JULY 28, 2011 - THE ROAD TO MONCTON

So far we have stayed off major hi ways for most of our trip. The drive from Miramichi to Moncton was no different. The road wound around the eastern edge of New Brunswick & at a couple of spots we had to detour as the ocean had washed away parts of the road. We found a wonderful little fishing port after passing Boutouche so decided to wander even a little farther off the beaten path. We came across a fish processing plant & as we drove through the little village, we came across the most magnificent house you could ever imagine. It sat high up on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with what appeared to be an enclosed swimming pool at the back. It was all stone, with a 4 car garage & a separate garage which was probably for a boat. The funniest thing about the whole beautiful location & house was the double line of sheets hanging out to dry at the back in the wind! I guess it doesn’t matter how big the house, the smell of fresh hung sheets can’t be beat. We also stopped at a small fish market, just to check out the fare. Whole, cooked lobster - $8.99 a pound! The girl in the market told us the price was high because the lobsters were imported from Nova Scotia, usually the local stuff is only about $5.00!!! We also found out that the big mansion belonged to the owner of the processing plant, fish market & most of the fishing fleet.

We have been lucky enough on all of our travels to just drive up to a hotel/motel where we think we would like to stay & get a room. Today was no different. We found a hotel right next to Moncton’s famous Magnetic Hill. Off we went to check out the golf course, which was right next door & also Magnetic Hill. We decided to take the day off driving tomorrow and set up a tee time for 10:30. Then we made our way to the Magnetic Hill & experienced the “optical allusion” of being pulled up the hill backwards. At least we can say we did it.



We also got a look at the “Claw” which is U2’s stage. The final performance of U2’s 360 degree world tour takes place in Moncton July 30. Moncton is expecting 80,000 people for the concert – that’s the same as the entire population of Moncton.

We just had dinner at the hotel, but what a dinner! Fresh mussel, scallop & shrimp linguini in a light garlic oil sauce. The hotel was not fancy, but boy was the food good! Another good nights sleep & we can hardly wait to play some golf.

July 29/11 – Magnetic Hill Golf Club

10:30 tee time, how good is that. We played with a long time member & his grandson unfortunately, they were playing a match & weren’t very helpful with course layout. There were lots of tricky little blind holes & water where you didn’t expect it, but with the temperature at +26 we were not about to complain. And they even have a Calgary connection – one of there new pros is Brianna Souter from Glen Eagles in Cochrane. She moved to New Brunswick because her boyfriend is from here & so far she is really enjoying the new experience.

A little nap then out to fill our selves with seafood again. Oh yes, our hotel was rocking Friday night. Music & laughing on into the wee hours of the morning with people from all over the world in town for the concert. We plan to get out of town first thing in the morning & head for Saint John.

July 30/11 – Driving to Saint John

Thank god we don’t have tickets for U2!!! It has poured rain since about 3 am & it is predicted to rain all day. The Magnetic Hill Concert site is in a huge field. There is no parking & people are not allowed to bring lawn chairs. How much fun is that???

It rained almost all the way to Saint John, but cleared a little as we checked into our hotel overlooking the harbor. We couldn’t get into our room until 3pm so off we went to market square to see what the city has to order. First stop, market square & the Museum of New Brunswick. We then stopped for lunch (seafood chowder, of course) & watched the rain come down like I’ve never seen before. By the time we left, the rain had almost stopped so we toured downtown then headed back to the hotel about 4pm. Both of us were pretty tired & had eaten way too much chowder so we opted for a very lazy night in. After a nap, dinner consisted of a bag of potato chips & a bottle of wine in front of the TV. We couldn’t get the Calgary football game, so it was early to bed with a full day of touring planned for tomorrow.






JULY 31, 2011 – ST. ANDREWS BY THE SEA

First stop the “Reversing Falls”. You really need to be diligent to see the whole effect of this marvel of nature. The tides on the Bay of Fundy are the highest in the world and in order to see how the tide rises 28 feet you to have to catch low tide, slack tide & high tide. This process takes 12 hours, so we caught low tide & will just imagine how it looks at high tide.

St. Andrews by the Sea is a beautiful little village just across the bay from Maine. It was a fortress during the War of 1812 & there is a “block house” which was used as a fortress during the war. It is one of only two remaining “block houses” in North America.

The main street in St. Andrews is very much like the main street in Banff, Jasper or Oakville. Full of little shops filled with souvenirs made in China. The only difference is they have a wonderful view of the Bay of Fundy filled with sail boats. We found a great old restaurant & sat right on the waters edge eating our bucket of mussels & having a beer.

There is the beautiful “Fairmount Algonquin” located in St. Andrews along with some very lovely cottage homes sitting right at the waters edge. The weather is very similar to that in Victoria and they see very little snow compared to the rest of New Brunswick.

The drive back to Saint John along the Fundy Coastal Drive is very picturesque. We stopped at Chance Harbour which dips right into the Bay of Fundy. The Alberta license plate always gets a comment from people & a couple who were walking on the beach stopped to chat – they have relatives in Airdrie, so it really is a small world.

We got back to the hotel about 4pm so I had time to do some laundry before we headed out for more seafood. Tonight’s restaurant was recommended by the hotel clerk, but we were really disappointed. We had the “Shore dinner for 2”. First course clam chowder or lobster bisque, then a bucket of mussels, then 1 ½ pound lobster (each) with corn on the cob. Unfortunately, the service was the worst we’ve ever had. We had to ask where our cocktails were, we got the mussels before the soup, and the main course at the same time as the soup, which we had to ask for. There was only one waitress & she of course blamed the kitchen. The food was good, but not the lobster experience we were looking for.

Well, I am finally up to date with this blog. Tomorrow is a holiday here and we are heading back toward Moncton via a different route, then to Sackville and on toward the Confederation Bridge & a week on P.E