Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Merry Times in the Maritimes


We heard Atlantic Canada would float our boat so we jumped in. After packing the car with bikes and golf clubs we head north for Bangor, Maine where we spend a fun night with our friends Joanne and Robert (thanks to you both!), a couple of days relaxing in Bar Harbor and a little time hiking in Acadia National Park.


Before we know it we are at the charming, summer resort of St Andrews By-The-Sea in New Brunswick. Founded in 1783, it's one of the oldest towns in the province. We stay at the historic Fairmont Algonquin Hotel whose corridors apparently inspired Stephen King in his book, The Shining.



On the rooftop deck outside our room the wine goes down easy as we watch the sun set over the Bay of Fundy and Nova Scotia in the distance.



There's no mistaking we're in the Maritimes now - fishing paraphernalia, lighthouses and lobsterpalooza everywhere.


We dine on mussels, crab cakes and seafood chowder from the garden patio at the Gables Restaurant right on the sea.


There's no better place in Canada to witness the extraordinary power of ocean tides than at the Hopewell Rocks. At low tide these eroded columns, as high as 15 meters (50 feet), stand on the ocean floor like Easter Island statues.





The unusual formations are known as 'flowerpots' on account of the trees and plants that still flourish on their narrowing summits.


The constant ebb and flow of the world's highest tides are in these waters where tides rise 10-15 meters twice daily. We decide to walk on the ocean floor when the tide is out but we could have waited several hours and kayaked around the rocks.


We pause to see the lighthouse and wander the beach at windblown, suitably named Cape Enrage.


The Third Vault Falls Trail in Fundy National Park takes us through leafy woodlands into a mossy gorge to the park's highest waterfall (14m/46ft).


The 13 kilometer (8-mile) Confederation Bridge links New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island and is the longest bridge in Canada.


Before making our way to it's capital city, Charlottetown, we stop for fried clams and chips on the dock of the delightful, little fishing village of Victoria.


Heaving dunes and red sandstone bluffs provide startling backdrops for some of the island's finest stretches of sand in Prince Edward Island National Park. Beaches, like this one at Brackley, lined with marram grasses, lupins and wild roses, span almost the entire length of the park's 42 kilometer coastline.


Time to work off some calories with a bike ride. Tim tries to delay going to Cavendish to see Anne of Green Gables as long as possible but Sandi convinces him no visit to PEI would be complete without one.


Here he is, brave soul and wonderful husband! Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling children's novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. She grew up in the house above in Cavendish. Its Victorian surrounds inspired the setting for her tale.


One of the story-book perfect bedrooms.


Anne probably looked something like this. Not.


It's forever about the sea here. This typical waterfront scene with piles of lobster traps in North Rustico is found in the many fishing villages that dot the province.


The classic PEI dining experience is a no-frills lobster supper, held in dining halls, churches and community centers throughout the island. In an attempt to aid and abet Tim's cholesterol, this time we opt for the seafood chowder, just as delectable.


Massive, dramatic and ever-shifting sand dunes epitomize the amazing area west of Greenwich. These rare parabolic giants are fronted by an awesome beach.


Like one of the province's many lighthouses, the 357 km-long Confederation Trail acts as a beacon, calling North American and European cyclists. Thanks to its origins as the bed of Prince Edward Island's railway the route is almost entirely flat as it meanders around hills and valleys. We choose the scenic route from St Peters to Mt Stewart.


Tim stops to snap this sandpiper, one of hundreds of species of native birds.


Most islanders rank Basin Head Beach with its sweeping golden sand as their favourite.


Just us and our footprints, coming and going.


Prince Edward Island may not be the world's most exciting vacation spot, but it's a place that has always inspired travelers to do exactly the one thing they came here to do: relax. So we do. Island beaches boast the warmest ocean waters north of Virginia.


Built the same year Canada was unified, the East Point Lighthouse continues to stand guard over the northeastern shore of PEI.







We shamelessly dig into crab and lobster rolls at Crabby's Seafood on the wharf just outside the ferry terminal to Nova Scotia, our next stop.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Red, White and Blue






“Who has not dreamed a world of bliss
on a bright, sunny noon like this?” —William Howitt

Happy Independence Day America!