Thursday, October 12, 2016
We left Fundy National Park and drove the Lighthouse Route along the coast, pulling the Airstream. It was not worth it. Well, the leaves were spectacular, and the little mountains that look very much like the Southwest Mountain range in Virginia, green farmland climbing up the sides of the hills. Otherwise, this is a small, very rough road with no views of the Bay until you get to Saint Martins where the Fundy Trail Parkway begins. Trying to figure out where to go, we parked next to a bunch of shops. Martha went into one to get the scoop, and the lady said a cruise ship was in, so the little seafood restaurant would be packed. As I sat in the truck waiting, there must have been 15 tour buses going past. Martha made great chicken salad sandwiches as tourists swarmed all around us. We decided to drive on, skipping the highly-touted Fundy Parkway – too many people!
Setting the GPS for St. Andrews, we finally got on Rt. 1, a beautiful 4-lane highway with very little traffic. Big fences ran along both sides of the highway, obviously to keep the moose off the highway. We crossed some beautiful rivers and saw more great salt marshes and a couple of beautiful lakes with bike trails alongside.
Driving through the very pretty town of St. Andrews, we arrived at Kiwanis Oceanfront Camping right on the tip of the peninsula jutting into Fundy Sound. Two girls working the shop were giddy with excitement. It was Friday and they were off in an hour, and the campground closes tomorrow. I think you could still camp here, but there wouldn’t be power or water or bathrooms. It was a bit cool with the wind, but still 55 degrees. We got a glass of wine and sat out at our picnic table enjoying the great views. Although there are a lot of permanent campers here, they are all empty. Only seven traveling campers are in the campground. Two sites down, a lady stepped out of her camper and I waved. She came over to say hi, and I offered her a glass of wine. She said, “Well I’ll just go get the one I was drinking”. Terry is from Vancouver and is traveling by herself. After running a food truck for 23 years, mostly serving the film industry that is so active in Vancouver, she needed a break. She sold the business, rented her house and bought a camper, a Mini Winnie Winnebago. She visited family she hadn’t seen in a long time in Ontario and then started touring and has been at this campground for a week. She talked about all the cool things to see and do in St. Andrews and where to eat, suggesting The Red Herring Pub for dinner. We asked if she wanted to join us, and she was happy to do so. We drove to town, but we could have easily walked. Terry has been riding her bike everywhere. She said the fish and chips and lobster rolls were great at the Red Herring, so Martha ordered one and I the other. Then we shared, and both were excellent.
The ladies at the campground office told us about a video store that also had great ice cream. As if we hadn’t had enough to eat, we had to go. A young man worked the counter, saying his favorite was a vanilla with caramel, sea salt and chocolate. It was to die for. While we ate, we reviewed and commented on the videos, but didn’t really find anything terribly appealing. We enjoyed the evening with Terry and her interesting story, saying good night as a full moon lit the bay.