The Longest Drive

Today (Monday, July 17th) was to be a scenic driving day.

We started in heavy fog.  Not too scenic as far as distance, but nice in its own way.  We actually debated whether or not we wanted to go out because we knew we were spending about 6-7 hours in the Jeep, so we wanted to get an early start.  Plus, we’d stayed up really late sitting outside on a picnic table looking for the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).  We didn’t see it, but the stars were amazing, especially when viewed through binoculars!  But being retired and having your home with you everywhere you go has its advantages – we could drive another day if we choose to! Anyway, we decided to go for it.

We were only doing part of the drive, and we still drove a total of 325 miles today!

FYI – these excursions we go on only involve the Jeep.  No one takes their house on outings, not even short ones!  😊

It’s called The Acadian Coastal Drive and it goes all along the coast of New Brunswick.  Their coast is the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is fed from the St. Lawrence Seaway (or more accurately it’s the St. Lawrence River), which is fed by the Great Lakes.  It’s how the ships get from the Midwest states to the ocean, and vice-versa.

Fun fact:  The St. Lawrence River is one of the longest rivers in North America. And, is the outflow for the entire Great Lakes system. The Great Lakes hold nearly 20% of the world’s fresh water. The River flows 744 miles from Lake Ontario into the world’s largest estuary, the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

One of the things we noticed on our drive was that fewer and fewer things had English on them, like billboards, company/office names, etc.  So far, we’ve either had English or a combination of English and French.  Not today.  But we managed just fine.

The most trouble we had was conveying what we wanted to eat to our waitress.  She apologized for her English, we apologized for our French.  😊

Another thing we noticed?  Dead porcupines litter the streets like raccoons and groundhogs in Ohio!  I’d never even seen a porcupine until now!  I’d have preferred to see a live one – from a distance, but at least now I know how big they are.  Don’t worry. . . . I don’t have pictures.  But I tell you this because it’s the most wildlife we’ve seen since we left Ohio.  Honestly, we had more critters in our backyard than we’ve seen in the month we’ve been gone!

The other thing we discovered is that Monday must certainly be wash day.  Many houses had clothes hanging on the line as we drove by.  Was it last Monday I posted about that, wondering what they do in the winter?  Maybe.

Along the way, we were stopped at a large bridge where they seemed to be renovating.  It was interesting to sit and watch them work.  They were handing planks of some kind down to each other from each story.

 

We weren’t overly impressed with the drive.  But it’s because we were expecting it to be right along the coast and it wasn’t.  Also, we were anticipating visiting several lighthouses along the way.  Let’s just say, they don’t do lighthouses around here like the ones in the States.  We drove right by most without stopping.  They’re just these tiny little things.  They actually look more like someone’s lawn decoration than a lighthouse. (Sigh)

But then we reached “The Point”.  In Miscue, New Brunswick.  This lighthouse is 80’ tall and built in 1856.

Here’s what their brochure says:

     The oldest lighthouse in operation in New Brunswick.  Built in 1856 by James Murray of Newcastle, NB, at the cost of 2200 pounds (about $3,500 today’s equivalent) including the keeper’s house and shed.  It is the only National Historic site in the Acadian Peninsula.  It divides the Bay of Chaleur from the St. Lawrence Gulf.

     At high tide, the heavy eight-sided wooden tower of the lighthouse rises 23 meters (76 feet) above sea level.  Two very large axe-hewn beams serve as columns at the angles.  The wood was soaked in sea water for several days to preserve it.  At the beginning, a red lantern lit by torch lights that could be seen in clear weather from 12 km (7 or 8 miles) was changed several times as new technology became available.

 

They charged $6 to go up to the observation deck, so up we went!  Glorious day!  They told us sometimes they have to close it because the winds get so strong, and they only open it from mid-June through September (although this year they’re staying open until October 9^th).

 

 

We had decided that we’d treat ourselves to a seafood meal and had found this restaurant on Tripadvisor that sounded VERY promising.  People talked about how great the food was, especially this platter they have and some even posted pictures of it.  Well, that didn’t happen.  The platter was $55 for one and $110 for two!  That’s waaaaayyyy over our budget!  So we ordered something else.  I ordered a lobster casserole and Blaine ordered a stuffed lobster.  We also got bacon-wrapped scallops ($3 each!  We ordered 2), and stuffed oysters ($2 each.  Guess what?  We ordered 2.)  for appetizers.  We should have just stuck with the oysters.  They were by far better than the rest of what we ordered.  Not that it was bad, mind you, but when people rave over things on Tripadvisor, we expect Bistro of Green quality.  NOT!  At least not so far in New Brunswick.  They even serve things on paper plates with tiny plastic forks and knives.  Maybe Nova Scotia will prove to be better. . . .

 

 

One of the best things about this lifestyle is being able to just take our time!  We don’t have to rush around like we used to, in order to enjoy the most of what’s in the area.  It’s so relaxing!  After our late lunch/early dinner, we drove around the point some more, stopping to take in various things.  (ahhhhh……)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended our day with a beautiful sunset!

What a wonderfully blessed day we had!