We came, we saw, we did...

Things we did in and around Saint John, in case you are ever there; not a complete list of Saint John’s attractions, just some of the things we enjoyed this time. We had pretty good weather with only two days of fog and wet. In fact we’ve almost always had good weather which may be the time of year that we visit or just dumb luck. Did I say that as soon as Pete and Betty knew we were coming to SJ they booked a cruise in Europe (they did warn us that might happen)? So we enjoyed the use of their house and played at being tourists.

Since we were at the airport checking on car rentals, we made the trek out to St Martins on a perfect sunny day with the tide way out, and the sun sparkling. It’s a cute little village but the main attraction is the covered bridge, beach and cliff caves.

St Martins at low tide

The road out is lined with the typical scrub forest of the rocky soil. Thanks to some people from Colorado we heard about “Hearst Lodge” in Fundy Park, apparently a hunting lodge built by Randolph Hearst back in the day. Who knew?

Saint John Public Market

We always love going “over to town” (Jim’s brother Pete lives on the west side), just to ramble the Saint John Market and drive around looking at the beautiful old buildings.

There are still a few interesting stores uptown, including a gallery with a craft shop name that has interesting wares. And we usually take a walk through King’s Square to look at the old band stand. It is an iconic Saint John image. Jim gets nostalgic about his childhood haunts so we drive down Pitt Street where his grandmother lived and inevitably we get to “The Rifle Range” where he grew up. 

Pat and Ed came to SJ for the weekend and I gave them a choice between the Atlantic Roller Derby Championship at the Beaverbrook Arena and a hypnotist at the Imperial Theatre for Saturday night entertainment. Unbelievably they didn’t opt for the roller derby event! I was a little disappointed. The Imperial is a gem of a 1912-ish theatre. It has seen worse days, way worse, but was lovingly and beautifully restored in 1994. The hypnotist was entertaining enough but we’ve been spoiled by Mesmer.

There are actually a couple of wineries in New Brunswick and we opted to check out the closest one, Gillis, at the top end of the Kingston Peninsula. Theirs aren’t quite BC or Ontario whites, I’m not a super fan of the L’Acadie grape that is endemic in the Maritimes, but the Premium Red was worth the drive. Definitely worth the drive is Mama George’s restaurant about 5 minutes from the winery, somewhere between Hampton and Norton. And we got to travel on the longest cable operated ferry in the world. So they say.  I LOVE those cable ferries in NB. They just load and go on no schedule and for free.

I already posted photos of the Reversing Falls and we made the distinction between the Jet Boat Ride and the Jet Boat Tour (it would be the tour for me!) but didn’t do either. We did the Squirrel Trail at the Irving Nature Park, 
took a look at Wolastoq Park and Fort Howe, and I walked the 3 kilometer Harbour Passage from Market Square to Reversing Falls. It was very exciting to see the cruise ships parked downtown like cars (buses I guess) and to see the bustle of activity they generated. There were 8 in the city this week, 3 on Monday, 3 Tuesday, and one each on Wednesday and Thursday.

public art at Market Square

New Brunswick isn't a rich province and Saint John isn't the capital so doesn’t maybe get the attention it needs to be a real jewel. Fort Howe has a prime location but the road to it is a wreck, and those gorgeous wooden structures from the heyday cost a fortune to keep up especially in the climate of salt air and harsh wind. It’s a working town and it looks it, but it’s got a lot going for it.