New Brunswick

Friday, May 12;

Nothing particular today. We did try 4.5 km hike at Fundy National Park, to Matthews Head lookout this morning. We managed the 1.2 km trail to the lookout, but returned the same route instead of the loop, as it was rather challenging. There was a view overlooking the Bay, but nothing we hadn't seen in the last couple of days.

We did have a nice drive, sticking to secondary roads, from the Park down to St John, through little towns and villages with some of the great old 18th C farmhouses. We stopped over at a big mall in Sussex, to grab a few more necessaries, then trekked on to St John. As I write, we are set up in a big campground just up from St John at Rockwood Park. Will likely stay here two nights, though expensive ($60 per night), so we can have a good look at the city tomorrow. 

Perhaps it's time for a few the day to day incidentals of this adventure. We have been trying to "eat in" to save money. Breakfast is tea and granola in the van, usually a coffee break mid morning at a stopover and usually brewed in a French press in the van, though occasionally at a quaint little coffee shop if we find one, lunch will be slices of bread, cheese and sausage in the van, and dinner as much as possible in the van... sometimes eggs, sometime something on the little BBQ we have bought, with some raw veggies or stir fry. If we are in a proper campground, toilets and showers aren't an issue... if we are "free camping" we have to suss out local public washrooms or McDonalds or Starbucks nearby. Of course the trusty ice cream bucket in the van is the regular facility.

For those unfamiliar with the Westfalia van, we have all we need crammed into this 16' x 6' block... bed for 4, fully curtained for privacy, fridge that works on propane at night and 12 volt from the van while driving (it can also run on "shore power" but of course this particular van needs 240 volt shore power), 2 burner stove, and running water... to say nothing of the motive power to travel across the country!

Saturday, May 13: St John and St Andrews

A full and interesting day today. We started in St. John quite early, and strolled through the city market just at opening.

From the market it was a short walk downhill to the waterfront. It was fairly interesting, though the main waterfront is a big fenced gravel pit where a huge new development is planned, We did find a nice little coffee shop, and a couple of interesting art galleries.

Returning to the van, we drove on to the "reversing falls" lookout, where the St John river meets the harbour. The outgoing tide was appropriately dramatic, tighter and closer up than our Skookumchuk, but not nearly as beautiful a setting. It would have been interesting to see the incoming as well, but that would have meant hanging around for 4 or 5 hours.

We have moved on to St Andrews, a beautiful little resort town right at the entrance to the Bay of Fundy, and just across the St Croix river from Maine. We are camped in the Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground, just across the road from the beach, and only a 5 minute cycle down the road to the town. 

We had a lovely few hours strolling the shops in their early 19th C storefronts, the pier, and the 1812 era blockhouse.

 The atmosphere was quite festive, being a Saturday, and one of the first sunny Spring days in the region. Lots of families and vacationers enjoying the eateries and shops.

We noticed a very good singer/guitar player at the St Andrews Brewing Company, so were compelled to have a beer and listen for a while! 

Tomorrow will ride around a bit more, then head off northward to the St Lawrence and Quebec.

Sunday, May 14:  St Andrews to Hartland

We started the day with a bike ride near our St Andrews campground. There was quite the wind chill as you tell from the photos. The ride was mostly a bit inland, culminating at the crossing to Minister's Island.

 We weren't able to cross for two reasons... the tide was high and the road is only accessible at low tide. As an official heritage site, it was also required to pay for a tour, and it doesn't open until May 19.

The island was the summer home of Cornelius Van Horne, which I'm sure you all recall from high school history as the builder of the CPR railway. The wind here was a gale, as you can see from the knocked over bike and Pat's stance.

.

From St Andrews, we headed north up the west side of New Brunswick, along the St Croix river valley, then miles and miles of nothing but scrub forest, to the St John river valley.

Our destination for the afternoon was the Hartland Covered Bridge. It is the longest covered bridge in the world, built in 1901 and covered in 1921, and still functions as one way traffic over the St John river.

Best yet, there is free camping in a lot just alongside the east end of the bridge!

This is probably a good time to post another entry, as we will probably be getting into Quebec tomorrow for the next chapter of our trip.