Eric Demay

A huge deserted beach. A bottle of wine. A girl. A panoramic view. A camera. An improvised tripod. A shooting star. Another. And another. A milky way. A starry night. A memorable night.

The coast along and around the Bay of Fundy is host to the largest tidal range in the world. The water will gush up over 25 ft only in a few hours. Its landscapes between high and low tides are a world apart, where underwater rock formations, plants and other sea-life suddenly reveal themselves, temporarily part of the mainland, in an explorable and dry state.

Knowing this, we didn’t hesitate to swing by on our way down Maine. Campobello Island has a lighthouse on the northern-most tip (East Quoddy Head), only accessible by foot at low ride. Walking among the slippery rocks covered in algae, I remembered the campground ranger’s warning: “The water will gush in at 5 feet an hour. That’s fast. So if you’re at the tip of the island and the water’s coming in, stay there. Don’t move. We lost 2 visitors last year.” Maybe they said that every year to make sure tourists don’t trap themselves. I didn’t look it up. In any case, the accessible time frame is short (2.5 hours) and you do feel like the seas have opened a very special passage for your visit.

These photographs are what I captured on our way to the lighthouse (at low-tide) with an approximation of how the water landscape transforms itself within a few hours time.

Or Roulotte Sweet Roulotte for the fancy-pants french inclined.

Contrary to what one might think of the immediate and most obvious uses of having a house on wheels—a house which can go basically anywhere, anytime—many of these camping trailers reside (and reign) on similar camping grounds in Cape Cod all year long.

Because the campgrounds are close to the sea, and with so many fantastic camping facilities (25¢ hot showers!), the trailers are used as summer houses during the warmer months and then simply locked-up till next summer once winter comes about. A camping lot for the season starts at $4,450, and you get the full hook up: water, sewer, 30 Amp electric and cable tv. (Honey, what would we do all summer by the beach without cable?!)

The eventual repercussion of having a large group of sedentary campers with very clearly defined lots, paved alleys, amenities and luxuries, is that it all starts to look like the suburbs.

Kids are playing in the streets. Neighbors are having bbq cookovers. Large SUVs and pickups roam about. But the most curious effect of all is the decoration and landscaping—or should I say lot-scaping? It becomes worth spending time and money to decorate around your 30 footer Winnebago. Sea shells, flags, screens, patio chairs, flags, patio deck, sea shells, potted plants, flags, shrubs, small trees, sea shells, ponds, flags.

And it’s not for property value’s sake either, just for the sheer enjoyment of being the lot’s summer tenant, living in these Cap Cod camping ‘burbs.

I feel like this is how the founding fathers wives’ decorated their family home at the time: sea shells and American flags.

27

L’autre soir, en tête à tête:

— Qu’est ce qu’on fait là?
— On check-tu un film? On pourrait écouter le dernier de [je ne me souviens même plus du titre, c’est pas important de toute façon]?
— Oh oui! Bonne idée!
— Ah non, c’est vrai, on peut pas. J’ai oublié de le télécharger. Schnoutte, désolé.
— Ah, c’est plate. Ça m’aurait vraiment tenté d‘écouter ça là!
— Ben, on pourrait aller le louer au club vidéo?
— (ensemble) Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

• Related: Blockbuster Bankruptcy: A Decade of Decline

28

Moi, apprenant que, depuis je-ne-sais-combien-de-temps (2009?), mon site web n’affiche aucune images sur IE6, juste du texte:

— Haha, ‘sti que c’est nice!

I would say the biggest problem with bicycle [and bicycle parts] theft is one’s emotional attachment to the bike. It’s deeper than mere consumable object, much more in par with a horse in a not-so-distant cowboy era. Having my rear wheel stolen basically feels like someone stole my legs while I was sleeping.

But what to do? Get a Bixi and be care-free? Mais comme mon ami Vincent explique, il y a maintenant cette hypothèse:

L’arrivée des Bixis n’améliore en rien le laxisme contre le vol et vandalisme de vélo. Désormais, la ville profite financièrement de tout vol de vélo.

Soupir d’automne. Capitalisme, forces du marché et le dopehead-à-clé-anglaise-du-Mile-End, laissez-donc mon vélo tranquille.