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Fall’s in the Air

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” —Albert Camus

What an amazing few weeks we’ve had in upstate New York. Fall has rolled in, but summer isn’t gone. This is definitely the kind of weather we could enjoy for months. Lows in the upper 40s and highs in the mid 70s….and lots and lots of wonderful sunshine. The weather has been wonderful, but spending a lot of time with our family and friends the past two weeks has truly been the best part. Here are a few of the things we did while enjoying the weather and watching the colors change.

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Sept. 10 – Campobello Island, NB

Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’” -Eleanor Roosevelt

Today we decided to take a ferry to Deer Island and then to Campobello Island. Both islands are part of the Fundy Isles. They sit at the entrance to Passamaquoddy Bay and were first settled by colonists around 1770. Deer Island is the smallest inhabited island among the Fundy Isles, and is lined with many herring, lobster and salmon fishing villages. Popular activities on Deer Island include beach combing, bird watching, fishing, nature walks and sea kayaking.

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Sept. 9 – St. Andrews, NB

“The cure for anything is salt water…sweat, tears or the sea.” ―Isak Dinesen

Today we headed south and back to the sea. Everyone we visited with told us we should check out the little town of Saint Andrews. The town is also known as St. Andrews by-the-Sea and is one of the prettiest resort towns in North America,. It’s one of New Brunswick’s premier vacation destinations. The seaside resort town took hold as a retreat for stressed-out urbanites in the late 1880s. With its iconic Algonquin Hotel, colorful main street, slow pace and natural splendors, it serves the same purpose today. The town sits on the southern tip of a peninsula that juts into Passamaquoddy Bay and is across the St. Croix River from the United States. 

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Sept. 8 – The Acadian Coast

“Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” – Drake

Our travels today took us further west along the Acadian Coast. We stopped to visit small harbors to look at the boats, we watched the wild surf and took pictures of a few lighthouses. Everyone knows we love to beach comb…it’s one of my favorite pastimes. We’ve found sea glass, shells, arrow heads, shark teeth, lucky stones, sponges and lobster buoys, but today we found the ultimate treasure…LOBSTERS! At one of the beaches we stopped at we spotted people picking things up on the beach, so I asked them what they were looking for. They told me lobsters wash ashore during strong storms and they were there picking them up. I wish we had a place to cook them, because we found four in just a few minutes.

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Setp. 7 – Bouctouche, NB

“The journey not the arrival matters.” –T.S. Eliot

Today we stayed put and waited for Hurricane Dorian to come ashore in Halifax. It was nice to have a day to relax, but it’s a little disappointing that the hurricane is changing our plans. We spent the day doing a little research on what we’d like to see now that we aren’t going to Nova Scotia and watching TV. 

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Sept. 6 – Hopewell Rocks Park

“For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I need to know. The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze.” ―Richard Bode
We had another busy day, full of exploring. We drove up the Fundy Coast to Alma, Cape Enrage and the Hopewell Rocks…all great places to see the power of the tide in the Bay of Fundy. Our first stop was in Alma to see the harbor with it’s lobster boats sitting on the ocean’s floor. From there we drove at to Cape Engage to take in the view and look at the lighthouse.

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Fundy Trail Parkway

“Life’s a climb but the view is great.” – Miley Cyrus

Another one of our adventures on Thursday was to drive the Fundy Trail Parkway. It’s a 6,323 acre park featuring a 19 mile paved road that hugs the southern coast of New Brunswick. It has stunning views of the world-renowned Bay of Fundy, the park has been carved out of the Fundy escarpment, one of the last remaining coastal wilderness areas between Florida and Labrador.
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St. Martins Sea Caves & the Bay of Fundy

“I believe in the ocean…curing all bad moods. I believe in the waves…wiping away worries. I believe in the seashells…bringing good luck. I believe in toes in the sand…grounding my soul.” —Unknown

Our Nova Scotia adventure has turned into a New Brunswick adventure. Hurricane Dorian has Halifax in her sights…high winds and rain are predicted for this weekend, so we’re going up the Acadian Coastal. This path will take us inland and up towards the Gulf of St. Lawerence. It’s a road trip and we have no set plans, so anywhere new is exciting to us.

One of the places we explored yesterday was the St. Martins Sea Caves. They’re natural caves carved into 250 million year old rocks by the powerful Fundy tide. The sea caves can be accessed for eight hours each day, two hours before and two hours after each low tide. We spent the morning wandering along the cliffs and walking on the ocean floor that is under 35+ feet of water at high tide.
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Sept. 5 – St. Martins, NB

“As steady as the tides, Life constantly uncovers the treasures hidden within us.”  Unknown

Today we did a lot of exploring…too much to do one blog. So I’ll share what we did and what we saw in parts…first pictures of St. Martins. It’s a picturesque village rich in seafaring history. It was once one of the richest shipbuilding cities in the British Empire. More than 500 sailing ships were constructed here in the 1800s. Today the village is best known for its sandstone sea caves – submerged during high tide, and accessible to explorers during low tide. There are also miles of unspoiled beaches, two lighthouses and an active harbor with two covered bridges.   

This community’s daily rhythms are guided by the rising and falling of the World’s Highest Tides. At high tide, the colorful fishing boats bob almost level with the top of the pier. At low tide, the same boats sit in the red mud on the ocean floor.

Quaco Head Lighthouse – the original lighthouse was built in 1856 and sat off shore on a small island. This new one was built in 1985…the base is new, but the light is from the original lighthouse.

Views around the lighthouse

One of the covered bridges in St. Martins

There are cute little shops around the harbor. We had a spectacular day to explore St. Martins and the sea caves. 

Here are pictures taken at low tide and the same pictures taken about two hours before high tide. What a difference.

Low tide pictures are first…then high tide.

Looking towards town

Looking towards the second covered bridge in St. Martins.

Aerial view of St. Martins harbor at high tide.

St. Martins Wishing Rocks – Local legend has it the Mi’kmaq believed that a stone with a band of white completely around it was a sing of good fortune from Mother Nature. I was told if you find one of these stones you should make a wish. Once the wish comes true, you’re supposed to pass the stone on to someone else.

Sept. 4 – St. Martins, NB

“Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret” –Oscar Wilde

Today we drove up the coast of Maine, through little towns we visited on our boat in 2013 and 2016. It was fun to see the towns in a different way and it brought back wonderful memories of the summers we’ve spent here. We also had a chance to visit a few town we didn’t make it to while cruising. Lots of interesting sights along the way. 

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