After 3 days in Fundy National Park, I spent a week in the lovely Saint Andrews by the Sea.

Saint Andrew’s

Charlotte County Archives and Old Jail. From 1831 all the way to 1979 the stone jail held men downstairs in 10 cells with only narrow slits for light. Women and children were held upstairs. Two men were hung in the back, one as late as 1942. They found the scaffolding for the second hanging during remodeling and updates; that is displayed in the back. I also visited the courthouse next door on the same tour. Free, but donations accepted. I had a friendly, interesting guide who knew a lot of the local history.

The national historic site of St. Andrew’s Blockhouse was just up the road and made a nice morning walk. Built to protect the town from the American attacks during the War of 1812, it is in a lovely location and offers a number of informative signs on the history. Along the way we stopped by Elizabeth Street Pocket Park and Centennial Park. It is the only blockhouse remaining, out of three built.

The town is laid out in a simple grid pattern and it’s easy to explore the small town. Settled by loyalists after the American Revolution, it’s very English. There is a loyalist cemetery and the streets are named for George III and Queen Charlotte’s children and their titles.

We enjoyed many walks around town. Along Water Street we stopped by St. Andrews Pendlebury Lighthouse and continued to the Irish Monument. We visited the Market Wharf, just two blocks away, daily. The Van Horne Trail, parts paved and unpaved, connects to Water Street and other trails around town, including the Pagan Point Nature Reserve where I visited the St. Andrew’s Salt Marsh and, further out on the trail, the O‘Neill Salt Marsh along Katy’s Cove.

I made sure to visit the Algonquin Resort on one of our walks. It is open to dogs and I visited the public areas. Beautiful hotel. I had read about the hotel prior to booking my AirBNB and did check costs but my AirBNB was lovely and much more affordable.

Ministers Island is a tidal island. Currently, it’s open on weekends. You can only drive over during low tide because the dirt road is under 14 feet of water during high tide. There are a number of trails and I visited the barn, creamery, Covenhaven, a summer “cottage” of 50 rooms, the ruins of the old green house and the bath house. It was interesting to learn a little about William Van Horne, originally from my home state of Illinois. He was in charge of the Trans-Canada Railroad; for completing it in half the time and under cost, in 1885, he earned $1M bonus (worth about $30M today).

I booked my stay in town for whale watching with Jolly Breeze. I originally had it the day I left Fundy but they cancelled that Wednesday and rescheduled for the next day, then rescheduled again. I was one of 11 on the “tall ship” Friday and we had a beautiful sunny day. The ship holds up to 40 so we had a lot of space. We saw 2-3 Minke (one may have been the same whale), a fin whale and even a right whale. We saw lots of grey and harbor seals sunning themselves on the rocks and several flocks of eagles and their nests and sailed past many other lighthouses.

Saint Andrew’s Brewing is a great location just off Water and King by the wharf, it opened early this year. They have a nice patio and it’s dog friendly. You can bring your own food. Returning from whale watching Friday evening, I had dinner on the patio at Seasons by the Sea Bistro on the waterfront. Their specials that evening, a grilled chicken sandwich with fig and chickpea vegetable soup, were great.

It’s late in the season for the town and many things were closed for the season, including Kingsbrae Gardens, Huntsman Marine Science Center and Aquarium, and many of the restaurants. But I had lovely weather, high 50s, low 60s and mostly clear, so we enjoyed the area very much.

Saint Stephen’s

I drove over to St. Stephen’s one day. I wanted to visit the Chocolate Museum in the former Ganong Chocolate and Candy Factory. It’s by tour only, lasting about an hour, but I stayed for about 15 minutes after to read more of the exhibits. Ganong is the oldest candy factory in Canada, dating from 1873. It offered some history of chocolate from the Aztecs and Mayans to current day and history about the Ganong Family and the factory.

After a nice walk along the Water Front Trail, seeing their lighthouse and several memorials, I had lunch at 5 Kings Restaurant and Picaroons Brewhouse. I had a great breakfast club sandwich, delicious and messy, and a dark lager. Boo got spoiled by the waiter who brought him some steak tips from the kitchen. He was quite excited. I also visited the Ganong Nature Park for about an hour and half to enjoy those trails before returning to St. Andrew’s.