Day 7 – A Day of Rest

….after 6 days of driving we decided to take it easy and explore Moncton and shop for birthday presents

We also decided to forgo the hotel breakfast and drove to a bakery that Gaelan introduced me to on my first visit to Moncton. At Copain we ordered coffee and some of the best croissants we’ve ever had.

Then we drove to Michael’s and bought two frames for art that we had gifted to Gaelan and Winnie and some art supplies for Winnie’s birthday.

After shopping I dropped Kevin back at the hotel and I went to Gaelan’s house to do some laundry. When Winnie came home from school we drove to Bulk Barn and picked up some candy and a piñata for her birthday.

That evening Kevin and I had a date night and went into downtown Moncton for a great meal. We went to the Tide and Boar where we shared a plate or Smokey wings. They were so delicious and so big that I had second thoughts about what I wanted for my main course. Our waitress suggested that we share the plate of seafood pasta, a T&B salad and the dessert. It was perfect.

The restaurant is actually a brew pub and the dessert we had was a deconstructed ‘beeramisu’. The topping was made with a reduced stout. Surprisingly delicious!

Happy Birthday Winnie

my sweet little girl is 8 today

Our trip to the east coast has fallen on three days of celebration, Thanksgiving, Winnie’s birthday and her father’s birthday.

We started today with a special breakfast at Steve’s Diner in Riverview.

My son-in-law and my husband
Me, my daughter and Winnie

After breakfast we drove to The Green Pig to walk through the corn maze.

Later in the day we continued the birthday celebration with breaking a piñata, a sushi dinner (Winnie’s favourite food), opening presents and birthday cupcakes.

Road Trip – Days 5

….driving through Shediac, Cormierville and Bouctouche

It was another beautiful day for a road trip.

On our way to Bouctouche we stopped by a roadside shop that specialized in antiques and wood carvings. The owner lovingly explained how all the objects that we were looking at were carved from one block of wood by her very talented husband who had passed six years ago.

Charles Bernard had a very colourful history and apparently learned how to carve wood when he was serving time in the penitentiary. He lived in Bouctouche with his wife for 15 years where they ran the wood carving shop and antiques store.

He even carved his own coffin with his life story carved into the sides
All the books are carved from one block of wood
Even the tools on this bench are carved from wood

The shop is located right on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean.

….to be cont

Road Trip – Days 3 and 4

Bangor, Maine to Moncton, New Brunswick

After leaving Sherbrooke we crossed the border to Maine. It was one of the easiest and most pleasant border crossings we’ve ever made.

The scenery was breathtaking. The road curved its way through forests of yellow and red and passed fast flowing rivers and glistening lakes.

The downside of crossing the border was losing our internet connection and not being able to use our GPS. As we got closer to Bangor we weren’t sure how close we were to our hotel until we passed it and the exit off the the freeway. We took the next exit but got so disoriented we had to stop and ask directions. It turned out that we were very close.

Right next to the hotel was a truck stop with a large diner and bakery. Not only is Dysart’s popular with truckers, the locals and tourists flock to it to enjoy the hot sandwiches, pot pies and homemade rolls and pies. We had our dinner there and thoroughly enjoyed the chicken pot pie and the personal attention that our grandmotherly waitress doted upon us. We were afraid that if we didn’t clean our plates she would have been personally offended. A flash from the past…..

The next day before we headed to New Brunswick we drove into Bangor to visit Stephen King’s home. This old Victorian home is fun to look at from the outside.