Of course, you can do it in two or three days at a much less tiring pace.

Canadian Highway, Quoddy Loopers will make their way to St. Stephen’s, the crossing point back to the United States at Calais, where you can choose to follow U.S. 1 south through the Moosehorn Wildlife Preserve to Highway 190 and eventually reach Eastport, Maine.

If you can, try to make it by sunset. It’s worth the trouble.

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GUIDEBOOK

FDR’s Sunrise at Campobello

Getting there: The nearest major airport to Passamaquoddy Bay and Campobello in the eastern corner of Maine is Bangor. There are connecting flights from LAX to Bangor on American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, US Airways and United. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $398. From Bangor, it’s a 130-mile drive to Eastport.

Getting around: Ferry fares along the Quoddy loop: Eastport to Deer Island costs about $7 one-way for a driver and car; ferry from Deer Island to Campobello is about $9. Park facts: Roosevelt Campobello International Park, Welshpool, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada; telephone (506) 752-2922. The park, which is free, is open through Columbus Day, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. The last tour of the cottage is at 4:45 p.m. For brochures write P.O. Box 129, Lubec, ME 04652.

Where to stay: The Eastport Chamber of Commerce recommends the Motel East, 23A Water St., Eastport, ME 04631; tel. (207) 853-4747. Summer room rates $80 to $95. Or a B&B; called Weston House, 26 Boynton St., Eastport, ME 04631; tel. (207) 853-2907. Room rates are $60 to $75 with breakfast.

For more information: Eastport Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 254, Eastport, ME 04631; tel. (207) 853-4644. Or the Maine Division of Tourism, Publicity Bureau, P.O. Box 2300, 325B Water St., Hallowell, ME 04347-2300; tel. (800) 533-9595.,