St Martin mainly sea caves

We had been told that a visit to St Martin for the sea caves, and the nearby Caves Restaurant was a total must do. Like Hopewell Rocks (still figuring out how to blog about 100 photos) one needs to consult the tide tables before going. We planned to catch low tide, and get into the restaurant just before noon.

That all worked out perfectly, even with Mrs Google taking us along some roads that looked shorter, but in fact was a slower road. On our second trip we stayed on the highway and it was quicker. This is a few other adventures have given me a deep suspicion about her directions. We don't blame her for that new roundabout where she wanted us to turn left; the crews were still working on it.

One orders at a counter, they give you one of those numbered flags, and they bring it out. We shared a bowl of chowder and a 2 piece fish and chip order.  Their tag line is "World Famous Chowder." And holy doodle they aren't kidding. This was the best chowder I've ever had, and Linda too. The fish and chips were the best of the trip, right up there with New Zealand. Should we ever find ourselves in St John with a bit of time, and they were open, we'd certainly go back. As we were finishing, the hordes arrived. On our second trip (we didn't stop, we were on our way to the Fundy Trail) the parking lot was jammed and cars parked anywhere they would fit along the road. There were 3 tour buses. Not that many people were looking at the caves, and the restaurant was jammed. I think it was the last day they were open for the season.

The other side of the parking lot is a gravel beach leading to the caves. They weren't quite what I thought they'd be, but still interesting. We strolled around for a while, then headed up the Fundy Parkway, but that's another blog.

1.

2. The view from the parking lot.

3.

4.

5. Cave is a bit of a misnomer, I think. A hollow is maybe a better word. Still, the stone colours and layers were fascinating.

6. Trees living on the edge.

7.

8.

9.

10. Someone said it was interesting if you were willing to scramble over the weedy slippery rocks to get around the little headland, but I didn't.

11.

12.

13. Almost in the ocean here to get another angle.

14.

Of the Day

Driftwood (NZ)

Film

Linda

There will be many photos of Linda in New Brunswick. Many. Just so you know what to expect. They fall into 3 categories. Posed, like this one. Trampling way ahead on the path. Surveying her domains.

Newfoundland

New Brunswick

Above a gravel beach near Cape Enrage. I'm thinking at the moment that the photos I put here are ones that don't really go with anything else, or have a short story related to them, but not a whole blog's worth. I kind of like the combination of trees or plants clinging to a crevice in the rock. Then again, I might change my mind.

Why ever didn't I publish this, and maybe I did. New Zealand.

90 days, or so ago

I hadn't done an abstract for a while.

Flower

Landscape

Dino related

September Image of the Month, at last

I know you've all been waiting for this, but I'm glad I waited till I could see them on the studio monitor. There were some fine tweaks that needed to be done. 

What I really want to do is give you all three of Third Vault Falls in Fundy National Park. You'll see them all eventually. They are worth staying tuned for.

2nd Runner Up

Laverty Falls in Fundy National Park. There's two stories here. They've had the worst drought in 50 years, so there's hardly any water going over any of the waterfalls, compared to previous years. Some of the other waterfalls that we had hoped to see were dry. I chatted to a road crew on the way to a different waterfall, and was told that between the beavers and the drought, there was no water. Saved me a trip down a crappy road and a so-so hike.

The other story is a cautionary tale. Mrs Google led us badly astray. The right thing to do is drive into Fundy Park on the main road, turn off at the marked sign, park in the official parking lot complete with a washroom, and hike the 5K or so round trip to the falls. 

Mrs Google skirted the park, and took us down some dodgy back roads and left us at an ambiguous intersection in the middle of nowhere, with a complete lack of signs talking about Laverty Falls. We eventually followed the ambiguous signs to find the way out and ended up in Alma, at the south end of the park. 

Along the way we came across the most elusive covered bridge in the province, completely by accident. After lunch we went in the right way and found the falls. There was a young couple that showed up part way through, but they were really good about staying out of my shots. They were kind of hanging around waiting for me to finish. I am convinced they wanted photos of each other skinny dipping in the pool.

We chatted with the Parks Canada people on the way out, and they told us we were not the first people to be led astray like that, so we didn't feel so bad.

1st Runner Up

A harbour near Shediac. I was driving back after doing some exploring, and saw this view just before crossing the bridge. It was a total no brainer to do a U turn at the next intersection, drive back and make a dodgy left turn into a little boat launch beside the bridge. I hustled to set up, hoping the light and wind wouldn't change. I took a bunch of long exposures, amusing a guy sitting in his car to enjoy the view while eating lunch.

Image of the Month

Third Vault Falls.

It's about a 7.5 K return hike to the falls, and it's brutal in places. There's a couple of really steep stairs that are essentially ladders. At one point the trail runs along a mostly dry creek bed, complete with moss covered boulders. (I talked a bit about it here, if you missed it.) Even the 'good' or 'easy' part of the trail needs caution because the fallen leaves hid many tree roots and smaller rocks. 

I was extremely fortunate to have the falls to myself, with a couple other people showing up just as I was finishing. The walk back got hard, with me being extremely careful where I put my feet. I was exhausted after getting back to the car. I'm not sure which was most tiring, this hike, the death march out of Baker Brook Falls last year, or finishing Ironman Canada. It was worth it though!

Me and the wine survived the trip

We are home. So is the wine. Intact. Wednesday was the big travel day. It took forever for the luggage to be delivered in Calgary, so we didn't get home till 11pm. Yes, Celina was cranky at us. I don't think she had forgotten who we were, but there were complaints that we weren't the good human that had taken such good care of her. Which is ironic, because she had barely talked to that good human the first couple days.

Yesterday was a blizzard of activity, getting a lab test requisition printed, and going to the lab. Lunch with our councillor's communication person who is moving on to new pastures. We wanted to thank him for all he has done for Woodcreek. Linda had a facial, and a massage, but not at the same time. Plus shopping to start restocking the fridge. Watching a mayoral debate so I can start thinking about who I should vote for.

Today I was looking over photos with the person who is the closest to an art patron that I have. She is looking at buying some prints that meet a certain criteria, so I showed her those on the big screen. Of course we drank coffee and chatted.

So far there's about 750 edited photos, and I don't think I'm quite done yet. Some of the night photos need special treatment. There are several sequences where there are a bunch of really similar photos, and I want to pick out the best one. Don't even ask about keywording. With the best will in the world, I can only work on photos for so long before I can't see the differences anymore, or I realize that I essentially haven't moved in a while, and I'm freezing.

I'm still thinking about how to blog about the trip. One thought is going through the photos topically. Beaches. Rocks. Waterfalls. Fall colours. Reflections. Photos of Linda or with Linda. (Hint, there are many.) Covered bridges and one uncovered. Astro. Landscapes. Waterscapes. Driftwood, although I didn't actually see all that much of it. Long exposures. Lighthouses, (lighthomes?) Flowers, yes even in October there were still some flowers hanging in. Models (ships and locomotives and whimsical, but not people except for Linda.) A giant lobster. Then there are lots of combinations, which makes it hard.

Or I could go through them sequentially in date order. There are 25 days, which is an average of 30 a day. Generally I try not to put more than 20 photos into a blog. And really, even though I edited the photo, is it really worthy of being blogged? There's lots of examples where I got a better photo of that several days later. Some of them are purely documentary to remind me where we were for that set of photos.

Or I could do a New Brunswick Of the Day feature. Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions. More than a year later and I'm still working through Newfoundland.

There are still inchoate thoughts about a book from the trip, and that was driving some of my thinking during the trip. I've no real idea of what should go in it. For some reason it seems less obvious than the Newfoundland trip book was. Maybe I should make myself a nice cup of mint tea and review my previous travel books. After all, it's cold and raining just now. Or was that a snowflake that just went past?

One of the potential book titles that amused me during the trip was "Linda forging ahead or surveying her domains."

But you were asking about the wine. (Glad to see you have your priorities in the right place.) We stopped in at the Magnetic Hill winery, and tried their samplers. One of them we didn't care for, the red was perfectly good although Linda says mine is better, the white was fine if a bit spritzy and sweet for our taste. Then there was their Maple Swish. OMG. It's a maple flavoured dessert wine that is like music on your tongue. We bought a case of it. They are happy to ship, except at the time Canada Post. We checked with Porter to see if we could check a case of wine, and they said it would be fine. We packed several beach towels around the box and put it in the freezer bag with some fragile stickers on it. I never know if that just encourages the ramp crews or if they actually treat it differently. It came out with the rest of the luggage, and was just fine when I opened it at home.

We flew Porter for the first time, and quite liked the experience. Their routes are limited, but if they fly where you want to go, I suggest you check them out. Which leads to a digressionary rant. They do lots of announcements, with quite a bit of repetition. It's like they think they have a plane full of passengers who have never flown before. Does anyone need to be told, again and again, that you aren't allowed to smoke on an airplane? Does anyone really need to be told how to fasten or unfasten a seatbelt? Is there anyone in the world who could breathe normally after they've clutched at the oxygen mask that just appeared in front of them because of an emergency? Does anyone not know that except for the smallest of commercial airliners, there are two exits at the front, at least two over the wing, and two at the rear? Does anyone listen to the announcements or watch the flight attendants do their safety briefing mime performance?

Back to the photos, after some rumination. And no, I haven't forgotten the September IotM. In the running is a long exposure harbour, 6 long exposure photos of a pair of waterfalls, and one of the path (such as it was) of the path to get to one of the waterfalls, which you will have seen if you've been following along.

As I'm scrolling through my photo folder I realize there are still lots of flower photos. It's Friday today, and some sunny flowers might cheer up the day. Maybe next week. Or maybe not at all; you guys have seen lots of flowers from me.

Rocks are sort of the opposite of flowers, but they still have interesting patterns. I found these on the beach below Cape Enrage, after we found the main site closed.

As promised, the of the day feature returns.

Of the Day

Driftwood (NZ)

Film

Linda in the first of many in New Brunswick.

Newfoundland

Why ever didn't I publish this, and maybe I did

90 days, or so ago

Flower

Landscape

Dino related

The end is in sight

No, I'm not wandering the streets with a sign saying "Repent, the end is near." It's Monday morning and we fly home in a couple of days. We've got goodies for a nice Thanksgiving dinner here later today, and plan to do a walking trail that starts at Le Pays de la Sagouine. We've driven past it many times, looking at the pretty pedestrian bridge near the main highway. Hopefully it's nice and not too long.

What have we done since the last blog more than a week ago? Lots. Not gonna blog a day by day diary. I'm running on fumes. How fume-y? I didn't even think about editing photos last night. Imported them into the laptop while I drank a beer, then went to bed. And like you all expect, Linda is still going strong.

How strong? Rampaging on ahead. Here is but one example. There are many more.

Although she does stop to smell the roses.

More of the colour along the way.

We found the bridge butterflies in Fredericton.

And I found some reflections along the way.

And now we're off! More when we get back.