Fundy (Oct. 3)
Kathy and Salomon (the parents of the groom in the recent wedding) are joining us for a few days to explore the Bay of Fundy. They are flying into Saint John (note that although it is the “St.” John River, for the city “Saint” is always spelled out) but we decided to camp in Fundy National Park to be close to the scenery, rather than the airport.
It was a long drive from the highway to the park. The first part goes along a relatively narrow and poorly maintained road. As you enter the park, the road has been resurfaced and is windy but very smooth.
To celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, all national parks have free admission. So far, we had not been asked to show a park pass. However, at the gate we were asked to stop and some basic demographics were collected. We now have our free pass.
The “Headquarters” campground is relatively near the Fundy shore, but up on a bluff. There is a lookout over the small fishing and tourist town of Alma, which gives a good chance to understand just how high the tides are here. During low tide, the boats sit at least 20 feet below the dock, and a huge sand and mud flat extends perhaps a half mile into the bay. At high tide, the boats are level with the dock, and the sea comes up to the road.
On Wednesday we headed out to Saint John airport to pick up our guests, stopping in Sussex for lunch. We never really explored Sussex, but the main street does have some wonderful murals. It was also our primary shopping center for this part of the trip.
Saint John airport is tiny – a bit smaller than State College airport. The important thing, however, was that Kathy and Salomon arrived safely and on time.
Since the airport is on a scenic route marked by “lighthouse” markers, we decided to follow the route back to Sussex.
The road does not exactly follow the coast, but it touches the bay at several places, making it a nice introduction to the Bay of Fundy.
We were also able to pick up a snack from a snack bar with freshly painted tables. Luckily, I noticed that the red paint was tacky before I sat down.
From Sussex there is a short stretch on the highway before turning off onto the 42 km side road. 
Without the RV, we could better appreciate the scenery – particularly the last part as the road ascends to the bay. The leaves are near their peak, adding a lot of color which stands out against the dark green spruce trees. (I am afraid that my phone camera does not do a great job of capturing the fall colors.
Since it was relatively late when we got to the RV, we decided to go into Alma for dinner. In all, we ended up eating in Alma for 3 of the 4 nights we were together – twice at the Octopus Garden Cafe (which deserved its high rating on TripAdvisor) and once at the Alma Boathouse.
We spent the next two days hiking. First we went on the Matthew’s Head trail, which goes along a bluff overlooking the Bay. We got some beautiful views, saw ruffed grouse on the trail, and watched a porpoise fishing in a cove. (I learned that a porpoise is not the same as a dolphin. This is what happens when there is good cell signal and people can fact-check.) Rumple kept up well on the 4 hour walk, although he continually challenged my sanity by going to the edge of the cliff while off-leash. (Remember, this is the dog that fell into a tidal pond at Peggy’s Cove because he thought that the seaweed was solid. But it is very difficult to walk with him on-leash these days, as he literally sits down in protest.)
On Friday we went to the Moosehorn and Laverty trails which together form a loop, which is away from the coast. The trail is quite quite challenging due to several rock scrambles. The most scenic parts of the trail were in the scramble section, with a rushing creek and many waterfalls. Rumple was not happy about the scrambles (where he mostly had to be lifted) and tried to return to the car without us. 
However, once we were back on walkable trails, he did well for another 4 hour hike.
The park has installed these red chairs at scenic spots.
On Saturday we decided on a change of pace and went to Bennett Lake for some kayaking and hiking. Chuck was eager to sail and just sit for a while with a book, while Kathy, Salomon, Rumple and I wanted to try another hike. The lake is very scenic, with lots of small islands. The trail was less challenging and less scenic than our previous routes but the spruce forest had a certain timeless aura.
Of course, 3 days of intense togetherness also meant a lot of talking and catching up. We solved the world’s problems (if only the world would listen) although not the problem of fitting 4 adults comfortably in the RV.
Friday evening we went to a fun performance put on by the park, the Molly Kool Kitchen Party. Molly Kool, who grew up in Alma, was the first female ship captain (and the 2nd female captain in the world). After her home was donated to the park, it was moved to a location with parking and is now used for a weekly performance. The theme is a kitchen party (ceilidh) of about Molly’s era, done as if the audience are visitors to the party. The three actresses (one of whom plays many roles) give a lot of historical details of life in Alma (with contrast to big city life in Halifax) including insights into the main livelihoods (weir fishing and lumber), some of the failed industries (fox farming and copper mining), the initiation of the lobster industry and the start of the national park. Three musicians play local music. This group has been playing at the park for 4 years – the oldest (at the piano) looks to be in her late teens, but the 2 younger ones (shown) are not even teenagers yet. They were very good, without needing to discount for age. The 12-year-old also demonstrated some step dancing. The audience was encouraged to join in some simple country dances. The performance ended with refreshments. It was a very enjoyable evening.
Sadly, the visit and the good weather both came to an end. On Sunday we woke up to a heavy fog and the need to take Kathy and Salomon back to the airport. We went into downtown Saint John for lunch. Fortunately, the fog lifted just as we finished eating, and so we were able to take a quick walk around the harbor and tourist area.
When we got to the airport, the winds were gusty. However, the flights seemed to be on time. It felt a bit lonely returning to the RV, but we hope they will be able to join us on our next trip.
With clearer weather on the return trip to the park, the autumn colors really glowed. We stopped for photos several times before going back to the RV.
Once we assessed where we were both in our travels and our working lives, we decided that we needed a work day to get caught up. Monday proved to be rainy and dull, so it was a good day to stay in the RV, do laundry and get some work done.