About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

N is for New Brunswick



Several years ago, I flew from the west coast of Canada all the way to the east coast to visit my friend Di, who lives in New Brunswick. It was a fun-filled couple of weeks, catching up on the news in person for a change and doing a bit of touring around this beautiful province. Although Canada is officially a bilingual country, most of the provinces are officially English with the exception of Quebec, which is officially French. However, New Brunswick is the only province that is officially bilingual.



My friends live just outside of the capital city of Fredericton right on the St. John River (above). After a nice relaxing day or so relaxing on their sandy beach, swimming, and boating, we decided to head into the city to see the sights. The downtown area is a mix of old and new and I found it interesting to see the legislative and justice buildings, the university (where I did a bit of geneological research), along with ancient soldiers barracks, the guard house, and the militia arms store. We also watched the changing of the guard outside of the City Hall.

Di and I took a day trip south to Saint Andrews, which is surrounded by Passamaquoddy Bay. After strolling the main street and browsing through the city's quaint boutiques, we took in their famous aquarium. Then we went over to Minister's Island , which is also on the Passamaquoddy Bay. In order to get there, we had to wait for low tide and then followed a lead car across the ocean floor to get to the island. One of the many stories about this island is that in 1890, the visionary railway builder Sir William Van Horne built a summer get-away here. It was extremely interesting looking around and one of the places I found the most fascinating was the circular bathhouse made out of quarried beach stone where everyone would change into their swimming attire before climbing down the steps carved out of the rocks. I climbed down and took this photo of the beach the family and their visitors used over a century ago. Sir William also used this as his painting studio. The house was phenomenal and it was obvious that Van Horne had buckets of money from his years in the railway industry. While we were there, we had to stay with the tour guide. No one was allowed to wander off on their own to explore anyplace other than where the guide took us. To read more about this place, just click on the link above. It's fascinating reading!


Another fascinating place that I toured with my friend was Kings Landing, just a 10-minute drive from their home. It's a world class living history museum that brings to life the story of early pioneers to the St. John River Valley. We spent a whole day here including lunch at "The King's Head," an old-style English pub. The museum consists of over 70 historic buildings (either relocated or restored), more than 100 costumed "residents," and was the first recipient of Canada's "Top International Attraction Award." Places of interest to me were the Agricultural Hall, several farms, the Printing Office, the CB Ross Sash & Door Factory, the Gorman Carpenter Shop, the sawmill and gristmill, St. Mark's and Riverside Presbyterian Churches, the Ingraham Barn Theatre, Grant Store, the parish school, the Prince William Ice Cream Parlour, and the Hoyt House Craft Manufactory. While we were at the store, there was a reenactment going on with "residents" arguing over some "current" political situation. It was quite amusing as they tried to get "non-residents" involved in the heated discussion. While looking through the photos I took with my old Ricoh camera, I noticed that I had an "eye" for photography even then. However, I had to scan the photos so they're not the best and I hope you can appreciate them.
Some of the historic buildings at Kings Landing.

Perley House

Looking over the St. John River


St. Mark's Church


and the altar inside.

The Sawmill

and looking through the trees, you can see this ship, the Brunswick Lion.


The last trip we took while I was there was along the Mirimachi River to the Acadian area of New Brunswick. This north-eastern coast of New Brunswick is lined with French-speaking villages, many of which make their living from fishing. You’ll see the Acadian Flag everywhere (red, white and blue like the French flag, with the addition of the yellow star of Independence). It is painted on mail boxes, telegraph poles and even lobster pots. We stayed at an intriguing little B&B where we discovered that the owner is an author of children's books. I bought a couple of her books (written in French) and had my photo taken with her. The B&B bordered on a reed-filled marsh and we wandered around there taking photos before heading into town for dinner at an out-door patio restaurant.
We visited one of the national parks in the region, enjoying nature and the views out over the Atlantic Ocean. Then we spent some time on the beach (a day that was wicked hot!), wading in the salt water looking for ocean creatures. I finally had to tell my friend that I'd meet her back at the bath houses where I found some shade!
On the way back to Fredericton, we followed the Miramichi and stopped for lunch at a wonderful place where I got some shots of the river. This place was way out in the "boonies" and we were lucky to stumble upon it as we were starving after driving for hours through the country. I'll leave you with these as I'm sure you've had enough of this virtual trip to New Brunswick.
















If you ever get the chance, be sure to tour New Brunswick. It will be worth it in any season - well, maybe not winter!
ABC Wednesday is hosted by Mrs. Nesbitt and you can view other participants' contributions or find out how to join in simply by clicking HERE and read the information on the left sidebar.

37 comments:

CherryPie said...

Lovely and informative, thank you :-)

I love the photo inside the church, it has a special glow.

Liz Hinds said...

Sounds like a great trip.

Unknown said...

How very, very beautiful! I hope I can visit some day! Thank you for writing such nice pieces and pouring your heart into your posts : ). Very lovely!

Susan said...

Hi Leslie,\ If you ever do decide to come out to Maple Ridge for that drive, give me a call and we can get together for lunch and maybe a nice walk up pitt Lake of something. Our little 'downtown has some nice restraunts and a few cool shops but not really alot to boast about there. Maple Rides pride is the outdoors and all the amzing scenery and walking areas.
It would be lovely to meet you! After all I feel like I already know you!

Susan said...

OK I didnt proof read that comment. After two glasses of wine my typing gets really interesting!!!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Leslie. Dear and I have been talking about a visit to Eastern Canada. It's good to hear about the different cities that would be fun to visit...

Suzanne said...

I've driven through New Brunswick on my way to PEI. Next time I'll have to stop, this looks quant and lovely.

Anonymous said...

Very Nice choice! Thanks for taking me on a virtual tour at New Brunswick. I wish to visit places like this someday! My N is now up too!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a dream of a place, Leslie. Sweeter than Nightmare.

antigoni said...

Excellent pictures. Great post!

magiceye said...

the last 2 pics are wonderful!

Bear Naked said...

What a wonderful post.
My son-in-law is originally from New Brunswick.
It is a beautiful province and there are so many places for wonderful photo opportunities.
Your photo of St. Mark's Church is lovely.


Bear((( )))

Rune Eide said...

New Brunswick was an ew artea to me. You have supplied us with mush needed information. Thank you for sharing!

Reader Wil said...

Leslie, you took us on a very interesting virtual tour in your world. Thanks for sharing. You have not only the gift og writing but also of photographing!
I had to look New Brunswick up on the map.

earthlingorgeous said...

Thanks for the tour at NB! Great N post!

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

A lovely tour of a place I know very little about so now I know at least a little more. I like the photo of the logs in front of the mill.

me ann my camera said...

Leslie, what can I say?! You have done a wonderful job describing my province and presenting it with such dignity and respect and accuracy. Thank you!
ann

Daryl said...

What a fabulous travelogue this is, Leslie, thanks for taking the time to write/post it!

:-Daryl

photowannabe said...

Thank you for the delightful and informative tour of a simply gorgeous area.
I remember Passamonquady from the Disney movie, Pete's Dragon. I didn't know it was a real place...

Ruth L.~ said...

Beautiful photos to go with the narrative, Leslie. My virtual tour.

Nydia said...

I can't say which photo is better, everything looks so beautiful! Thanks for sharing this.

Kisses!

Dragonstar said...

Fascinating post Leslie, loads of great information. New Brunswick sounds to be exactly the kind of place I'd love to visit.

Jane Hards Photography said...

New Brunswick looks so bloddy goregous!!!

Miss_Yves said...

French people have heard of the Acadians !
The lanscapes and forests of New Brunswick are really beautiful !
Thaks for sharing !
miss Yves

Anonymous said...

Funny - I was just looking through my picture folder of our Vancouver holiday!

New Brunswick looks beautiful. I particularly like St Mark's church and the sawmill. Lovely pictures!

kjpweb said...

Wow! That was a great post! Would have been a perfect match for MyWorld! :) A great "N"!

Cheers, Klaus

dianasfaria.com said...

I like the church & the boonies the best!

nonizamboni said...

Wonderful post! Thanks for sharing your wonderful country. One question: is Acadia the area of Evangeline?
Happy Wednesday!

Richard Lawry said...

I was in New Brunswick in 2000, and went to King's Landing. My wife and I really enjoyed ourselves there. Everyone stayed in character as if it was 1838. In the US, I was never taught about the dispute over Northern Maine during that time. King's Landing is a beautiful place, and very educational.

An Arkie's Musings

Sherrie said...

Hi!
Beautiful photos and the story that goes along with them. Thanks for sharing this trip. Thanks for stopping by my place. Take Care!!

Sherrie

Neva said...

Very nice and beautiful photos!

Alan said...

Great post for N. I've always heard New Brunswick is an amazingly beautiful place. I agree it would not be my cup of tea in winter, but I'd love to visit in summer. :)

kRiZcPEc said...

thanks for the tour!

Gordon said...

A lovely tour of New Brunswick. Thanks for sharing.

Dragonstar said...

I'm back in my "official" capacity, on behalf of the ABC team.
I really appreciate the work you put into your posts.

kml said...

New Brunswick is beautiful - we went through it on our way to Nova Scotia.

Kim from Hiraeth said...

What a great travelog! Makes me want to visit!