We left Walmart, filled up our gas tank and headed into Saint John.
Our first stop was a visit to The Loyalist House, a strong reminder of our British loyalist heritage. It’s the oldest building in Saint John, and has not been structurally altered since it was built between 1817 and 1820. It’s also one of the few building which survived the Great Fire of 1877. The gracious Georgian mansion has remained in the possession of six generations of Merritts.
We took a short walk around the block to stop in at the Saint John City Market. The building has a unique roof structure resembling an inverted ship’s keel, made of wooden trusses, the structure was reportedly built by unemployed ship carpenters of the day. Some of the businesses in the market have been operating continuously there for more than 100 years.
After leaving downtown we stopped at Moosehead Small Batch Brewing.
We returned to Highway 1 and headed towards Saint Andrews where we checked into Kiwanis Oceanfront Camping for three nights and two full days. Susan needed the rest to continue her remarkable recovery from surgery.
Our first full day in camp was spent in the trailer, the weather outside was cold, overcast and windy.
The sun came out briefly in the evening, peeping under the heavy cloud behind the Lighthouse and painted the horizon a burnt orange.
The morning of our second day we all slept in, then arranged travel insurance, caught up on blogging, and two loads of laundry. Later in the afternoon, we took a short walk through the picturesque town.
The town is well preserved, with many original buildings still in place (some of which were floated to the town on barges from Castine, Maine at the end of the Revolutionary War).
There are many layers of history visible starting from the late 18th century, including the town’s well-known formal grid street layout and many historic buildings.
Many of the commercial buildings on Water Street date from the 19th century. Between 1820 and 1860, the port of Saint Andrews was used extensively during the Irish Migration.
With our medical insurance up to date, we were ready to cross into Maine and start the USA section of our road trip.