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Arriving in Bathurst, a town we are both familiar with, we landed in the carport
of the Donnelly family. Wonderful, gracious people that they were, they fed us supper, let us do laundry, and supplied us
with enough gum to chew our way across the planet! (Thanks Sylvia). So, if anyone is looking to buy some gum, we're selling
it; a buck a pop!! (It's for gas $...damn OPEC!) We also got to see Sandra, a good friend from CEGEP. (Congrats
on the engagement San!).Sara even squeezed in an early morning visit with her family, who were still in their pjs as they
scouted out the van!
Our now fully-loaded wheels then took us to the quaint town of Fredericton, where Sara's cousin
Julie gave us a grand tour in her Tercel and took us to a fantastic Farmers Market so we could stock up on home-made goodies
for the trip. Another quick visit with family and some detailed driving instructions from Julie's boyfriend, and we were headed
to nearby Mactaquac Provincial Park. After Denise (our friend in Kuj) gave us some insider tips on where to settle in, we
had chosen our site, pitched ouir eady-to-assemble tent (thank God for camping gear innovation!), and began to wander
the campgrounds looking for action - and lucky for us we found some locals!!! They boisterously invited us to their site
for a beer and we couldn't refuse! They were drunk, hilarious, and proud to be New Brunswickers!! (Or NewBees, as we like
to call 'em). After a few hours of food, drinks and "foreigner jokes" we wandered back to our site, bundled up and crawled
into our tent, only to discover that our cheap Korean sleeping bags were no match for the sub-zero temperatures. We relunctantly
moved into the van, reclined the seats, and slept a bitter, uncomfortable sleep.
Up early, we re-packed The Beast and headed for southern N.B, our first stop being the Irving
Nature Park near Saint John...which basically consisted of us hauling our asses to the beach to call people on our cell...I
think we may have seen a bird or too. We then motored to St. Martins, a picturesque little fishing village where we found
another beach, a delicious seafood restaurant, and the scenic Fundy Trail Parkway to drive along (cause we were too damn tired
to hike!). We ventured on to Fundy National Park, where we set up shop for another night....however....an unforseen, stupidly
embarrassing, never-to-be-shared "incident" occured at a local gas station and we were forced to gather our belongings after
which we decided to make tracks for PEI. (Don't bother asking what happened, it will NOT be discussed!!)
On the way to the Condederation Bridge we made a hurried visit to the Hopewell Rocks (highest
tides in the world) and a surprise visit to another CEGEP friend, Alexa, in Riverview, who is also engaged...congrats guys!!
And as we made or way between provinces, hoping to find a parking lot to sleep in for the night,
we weren't quite ready to say good-bye to our provincial neighbour as we would be returning June 20...
To see New Brunswick pictures here's what you do:
Click on the link below. Once you get to the Ontario page just hit the
button at the top that says return to griffiths_sara's photos and that'll take you to all Sara's albums.
Enjoy and hope it works!
.....
I was determined to find Tim's house! I mean I had been to McKees Mills twice (about 5 years ago)
but I knew I would know, you know?!
So, I found THE RANCH on my second tour of the one street in town!
We were so happy to see Vern!! The three of us had survived CEGEP together only by throwing the best darn
"hoe-downs" in res!! 7 years later we were standing on property he now owned (good luck with Le Chateau Carter), he had been
married for a year to Janna (awesome girl!) and actualy enjoyed his job! Our Vern was all grown up!!
We basically spent the next 2 days eating BBQ, drinking, and reminising. Tim pulled out the old cowboy
hat, we cranked the country tunes, and flipped though those embarrassing college pics.
We also treated The Beast to a well-deserved cleaning and reorganization.
We also had an old friend from high school, Julie, drop in for a visit and announced her engagement
as well- must be spring fever! THANKS Vern and Vern's wife Janna for that great McKees Mills entertainment!
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