Fun Along Fundy Bay

Perhaps after my last post, you might be wondering if my family's Canadian Road Trip ended up in a roadside ditch despite the diligence of our designated driver.  I'm thankful to say we made it to Fundy Bay National Park without a hitch.

I had reserved a cabin at the Fundy Highlands Inn and Chalets.  The chalets were tiny, but the view of Fundy Bay from the property was breathtaking.  We planned to hike along a promontory of the park the next day, but first--dinner on the back deck of the Tipsy Tails Bar & Grill where we watched the fishermen dock with their day's catch.  Richard ordered his usual lobster roll while the rest of us explored the menu.

(Note:  I took the top photo of the above collage while waiting for our dinner at Tipsy Tails.  Then the next day I returned to snap the bottom photo.  If you look carefully, you'll see the red boat on the left floating in the evening at high tide and beached the next day at low.  It's another example of the famed Bay of Fundy tides.)

The next day we hit the trail, hiking along Matthews Head.  The trail loops through the park's characteristic conifer forest before trailing along the headland.  Disappointingly, we had only a few glimpses of the coast through the trees.  However, we did happen upon some scenic spots where we could view sea stacks, columns of rock standing in the sea that remain after erosion of the cliffs.

All that hiking made us hungry so we headed back to the nearby town of Alma to a restaurant recommended by Richard.  Throughout our trip, Richard took the lead in researching the best restaurants to try.  This time he led us to a real winner--The Alma Lobster Shop--where once again he ordered--you guessed it!--a lobster roll.

In fact, all of us ordered the same and found these freshly-caught (ah, so freshly caught that the day's lobster traps were still floating in the processing shed at the back of the shop) versions of the sandwich delicious.

Returning to the chalet, we spent the night playing games.  We'd located a copy of The Settlers of Catan at a store in Saint John the day before.  In this popular game, players try to become the dominant force on the island of Catan by building roads, then settlements, and finally cities.  Julie and Rick, friends of ours, introduced us to the game last summer when we visited them in Corbin, KY.  Then, during our Thanksgiving holiday in Washington, D.C., we played it again, using the game owned by Richard's roommate.  Now, we are proud owners and--I wish I could also say--winners of the game, but I must confess the strategy often eludes me.  Still, as you can see in the photos above, games are fun to play no matter who wins!

Throwing our suitcases back in the SUV on July 12th, we had plans to reach Prince Edward Island by nightfall.  But first, I persuaded the family to stop at Cape Enrage simply because I had been intrigued by its name when I researched our proposed itinerary.

There a lighthouse warns passing fishing boats to keep away from the rocky shore.

We climbed down to shoreline for a closer look at the rocky cliffs.

On our way back to the highway, we added stones to the cairns left by earlier visitors, leaving our final mark on New Brunswick.  Before the day was done, we crossed the Confederation Bridge, an 8-mile span that links New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island.  Passage is free when crossing to the island, but tolls currently at a rate of $47.75 for 2-axle vehicles are collected when one leaves.  I warned Tim that we'd better have a full tank of gas.  Anyone who runs short of fuel is charged $100.  Yikes!  It's a good thing the toll keeper takes credit cards!