SEPT 15 - NEW BRUNSWICK

September 13th - We went to the huge flea market in Quebec City, however it was raining and disappointing. After checking out the sellers that braved the wet conditions, we packed up and headed to New Brunswick. We enjoyed our final views of the St. Lawrence which widened and saw more islands in it as we headed towards New Brunswick. We did not have any expectations about New Brunswich and we were delighted with the excellent highways, beautiful farmslands and view of the St. John's River while we made our way and stopped over in St. Leonard's at a campground that a sweet young couple had just bought in May. It was a beautiful piece of property, the only downside were the black flies that wanted to reside in the warmth of our trailer. We arrived in Moncton the next day and are happily staying at Campers Campground, a well kept park and centrally located to do day trips.

September 15th - we headed up to Bouctouche which is along the Acadian coast to view the dunes. Here you can see some of the hundreds of lobster traps that you can see from the shore (click on picture to get a better view).

We pulled over to take a photo of this building that is designed as a sailing vessel and were welcomed by the character who built and owns this. He was an eccentric Acadian who delighted us with his charm. Unfortunately, he said he was not open today as he was heading to an auction, but we should come back tomorrow. However, he said that he would leave the buildings open and even though "Herman's Coffin" had a couple of hundred of twoonies in it, it was not a problem as Bouctouche never had any robberies.
Here is our Acadian friend with Mike and Barry. After showing us the rooms in the ship, he offered us plums from his tree to "get us the hell out of his hair" and hoped we would come back tomorrow and he would have the sails set up.
The dunes of Bouctouche were spectacular. This is one of the longest dunes in North America and one of the few natural uninhabited beaches to be found in the province. It has a 2 km boardwalk and you can go down to the beach filled with shells and pieces of what looked like shale that was made out of sand.
This was an interesting house set back from the boardwalk and the grasses that hold the sand and prevents erosion from the Atlantic.
Lana and I were thrilled to stand in the Atlantic Ocean, we have made our way from coast to coast and are loving our trip across Canada. The water was surprisingly warm, probably due to the shallow waters here.
Mike and me on the boardwalk of the Bouctouche dunes.

We travelled up to the Olivier Soapery, an award winning soapery which uses olive oil and makes every essence you could imagine. We took the scenic Acadian route back and saw quaint homes along the shoreline. Many Acadian flags which is the same blue/white/red of France but with a gold star on it as well. The star signifies "star of the sea" and you see the star on many of the homes as well. The Acadians are very friendly and speak french which Mike says is a bit of Quebecois and France french. Acadians were French settlers who came to North America and settled mostly in Maritimes and some as far as New Orleans who are called "Cajuns" which was derived from "Acadians".

This stone wall was outside the Irving oil empire estate and was made with stones only, no mortar to hold it together. Irving gas stations are prevelant here and through the Maritimes. Gas is 92 cents/litre and I checked the Victoria gas price today which was $1.08.


We stopped in Shediac, the lobster capital of the world, and bought fresh cooked lobster for dinner. We had to buy the whole lobster as only during July/August tourist season do they sell the tails separately. The locals like to eat them cold. We heated up the tails and had a wonderful dinner topped off with coffee and Grandmarnier. Yes, we are really roughing it camping!