Our next day had us drive an hour east to Saint John.   Saint John is the largest city in New Brunswick with 70,000 people and another 50,000 in the surrounding areas.   The city  sits on the terminus of Saint John river that opens up into the Bay of Fundy.  The Saint John river "reversing falls" is an unusual geologic feature which is also one of  city's main tourist draws.   Due to the tide being low on our arrival to the city we immediately boarded an covered jet drive boat  for a harbor and river tour offered by Reversing Falls Jet Boat Ride.  (http://jetboatrides.com)  We picked this company because it uses jet drive and takes people up the rapids in a fun and dry manner. We recommend this company because the other tour boat  does against the rapids past the bridge.    (There is also a thrill ride by a sleek jet boat  that dives into the rapids getting everyone soaked in the cold water.)   During our ride the captain explained that the tide was leaving the harbor at about five feet per hour.  While under the bridge he held the boat in the fast current showing us whirlpools that were being created. Some of these were ten feet wide and pulling water down almost three feet  in a fast swirl.  He continued taking the boat higher up the river in what seemed like steps in the rapids near the paper factory explaining how the current works. The captain recommended that we come back just before the high tide breaks later that evening to see the change.  Afterwards he headed back down the river where he pointed out a rocky cliff that has similar rocks in Africa of which they were connected to at one time.   Before getting back to the dock we passed by three seals who gave us a look before moving on.    We highly recommend the Reverse Falls Jet Boat Ride. 

After our boat tour we walked to the City Market for lunch.  This market has been here since 1876.  It is housed in a building with a tall roof that was built to look like an inverted ship's hull. Here you will find fruit, meat and seafood along with tourist items and different food counters. From City Market we pulled out "The Three Historic Walking Tours" guide we received at the information center. This is a good booklet to have as it lists three walks and spotlights the different buildings and homes along the way. Our walk combined parts  all three tours for the rest of the afternoon. We strolled past many homes, some with unusual designs dating back over 100 years.  We continued past the different older churches and  the Saint John Jewish Historical Museum Synagogue.  Dinner that night was at a local pub where we sampled the fish and chips and  the regional  local scallops served fried  along with a couple locally made beers.  

The next morning we were excited to leave civilization behind and make our way east to Fundy Trail Parkway. (www.fundytrailparkway.com)  Fundy Trail Parkway is literally a park that has a scenic drive running through it.  The road has many stops along the coast to take in the view or to start a hike.  To get to Fundy Trail Parkway you need to drive to St. Martins and make a right turn at the covered bridge  where the lobster boats are floating at the dock or sitting below it on the bay's floor depending on the tide.   It is not every day you get to photograph and old covered bridge next to boats grounded. Today's drive to the park had us visit three covered bridges.

The reason for us coming to Fundy Trail Parking was to stay a night at the Hearst Lodge a few miles off the road.  Hearst Lodge was built in 1967 by the famous Hearst family.  This place is all about being rustic and not luxurious as the Hearst name would imply.  When booking here you have a choice of two cottages or three rooms.  Both the cottages and rooms are very basic.  There are no phones, TV or internet and cell phones do not get reception. (There is a TV in the lodge.)  You don't stay at the Hearst Lodge for plushy accommodations, you stay here to have a great experience is the  natural surroundings and enjoy the lodge.  Caretakers George and Laura put the "care" in your stay.   George always made sure there was a large fire crackling in the fireplace or campfire.  Laura kept you well fed with her delicious cooking. This is a BYO so bring a bottle of wine for your dinner.

Getting to the Hearst Lodge can be done via George's pick-up truck on the hilly road or by hiking in.  We opted to give George our luggage and hike the Hearst Trail from the interpretive center where the cars stay overnight.  The Hearst Trail goes along the river for only 1.75 miles (2.8km). This is not a flat river trail.  If you are not used to hiking or cannot go up and down embankments, rocks or steps than you should take the pick-up.  If you have a sense of adventure and don't mind working your body a little, then take the trail.  After 90 minutes we arrived sweaty, starving and happy.   Upon entering the lodge we were treated to an applause by a day group having lunch. Laura was quick to bring us a hearty three course lunch.  After lunch we sat on rocking chairs on the porch of the lodge looking at and listening to the river and breathing the sweet forest air while reading, working on photos from our trip and knitting for Maureen. We enjoyed just being in such nice surroundings.  Before dinner we strolled up the river a little ways on a flat trail for look.   A three course dinner comes with your stay offering a choice of salmon or chicken.   Evening entertainment was an old fashion campfire set by George where we chatted with the other guests about the different travel plans we all had.  Breakfast the next morning was made to order. On top of that we requested a couple of peanut butter sandwiches so we can picnic on the way to Hopewell Rocks that day. We would not hesitate to come back here and hope George and Laura will be greeting us when we do.

The next morning after a few hugs from Laura we drove east to Hopewell Rocks.  Hopewell Rocks is a natural park where  lowest recorded tides in the world are recorded.  Each day during low tide visitors can take a tram or walk an easy path to a stair case that takes them to the floor of the Bay of Fundy.  Here guides answer questions and look after your safety..  Their most important job is to tell you when the tide starts to change and direct you when needed.    While walking on the  floor  of the Bay of Fundy you get to look up at the "flower pots".  These are narrow columns that form mini islands that can only be seen at low tide.  These tall columns of sandstone have trees and plant growth on the top making it look like a tall flower pot. While on the bottom you can see tunnels, seaweed and the cliffs that are normally covered by the Bay.  Some people like to come back when the tide changes to see the difference or wait for the tide to come up and do a kayak tour between the flower pots..  We highly recommend a visit to this place allowing about two hours at low tide.  Do check their web site for the tidal schedule on their web site www.thehopewellrocks.ca  before visiting. 

Nine Nights In Nova Scotia

After our interesting time at Hopewell Rocks we drove three and half hours to the town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia.  Wolfville is located  near the Bay of Fundy and is in the middle of wine country at the eastern end of the Annapolis Valley. It boasts a university and is a bit more of cultural center than other towns of its size in the province.  Wolfville offers good restaurants, shops and a theater on Main Street.  We checked into the Gingerbread House Inn because it was located on quiet street just outside of town. (www.gingerbreadhouse.ca)  We opted for  a spacious suite having a large hot tub inside it. We found the inn keepers Libby and Alan to be excellent hosts.  Alan makes an amazing breakfast and Libby could not have been more helpful in planning out our day in the region.  Dinner after check in was at a Turkish restaurant called Troy on Elm Street. We were pleasantly surprised by the some of the authentic flavor served to us that we enjoyed in Istanbul almost a year to the date earlier.  We liked the open air kitchen and the charcoal grilling. (Call 902 542-4425 for reservations)

After an excellent breakfast of eggs Benedict plated professionally with some cut up fruit we were on our way to explore this part of the Annapolis Valley.  Our first stop was at the Prescott House Museum (www.prescotthouse.novascotia.ca)  where we used  our Nova Scotia Museum pass for entrance.  The Prescott House is a stately Georgian home that was owned  by horticulturist Charles Prescott who lived here with his family from 1811 until 1859.  It is filled with period and original  furnishings. Our next stop was three minutes around the corner to the Fox Hill Cheese House where a fifth generation family member of this farm offered us a tasting of their many cheeses and a couple of ice creams they produce.  There are no tours at Fox Hill but we were able to see an employee mixing a vat of cheese through a window. We continued north to Blomidon on the bay  stopping at the Blomidon Winery. Here we learned about some of the grape varietals  that grow well in this area and tasted several wines for $8.  This tasting fee was refunded when we purchased a two of our favorites.  The next couple of hours were spent exploring the northern area taking in views of the low tide on the bay and then driving to a ridge and viewing the farm land in valley.   We then drove west to Halls Harbor to see the small man made cove complete empty of water  with all the boats grounded.  We opted to pass on lunch here but did take a few photos before moving on. 

For our overnight we checked into the Homeport Motel (www.homeportmotel.com) just outside of town. We picked this simple looking place because of its spacious apartment style design complete with kitchen and large hot tub.   After dropping off our bags we hurried out to take a three minute drive to  the Blue Nose Golf Course. We did this because the late afternoon sun was perfect for photographing and viewing Lunenburg across the bay.  We parked alongside one of the greens and saw this pretty town with its brightly painted homes and buildings in the background and the bay and boats in the foreground.  Still wanting to take advantage of the late afternoon sun we drove ten  minutes through town to a place called Blue Rocks.  Blue Rocks is a pretty cove just off the tourist grid.  At Blue Rocks we found a sleepy community on the water with rustic sea views of fishing shacks and nice homes.     We continued our own tour back in Lunenburg  by driving up and down the narrow streets that had many brightly painted pretty older homes.  We ended our day at the top of the hill to look at the impressive Lunenburg Academy catching the last rays of the days sun. The Lunenburg Academy is a three story Victorian era wooden structure that was a school.  It's classic lines make it worth a quick look if you enjoy this type of architecture.  (Later at night we drove up to it again to see it lit up). Before dinner we wondered around some of the quaint streets looking at the galleries and boutiques.  Dinner was at the Grand Banker Bar and Grill because a water view table opened up when we walked in. Here I ordered the scallops what get delivered straight from the fishery across the street.  One could not have anything fresher and tastier.   Afterward dinner we stopped by the Maritime Kitchen and Party and Scuttlebutt Restaurant to listen to a set of folksy - Celtic music. Go to www.explorelunenburg.ca for information on Lunenburg