JULY 26, 2011 – THE APPALACHIAN RANGE ROUTE TO CAMPBELLTON

My turn to drive so John can do the sight seeing. I’m not sure he is always comfortable with that, but that’s the way it is. Campbellton is on the northern tip of New Brunswick, just across Chaleur Bay from Quebec. You would think you were still in Quebec as everyone speaks to you in French first, but they quickly switch to English when they see the stunned looked on your face. The drive was very easy, just rolling hills & lots of trees. We had a lovely lunch in a little local café, made a stop at the bank (some how the cash just seems to disappear), then headed off to Bathurst. We are now on the Acadian Coastal Drive which stretches all the way from Bathurst to the Centennial Bridge on the eastern most tip of NB. The hi-way hugs the shoreline of Chaleur Bay and meanders through little Acadian towns & villages. They are extremely proud of their Acadian heritage and nearly all the little homes & cottages along the way have the Acadian flag (looks a lot like the French flag) flying from flag poles along with the Canadian flag.



The skies have been a little grey most of the way, but the rain has held off so the weather has not affected any of our tour plans. We arrived in Bathurst late in the afternoon and decided to call it a day. The tourist information centres in NB have been great. Very informative & everyone speaks English. It was suggested that we stop at a place called “Danny’s”. Not only the best seafood in town, but a great little motel/convention centre just outside town. Danny’s has been around since 1947 when it was just a burger stand and campsite. It is still run by the same family & everything was outstanding. I had grilled scallops with maple syrup & JD had Atlantic salmon. I really though the salmon was a stretch for him, as he doesn’t usually like salmon but we were both surprised. Atlantic salmon has a much milder taste than the Pacific & the way Danny’s grilled it was superb. They also served a fabulous cup of seafood chowder. Had I known how good the chowder was, I would just of had a huge bowl full & nothing else.

JULY 27, 2011 – OFF TO MIRAMICHI

Raining a little this morning, but off we go toward the Acadian Isles, the most eastern tip of NB which separates Chaleur Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We are staying off as many main hi ways as possible & seeing the real country side. As we cross the little islands heading toward our goal – the lighthouse at the tip of Miscou Island – we stopped at an information centre just to make sure we were on the right track. The girl was very sweet, spoke very broken English, but told us to make sure to stop as soon as we crossed the bridge onto Miscou Island if we liked seafood.

We weren’t sure we were at the right place when we stopped, but since there were a bunch of motorcycles parked next to a small garage-type of building with picnic tables outside, we stopped. “Steve’s Place” sitting right on the edge of the water serving up his specialty – fresh, steamed LOBSTER. We were the first people this year from Calgary so we had to sign his wall (one of the posts holding up the tarpaulin windbreak!) He also took us into his “kitchen” where he had 4,00 live lobsters and clams in tanks. We had a fabulous lunch of steamed clams & lobster along with a local blueberry beer. Steve then brought out “Bob” the 10 lbs. lobster so we could have our picture taken with him. Steve also has a blue heron that comes for lunch when Steve whistles for him, but he must have been out fishing when we were there. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip!!

We reached the light house, which was built in 1825. Of course the lighthouse keeper does not have to light the lamps with seal oil anymore but we did climb the 96 steps to the top & go out onto the observation deck. I kept my back to the inside while JD is a lot more daring and stood right at the edge of the rail overlooking the side of the lighthouse. The view was spectacular, one side The Bay of Chaleur, the other the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The guide at the top even pointed out a group of seals swimming just of the shore. Of course, we then had to climb down the 96 stairs but that seemed to work off the lobster & give us some exercise for the day.




We decided to stay the night on the Island & had seen a lovely spot just before crossing onto the most easterly island. We headed back to the small bay where the three storey building was located. JD went inside to see if there were any rooms available. How I wish I would have gone into the lobby with him! There were a number of “guests” seated in the lobby, but no reception desk in sight. He walked down the hall a way & there were more “guests” sitting in the hall staring at him. When he left the building we determined that it was an assisted living lodge! We knew that “auberge” meant “inn” in English, but we thought the rest of the “sign” said something to the effect of “The Inn of Companions”. I guess the best part of this story is that we did not check into the old folks home!! But we sure laughed as we drove off toward Miramichi.

We stayed at a regular old comfort inn type of place, but the best part was they had a hot tub – just like the one we have at home. All we had to do was tell them when we wanted our hot tub & we had it all to ourselves. Anyone else had to wait until we were finished.

A great sleep & we’re ready to hit the road for Moncton tomorrow.