I had heard about Grand Manan Island here and there over the years, mostly from my parents who had a few friends from there. I remember my parents telling me it was just this sorta pretty, backward, little no-nothing Island where hicks and weird people came from. Well, I was able to see it for myself this summer and I have to tell you, it is absolutely gorgeous. It may be a little raw in the winter, but it very picturesque and, I believe, well on its way to being a little retreat Island for retirees and American expatriates. Frenchie and I drove around the entire Island in a few hours. However, there was one disturbing commonality that we kept seeing over and over and over. Every second house was for sale, all the lobster traps were pulled up just baking in the sun, and there were little, if any, boats in the fishing harbors. I am not exaggerating here either, the for sale signs were literally in front of every single second house. We are not sure, but we put two and two together, and guessed that the fishing industry has all but collapsed around here. We did ask a few vendors in the 2-hour Saturday market if that was the case, but no one would give us a clear answer. While there seems to be growing tourism on the Island, it is pretty obvious that most of the economy here was by way of fishing.
There is an interesting weather pattern around the Island as well. In Black's Harbor where you catch the ferry to Grand Manan, it is so foggy, you can barely see the front of your own vehicle. The ferry is a couple of hours long, and by the time you disembark on Grand Manan, it is literally sunny and hot, with a nice wind. Unreal.
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