This year's fall trip is a short two weeks, and not too far afield, due to time and budget constraints. We are headed to the Canadian province of New Brunswick. There's a lot of repeat stuff for me, some favorite places, but enough new to keep it interesting. It's almost all new for Ron.

Although we did not specifically plan to, we will find ourselves visiting a good number of cemeteries, about a dozen. These provide snippets of history, of course--common people's history. It's perhaps ironic that I spend so much time in them when I travel, as I do not intend to end up in one. Not that I expect to live forever (so far, so good!); it's just that I don't like the idea of dedicating a plot of land to hold a box with my embalmed remains inside. Cremation would be all right, I guess...I've thought about instructing my friends to go to Plockton and hire Calum to take them out on Loch Carron to scatter my ashes. But I'm more attracted to the concept of a green burial, which allows the flesh to return to the soil, as nature intends. I haven't made the arrangements yet, in part because I've trained myself not to think about my eventual demise. Such thoughts make me very unhappy. Better to concentrate on the life I have, and take things as they come, as long as light remains in the sky. Off we go, on another trip.

Saturday 13 September 2025--We are headed up the Maine coast today, all the way to Lubec. After a last-chance diesel stop in Machias, we make a short diversion to see the lighthouse at West Quoddy Head. [As usual, lighthouse links are to Kraig Anderson's Lighthouse Friends.] It's well known that West Quoddy Head is the easternmost point in the contiguous 48 states. Less known is the fact that it's the closest point in the United States to Africa. The land we can see across the water is not Africa, but New Brunswick's Grand Manan Island, which I have never visited. We will be there tomorrow.

The Inn On The Wharf, our lodging for tonight, is a recycled sardine factory. We check in and make the short walk into town to visit the Lubec Brewing Company, new since last I was here. The barroom has a funky charm; the clientele are decidedly mature, which makes me wonder about local demographics. Unfortunately, my pint of IPA is also funky, not in a good way. Hopefully an anomaly...I'll give them another chance sometime, if I can.

We choose our dinner from the long seafood menu at the Inn On The Wharf, and retire at a reasonable hour. We have an early call tomorrow.