Day 29 (September 19, 2009) – Onwards to St. Andrews

Kiwanis Oceanfront Camping - Our View

St. Andrews - Lots to See and Shop

Covenhoven - Creamery and Barn

Covenhoven - A little Summer Shack

Covenhoven - The Bathhouse and Bay

We left our travel-mates behind this morning as we got an early (9 am-ish) start for our 150-mile drive from Fundy to St. Andrews, NB. I guess nothing of interest to them here…plenty for us though. They were going to St. John, NB for one night then back into the US tomorrow. The winds were sufficiently strong and gusty when we got onto TC-1 that we had to slow to about 55 mph. We made one stop at a Blueberry stand where we were carjacked by a Blueberry Pie. We arrived in St. Andrews shortly after noon and were lucky to get one of the premier sights in the Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground with unobstructed front and side views of the ocean (Passamaquoddy Bay). After lunch the clouds with their horizontal rain showers cleared out. We drove through the downtown area with about 4 blocks of shops, galleries and restaurants and took a quick look at the Fairmont Algonquin Hotel. A 5x10 block area of the town is designated as a National Historic District with many homes dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Our beach. afternoon planned adventure was to drive onto and tour Ministers Island, site of the summer home of Sir William Van Horne. His fortune derived from building the Canadian version of the transcontinental railroad. The drive onto the island can only be made at low tide across a stone bar. His little summer shack on the bay (Covenhoven) contains 50 rooms, including 17 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. Very few of the original furnishings are present as these were auctioned off by a subsequent owner of the property who also demolished many of the original buildings on the island. He was a developer from Maine who went bust. One room that is in near original state is the billiard room with its 6’x12’ table (too heavy fro the buyer to move) and several stuffed animal heads. One cue stick and bridge are 8’ long! Apparently Sir William was a pool shark and hustled his guests! His head butler was a professional billiards player. Another unique building is the circular bathhouse. I cannot imagine swimming in those cold waters. Both the house and bathhouse we built from red sandstone quarried from the

Our final stop was the barn complex. There is a huge barn that housed his prized Dutch belted cattle and Clydesdale horses. The creamery that produced butter and cheese is still there. The extensive greenhouses are long gone. Being the big boss, he had fresh dairy products and produce shipped to his home in Montreal daily. Speaking of food, after Donna gets back from the laundry, that criminal Blueberry Pie will suffer its final fate! HMMM! We should have picked up some vanilla ice cream when we were in town today.