Be...In This Place

Greetings from New Brunswick!

We left you off in Miramichi (where we tied up to a tree). The morning of July 28th was a beautiful one. We learned about Miramichian history while walking along the water. We then drove out to middle island, a beautiful place with a dark past. It was here where they quarantined the Irish immigrants escaping the potato famine. Many arrived on cramped boats where they caught scarlet fever. 

From there, we drove to Fredericton. There, we went to the Garrison district where we saw a former barracks that is now a crafts market. We also walked by the legislature, as well as along a boardwalk where we saw our first (of many) Maritime lighthouse. Later, we took in an awesome amateur play at the guardhouse near the old barracks and indulged in some lemonade. We then headed to a park where we saw the changing of the guards and listened to part of the performance of a Celtic fiddler. We then had dinner at a pub where Hailey experienced maritime shimp for the first (of many) time. Her facial expression was unforgettable. 

The next morning we headed to St. John where we saw the reversing rapids. This is a phenomenon that occurs at low and high tide. It's a slow phenomenon. We then went to a farmer's market where we were too chicken to sample dulse (a type of edible seaweed) despite claims it was actually good. 

From there, we went to Fundy national park where we first went to Point Wolf and walked along the ocean floor!!! The tide was super low, so we were able to walk out over 300 meters. From there, we visited Alma beach to view more spectacularly low tides. There, we could see fishing boats that were beached in a harbour. It was cool. 

Next, we headed to Hopewell Rocks where we saw flowerpot rocks. Durning high tide, only the tops of them are visible, but at low tide, you can walk out to the very base of them. Because of the tidal movements, the rocks are molded into beautiful and unique shapes. 

Wildlife count for the day was one vulture. 

On July 30th, we woke up to rain and decided to head straight to Moncton where we kept on getting mistaken for U2 fans. We went on a scavenger hunt in a chocolate/soap/maple factory collecting free samples. We then went to magnetic hill. Valerie and Talia both took turns putting te car in neutral and "driving" it up hill - steering while magnetic pull did the rest. It was really cool. We then partook in our save-it-for -a-rainy-day activity of seeing the final installment of Harry Potter and doing some shopping. 

Next, we went to Shediac where we saw the world's largest lobster (sculpture). We ended the day in Murray Beach provincial park. 

This ends our New Brunswick installment. Catch you later!

Tal, Val, and Hailey