Oh, Canada

Greetings from Saint John, New Brunswick!

We're in Atlantic time now, four hours ahead of Seattle time, which means we're closer to Zulu time than PDT.  (Ok, that's enough time geekery)

So, before this trip, I didn't think much about New Brunswick. To me, it's kind of the "forgotten" province.  (No offense to anyone out there who might be from, or attached in some way to, NB)  Maybe it's because I've spent my life in the western part of North America, but there you go.  And, did you know that New Brunswick is the only offcially bilingual province in Canada?  I didn't. I know the country has laws concerning language, and that English/French appear everywhere.  I didn't know, though, that it's official at a provincial level here. 

Here we are then, in the province's largest city.  We're here to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia tomorrow, crossing the Bay of Fundy to get there.  Should be an interesting trip!

Today was short on distance and photos, but was enjoyable, nonetheless. It's only about 70 miles / 114 kms from Calais, ME to Saint John, at least on Highway 1. We took detours, as usual, so our total was more than that.  We left Calais (a quiet town, it must be said,) and joined the queue on the bridge to enter Canada.  It only took about 15 minutes, but the Canadian side had only one station open.  The US had several: we watched cars blitzing on by (complete with dogs hanging out the windows!) At breakfast, we overheard some older local fellows greeting one another: "Oh, I walked across to get here, but I'll get a ride back."  Small towns, small borders....

Side note:  interesting to be in Canada the day after a Canadian team snatched defeat from the jaws of certain victory - the Toronto Maple Leafs, up by 2 goals with less than 2 minutes to play, end up losing in overtime to the Boston Bruins.  "Coug'd it", in other words. The entire country is talking about it, or so it seems!

First order of business: Canadian currency.  Of course, we both have a stash back home in Seattle, but did we remember it?  Um, no.....  but we found a friendly Scotia Bank and withdrew some legal tender for north of the border. 

Note to my big bro:  chocolate museum wasn't open.  That's what we get for being here just a bit early. Oh, well, it's still nice to have no other tourists around!

We started following the coastal scenic route, which dipped off of Route 1 down to the Bay, and included several secondary roads.  Route 1, being the Trans-Canada Highway, is a four-lane beauty, and here it cuts straight through the forest.  The forest consists of low pines and deciduous trees, and as we found on the back roads, the terrain gets more hilly.  The coastline is much "calmer" than in Maine, though - less dramatically rocky, but still pretty.  All the towns are named for British saints:  St. Andrew, St. David, St. James, etc.  We drove through a few of them, taking note of things such as the local curling club.

Something else we noticed:  most of the houses out in the country had some sort of box, or container, or something, out next to the highway.  Too big to be a mailbox, but not a schoolbus shelter.  Unique designs, though - most were wooden and handmade.  Finally figured out that these are the trash receptacles, for when the trash truck comes around.  Instead of putting out the city trash container for pickup, you put your bagged trash into your little structure, and the worker tosses the bag into the truck. A more genteel way of transferring trash.

Lunch was rather impromptu, a stop at a Tim Horton's as we rejoined Route 1.  If you know nothing else about Canada, you should know this: Canada runs on Tim Horton coffee, and you'll find a Tim's just about everywhere in the country.  So, when in Rome....

Back to the road, and our meandering route.  We found a nice little scenic cove and checked out its rocks and its water.  I think I experienced some of the Bay of Fundy's famous fluctuating tides - I wanted to stick my hand in, but the water seemed to be moving in about a meter (see what I did there?) with every wave! 

There are still lobster boats around

On into Saint John, and our chosen hotel for the night, a Hampton Inn, out on the shopping side of town.  These two things are coincidental - we did not choose the location because of shopping.  Just wanted to clear that up.  <grin>  Anyway, there's an indoor pool & water slide here, and Nancy did us proud!  She came flying down the slide, over and over again!  I was too much of a chicken - it's an enclosed tube and I get seriously claustrophobic in those things!  But not to worry - Nancy had a blast with it. 

Off to nearby dinner, then a drive around town.  Had to check out the airport, of course, and then, on the other side of town, where we'll catch the ferry to Nova Scotia tomorrow.

By the way, the Canadian dollar is basically equal to the USD.  Although we wish it were like the old days when Canada was a bargain, this way does make the math easier. <grin>

Cheers,
--Kit and Nancy