“The Helm” provided the perfect home base for our family vacation. The post and beam home itself is beautiful with lovely décor and furnishings and thoughtful amenities. The serene setting couldn’t be more perfect, so secluded and right on the water with amazing views from early sunrise through the starry night. It’s true about the scent of the air being so good you want to bottle it! We spent mornings drinking coffee on the swing by the water watching for wildlife and then collecting mussels and periwinkles for dinner. We saw otters on two occasions, cormorants, and one morning a huge bald eagle just hanging out on the dock. Evenings, we enjoyed drinks on the deck, cooked our morning's "catch" along with lobster picked up from HD & Son’s Seafood, and had fires outside under the stars. We thoroughly enjoyed relaxing at the house, listening to music, playing games or watching movies.

Beyond the house, the tiny picturesque town of Lubec is delightful. We visited Quoddy Lighthouse and took the coastal walk along Maine’s rocky cliff coast. We combed Lubec Beach for sea glass. Campobello Island has tons to do- you’ll find the Visitors’ Center provides great information. At low tide we walked across to Head Harbour Lighthouse which looks out over the Bay of Fundy and is noted as “the most photographed lighthouse in the world.” We drove the “Quoddy Loop,” a lovely day’s adventure from Campobello to Deer Island via car ferry to watch “Old Sow,” the whirlpool which develops before high tide and brings with it an exquisite display of birds, seals and porpoises who seem to celebrate the turbulent water. From there another car ferry takes you to New Brunswick mainland for a short drive to the charming seaside town of Saint Andrews, then back to Lubec via the mainland. In Roosevelt Campobello Int'l Park we toured the historic FDR summer cottages and enjoyed tea and an outstanding presentation on Eleanor Roosevelt. There are many scenic areas with incredible views and the peat bog walk where we learned about the bog and saw moose tracks- as close as we got to the real thing! Also from Campobello we took Island Cruises’ whale watching trip - just 6 of us and our guide, Capt. Mackie. We saw minke whales, porpoises, lots of harbor and grey seals and a bald eagle nest with two young eaglets.

Many thanks to Diane who was such a responsive and helpful host. We loved our stay at The Helm and our adventures in the area and would happily return and recommend it to others!