St. Martins & Black Sand Beach

June 28

St. Martins

We woke up to a foggy morning but decided it would be a good day to go for a drive to St. Martins.  Maybe the fog would lift before we got there.  It didn’t.  We didn’t see anything.

St. Martins is a lovely fishing village in a sheltered bay with some interesting caves in the rock.  The caves are only accessible during low tide and we timed it right.  As we walked across the stony beach towards the caves, we found there was a little stream that we’d have to cross.  We walked alongside the stream all the way to where it flows into the bay, not able to find any spot narrow enough to jump across.  Oh well.  Dry shoes are highly over-rated!  It was well worth it.

What’s also unique about St. Martins is that there are two covered bridges crossing a river that flows into the bay.  And in between, is the tourist info booth, a replica lighthouse.  The dome is from a real lighthouse.

 The fog lifted a bit so we decided to go look for the real lighthouse.  By the time we found it, the bay was engulfed in fog again and the fog horn blast was going regularly.  It’s loud enough to do serious damage to your ears!  We’ll have to return someday when we can see something. 

On the way back to Saint John, we saw a sign to another covered bridge.  It stood as if on stilts over an empty river channel waiting for the tide water to come in.

Black Sand Beach

Steve said he’d heard about a beach with black sand and suggested we all go have a wiener roast supper there.  Black sand?  In New Brunswick? 

With Steve and Kelly’s directions we drove out towards Lorneville, past a power generating plant and then down the roughest gravel road ever.  Given all the potholes, it hadn’t been maintained in years.

The reward was worth it.  What a beautiful beach with black sand, derived from graphite deposits.  We built a campfire right on the sand and enjoyed hot dogs and s’mores.  The tide was coming in fast, but we were set up above the high-tide line.  It was a an incredibly calm evening to sit and watch the sunset over the water.  What a lovely evening.

A time lapse of five minutes between these two pictures.  

Irving Nature Park

June 23

We are now camped in Saint John for the next week or so to explore this part of the Fundy Coast and to visit with our son, Steve and his girlfriend, Kelly.

They have often spoken of Irving Nature Park as their favourite part of Saint John.  This afternoon they took us for a hike around one of the trails.  I would agree.  It is so beautiful.  It’s on a peninsula jutting out into the Bay of Fundy and as you hike around the point, you come across a different view of the Bay and city at every look-off.  And the forest is ever changing too.  It is fascinating and it would be a different view every time you hike.  Even when you return to the start an hour later, the water level has changed.

Lobsters and Farmer's Markets

When travelling to the east coast, one requirement is to eat some lobster.

On Father's Day, Steve came up from Saint John to Oromocto and we had a wonderful family dinner.  He'd brought fresh-caught lobster, mussels and clams and cooked them outside at our campground.  It was the best tasting seafood ever.  But what do we know?  We're all prairie people!

Dad and his kids - just before the feasting began.

The amazing thing though is that when there is lobster on the menu, it's served in so many different ways.  Last night, for example, I had lobster stuffed potato skins and Dave had lobster poutine.  There is no end to lobster dishes, and they're always delicious. 

Lobster Mac n Cheese

When you stop and think about it, there’s a lot of regional food in Canada.  I love going to farmer’s market to find what is grown locally.  Fredericton has a lovely market of fresh produce, food trucks, and local crafters.  It’s hard to resist buying something! 

Rhubarb and  fiddleheads

We went to the Market on the Kingston Peninsula.  It’s not an island, but the best way to get there is by ferry across the Kennebecasis River. It’s a wonderful market, part indoors and part outdoors with crafters, local produce, ethnic foods (Syrian, Korean) and a pancake breakfast.  It’s still a bit early for the produce, other than rhubarb, radishes and lettuce.  On the way home we took a drive around to the other side of the island and crossed by another ferry on the Saint John River.  

Fundy National Park

Campgrounds and good internet service are not compatible so my blogging is happening in fits and starts.  I'm posting a few entries at once.

June 19

There’s travelling, visiting, camping or glamping. We did a lot of travelling, getting to New Brunswick.  Then we did the visiting – sleeping at our campsite in Sunbury-Oromocto but spending most of our days with Elliott and of course his parents, Devon and Katherine.  Now we’re camping, or because of the type of rig, glamping, at Fundy National Park for a few days. 

We pulled in late on Monday afternoon, into a foggy campground.  There were red chairs on a cliff nearby indicating there must be a view, but all one could see was fog.  As it’s black fly season, standing around outside waiting for the fog to lift isn’t really an option.  I’ve been bitten all around the back of my neck.  Nasty little things. 

Tuesday was a beautiful sunny day. 

As prairie people, we’re fascinated by the ocean, and especially the coming and going of the tide.  The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world with a very dramatic difference between high and low tide. The little village of Alma, right next to the campground, is a lobster fishing village and we spent a long time watching the tide come in and the lobster boats getting ready to go out fishing.  They have about a three-hour window to get in and out of the harbour on the high tide.  

We took out our bikes (for the first time on this trip) and went for a ride along the coast to a beach.  This beach was rather rocky, but had some beautiful views of the cliffs and the bay. Watching the water is so mesmerizing.

No, the rock pile is not my creation.

We took a drive out to Cape Enrage.  What a crazy twisty windy road up to the lighthouse.  The lighthouse was built in 1840 and it’s right on the edge of the cliff. In fact, it had to be moved three times because of erosion.  It’s the oldest active lighthouse in New Brunswick although the light and fog horn have been automated since the 1970s. 

On the drive up to the lighthouse, we came across a sandy beach and spent some time exploring and beachcombing.  We also stopped at a local winery for some wine-tasting.  The wine is not made from grapes, but blueberries, or cranberries or even rhubarb.  This is blueberry country so we took home a bottle to enjoy with scallops and steaks.    

Wednesday Dave had a lovely day of fishing at a couple of freshwater lakes in the park.   He caught one little trout but had an enjoyable time.  "A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work." 
Meanwhile I enjoyed my day of poking around in the little shops in Alma, biking around to enjoy some of the views of the bay, and relaxing. 

Dave's fishing companions.

Bennett Lake

Thursday Katherine and Elliott came and joined us for the day (and night).  We followed the rhythm of a 16-month-old and had an enjoyable day together.  One excursion was to the Dickson Falls.  It’s a short hike along a stream of rapids to some beautiful falls.  There are lots of stairs to climb and little Elliott had the stamina to climb most of the way back up to the beginning of the hike.  What a trooper!