June 15 – 20, 2003
On Sunday, June 15, it was misty with spit showers, so we did a car tour to the Eastern Point Light, stopping on the way at Prim Point Lighthouse and informative visitors’ centers. Also Rhoda spotted a sweater sale sign on a house and we bought nice handmade sweaters at $50-$55 Canadian. Returned to Rustico on North Shore for a traditional lobster supper at the New Glasgow Restaurant, with all you could eat mussels, chowder, etc. Put away two big buckets of mussels.
Monday, June 16, bright and breezy, perfect for biking. Drove to Mt. Stewart on the Confederation Rail Trail and shuttled a car to St. Peter’s Bay, then did the 17.2 mile bikeride passing through lovely wildflowers and along riversides and the shores of the big bay.
Tuesday, June 17 again sunny for our transfer to Alberton on the northwest corner of PEl. Had lunch in our lovely unit with kitchenette and parlor at Briarwood Lodge on Cuscumpec Bay of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Then took a 2 hr bike ride through the town of Alberton and out to the Kildare River bridge on Rt 12. At Happy Hour our host, Gary Inwood, arrived with several huge, freshly steamed snow crabs which we devoured as fast as we could crack the legs and suck out the meat. They are almost as big as Alaskan Crabs and very delicate in flavor.
Wed. sunny again so drove to North Cape Lighthouse with a stop at the Tignish Cultural Center (good historical exhibit) for a picnic on the red rocks at tip of island. Then biked 10 or so miles along the coast to Anglo Tignish and back. Picture of a nice little workhorse such as families use to pull rakes through the surf to gather Irish Moss after a storm, which is then dried and sold for the carageenan (used in most dairy and pudding products).
On return to Lighthouse found the famous ancient bedrock reef exposed (low tide) so that we could waik out on it and see the “Meeting of the Waters” between the Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
On the way home we stopped at the Kildare River Fisheries and bought 22 large oysters off a truck which our host’s sisterinlaw opened for us to make fried oysters, which we ate for supper along with Eli’s sauteed scallops. Great poker game in evening.
Thursday misty with spit showers. Drove to West Point Light with a stop at the extensive Potato Museum at O’Leary (big exhibit originally set up in Ottawa). Picnic in a shelter at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park and brief shore walk until rains drove us into the gift shop, where I got a couple of Tshirts and Alan got a little bear in a slicker with crabs. On to Minnemegash (sp?) Irish Moss Interpretative Center and a delicious sample of Irish Moss gelatin pie with whipped cream.
Friday we made a 7:30 AM start for the long drive, an hour to the Confederation Bridge (in fog), 4 hours in sunshine across New Brunswick along the lovely St. John River Valley with picnic at King’s Landing Visitor Center park to Houlton, ME, where we started south on 195. Back in RiverWoods about 6:30 PM. A grand trip.