Saint John to Fredericton and back

We left Saint John and drove to Fredericton last Monday, where we met RJH's parents for lunch. File this photo under "things I don't understand about Fredericton" - the Chickadee Cat Show? Sounds like something which would end in tears, blood and feathers.




Then we visited the site of his grandparent's farm (long since sold, but still unoccupied, so we ventured up the steep hill and took some photos). The photos are deceptive; the hill is so steep you can't even see the old highway at the bottom, but rather, you see clear across the river. The century old farmhouse has been removed, but the barn is still there.




We visited and stayed with some of RJH's oldest friends. B&J live on the Saint John river - so we not only had a great meal, and conversation, we were able to go kayaking and swimming. (The photo on the river is his, of course). They all thought I was crazy because of the cold. I explained that on Vancouver Island I swam in the ocean in May. Poor RJH had to swim because I went. But it was wonderful and really felt like an escape.



In the morning we went to the "only decent coffee place" in Fredericton - which, as described, reminded one of the 'Soup Nazi' Seinfeld episode - but did have good coffee. We wandered a bit and then headed back to Saint John, to meet with more friends.

Digby to Saint John

After we left Lunenberg, we took some of the smaller roads west across Nova Scotia to Digby, through the woods, basically, with the occasional farm. Suddenly, the coast was visible.




It was beautiful and sunny for our ferry crossing to New Brunswick.






I joked that the Irvings want people to know who owns the province as soon as they arrive in Saint John.



See the tidal bore? This is the Bay of Fundy, after all, with some of the most extreme tides in the world.



This is Patridge Island in Saint John harbour. It served as North America's first medical quarantine for immigrants arriving by boat from Europe, from 1785 to 1942.



This is Saint John.



The prow of the ferry retracts.



After we came ashore, we drove to the more-or-less hidden attraction of Reversing Falls. Though this natural resonance phenomenon is really amazing, you sort of have to drive through an unmarked, rather rundown industrial part of town and the view is marred by an (Irving, of course) paper mill. Due to the immense tide in the Bay of Fundy, there is a point were in-rushing tidally forced waters collide with the downward flowing low-tide waters exiting the Saint John river creating these waves.



I liked the wooden sculptures -I want to say downtown, but it's specifically called Uptown.




We found a hotel by the Devonian age cliffs with the Saint John sign. I liked the naive murals painted by the local high school students, but as RJH said, if the cliffs are Devonian, somewhere a geologist is crying.