Meanderings & Mind Munchies

Hopewell Rocks

A number of days have passed since the last time I posted. That’s not because we haven’t been doing anything. Our Wi-Fi has been really bad.

On Wednesday, we did a kayak tour of the flowerpots during high tide at Hopewell Rocks near Moncton, New Brunswick.

I realized two things on the kayak trip. First, Greg and I are old. We were the oldest participants by far. It felt very strange. I didn’t realize it until I had trouble getting out of my kayak at the end of the tour, while everyone else hopped out of their kayaks like it was no big deal. Then I looked around and didn’t see a single person over the age of 50.

The second thing I realized is that I am becoming physically weak in my old age. If I want to keep doing stuff with the 50-year-olds, I’d better take strength training more seriously!

Kayaking at high tide

I was in the front of the kayak and was the designated photographer for the trip.

Greg and I quickly learned that when navigating tricky spots, it was better if I put my paddle on the kayak and let him handle the steering. Our communication skills have not improved in 38 years, which means that he was often trying to go left while I was trying to go right. The result was that we crashed into the rocks.

Look how brown the water is. That is due to the 45-foot range between high/low tide and the narrowing of the waterway, forcing the tide up the Bay of Fundy at speed.

Walking the beach at mid tide

We finished our kayak tour around 3:00 p.m. Low tide was scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Our plan was to hang around the park until then so that we could get a picture of low tide.

After changing our wet clothes, we went to the cantina and enjoyed an ice cream. Then we wandered over to the nearby overlook to check out the rocks from above that we had earlier kayaked around.

I was absolutely astonished to see this scene.

In about an hour and a half, the tide had fallen far enough that you could walk among the flowerpots.

We had just kayaked around those stones!

After getting our 12,000 steps in by walking up and down the shoreline, we took the shuttle back to the visitor center.

As we were waiting in line for the shuttle, everyone started talking about the World Cup game. The match between Argentina and England was playing at the time. Not being a sports fan myself, I found it interesting the way that sports can almost instantly create a sense of camaraderie among total strangers.

Once back at the visitor center, we headed to the restaurant for dinner.

One thing I’ve noticed about Canadians is that they tend to be very overweight, particularly the women. In fact, I think they may have an edge over Americans in terms of obesity. From what I have noticed when we eat out, vegetables do not seem to be an essential part of meals here, which may explain things.

As we were coming out of the restaurant, we could see down the hill to the bay. Once again, the scene had completely changed.

Hopewell Rocks mud flats at low tide

The tide had fallen far enough that the mud flats of Fundy Bay were exposed.

Yes, that’s mud…almost as far as the eye can see.

To the left is the water of the bay. To the right are the mud flats.

Shediac Lobster Boat Tour

On Thursday, we headed to Shediac to take a boat tour and enjoy a lesson in lobster fishing.

The tour company was called Shediac Bay Cruises, and the tour was called Lobster Tales.

Chris, our tour guide, is encouraging the kids to pet the lobster.

Since New Brunswick is a bilingual province, most of the tours are conducted in French and English. Our tour guide would speak a sentence in English and immediately repeat it in French. The constant back and forth meant that I really had to pay close attention to catch the English portion of his lecture. Thankfully, he had a microphone that worked very well at projecting his voice, so at least I didn’t have to worry about hearing him too.

Greg, getting his own private lesson in lobster physiology.

Here, Chris is showing the kids how to put the rubber bands on the lobster’s claws.

After everyone got a turn putting bands on the claws, Chris had the kids kiss the lobster.

Chris is explaining the difference between a female and male lobster.

Chris is explaining how the lobsters are caught and how to measure them to determine whether they can be kept.

The best part of the whole lecture! How to eat a lobster.

Dinner is served. We shared a table with a lovely couple from Ontario named Damion and Shenique.

Along with our lobsters, we had rolls, potato salad, and coleslaw. We had our choice of water or soda, but there were also alcoholic beverages for sale.

And for dessert, we had maple cookies. Shenique told us that we could buy them at the local grocery store, which we did the next day. They were so yummy!

Since I have been hearing a lot of people speaking French since we arrived here, I asked Shenique about the Canadians who speak French. She said that most of the French speakers are in Quebec, Montreal, and New Brunswick. Some of them speak only French. Some can speak both French and English. Most of the English speakers seemed to speak only English. In other words, a lot like things are in the US between Spanish and English speakers.

Tidal bore, Bore Park, Moncton, NB

On Friday, we headed into Moncton to view the tidal bore at Bore Park. There is a viewing stand there, and about half an hour before the tidal bore occurs, a guide comes out to talk about it. Unfortunately, we missed his talk because we were running late.

The guide is just finishing his talk as we arrive.

A tidal bore is a wave, in the form of a wall of water, formed by an incoming tide funneling into an estuary.

Here it comes! If you look carefully, you can see a surfer riding the wave. He’s about a third of the way in from the left side. A few minutes later, he falls off his surf board.

Now we are off to Prince Edward Island for a few days.

Sussex Nature Walkway

Yesterday, Greg and I took the bikes and rode the Sussex Nature Walkway (also a bike trail) from one end to the other, which was only about 5 miles in length.

The trail reminded me a lot of the Struble Trail in Downingtown, only not as wide, and gravel rather than paved.

Afterwards, we took our laundry to the local laundromat.

Matthews Head Trail

Today, we headed back to Fundy National Park to hike the Matthews Head trail.

Unfortunately, the parking lot at the trailhead was full. We headed down to the next parking lot with the thought that we would hike up to the trailhead.

Ugh. After nearly a mile of climbing straight up, we decided to cry uncle.

So we took a little rest before heading back down to the car.

The view that Greg was photographing in the photo above this one.

Afterwards, we headed to the grocery store to buy some vegetables that could be cooked. No cyclospora for us!

Fundy National Park

Today, we headed to Fundy National Park to do a couple of short hikes. Over the course of the day, we did 16 staircases. All of the hikes went down and then up again.

Dickson Falls

Our first hike was to Dixon Falls. We started by descending a wooden staircase into the heart of the forest.

The moss turned the forest into something out of Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.

A wooden walkway followed a pretty stream with many small waterfalls until we reached the largest one.

Herring Cove

Next, we headed to Herring Cove. Along the way, we drove through this pretty covered bridge.

Shiphaven Trail

Then we were off to do the Shiphaven Trail. This trail was another wooden walkway along the cliff overlooking the Bay of Fundy.

Wolf Point Beach

The Wolf Point Beach Trail took us down onto the beach itself.

By the time we were finished hiking down to Wolf Point Beach, we were beat. We headed back to the campground, where Greg made Greek turkey burgers for a late lunch, we took a nap, and we watched The Last Airbender on TV.

Saint Andrews

Today, Greg and I drove nearly 2 hours to take a whale watching cruise from Saint Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick.

Saint Andrews was nothing like what I expected. Again, I was thinking we’d be visiting a quaint fishing village like the one in the television program, The Republic of Doyle.

Instead, Saint Andrews was more like an upscale seaside resort town, complete with trendy shops, inns, and restaurants. Since I’m not a shopper, we didn’t spend a lot of time wandering the streets.

Our first stop was a restaurant called The Salty Bight to get some lunch before our cruise. Once again, seafood was on the menu. We both had the chowder.

As you can tell from the photo, it was low tide.

The waitress told us that the strip of land in the distance was Maine.

On our way to the wharf, we saw this artist painting a mural.

Whale watching cruise

Holy cow. The difference between the temperature in town vs. the temperature on the water was dramatic. Before we left, I asked one of the company employees whether I needed to take my jacket, since it was sweltering in town. She recommended that I take it.

Boy, was I glad I did! By the end of the cruise, I was wearing my winter hat, my long-sleeved hiking shirt, my sweatshirt, my down jacket, and my wind breaker.

We had a prime seat inside next to the open windows. Those little boys in the background were a godsend. They had eagle eyes and were able to spot wildlife before our captain and the two marine biologists did. There were five kids in that family. They were from the Netherlands.

We saw lots of wildlife on our cruise, although we almost missed our opportunity to see a whale.

Harbor seals. We also saw some gray seals.

A porbeagle shark. He disappeared before the captain was able to turn the boat around so those of us on the other side could get a good picture of him.

We also saw a good number of porpoises, but they were too quick to photograph. It was only thanks to the little boys from the Netherlands that I got to see them at all.

A salmon farm. Every few seconds a salmon would leap out of the water.

After three hours, our time on the water had expired, and we had yet to see a whale. Then a report came in from a captain on another boat that a finback whale had been spotted. We headed that way.

The whale was almost impossible to photograph. He only broke the surface of the water every few minutes for about a second and a half, and we never knew exactly where he would surface. Maybe if I had had Neal’s camera, I would have been able to get a decent photo of him. But if you look very carefully, in the center of this photo near the horizon line, is the back of the whale.

This is what the whale looked like when he surfaced. (I didn’t take this photo. Greg found it on the internet.) Finback whales are the second-longest whales after the blue whale.

On the way back to the wharf, the captain let the children on board have a turn at the wheel.

This little girl was the oldest of the five children from the Netherlands.

We arrived at the dock and hour and a half late, but at least we got to see our whale!

The tides in the Bay of Fundy are fascinating. Because of the tidal bore, some areas of the water were as smooth as glass while others rippled with white caps. Our captain even pointed out a number of whirlpools. At one point, he let go of the wheel, and the boat went around in circles.

This photo gives some idea of how smooth the water was in some areas and how high the tide rises.

East Quoddy Head Lighthouse on Campobello Island

Walking tour of Saint John

Today, we headed back to Saint John to take a walking tour of Uptown.

We met our tour guide, Pete, at Area 506 Waterfront Container Village, which is an interesting collection of shipping containers on the waterfront turned into little shops, food vendors, and musical venues.

We learned that Saint John was established by a group of loyalists from Massachusetts afraid of retribution after the Revolutionary War, followed by Scottish immigrants and then the Irish.

We saw lots of beautiful old buildings built after a massive fire in 1877.

We walked through a large mall along the waterfront called Market Square. The public library is located there. I loved the books lining the tops of the window frames.

Market Square led right into City Market. We didn’t even have to go outside.

I wish we had had time to do a little shopping in City Market, which sells everything from fresh food to touristy items. It reminded me a bit of a much smaller Reading Terminal Market.

Then we walked up to King’s Square and learned about the band stand, which is two-tiered. Imagine trying to carry a piano up to the second floor!

You can’t see it in this photo, but the band stand is built over a large fountain.

Finally, our tour guide told us about the Irving family, which built their wealth through oil and lumber. Pete was very complimentary about the Irving family because they donate millions of dollars to hospitals and schools in Canada and the US. Apparently, one in three gas stations in Massachusetts sells Irving gas.

Their headquarters is on King’s Square.

Greg and I learned some interesting things about Saint John and New Brunswick during this tour.

The proper way to spell Saint John is to write out the word “saint.” The St. John in Newfoundland is abbreviated.
The largest number of immigrants came from Ireland.
New Brunswick was originally going to be called New Ireland, but the king in England vetoed that because he wanted to name it after himself, and he was the Duke of Brunswick.
New Brunswick is the only official dual language province.

Cask and Barrel

After our walking tour, Greg and I stopped for an alcoholic beverage and appetizer at The Cask and Barrel, one of the small Irish gastro pubs in uptown.

Greg had a local beer, while I had white sangria. We shared a buffalo chicken dip.

Quaco Head Lighthouse

On our way back to the campground, we decided to try once again to find the lighthouse. It was not any easier to locate it this time as it was yesterday. None of the lighthouse signs along the road were accurate. Nevertheless, we eventually succeeded.

I can’t say it was the most beautiful lighthouse I’ve ever seen, but it was still fun to find it.

We have been amazed by the lack of traffic on the highways. Even the city streets are relatively free of cars. It has been delightful, especially after the craziness of Acadia.

Saint John, New Brunswick

Today, we drove into Saint John to take a look around and find out where we needed to go tomorrow for our historic walking tour. We quickly realized that this is not the Saint John from the television program The Republic of Doyle. That St. John must be the one in Newfoundland.

This Saint John is a busy port city located on the Bay of Fundy.

According to Wikipedia, it is Canada’s oldest incorporated city, established on May 18, 1785. It has a population of about 80,000. The port is Canada’s third-largest by tonnage, and the city has a strong industrial base. This is no quaint fishing village, despite the constant cries of seagulls.

I didn’t take any photos while we were walking around. Although there were lots of beautiful old buildings, I didn’t see anything that would make a pretty picture.

After our brief walk around Saint John, we headed to Rockwood Park, a large park located within the city. Our destination was Lily’s Restaurant, where we enjoyed a seafood lunch.

We ate on the terrace overlooking the lake. It was lovely.

I had the seafood casserole. Greg had sautéed scallops. I finished the meal with coconut custard pie (which wasn’t as good as the one I make 😆).

At the table next to us, there were two ladies speaking in French. I was startled when they gave their order to the waitress in perfectly unaccented English. I expect French-speaking people to have French accents. LOL

Interestingly, our waiter told us that there were a lot of people visiting from the states back in the early spring. They were all looking to buy property in Canada. Gee, I wonder why?

Our original plan had been to take a hike along one of the trails within the park after lunch, but we were so full and sleepy that we headed back to the camper for a nap and a quiet evening.

It’s too bad, because according to the park’s website, Rockwood Park offers 2,200 acres of unspoiled natural beauty, with ten lakes and 55 trails and footpaths for walking or biking. Its billion years of history can be seen in unique rock formations, caves, and waterfalls. I’m sorry we missed it.

Along the way home, we decided to make a stop at the local lighthouse. The signs led us off the main road and down a gravel road that was under construction for about 10 miles before dumping us back onto the main road again. The lighthouse signs continued, so we know that we didn’t miss it by mistake. Why we had to drive 10 miles along a dirt road for no reason we will never know.

Anyway, at that point, I looked up the lighthouse on Google Maps and discovered that it was in the opposite direction from our campground. Ugh.

Fundy-St. Martins, NB, Canada

Our drive from Maine to New Brunswick, Canada, went smoothly. Once again, Greg chose a great campground for our visit here.

A view of the Bay of Fundy from our campsite.

After setting up, we headed out for a seafood dinner at The Caves Restaurant.

The Caves Restaurant is right on the beach just outside of St. Martins. Off to the left is a series of caves. During high tide, you can kayak into them. During low tide, you can explore them on foot.

We arrived at high tide and got to see a group of kayakers heading into the caves.

Greg had the seafood casserole, which was good. I had the breaded and fried scallops, which I did not particularly enjoy. Too much breading, small tough scallops.

Fundy Trail Parkway

The next morning, we headed off for a drive along the Bay of Fundy.

It was low tide, and we got a kick out of seeing these boats stranded in the harbor.

According to Wikipedia, the Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world, with tidal ranges averaging about 52 feet.

One of our first stops along the Fundy Parkway was Fuller Falls.

I was more entertained by the cable staircase, though. Although I don’t know exactly how they are made, it looks like the entire thing is constructed ahead of time a la fire escape ladder and then laid down in one go. Pretty cool.

A few views from the lookout stops along the Fundy Parkway:

The Salmon River at low tide:

Looking at the mouth of Salmon River with the Bay of Fundy in the distance.

Our next stop was Long Beach, where low tide had created a deep, rock-strewn beach.

Then we headed to Walton Glen Gorge, which necessitated a fairly long hike (for two people who had gotten very little exercise in the preceding six months, anyway). I don’t know whether Greg and I are simply bad at converting kilometers to miles, but we both swear this hike was a lot longer than the signs claimed.

The first part of the hike involved walking through a pretty forest.

And when we finally arrived at the gorge, we were rather underwhelmed.

After the gorge, we returned to St. Martins, where we stopped in at the visitor’s center to inquire about the closest grocery store.

We wandered around for a bit before grabbing our groceries and heading back to the campground.

St. Martins has at least two covered bridges. The one above is the one we crossed to get to the Fundy Parkway.

OFR recap

The OBrien Family Reunion 2026 (OFR) is in the history books, and I thought I would do a quick recap (or not so quick).

First, the heat wave that was making temperatures sore to 104° during the July 4th holiday in Philadelphia reached as far north as Maine. It was freaking hot! Greg and I were lucky enough to be staying in our RV, where we had air conditioning, and, believe me, I took full advantage of it!

Beehive Trail

The more intrepid folks in our group decided to hike the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park. This trail is especially difficult. The first part of the trail ascends a 450-ft cliff with exposed edges and steep drop-offs with no railings. The trail requires that the hiker ascend steep granite staircases and pull himself up using iron rungs and ladders.

The intrepid climbers: Richard, Galen, Wally, Debbie, Migzie

Galen, scaling the cliff face. He later told me that he was more scared doing the Beehive Trail this time than he had been when he did it at 16.

The Beehive Trail seen from below. Those little teal-colored dots are people.

Greg’s birthday

I posted some pictures of Greg’s birthday party at Tracey’s Restaurant before, but here are a few more.

Acadia’s Ocean Path

Greg, me, Christopher, Marianne, Neal, Lily, and Galen decided to walk the Ocean Path at Acadia National Park from Sand Beach to Otter Cliff. Since the park was packed with tourists, Chris and Marianne suggested that we take the loop bus. It took a while to get there, but at least we didn’t have to fight for parking!

Not long after we started the hike, Marianne took a tumble and hurt her ankle. It was clearly serious, so she and Chris decided to head back to the visitor’s center, where an EMT examined her and called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Chris later texted us this photo.

Meanwhile…

The rest of us continued on our hike to Otter Cliff.

The guys go fishing

Some of the avid fishermen in our group roused themselves at 4 am to go fishing one morning.

Many “sunnies” were caught, but nothing big enough to bring home.

Hanging out in the rec room

Folks spent a lot of time during OFR in the rec room, AKA the garage, because it was air conditioned. The OBriens are a competitive family, which was on full display.

Scott and Neal battle it out over ping pong

Other folks enjoyed simply hanging out together

Neal’s owl

One evening Neal was able to capture a photo of this owl on the property.

Sean and Alex do Cadillac Mountain

Sean and Alex were lucky enough to score tickets to drive up to Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. Of course, it required getting up at 2:30 am!

Galen and Richard do Cadillac Mountain

Galen desperately wanted to hike up Cadillac Mountain, ideally at dawn. He wasn’t able to find anyone willing to do it with him (it would have required getting up at 2 am and hiking in the dark), but eventually Richard offered to do it with him later in the morning. Of course, they picked one of the hottest days in which to do it!

Others do Cadillac Mountain

Wally was able to score tickets to drive up Cadillac Mountain one morning (not for sunrise), so he, Migzie, Paul, Debbie, and Richard headed off.

Paul, Debbie, Brenda, Richard, and Wally. Migzie is taking the photo.

Soccer fans

The excessive heat gave folks a great excuse to hang out and watch the World Cup. It was one of the main activities during our week in Maine.

Neal and Lily take a puffin cruise

One afternoon, Neal and Lily took off on their own for a puffin cruise. Neal’s camera got a great workout, since they got to see many other wildlife in addition to puffins.

Family pictures

No OBrien gathering would be complete without lots of family photos.

The OBrien siblings: Brenda, Wally, Greg, and Debbie

The siblings with spouses: Richard, Brenda, Migzie, Wally, Greg, me, Debbie, and Paul

From left: Wally, Alex, Sean, Debbie, Migzie, Galen, Greg, me, Lily, Neal, Richard, Brenda, and Paul

From left: Richard, Brenda, Christopher, Marianne, Lily, Migzie, Wally, Neal, Sean, Alex, Debbie, me, Paul, and Greg

From left: Wally, Migzie, Debbie, Paul, me, Greg, Scott, Galen, Lily, Neal, Christopher, Marianne, Richard, and Brenda

Sunset cruise

Our second-to-last night in Ellsworth, some of us took a sunset cruise on our rented pontoon boat.

Sean steered the boat while Paul supervised

This photo wasn’t taken during the sunset cruise, but it’s the only photo I have of Galen steering the boat.

Some kayakers enjoying an evening paddle.

Neal taking a break from photographing us all

Debbie, Migzie, Wally, Sean, Clementine, and Alex

Migzie and Alex giving Clementine some love

Fireworks

On our last night together, which was July 4th, we decided to skip the fireworks in Ellsworth and Bar Harbor. Instead, some of us wandered down to the dock after dinner to enjoy the sunset and the pleasant weather.

Much to our delight, a number of folks around the lake put on fireworks displays. One of them was only a few doors down from us. We had our own private show! What a wonderful way to end another OFR.

Greg’s birthday

Yesterday, we celebrated Greg’s birthday by going out for a seafood dinner at Chris and Marianne’s favorite restaurant, Tracey’s, in Sullivan, Maine.

Greg was in his element as the guest of honor.

The kids got some bonding time, which was nice to see.

I think my dad would have been proud at how thoroughly I demolished my lobster.

Before dinner, we stopped at Chris and Marianne’s new RV for a tour.

Chris and Marianne’s mansion away from home.

Everyone enjoying the view from their backyard.

I’ve been taking it very slowly this week, so no trips to Acadia yet. Instead, I’ve enjoyed going out on the pontoon boat with other members of the family.

Paul and Scott examine the depth finder, looking for the deepest part of the lake and the ideal fishing spot.

Paul and Greg check out their fishing gear while Christopher steers the boat.

Galen has been kayaking every chance he gets.

Put Galen in a kayak, and he is a happy camper.

Luckily, he’s been able to talk Debbie into joining him. Even Richard went along on this trip.

Galen getting some assistance from Neal, who had been on the dock taking photos of a loon in the water.

Brenda watching Debbie preparing to disembark. It didn’t go well. A complete change of clothes was required.

Today, the plan is to take the bus around the Acadia Loop Road.

Headed north

Greg and I are off on another extended camping trip. Yippee!

This time we are staying for a week near Acadia National Park to participate in a family reunion for Greg’s side of the family before heading further north into Canada to do New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

Greg did the planning for this trip, and boy, he did a great job! I told him that his second career should be as a travel agent.

The house we are staying in is perfect for a large family reunion. It is right on Branch Lake.

Greg even rented a pontoon boat for our use this week.

Plus, plenty of other areas for socializing

There is even a large garage that has been turned into a rec room. And it’s air conditioned!

Everyone has a bed, although Greg and I are staying in the camper. And there are three full bathrooms.

Family members who are participating include Greg, me, Neal, Lily, Galen, Scott, Debbie, Paul, Chris, Marianne, Wally, Migzie, Sean, Alex, Kelly, Brendan, Brenda, and Richard.