Last day in Canada

The Fundy National Park turned out to be a lot farther away that I thought. It's a lot closer to Moncton than Saint John, so we decided to skip that.

Instead, we got up early to go see the Reversing Falls at high tide (just after, actually), when the river was being forced back upstream at maximum speed.

It was incredibly foggy, probably helped a bit by the Irving paper/pulp mill across the river, so we couldn't see much. There were harbor seals and cormorants fishing in the incoming saltwater, and doing their best to not get swept upstream.

The jetboats were going out around noon, but it was a bit steep at $37 + tax, per person, for a 20 minute ride. Also, the guide book indicated that, despite the yellow rain suits that were provided, we would have gotten completely soaked. We told the guide woman that we'd be back (not really), and went back to the hotel for some breakfast.

The breakfast at the Château Saint John was quite good, for a continental breakfast, but was interrupted by some guy having a stroke a few tables away. April offered to help, being a nurse and all that, but they said everything was fine and that they already had an ambulance on the way. It was a bit odd to be eating breakfast while paramedics were shocking a man on a stretcher 20 feet away, but we got through it and he seemed to be doing fairly well, all things considered.

After checking out of the hotel around noon or so, we made a plan to head west, along the coast, and to stop in some tiny harbor towns along the way. But first, we returned to the Reversing Falls again, this time only a few hours before low tide.

This time, the river was actually flowing towards the ocean, and the rapids were ferocious. We opted to watch the jetboat tours, instead of taking one, and were finally able to see the paper mill and the bridge, as the fog had lifted slightly.

On the way out of Saint John, we crossed the bridge over the falls and headed towards the Bay of Fundy coast. Along the way, we stopped a few times in random little towns at the top of (what I'm going to call) small sub-bays and walked around.

Since it was approaching low tide, and the tides change by nearly 30 feet here, the water was quite far from shore and I was able to walk around essentially on the bottom of the harbor.

Our next destination was St Andrews. On the way into town, Matt and I spontaneously decided to visit Minister's Island, which you can drive to at low tide. Since Sabrina and April were sleeping, there were no objections, and we drove out onto the "sand bar" that goes to the island. Sabrina and I had been here before, 4 years ago, but were unable to drive to the island because it was high tide at the time.

The map that we got at the entry point has some "guidelines" on the back that are so unusual, in my opinion, that they merit repeating:

1. Check the Tide Schedule and plan accordingly
2. Carry a watch
3. Sing in/out at the Gate House
4. Carry a whistle
5. Bring a cell phone
6. If you are caught on the Island during high tide, NEVER attempt to swim to the mainland

The island was owned/developed by an eccentric millionaire (are there any that aren't?) who was some high-up guy in the Pacific Canadian Railroad. The main attraction is the mansion that was their summer home (winter one was in Montreal).

We took a tour of this 50-room behemoth, including a few outbuildings and the "bathhouse" down by the water.

There was also a 50-foot square pool hewn out of the sandstone that would apparently fill at high tide and get heated by the sun for a few hours. It was filled in, but the outline was still clear in the rock.

On the way out, we stopped briefly at the "barn complex" to see some animals and such. April really connected with the pigs.

After driving back to the mainland, we went down into "downtown" St Andrews to grab some sandwiches for lunch. Just like last time Sabrina and I were here, we passed on the Kingsbrae Garden, which, if you believe the guidebook, is one of the main attractions of St Andrews. Pffff.

Continuing along the coast, our next stop was in St. Stephen. Specifically, it was at the Chocolate Museum.

Despite the fact that I've never heard of them, Ganong chocolates is apparently a big player in the international fine chocolates market, and claim to have invented the chocolate bar.

The museum includes all-you-can-eat chocolates while you're wandering around. They literally have platters of assorted chocolates just laying around.

I've been writing this in the car ride through Maine, and my battery is running out. Also, I have web access via my iPhone, but I can't upload the pictures yet. I'll try to get them posted at some point tonight. We're headed to my parents' house again, for the night, before returning to Pennsylvania tomorrow.