We left Val Cormeau, and started along the coastal route. The drive wasn’t as scenic as the previous leg, eventually taking us away from the coast, through back country and forested national parks.
We decided to complete the last leg on Highway 134. This would get us into Shediac sooner, giving us time to explore Shediac, the “lobster capital”, during daylight.
After setting up for three nights, we unloaded the bicycles, left Chloe in the trailer, and rode from Camping Parasol to Parlee Beach Provincial Park. The 12 kilometre round trip, past coffee shops and restaurants, through residential streets, and forested bicycle trails. It was worth the exercise, especially after sitting in the truck most of the week.
After a slow morning, we headed into Moncton. Our first stop was Mr Lube to enquire about the “change oil” light. We are running full synthetic, and should have 10,000 km between changes. The light came on at 6,000 km. I asked the technicians if this was because the engine was working harder towing a trailer, or the system is configured for the standard oil change interval of 6000 km. I checked the colour of the oil – it looked clear. I reset the light, and will do another synthetic oil change at 10,000 km.
Our next stop was a visit to Magnetic Hill to experience a “natural wonder” of driving down a hill, putting the truck in neutral, and rolling back up the hill.
Amazing…we defied gravity and rolled back up the hill 😉
We decided to stop in at the wharf for a quick lunch, and couldn’t resist a photo op with the lobster.
Our next stop was a trip to the University of Moncton, to visit the Acadian History Museum. Founded in 1886, the Acadian Museum at the University of Moncton, has more than 38,000 objects and photographs – one of the largest collections in the world of Acadian artifacts.
The permanent exhibition “Acadian Adventure” was a dynamic and innovative way to view the Acadian history of Atlantic Canada and the history of its material culture. It presented a renewed history of the Acadians. It is divided into two parts, a chronological part starting in 1604, and a thematic part looking at domestic life, religion, education, politics, folklore, culture and arts. Colours and accents today show us the realities of the past and make us understand that the Acadian adventure is far from over.
After an informative day, we made our way back to the campground before heading out to the casino for supper. When travelling, one can get great deals at casino buffets.
During the early hours of the morning, the wind had shifted, causing a few cargo jets to fly directly over the campground. All those overnight courier and parcel deliveries winging their way across the country. I can’t complain because I’m an an active amazon shopper.
We had another slow morning, enjoying the fact we were spending another day based out of camp, and taking short side trips.
Later in the morning, we drove up to Bouctouche for the August 15 Acadian Celebration and Shellfish Festival. It was much smaller than we expected, and we didn’t find any shellfish. The festivities were in full swing, and everyone was wearing “the colours”.
We left, taking a slow drive back along the coast. through small towns. We stumbled across Treasure Island Road. I couldn’t resist, so we turned down the road and drove onto Surette Island – a small private community of cottages, with a dirt road meandering between trees.
We noticed one for sale, and looked it up on realtor.ca 102m2 with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom on 1/2 acre of sea view. Check out the listing. CDN$118,000
A quick google search of the average weather confirmed our reason to NOT buy here. Negative temperatures and high winds result in brutal wind chill. No wonder we saw lots of firewood stockpiled in preparation for very long winters.
We continued our drive until we stopped at a hole in the wall take out. The fish burger was awesome, followed by some local ice cream. Yum.
Our drive took us back into Shediac, where we ran a few errands, and picked up some freshly cooked lobster for supper. When in the lobster capital, one must eat lobster. It was divine.
We didn’t have the correct implements to crack the shell. We improvised using a garlic press, cork screw, and folding utility tool. Nothing would stop us from getting to the tasty meat.
After supper, we relaxed, having enjoyed our stay in Shediac. For our next leg, we leave New Brunswick and head to Prince Edward Island.