Day 25 - Canadian Martimes 2026 - Sea Glass Beach - Leaving Canada into USA in Maine

Early morning on Sea Glass Beach in Black's Harbor, New Brunswick. It was like waking up in a different world! 

The misty fog was slowly rolling out and we could see a little bit across the bay. The foghorn was sounding ominously, as it was all night long. Every few minutes it would sound it's mournful cry. But we got used to it after a couple hours and we were able to sleep all night.

I stepped outside for a little bit, and I could hear off in the distance the yelping and barking of sea lions out on one of these islands near the lighthouse. There were also clusters of birds squawking in the distance. It was amazing how the sounds could travel across the calm water.

The night before it had been windy, so we couldn't hear a lot over the waves. But this morning was pretty calm and there was a heaviness to the air, we knew it was going to be raining soon. 

You can see the birds all huddled along the ledges of the rock on this island.  The markers help guide the ferry in and out among the protrusions of the water by these rugged rocky shores.

I tried to zoom in to get some of the sea lions that we could hear making so much noise in the distance. It was hard to tell them from the same dark color as the rocks surrounding them.

The tide had gone out, which is huge in this part of the Bay of Fundy. It actually goes down 28 ft from high tide to low tide!  It is the most vast tidal change in the entire world, from high to low.

Last night when we arrived, the water was up to the top of the marks on these rocks.  As we walked along the edge of the beach before breakfast, the water was still moving outwards into the ocean.  We didn't want to walk too close to the edge yet because it was pretty mushy from being submerged underneath the open water. Best to be safe than sorry.

Instead, we walked around along the shoreline and noticed some of the beautiful flowers growing by the edges of the woods.  For late fall, it was nice to see some beautiful blossoms and little bits of color tucked in amongst the rocks.

Tiny pale yellow petals of these little flowers were glistening with drops of the morning mist. I don't know how some flowers can grow near the salty sea air. I think they still get their moisture from the roots and groundwater down below? I can't imagine them growing from the receding saltwater? 

In the early morning hours, the ferry going out to Grand Manan Island was preparing to leave. Some large semi trucks had been stationed overnight in a parking lot near us. Now they were getting ready to board the ferry and set sail. Once all of the passenger cars were loaded in the lower berths below, then the semi trucks got on to the main deck. We watched them load up a little bit and then headed back to the motorhome to make some breakfast.

Some of the large rocky shores around the ferry looked pretty steep now that the tide had gone out. One section of rock was split completely from the top to the bottom and you could peek through and see the Bay of Fundy on the other side.

We walked back over to where we had the motorhome parked for the night. It's really nice that the property where the ferry launch is allows overnight RV parking in this corner. We found it protected from the wind and safe knowing there is a gate nearby that you can't get down into this area unless the toll booth operator allows you in.

Parked nearby in the same lot was a motorhome and a fifth wheel. We didn't see anybody around either RV. There was no truck attached to the fifth wheel trailer. Maybe they had been out sightseeing? But nobody came back overnight or in the morning either. Maybe they were out on the island staying at a bed and breakfast and will come back on another ferry? They must feel comfortable leaving their RV unattended in this lot, so I guess it was comfortable for us to spend the night here too.

We cooked up some breakfast, and checked the weather report. It was going to rain rain rain and it was going to be raining buckets soon in this area. So we rushed our breakfast a little bit and got some containers to go down and see what we could find on Sea Glass Beach. 

From what we understand, many many years of people dumping their trash out in the ocean has led to this phenomenon of sea glass. It's actually people's garbage broken glass and bottles that are washed up on shore. Rolling back and forth and back and forth with the wave action has softened the edges of the glass just like in a rock tumbler. I don't know how many communities that still go out and dump their trash into the ocean? It seems like an awful thing to do!!!

This beach is literally covered with millions and millions of pieces of broken glass! I had no idea how much glass could show up in just one spot when there's very few towns nearby? Could it be the big cities dump their garbage out in the area between this and Grand Manan Island? Does it all drift in this direction because of the tidal flow?

Look here in this screenshot of just a few square inches of beach. There are at least 25 pieces of glass in this photo. Some are sharper, and others are ground down more smoothly.

I cannot believe that this many 7Up bottles have been broken over the years into this part of the ocean to make this much green glass? There was at least two or three pieces in every square foot of beach with green glass...  Who drinks that much 7up, Sprite, or maybe green bottles of Heineken beer?

We also found some pieces of blue glass, and some pieces shards of pottery that had been ground down. There was a lot of dark brown, presumably from beer bottles. We started picking some up and being more selective on sharpness or being worn down from the waves. 

I would have loved to spend a couple hours on the beach and keep collecting more rocks and glass. But it started raining! Actually it started pouring!!!

So we headed back up to the motorhome with the small amount of beach glass that we had collected. Oh well, it would be enough to bring back and give a few pieces to my friend Vicky, and then let the grandchildren explore and examine the rest of it.  It's very interesting that someone's mishandling of garbage and refuse can turn into something so beautiful that we would now collect and treasure? 

The ferry blew it's horn and headed on out to cross the channel to the island.  Bye!

It was time for us to pull in the slides and get the motorhome roadworthy for another day of traveling. If it was going to be pouring rain we decided we didn't want to stay at the beach any longer.  

The tide would soon be coming back in and we wouldn't be able to go exploring for more Beach Glass anyhow. But a local person did stop by to let us know that when the tide is at its lowest level, you can walk around the end of the point and reach another beach that has even more glass and a lot of the locals go there to collect it. How nice was that for him to let us in on the location?

So if you come here, wait for the tide to go low and go around those big rocks to find more treasures!  We left them behind for you.

Today's travel plan involved crossing over the border back into the United States! We would drive from Black's Harbor down through St Stephen and crossover into Maine.  From there, we are going to head West into maybe New Hampshire. 

We got all prepared for our border crossing. We had the CDC form filled out and printed for Nicholas. It is required now for bringing your pet back into the United States. We also had his current vaccination records and documentation with his implanted microchip number which is also required now. 

We had already eaten the last of our eggs and we had no root vegetables on board. Especially things like potatoes or carrots or onions that could possibly carry contaminants in the soil on the skins. We also did not have any raw chicken or uncooked chicken in the refrigerator or the freezer. There are different rules at different times for crossing the border. 

It is best to check the Canadian and US websites--- the official government ones---  to see what is allowed or not allowed. Don't just go by hearsay or what someone might post in a social media group. Look at what is on the actual websites because it changes from time to time. Best to be prepared...

So with our paperwork and passports in hand we got ready to cross the border. 

As we drove up there were only two booths open. One had a green light above it but it had a red cone in the middle of it and nobody in the booth seating area. 

The other lane had a green light, but above it, the lit marquee said clearly "NO RVs OR BUSES".  

What do we do?? 

We pulled the nose of the motorhome ahead slowly towards the one that had the red cone in the middle of the lane. We stopped there and waited. The attendant in the other booth with the "NO RVS OR BUSES" light waved us to come over but we were too far ahead to be able to turn into his lane.  

Suddenly a second attendant emerged from the building and came into the toll booth in our own lane and removed the red cone. We pulled forward and apologized, saying that the other guy's sign still says "No RVs or buses". We think he might have been taking a bathroom break??? 

Oh well, he seemed irritated with us because we didn't go into the other lane. He asked a few basic questions and then he asked to come on board!! Of course, we said yes. He came in the side entry door while I held Nick on the leash. Nicholas was barking at him. He wanted to eat him up! So the guy came in, walked four steps to the back of the rig, turned around and said "Just The Two of You?" And we said "Yes, and our dog". Then he left. That was it. He didn't even look in the bathroom, or the closet, and of course he did not open any cabinets or our refrigerator.

He got back in the booth and took a little square box on a long cord and aimed it at both of us and said "Look my way." He snapped photos of both of us with that little box, handed us back our passports and said we were free to go. So we did. 

As we pulled forward, we realized their big overhead xray detection machine was out of order and had workmen and a work van parked inside of it and they were working on the electronics on the side. So we couldn't go through where we were supposed to pass through it so we could get looked at with x-rays I guess. There was no sign saying what to do or where to go, so we just kind of pulled to one side and drove around it and kept going. 

That was it. We were back in the USA! It was kind of confusing....  

We did a Google search and looked up why the agent would have taken our picture. It's a new thing for facial recognition. It's meant to make sure that your face matches the one that is on your passport. He never told us what he was doing or why. He just did it. So I guess now we are in the system with our facial recognition pictures. Hope it makes it easier next time we cross the border. 

As we went further west through Maine, it was still raining. Even around the Bangor area it was pretty dark and dreary all morning.   

It was getting more colorful the more that we traveled West. We could see that this was just about prime for fall colors in the New England area. What a great time to be traveling through New England!!!

We put on some miles, and then stopped to make a little lunch.  I really think that we stopped at the most beautiful spot ever in the state of Maine to make our lunch. It was off on a little side road of a wayside and we were absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of the leaves and the water and the sound of the little rippling brook.

My photos just don't do it justice!!!

This place was breathtakingly beautiful!!! It is the epitome of exactly what fall in New England represents in my mind and in my heart.

I snapped photo after photo of the same scene. Then I also took the time to video it. If you look at the YouTube link down below at the bottom of this post you can see how absolutely gorgeous this place was. The birds were singing in the background and the gurgling sounds of the water. Watching the leaves float on the surface of the water as they slowly drifted by from the left to the right. It was very magical to say the least...

I know I'm piling you up with photos of it but 

 the lighting was just perfect

 and

 the colors were just perfect 

and 

the sound was just perfect 

and

 the place was just perfect

(There's nothing retouched or filtered or AI about my photos) 

We made our lunch, and came back out to walk around again one more time before we needed to leave. This was a place that will hang forever in my memory, and in my mind it is titled "Fall in New England".

West of Bangor, Maine we hopped onto US 2. This route is particularly fond to us because it is also the same highway that passes through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and all the way out to the state of Washington. It passes through my hometown of Iron River, Michigan.  Our childhood lives revolved around everyone referring to West US 2, or East US 2 to get somewhere, or advertisements on the radio or TV of all the businesses grouped along US 2. So there was a little sense of comfort or nostalgia by seeing this road sign. We would now see it for the next few hundred miles as we are heading on across through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and into New York - all while traveling on US 2.

Two years ago, we tried to take route US 2 all the way out west to Washington. We made it as far as Montana and the wildfire smoke drove us back home again. It was in the autumn and the fires were at their worst. If you look back in my blog posts you will find the fall of 2024 a series of posts called "Westbound on US 2".

Well, at least we did the eastbound US 2 now and completed that portion of the route. Someday maybe we will get out west again and finish that part from Montana across to Washington.

We were now entering the White Mountain range. The hills were getting higher and we were dipping up and down and twisting and turning through some of the most beautiful countryside.

The colors were gorgeous as we were winding our way through the high hills and the craggy cliffs. I kept snapping picture after picture after picture and I could fill this up with about 10 zillion more.

By later afternoon we were crossing into New Hampshire. The colors just kept going and going and going. 

The picturesque countryside unfolded across our windshield as we traveled mile after mile. We passed through so many little towns and picturesque villages. Everything was so quaint and aesthetically "New England-ish".

We went past zillions of old houses and buildings with unique architecture and design. We like to imagine what they could have been. Perhaps this one was a roadside Inn back when travelers were on horseback or in a buggy. Seeing an Inn like this amongst the hills, must have been a welcome sight for the weary traveler. 

We drove along until about dinner time, and decided to pull into a Walmart in Gorham, New Hampshire.  We needed to grab a couple items in the store and decided this would be a good spot to rest for the night. It was a very pretty Walmart that been recently remodeled or updated on the outside, and inside it was pretty nice too. We lagged around a little bit longer and picked up a few more things. 

We decided to treat ourselves with a rotisserie chicken and some potato wedges so we didn't have to cook for the evening. Rotisserie chicken is always nice, because we pick apart the leftovers and use it for chicken salad or soup or a casserole later. So for $5.99, we get two meals out of one chicken.

As we went to the checkout, the poor clerk could barely speak and had such a raspy voice. She had a bottle of throat spray and a box of kleenex. That should have been our warning sign...  Show told us how miserable she was and almost at the end of her shift.

Little did we know, we were now exposed to the newest strain of Covid!!! 

Here is the video that goes along with today's blog: 

296 miles traveled today

3,316 miles traveled so far