Calais Chassé

The weather broke!  It was so sunny at 5:15 this morning that it woke us up.  Ruby Cat insisted we get up so she could start her morning walk early.  We obliged.

After Ruby's walk, it was time for our walk.  We headed out on our Calais Chassé at about 6:30 a.m.  The local Tim Horton's was our first stop.  

 

 

Timmy's is a Canada favorite and one we learned about in our visits with our son in Toronto about 8 or 9 years ago.  Think of Dunkin' Donuts here in the States.  Well, when we ordered, we were also reminded that, when Canadians order their coffee, a "regular" means with cream and sugar, so we had to be very careful to get Kathy her "regular" and David his "regular no sugar."  We also ordered breakfast sandwiches, and, after munching them, set out on a walk about town with our Timmy's coffees in hand.

 

Kathy found the local Riverwalk Trail, the access to which was just a couple of blocks from Tim Horton's, so we wandered down to the trail and headed south along the St. Croix River back toward our campsite (in the parking lot of the Calais Motor Inn, no less):

 

 

We've had several days of cold, rainy days and gray skies, so this bluebird day was a real blessing.  We enjoyed looking across the river to St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, as we walked along the trail:

 

 

Someone on the Canadian side of the river had constructed a large, modern log home right on the riverbank and, coincidentally (we think not), the trailmakers on this side erected a bench for walkers to sit and gaze upon, and contemplate the glories of, such a beautiful log home.  Kathy obliged:

 

 

As we left the bench, Kathy noticed an old milk pail, apparently discarded by the side of the trail, but with a little fir tree growing out of it.  We wondered how long the tree and pail would be able to coexist before one or the other reaches its demise.

 

 

Reaching downtown Calais and a small riverside park, we looked across to the park and river walkway in St. Stephen, where a beacon light stands on an old pier:

 

 

Across from the St. Stephen beacon light, Calais boasts an old boat ramp.  We wondered if many citizens still actually use it, although the boat ramp is set in a pretty park that seems to get local use.

 

 

Looking back up from the park into the center of Old Town Calais, we spotted a building with an advertisement for Dr. Thomson's "Sarsparilla," the "Great English Remedy."  It must have had some curious ingredients, to boast such great efficacy.

 

 

We continued down the river trail from the center of Calais, toward our RV campsite, and encountered this little covered pedestrian bridge.  David couldn't help but try to demonstrate the best way to cross it:

Our little sashay was only about 3 miles, but it gave us an up-close look at this little Maine town that it working to resurrect itself for tourists.  Given the chances for good weather the remaining 5 days of our stay here, we hoped that this walk would be a good omen for outings soon to come!