St Andrews By the Sea ~ New Brunswick
“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson
This trip was a revelation to me, so wondrous and different from what I am used to here on the West Coast. St. Andrews by the Sea was a veritable feast to all my senses. I am so glad that I decided to spend this summer in North America appreciating all that there is to satisfy a wanderer’s soul closer to home.
We made it to town around lunch time. After our usual orientation drive, we were dropped off near Main Street with a plethora of cute restaurants and cafes and quaint shops calling to us.
Me and Marguerite my newly made friend decided to grab lunch first and then split off on various pursuits. Since the whole point of being in a picturesque seaside village is to enjoy all things to do with and around water, we made our way to a restaurant with a patio with a view of the pier and boats of every color and description. After all the hot weather we had been having, it was actually quite cool by the water and to our pleasant surprise the restaurant provided blankets to those who wanted them, so we snuggled up and enjoyed one of the most delicious meals I've had with a fabulous view. Mmm! Perfection.
Maine, USA is just across the water from where we were seated. Suddenly Marguerite's smart watch automatically switched over to Eastern Time while the rest of us at the table were still on Atlantic Time. Nope, no freaky phenomena, just two cell phone towers located in two different time zones but so close together that two people sitting at the same table for lunch can be in two different time zones.
That was definitely a first. The joys of travel, you never what might come barreling around the next corner.
The scenery was calling me to me and my trigger-happy camera so off I went after lunch in search of beauty and some exercise while the rest of the group split up to follow their own interests.
I made my way to the pier with its signs of whale watching and fishing charters. As I walked, I saw a fishing boat which had just docked full of tackle and barrels, a father and son fishing off the pier with their fishing poles cast out, a boat full of people with orange preservers getting ready to head out. So much color and ordered chaos compelled my eyes from one side to another.
After a suitable time taking pictures and absorbing all there was to absorb at the busy pier, I made my way back to Main Street. I was still pretty full of lunch but this ice cream shop standing on the weathered pier caught my eye.
My vivid imagination made the leap to hordes of summer visitors lingering here ice cream cones in hand bringing color and energy to this space.
I could spot red sails in the distance, a nice contrast from the typical white ones and homes all along the waterfront with their spectacular views and sea breezes.
A lighthouse peeked out in the distance, and I watched boats lazily circling it. The tide was in but there is an area near here where a path opens up at low tide leading to an island in the middle giving people an unparalleled opportunity to walk on the bottom of the ocean.
While St. Andrews was not where we could walk on the ocean floor due to the tides, we had actually already fulfilled that item on our checklists at the Bay of Fundy when we first entered New Brunswick.
The walk on the bottom of the ocean floor was a highlight item for many of us on this tour. Fortunately, the tides worked in our favor and our local guide at Hopewell Rocks changed the order of events and we rushed to where we could descend to the beach. Something like this, is a once in a lifetime event and emboldened from navigating 600 steps at Watkins Glen Park I trotted down those steps like a champ.
Yay! I made it and I have the picture to show for it.
Even as my head was buzzing with memories of my iconic walk, I switched gears to explore the quaint Main Street and grab a quick cup of coffee before heading to pick up our bus and head out to the beautiful Kings brae gardens.
So, what came first, the car or the house? Since this was just a quick glimpse out of the windows of the bus as we were driving it's a rhetorical question but a fun memory.
And then we were there, Kingsbrae gardens which is a series of gardens within a garden bursting with color and beauty. The gardens are designed to appeal to all five senses including taste.
A teapot garden, what a cute idea that I'd like to implement on my balcony.
The children's garden along with fantasy, small structures are homes to animals like alpacas, goats, rabbits etc.
The alpacas had been relocated due to some work being done on their home, but we got to visit with the goats and the rabbits. The best part of these pictures is sharing them with my grandson. He kept wanting to go back to see the rabbits which fascinated him though the goats took a better picture.
Such a wonderful afternoon, soaking in the beauty and gaining inspiration for things you might want to try at home.
My senses were filled to the brim, so I left the group before we made it to the sculpture garden to find a seat, in the gentle breeze just soaking it all in.
A final beautiful sight as we made tracks for our home away from home. It turned out that I was wearing a top in shades of red similar to the flowers, so I did pose against this background. One of these days I might even share that picture or the group photos we took here by the entrance.