Maine and Oak Bay, New Brunswick

Well, we have left America. And we are in Canada. The title of this blog is "Not the 51st state," because Canada is not part of the U.S. and hopefully never will be. Our experiences with Canadians have all been very positive. They are polite and attentive to the common good, something we seem to have lost in the USA. 

We flew into Boston, grabbed a rental car, and headed to Freeport, Maine. We met my sister and her husband for dinner near the L.L. Bean flagship store, which I came back to the next morning at 7am. We stayed in a motel near a restaurant with this native American standing nearby - not the world's largest, but still plenty big.

 

 

On our way through Bangor, Maine, we stopped briefly at the former home of author Stephen King. 

 

 

Note the bats on the front gate. 

 

The sculpture in front of his house 

 

Our destination for the day was Oak Bay, New Brunswick. Crossing the border was easy; we were asked if we had any firearms, alcohol, or presents. Presents? I don't think the official expected us to say we had a bottle of Duke's mayo for our hosts. It took us all of two minutes to cross the border.

 

Our hosts in Oak Bay are Rick and Lynne Noble. Rick is in two of Vicki's hiking groups in Asheville.  He has dual citizenship, and he and Lynne spend half of the year in Canada and half in Asheville. Lynn has just received her permanent resident status, so they may spend more time up here. They are wonderful hosts, and they have taken us all around the area.

 

Vicki: For dinner on Monday, we went into St. Andrews, a town that was populated by Loyalists (Tories), who left the Colonies after the War of Independence was over. Some of them brought their houses with them, deconstructing them and then reconstructing them here. Amazing! Many of the streets in town are named after the 13 children of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Now back to Dan.  

 

The area includes the incredible Kingsbrae Gardens. Lynne could be a docent at this place and all of the other places we visited. Some photos:

 

World's largest trowel?  

 

From the gardens, we went on to lunch at Tim Horton's and then on to Ministers Island. Ministers Island is only accessible by car during low tide, and when you arrive, you are told what time you have to be off the island.You actually drive on the sea bed, which will later be under 14-16 feet of water.

Here is some of the story from Wikipedia, the source of all wisdom and knowledge:

Van Horne and Covenhoven

In 1889 Van Horne, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, arrived in St. Andrews on tour of inspection of the New Brunswick Railway, newly purchased by the CPR. Van Horne was impressed with the town and in 1891, purchased 150 acres (0.61 km²) from Edwin Andrews and began construction of Covenhoven, his summer home.

Designed by Van Horne himself, Covenhoven was constructed of red sandstone quarried on the island and was originally relatively small. Between 1892 and 1901, Van Horne continued to expand, making two major additions to the house, with an eventual floor space of 10,000 square feet. Van Horne was assisted in these renovations by Edward Maxwell, celebrated Montreal architect responsible for many renowned designs across Canada, including numerous CPR commissions such as the Chateau Frontenac. When completed, the house had 50 rooms, of which around 26 made up the family's main living quarters. The varying stages of construction created unique features, including the three roof pitches arranged serially, numerous staircases, unusual connections between rooms, and multi-levelled attics.

As an avid and knowledgeable antique collector, the walls of Covenhoven were hung with an approximate eighty works of art, many of which were completed by Van Horne himself. A common theme was birch trees, while other paintings included various landscapes of scenery from across the island. 21 of Van Horne's works can still be seen in the home today. The home and surrounding buildings and gardens quickly became renowned, and the island became a tourist attraction even during Van Horne's lifetime, with visitors- tourists and dignitaries alike- considering the island a must-see.

The Barn

In 1898, Maxwell designed a large chateau-style barn for Van Horne, one of the largest in the Maritimes, and often regarded as one of the most beautiful. This barn was used for breeding of Van Horne's prizewinning Clydesdale horses and Dutch Belted cattle, one of the only such herds in North America. This farm served as a nursery for his larger operations in East Selkirk, Manitoba.

The farm was also home to pigs, geese, ducks, chickens and turkeys. The produce of the farm and gardens was shipped to Montreal by night train during the winter months, providing the family with fresh food throughout the year. The barn was surrounded by several outbuildings, including a creamery, smaller barns, and living quarters for the workers.

Every room in the house, including the bathrooms, had incredible views. The barn was so big, Van Horne had to bring in shipbuilders, and when you look up, the inside of the top looks like the bottom of a ship.

 

We got off the island in time. Lynne stopped on the bar long enough for me to wander out and stand on the sea bed:

 

 

It was time for sustenance - we made it to the Oak Bay Snack and Dairy Bar and found 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream. 

 

Back to the Noble's house for dinner and relaxation. We watched the sun set and kept an eye out for deer (which are everywhere) and porcupines.  These deer were about 20 feet from their back door.