Canada~New Brunswick August, 1998

New Brunswick, August, 1998

Tuesday, August 6, 1998

Left our new dog Jake with Sandy and took off for Canada about 8:30 AM. Drove steadily with only one stop for gas to Belfast, Maine, arriving about 4:30. Found a motel, Colonial Gables, right on the highway; settled in, and went looking for a meal. Ate at Chelsea's. I had a boiled lobster and Jerry had a lobster and scallop dish. Mine was better. he fell asleep at nine. I lasted till 9:30.

Wednesday, August 7

Up early. Jerry got us coffee, a blueberry bagel and a slice of raspberry pie for breakfast, then we took off for Canada. Up to Bangor and across Route 9 to Calais, where we cleared customs. We tried to visit an herb garden in St. Stephens, but it was closed. Stopped in St. George and looked at the falls and the salmon ladder in the gorge. Went on to our reserved B&B, Letete Schooner House south of St. George where we met Deenie Wilson, our hostess. We had the Schooner Room on the second floor ($45) with a queen bed and a private bath. The house is right on the Bay of Fundy, and we arrived at high tide. Deenie’s husband, Gil, was working at the nuclear plant.

We were hungry and she recommended Fred’s River’s Edge Restaurant, where we had some very good lobster stew. We also stopped at Mitchell’s to get a lobster which Deenie had offered to cook for supper. We picked a six-pounder and got some potato salad at a super market. We brought the lobster back and dropped it off, then went to the Deer Island Ferry. Apparently the government wants to put a bridge onto the island, but the natives object. The ferry is free and goes back and forth very frequently. We took the car on and had a lovely ride across the bay to the small fishing/lobster island. Then we just spent an hour or so driving around. We saw three wild turkeys. As usual, we are out of the tourist season and nothing is open. The tides are amazing here, rising and falling about 25 feet at change. The economy appears poor, unemployment is 12%, but the little houses are mostly neat and clean, with occasional Potter-County-like dumps. We came back and drove around this peninsula, Green’s Point Lighthouse, the sardine factory and lobster pound and Back Bay. The tide was low now and we could really see the difference. At Schooner House, we boiled and ate our huge lobster then talked to Deena a while and collapsed in bed. She gave us some homemade plum jam.

Thursday, August 8

Deenie fixed us a wonderful breakfast and we took off for Fundy and Hopewell Cape. We detoured through Black’s Harbor and the fishing villages there. Stayed on Route 1 through St. John, leaving the highway before Naugewalk to meander along the river. Looked at a couple of “famous” covered bridges, but they all looked the same. Took Route 114 through the Fundy National Park and saw a coyote then went on up the coast past Hopewell Rocks. We stopped for lunch at Gaoton’s and had lobster chowder. Back to the Rocks just at high tide.. After a long walk, we decided to come back in the morning to see the sight at low tide. The difference here is 45 feet!! These rocks are really interesting and I can’t wait to see them at low tide. We mostly drove today, but took a nice walk to Dickson Falls. We found a very nice B&B, Peck’s Colonial B/B & Tearoom fairly close to the Rocks. We have a nice room ($45) where I got my first good night’s sleep after a boiled lobster dinner at the Seawinds Restaurant right inside the park.

Friday, August 9

Blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, juice, fruit, homemade bread, eggs, bacon, jam, this was a huge breakfast accompanied by a history of Peck’s, then off to the Rocks. It was truly amazing. I don’t ever remember feeling so “ghostly” as I did walking on the floor of the ocean where I had seen, only hours before, fully full land. What had appeared as islands were now towers of sandstone topped by fall foliage and pine trees. We walked down and smelled balsam-filled air and got lost in mud flats and caves. WONDERFUL! On the way back, we again went through the Park and did the (short) Caribou Plain Walk, a very nice boardwalk around a beaver dam. We didn’t see any moose, but we looked hard. Had a very neat ride through St. Martin and the caves there. We took the long way back to St. Johns and really enjoyed the “off-the-beaten-path” way. We had heard about the “Reversing Falls” and wanted to be there at high tide. We saw the water come up, then go back, but it wasn’t worth an extra trip.

Went to the City market in St. John and had oysters for lunch. Nothing great, but I did get some dulce (dried seaweed) to try in chowder when we get home. Then we went up in the tower to view the Falls. The video was very interesting, but the Falls fall short after the Rocks. After St. Johns, the ride took us through Chance Harbor, Dipper Harbor and Maces Bay. Very pretty and interesting. Tonight we are in Back Bay at The Beach House. The owner’s husband has been a lobsterman for thirty years and she told us a lot of very interesting lore. We drove into the “touristy authentic” town of St. Andrews, the first such we had encountered. There was one fancy hotel out of town where the menu looked great, but they weren’t serving dinner that night. Went into the pretty town and chose the Lighthouse restaurant. Jerry thinks it’s the Morrisons of New Brunswick. The food was good but expensive. We had fresh halibut two different ways. Peggy and Murvine were great hosts. They answered a lot of our questions. For example: why do so many houses have front doors with no way to get in or out? Answer: they all build their own houses, don’t take out loans, and front porches are the last to be built. They also taught us about sardine fishing and salmon aquaculture and lobstering.

Saturday, August 10

Another great breakfast and we started home in the rain. Stopped at Ovenhead Salmon Smokers and picked up some, after sampling, of course. The rain which had been mist in the morning got steadily worse. We had decided to take Route 1 down the coast of Maine and it was a pretty drive, but hard on Jerry. Stopped for lunch at the Lobster Pound in Lincolnville. Jerry had a whole lobster and I had the Luncheon Lobster Special, lobster meat sautéed in butter. I think it was the best I’ve ever had. We had a lot of trouble finding a motel. I think we tried to go too far. About eight we finally were referred to the Hawthorne Inn in Berlin, expensive with an expensive restaurant. My dinner was no good, but Jerry had a huge prime rib.

Sunday, August 11

A beautiful day and a beautiful drive down the Hudson, through West Point to the Garden State Parkway, and on to LBI. Jake was overjoyed to see us. Sandy said he cried and barked the whole time we were gone. I guess he can stay.