A Second Chance in St. Andrew's

Tide fully out this morning. Taken from our balcony.

Monica almost went over a waterfall today! Dad used all his muscles to hold on to her power chair and get her back on the path. She was going down a very steep ramp to get to the underwater viewing tank at the Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre when it happened. There was a spot at the bottom on the steep ramp that was covered in water and had no sides. She was half off the path but Dad held on!


It was a really hot day here today. We were going to spend the day at a special Gardens and even on a beach but we all got a bit grumpy with the heat.

American Goldfinch at the Gardens. Anna-Lee got very close.

So, instead of staying, we chose to try the Whale Watching again! Yay!

Instead of hot, I (Anna-Lee) was cold and had to put on my coat and mitts again! It was nice! We saw loads of whales today. There was no fog and we could see everything clearly. We saw lots of the smaller Minke Whales again, but this time we also saw Finback Whales too!

Anna-Lee has been front and centre with the guides wherever we go. Here, one of the two marine biologists on board had a "sea peach" as part of her touch tank today. (Feels like a balloon attached to a rock!)

I (Monica) knelt on the bench with my head out the window again today, so got a great view of the Finbacks. Finbacks are the second largest whale in the world  at about 24 meters, and they are the fastest whale in the world traveling at 40 km/hr.. They weigh 260,000 pounds. When they exhale from their spout it can be heard for a mile away so they are easy to locate by sounds and then seeing the tall spray of mist that rises!
 

A finback - very difficult to get the timing right in taking a photo.

You never know exactly where or when they will come up for air though, and even when they come up you can only see their back and fin. But one Minke whale got so close that Dad saw its mouth open and the baleen in its mouth - that's what strains the water from the food they eat.
 

Minke Whale (10 meters long) coming right for the boat.

We got very close to the harbour seals today and it was so bright and sunny that we saw everything so much better. There was a mom seal with her pup we could see too.
 

Harbour seal mom and pup. Their backs are to us.

I also saw a bald eagle from the boat as well as the Minke Whales and Porpoises. There were also Auks which are similar to puffins.
 

Poking a Sea Cucumber. Very slimy. It has two legs to "walk on."

Although it was so hot, we did spend some time in the morning at the Kingsbrae Gardens. There was a labyrinth there made of tall hedges that was my favorite part.
 

Dead End again!

 And yes, Dad and I are fine after our Atlantic Salmon waterfall adventure. It really was an interesting place. Did you know out of 8,000 eggs laid only 2 on average become full grown salmon.

I ate salmon for supper tonight.

Whale Watching in St.Andrew's

Trip Odometer 0 km by land, lots by sea.
 

Low Tide from our balcony. Compare with yesterdays High Tide.

Yes or No?
The fog was thick. We walked down the street to the whale watching booth to ask if they would be going or not. They had cancelled the morning trip but ours was reserved for 1:30.

This is the wharf and all these buildings are whale watching tours. The one we went with is the gray one we are in front of.

At 1:00 the decision was made. YES! We would go.
We started out and I (Anna-Lee) went up to the deck. We were in a catamaran and it went really fast. My hair and clothes got wet in the fog and I felt WILD. I loved it!

We had to hang on to a rail or bars at all times. It was very hard to walk when the waves and tide got the boat going every direction!

Soon we stopped and saw harbour seals. Dad thinks there were about 30 of them. Some were swimming and others on rocks. They weigh about 300 pounds.There were some gray seals too. They weigh 800 pounds but the harbour seals stay away from them because they will eat the harbour seal pups.

It was VERY foggy so the camera had trouble picking up anything, but you can see many seals in this picture. The one in the front left has his tail up. On top of seeing them, we could also hear them breathing as they swam.

After that we saw porpoise just really fast and then they were gone. We went out into the main part of the Bay of Fundy and it was much windier and wavier. Our boat was going up and down with the waves, and side to side because of the tide. It was fun. None of us got sick. 

Even though we went far out, NO, we did not see any finback whales which is what they were looking for in that location.

But we saw lots of different kinds of birds on one island.

Then we went to a different area and YES! we saw Minke whales. They weigh 160,000 pounds!!!! I saw lots of them for a long time in many different areas. We also saw more porpoise but they aren't like dolphins and they don't jump much.

I met someone else today on board the boat. She was from Florida! It's neat meeting people from all over! 

After dinner we went to Indian Point just down the road and searched in tidal pools for stuff. I found a live green crab and lots of dead ones, a lobster leg, lots of shells, and a neat crab shell. Dad thinks the brids got there before us! I also saw a live clam attached to a rock. I've never seen a live clam open before.
 

Searching in the tidal pools at Indian Point.

 

Green Crab Anna-Lee and Dave found in the tidal pool at Indian Point.

My Perspective
I (Monica), also loved going on the whale watching trip. I couldn't get up on deck but stayed in the cabin area.  The windows were wide open and I had a great view. One of the seals came very close to where I was sitting. The captain of the boat was so nice. He made note of where I was sitting and tried to maneuver the boat so everything was on that side.

Dad got me out of my manual chair and I knelt on a bench by the window and stuck my head out! I saw lots of the Minke whales too.
 

Minke Whales Three O'Clock!!!

On the way back to shore the two marine guides on board brought in a bin of Bay of Fundy living specimens. I got to touch sea urchins, kelp, and more moon snails! 
 

Sea Urchin

 

Getting brave. Crabs are one thing Anna-Lee did not want to see on our trip and now she is handling them! Well, small ones anyway!

Even though it was a nice warm day on shore, it was very cold on the Bay. We were in coats and Anna-Lee even wore gloves. Yes, Mom was prepared. The Bay water itself is only 7 degrees C. One thing the guides explained was that the current moving one way and the tides another churn up all the plankton so that is why the Bay of Fundy is such a rich food environment for the sea life.

My meal tonight: clam chowder and seafood casserole! Mom is still working up psychologically to eat seafood for breakfast. They have lobster omelettes here.

Things are pretty easy going here out East.

St. Andrew's-by-the-Sea

Trip Odometer from Fredericton to St. Andrews-by-the-Sea: 144 km

Fredericton at the St. John River. Anna-Lee took this one for you Valerie! I really am here.

Hmm, we must be in the right place. It's another road block. This is getting a wee bit funny. Poor "Gus" (our GPS). He really was adamant we needed to go down this road and gave us many loops to try to get us back here.

Touch Pool
Today we went to the Marine Science Centre in St. Andrew's. They have two touch pools there where we can pick up anything in it or at least touch it. Everything they have is from right here in the Bay of Fundy. 

Moon Snail. I was very slimy after holding him.

I (Anna-Lee)  touched a moon snail - big and slimy; a sea cucumber - kind of flabby and soft; a crab - the small one moved really fast. I didn't think I would EVER touch a crab!

This was the baby starfish, but I picked up a really large one too.

I touched a skate which is like a sting ray. It is rubbery on it's "wings" and spiny on its body.

Anna-Lee reaching to touch the skate.

I picked up all sorts of other things but my favorite was the scallop. Its a mussel in a shell and when you hold it so part of it is under water but the part that opens isn't, it squirts out water because that is how it propels itself to move and it's trying to get away. Once when I put the scallop back into the water instead of just sinking to the bottom it took offfff!!!! it zoomed across the pool - zip zip zip (or rather spit, spit spit!). It was so funny!

Oh, I also touched a big (humongous!) fish in the skate exhibit. It's called a Wolf Fish. And I also got to touch one of those spiky things - Mom says they are called sea urchins. It didn't hurt to touch but sometimes they stuck to me and other times they squirmed and then settled down. Very neat.

Oh, and the sea cucumber is an animal not a plant  - and it jumped out of my hand!

I met another girl my age there from Hamilton and we explored the animals together and one of the staff gave us a private lesson on all the marine life in the pools.

Seals
There are also two harbour seals there and I got to see them being fed.  They roll on their backs and twirl around so much because they see better that way!

Dad and I were on one side and Mom and  Monica on the other. This show us and one of the seals.

I (Monica), liked the touch pool too. My favourite things to touch were the sponge which had attached itself to an old shell. It felt just like a sponge you'd use to clean.

The sponge attached to the shell. This is the person who gave us private lessons.

I also liked finding a huge empty shell that a skate had laid eggs in. There was also this hard disc shaped small "shell" with an outline of a star on it. It had a hole in the middle that had been drilled by a snail. That's what a moon snail does to get its food. Anna-Lee didn't like the moon snail too much because it was so slimy but I thought it was amazing.

This is a larger starfish. It's legs curl and sway and twist. I actually picked this one right up.

The seal feeding was also very interesting as they gave a lot of information about the seals in the Bay of Fundy. The seals weren't too hungry because it is summer and they don't try to gain weight in the summertime. Seals don't actually make any noise. It's sea lions that make noise.

When we arrived here it was high tide but now it is low tide. We are right on the Bay of Fundy. The water is right under our balcony at high tide and the mud at low tide.

This is from our balcony when we arrived at high tide in the Bay of Fundy.

This guy was at the entrance to the restaurant we ate at tonight.

The meals are interesting. I think we will eat a lot of fish, shrimp, lobster, and clam chowder! OH! And for those who know me - with all the new foods we are trying I attempted eggs again! I like them "Sam I am!"

To Fredericton

Trip Odometer from Québec City to Fredericton, New Brunswick: 596 km

Most of the day was spent traveling today but we did some fun things anyway. Here are some things we saw.

Traveling through Québec with the Laurentian "mountains" and the St. Lawrence River in the background.

The funniest place name we saw was Saint-Louis-du-Ha!Ha!
Really! - even with the exclamation marks!

The place that was hardest for us to pronounce was Pohéméganook.

The most common sign we saw was the Moose.

One neat story is that we listen to books on tape while we drive. We had just finished listening to a story on Abraham Lincoln and then stopped for a break. We saw a car with a license plate from Illinois and their motto is Land of Lincoln! I (Anna-Lee) thought that was neat.

We also got to travel through the Appalachian Mountains and the cut outs along the highway were quite dramatic.

I am keeping a record of all the license plate places we see. So far we have spotted: Indiana, Québec, Ontario, Virginia, Saskatchewan, Florida, New Jersey, Arizona, Maine, Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Illinois, Delaware, and Prince Edward Island!

Our entry to Fredericton was greeted by one of the most common themes so far this trip - "Detour!" "Gus" our GPS must be pretty fed up with us not doing what he says.

We got to  Fredericton and realized it was an hour later because of the time zone change. So, supper was very late! Dad and I (Anna-Lee) went for a bit of a walk along the Saint John River right outside our door. There are bridges and walking and biking trails and a sculpture garden. It's all very pretty.

Fredericton along the St. John River with their lighthouse. Anna-Lee took this one.

And Guess What! It is Fredericton's Summer Festival! But it is much nicer. The music was jazz with a saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitars and drums. They were called the "Downtown Blues Band" and they were very good. And there were only a couple hundred people rather than 18,000!

Mont Morency Falls and The Citadel Québec City

Trip Odometer for Québec City Stay: 80 km

Getting Wet
Today was hot and sunny but I (Anna-Lee), got wet anyway! We went to Mont Morency Falls which is taller than Niagara Falls but much narrower. We started at the bottom and went so close the mist soaked me! Mom tried to get a picture but her camera kept getting wet!

It was a well kept Park and not commercial at all.

Then we went up to the top in a gondola - we could have climbed stairs but that would have been pretty hard with the wheelchair and besides the gondola was fun and wheelchair accessible! Then, we walked across the falls on a suspension bridge! We were up very high!

That is Monica and me on the suspension bridge!

Goats
We also went to the Citadel. They told a neat story about someone who had given Queen Victoria a whole pile of goats. She didn't know what to do with them so she gave one to different military groups with the name Royal in them. The military in Québec City got one and they still have that first goats great great .... great grandgoat named Batisse XI. He goes on parade with the soldiers and gets his horns painted gold.
I saw Batisse III stuffed at the Citadel but I didn't see the live one.

Tonight I (Anna-Lee) tried Bison, Caribou, Wapiti (Elk), and Stag!

Je Me Souviens
There were two stories at the Citadel I (Monica) liked.

This is at the front of the Citadel with the guards. The Citadel is a fully functioning military base so in order to inter you have to actually take the tour accompanied by a guide.

At the Citadel we learned more about the Québec motto "Je me souviens." For civilians they are to remember their history (French, then British, then Canadian). For the military they are to remember their fallen comrades. Each day at the Citadel someone reads from the Book of Remembrance names of soldiers who have died in battle and then as they leave the building they say "Je me souviens." 

The other story is the history of Québec's military's coat of arms which is a beaver (representing diligence and hard work), with three symbols on the beaver. At the top is the Fleur de lis to represent Québec's French history. Next was the British lion to represent when Québec fell to Britain, and then at the bottom is the maple leaf showing that we are now our own country of Canada. 

Québec's Summer Festival is still on but we are getting pretty good at ignoring it!

The only part of the Summer Festival that was worth stopping for a photo.

Old buildings close to the road. Some roads are very narrow like Europe. Lots of horse drawn carriages. Monica in her manual chair at times depending on where we go. Old Québec isn't all wheelchair easy.

Wendake

Trip Odometer
490 km

A Dog in the Park
We ate breakfast from our hotel's revolving restaurant today. Everyone was laughing at me because instead of focusing on the Citadel, the River boats, or other historic sites, I saw the puppy in the park. Yes, I miss my puppy!

A view of the Plains of Abraham and the St. Lawrence River from the revolving restaurant

Barrée
Our new word for today. It means "Road Closed." We lost track of how many roads were "Barrée" today but Dad made so many crazy last minute turn offs we thought our new GPS would explode with recalculating! We however were keeled over laughing in the back seat - "Will we end up at the airport or the train station?" We even got on one highway headed back to Montreal! Yikes!

Huron Adventure
Once we found roads that weren't "Barrée," we spent the day on a Huron Indian Reserve called Wendake. They call it an urban reserve as they are surrounded by city on only 3 square kilometers of land. Here they have their own factories that make snow shoes, moccasins and many other items. They also have an authentic historic Huron Village to tour.

The Huron lived in long houses with the Clan Mother as leader of the house.

While there we experienced one of the many traditional Huron dances honouring the Creator giving thanks for the harvest. There were other parts as well and I had lots of opportunity to practice my French as there was no English at all!

The Welcoming Dance

The Wendake Hurons also have their own hotel, museum and restaurant serving only authentic Native foods from Canada. Guess what I ate? Duck (yum), seal (like tough beef - interesting), and raw trout (disgusting!).

 A Bear, a Deer and the Little Red Dot
 Guess what? I (Anna-Lee) tried archery today at the Huron Village. I hit the bear (a model) twice and the fence and a lots of dirt. The goal was to hit a little red dot painted on the models (which Mom came really close to)! 

The Huron Indian that taught me how to shoot had me a bit closer to the targets than Mom and Dad got to be.

Imagine paddling one of these long boats!

By the way, I tried the seal, duck and raw trout too! Monica is right - raw trout is disgusting.

Old Québec City walk

Our Three Minute Walk:

We were going to go to supper. Google Maps said it took three minutes to walk there and the hotel concierge told us that it was ten to fifteen minutes to walk, so we decided to walk there. When we finely got there Dad said that it was 30 minutes!

Overlooking the St. Lawrence River with a cruise ship in the background

The Statue Walk:

Walking back to our hotel I wanted to see the statue Samuel de Champlain.  

Anna-Lee with one of the many statues.

We saw lots of statues of famous French people but by the time we got to Samuel's there were piles of people everywhere! We  found out Québec's Summer Festival was on this weekend and that there would be 18,000 people on the streets just outside our hotel! We saw Samuel's statue, but right in front of it was a magic show with about 200 people! 

Each of the canons overlooking the walls of Quebec City carries a 32 pound canon ball There are probably about 35 canons we saw in our short walk.

So we could not get a picture of his statue very well!  Our walk home took way more than 30 minutes because of the crowds and rock bands but we made it to the quiet of our hotel room. Whew!

The walled city. The only city in North America that remains walled.