Campobello Island, NB: Franklin's Cottage

Our last stop in New Brunswick was two days on beautiful Campobello Island. It required two ferry rides to get there. The first one was just a short hop over to Deer Island. The ferry transported cars, too, and many of these would then drive the 16 kilometer length of the island to catch the ferry to Campobello Island. This was also our plan, too, so we pedalled for a solid hour, up and down short, steep hills, thinking the dock for the ferry was just around the corner. When it was finally in sight, we saw the ferry had just pulled away. We missed it by a couple of minutes.

We are smiling in the photo below because we did not miss the ferry the next time it came around.


The disappointment was not just because we had to wait an hour, but also because we wanted to visit the President Franklin D. Roosevelt summer "cottage" that afternoon. But the weather was glorious, so we decided to stay another day and take our time to visit.

The house was open to tour, and it was furnished much as it was for the summers that Franklin spent there with his family. In my book, 34 rooms does not qualify as a cottage, but the bedrooms were small, really just for sleeping. And they had lots of hired help -- no electricity at the time. It was a long journey for the Roosevelts at the time to get to this place, and despite the fact that everything was done for them, it had a rustic feel.


And on a clear day, the sweeping view of Passamaquoddy Bay from the veranda is breathtaking.


I am working on John to buy us a little cottage like this, too.