St. Andrews and Saint John, NB Oct 3 - 4th

Saturday, after breakfast, we packed and hit the road for another morning of meandering in the back roads looking for covered bridges. What a gorgeous morning, so different than yesterday.  I think we did 200 km in the backwoods and here is what we saw.

First up is the Patrick Owens Covered Bridge. Stunning. This bridge is still operational to traffic.

The Patrick Owens covered bridge, just south of Fredericton, is the only covered bridge in New Brunswick to feature a full-length window along one side of it. Built in 1909, it’s 70.4 metres long (236 feet) and is located along the Rusagonis River.

Look at the bright pink as well as the orange and yellow.

Next one is the Smythe Covered Bridge. It's also an operational bridge to traffic.

Built in 1912, this covered bridge is 42 m (136 ft.) in length. 

The last one is the Hoyt Covered Bridge. This one is not operational. Certainly not as picturesque as the other ones.

Built in 1936, this covered bridge is 29 m (94 ft.) in length. 

Continuing our drive down the backroads. It appeared to be a paved logging road that went for 70 km or so further. The colours are breathtaking. Here is a short sample video down Highway 640.

We also passed some gorgeous wild blueberry fields with all the fall colours.

Finally into St. Andrews for lunch. What a cute little town. The land you see on the distant right is Maine USA.

St. Andrews Blockhouse National Historic Site of Canada

The St. Andrews Blockhouse is a blockhouse fortification in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. Built by nearby residents between 1812 and 1813 during the War of 1812, it was one of three blockhouses built by locals to protect the area from American raids. 

That's Maine in the distance

Drive through town and some of the houses and shops.

We ate lunch at The Galley on the water. This is their last day of service before closing for the season.

They had one live lobster left .... someone beat me to it for lunch. :(

View of the harbour from their patio.

After lunch Ray took me to the St. Andrew Brewing Company and I sampled a delicious kolsch.

Last stop is the Pendleberry Lighthouse.

The St. Andrews North Point Lighthouse is an active lighthouse in St. Andrews, New Brunswick on the southern tip of the peninsula in the Passamaquoddy Bay; it is commonly known as Pendlebury Lighthouse from the name of the family who took care of it.

Time to head to our B & B for the night, Homeport Historic B & B downtown Saint John. There were 2 cruise ships docked when we arrived. Over 300 km today. Views from our room.

This is some historic place. These pictures are from google for the outside. This is the back view. These were originally 2 separate houses that were joined together.

And the front.

Getting to the reception is 15 stairs, then our room is another 18 stairs to the second floor. Yowser on the knees. 

The dreaded stairs to the second floor. This is after you climb the 15 to the main floor

They have a beautiful dining room where they serve a hot breakfast.

We decided to pack minimally for the 2 nights and raided our suitcases for clothes that we would need, our backpacks with toiletries and meds, some beer and called it a day.

We were going out for dinner to an Italian Restaurant but without a reservation, nope. Next choice they told us a bus tour is coming shortly so nope. Next we chose a sushi restaurant, but when we arrived we see it's in a market food court which is closing in 45 minutes. So we opted to go across the street to the Saint John Harbourfront Hotel and ate dinner with a view. Turned out good. I had mussels and Ray half a chicken with fixin's. 

Picture from Google

We saw the cruise ships leaving but this one must have a thruster problem. A tug came to pull it out from the dock and turn it around so it could leave the harbour. Our server said she'd never seen this happen before.

After taking a short walk on the boardwalk we headed back to the car for home. Our legs are tired.

Ray took a couple of "golden hour" photos of downtown.

Once we got back, one of the staff told me there's a widows walk up some other stairs and you can sit and get great 360 view. Well we had to do that lol ... more stairs, at least this time I had my wine with me.

After I finished my wine, we headed back downstairs. Ray went out to see about some night shots from the front yard.

While he was taking the pictures he was startled by these deer that didn't even care he was there. The fawn walked 3m closer to him. 

We went to bed early at 8:30 pm as we were tired and sore from our adventures.

Sunday morning we woke up at 6:15 am. Very surprising for Ray. Looked like a bit of a sunrise and the container ship that arrived yesterday was on the move.

After morning coffee, we headed down to the dining room at 8 am for a hot breakfast. It's delicious and very well presented.

The owner cooking us a delicious breakfast.

After collecting our things we were off and running at 9 am for our driving adventure, hunting down covered bridges, lighthouses and St. Martin's Sea Caves. It's a glorious morning with full sunshine. The colours in the foilage is breathtaking. I had quite the picture taking trip planned for Ray, months in the planning. lol

Tynemouth Covered Bridge, not very spectacular.

Built in 1927, this covered bridge is 29 m (94 ft.) in length. 

You can see how high the tide comes in from the mud.

Quaco Head Lighthouse

Quaco Head Lighthouse stands on a scenic point with an excellent view of St. Martins' beach and the Fundy coastline. This 1855 tower was replaced in 1966 and altered a decade later with a concrete structure. It's the perfect spot for a picnic and birdwatching. 

On the road to the lighthouse.

I managed to spy an arch in the distance.

And the Quaco Head Lighthouse

Our travels then took us through St Martins and on to St Martins Harbour which contains two covered bridges, a lighthouse and several small tourist type shops.

Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge and Lighthouse

New Brunswick's only two-lane covered bridge was built in 2022 on the same alignment as the original 1935, 22 m (72 ft.) Vaughan Creek covered brige, which served as the primary link between St. Martins and what is now the Fundy Trail Provincial Park.

The new 32 m (105 ft.) long bridge is one of North America's rare double-barreled covered bridges, and includes a pedestrian walkway. Its design resembles the traditional style of New Brunswick’s covered bridges while taking into account today’s operational needs and accommodating larger vehicles and buses. The main façade is made of the same materials as the original bridge: hemlock and cedar from Norton. Part of the original façade was salvaged and donated to the Village of St. Martins.

We noticed another bridge from the Vaughn Covered Bridge called the Hardscrabble Covered Bridge.

Hardscabble Covered Bridge

Built in 1946, this covered bridge is 22 m (72 ft.) in length and features an attached covered walkway. It is located in the picturesque village of St. Martins, on the Bay of Fundy, near the 2-lane Vaughan Creek Covered Bridge.

Open to pedestrian traffic only.

St. Martin Harbour, right by the bridges, have the Info Centre in the lighthouse and little stores.

Oh look another lighthouse.

Notice the extreme tides

Time for ice cream! The lady made the cones right in front of us and for the price of one scoop, we had 3 part scoops of different flavours. Wow.

A short drive down the road is the St. Martin Sea Caves.

St. Martin Sea Caves

Sandstone caves shaped by the Bay of Fundy, reached by trails over the ocean floor during low tide.

We may have not gone to Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park to walk on the Bay of Fundy, but Ray did it here. Even though he had gortex hikers on his feet got a little wet from the water in the gravel. I didn't go down to the beach as the loose gravel is bothering my knee. When we were in the area of Hopewell Rocks we had a really rainy day so knixed going to the Bay of Fundy at that time.

I even managed to find a waterfall even if it's small lol.

We meandered back and forth trying to find the next bridge. The B in the Box had us going in circles 3 times .... so we thought we would not see the next bridge. Once we programmed for our end destination and got part way there, we could input this one again and the B in the box made it happen. It wasn't all that special for the trouble it caused getting here.

McFarlane Covered Bridge

Built in 1909, this covered bridge is 18 m (59 ft.) in length. 

Salmon Covered Bridge

Built in 1908, this covered bridge is 34 m (112 ft.) in length. Not in service. 

Local picnic site now.

After this covered bridge, it's time for lunch and we decided on sushi in Sussex at Sushi Jo. Wow it's some of the best sushi we've ever had. They also give you miso soup and a spring roll appetizer at no extra charge and chocolate brownies for dessert. Great service too.

Back in the car and head back towards Saint John with a few more stops.

Bloomfield Creek Covered Bridge

Built in 1917, this covered bridge is 45 m (146 ft.) in length. 

Colours along the way. Gorgeous.

Darlings Island Covered Bridge

Built in 1914, this covered bridge is 42 m (137 ft.) in length. (Not in service)

However, a great starting point for kyaks and paddleboards. The parking lot is full of water enthusiasts.

The new bridge looks pretty cool.

Smithtown Covered Bridge

Built in 1914, this 56-metre (183-foot) covered bridge is located a short 10-minute drive from the town of Hampton, along Damascus Road off Route 860. Surrounded by forested country roads, it offers a glimpse of New Brunswick’s traditional rural charm.

We were so surprised that 90% of these bridges are still in use, although some have been replaced as a replica instead of original using the same footprint (crossing). New Brunswick has 56 covered bridges which they maintain 51 of and 5 are maintained by other entities. During the 1950's there was 320 covered bridges according to records.

Time to head back to the B & B.

Back at the B & B for 5 pm. It was an 8 hour day but the sun's out so we had to "get er done". We had enough sushi leftovers for Ray's dinner. When we arrived, these deer were just having a "lay down" in front of the car with no worry at all.

Last picture of a cruise ship all lit up across the harbour.

Tonight working on pictures. Tomorrow we head out early for the 8 am ferry to Digby, NS.