Category: New Brunswick

July 19, 2014

Day 69: Bicycles and Burgers (Moncton – Borden-Carleton, PEI)

July 17, 2014

Approaching Confederation Bridge today, I couldn’t help but feel excited. Even though the trip is far from over, it seems like an auspicious moment to cross onto Prince Edward Island, almost as if all that’s left is to cross some t’s and dot some i’s. Now they are some hefty remainders but the anticipation grows. And then as if to welcome me, a vibrant double rainbow appeared on the island while I cross the bridge by shuttle. (You can’t walk or bike the 12.9km bridge). The rainbow over the red cliffs on the shore certainly made an impression. I don’t know if it was the red dirt so much like that in Paraguay or just my exhilaration at having made it this far but I could almost sense the feeling of coming home that islander often talk about it. With frequency, it may become routine but the crossing is an event not unlike landing at the airport though thankfully without the intrusive security. PEI in fact offers free passage to all onto the island but charges to leave: a reluctant good-bye or honey trap of sorts?

Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island. Another province completed!

July 17, 2014

Day 68: Divining a Route (Fredericton – Moncton)

July 16, 2014

Neither my route nor schedule is fixed or preplanned as I’ve mentioned previously. I have a general sense of where I’m going but beyond that options abound. As someone who’s not particularly keen about the unknown or unscheduled, I have to be intentional or deliberate about maintaining the impromptu. Ironic isn’t it? Not preplanned, choosing a path sometimes requires some interesting divination.

July 16, 2014

Day 67: Be…In this Place (Hartland – Fredericton)

July 15, 2014
Pulling up behind a car at the first intersection this morning, I got a sharp rebuke of sorts for my griping yesterday. The motto on the New Brunswick license plate was “Be…In this Place” (and the French version which I didn’t memorize). It was like the universe tapping me on my nose to remind me the whole point of the trip was to experience the different parts of Canada. Sometimes what you wish for entails a little more than you intended. New Brunswick certainly falls in that category. I tried my utmost to settle into the idea of cycling through this province but it is darned hard. The hills are unrelenting and frankly the communities are rather threadbare around the edges. The roads along the river are dotted with the remnants of a more prosperous past: grand old homes constructed primarily of wood but now falling apart or boarded up, a variety of old graveyards though often the churches are no longer standing. I read someone online describe New Brunswick as the Deep East. It feels right but Appalachia has come to mind numerous time. Many of the newer homes are trailer homes, which gives you some sense for the scene.

Perfect serenity in Woodstock, NB. Now this is a place you could just be.

July 15, 2014

Day 66: Griping (St Leonard – Hartland)

July 14, 2014

Making more progress in the wrong direction than the right (southeast vs northeast), struggling up one hill only to see the next one patiently waiting, and a day of unrelenting headwinds seriously messes with your mental stamina and balance. Since I gushed all through Quebec, I think I’m permitted a day of unapologetic griping. I don’t know if it was just the wind but the scenery wasn’t doing it for me either. Flash backs of northern Ontario kept rolling through my mind. To be fair to the good people of New Brunswick, there is quite a bit more going on here but also strung out along in almost a single line; nevertheless, the province is a bit of a filler between adorable Quebec, quaint PEI, and picturesque Nova Scotia. I’m looking forward to getting to Confederation Bridge.

The covered bridge in Hartland. In the days of horse and buggy, a covered bridge would have been essential to keep from being blown into the river

July 14, 2014

Day 65: Acadie (St-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! – St Leonard, NB)

July 13, 2014

I have very distinctly made it to Acadian territory traveling through eastern Quebec and New Brunswick. And at an auspicious time too as this region, communities in both Maine and New Brunswick, is about to host the quinquennial Acadian World Congress. Unfortunately, the actual festivities will be later in the summer. The French tricolors with a gold star in the blue field is everywhere and on everything. Someone even painted three moose antlers and hung them from a tree! I was vaguely aware of Acadian history didn’t realize how strongly Acadians identified with their heritage or just how prevalent these communities remain in the Maritimes (and New England, Louisiana, and Texas).

The start of the Acadian flags early in the day