Fredericton: Places you can't see from the Highway (GECA Part 9)

Whenever I hear people are traveling through New Brunswick, I always ask if they are stopping in Fredericton.  Most people who have been to or through New Brunswick, drive right past Fredericton, stopping only at the Irving Big Stop on the way through.  From the Highway, Fredericton does little to impress.  But that's because when travelers use only the highway, the miss the best parts of a city.  And this is certainly true of Fredericton--a city rich in natural beautiful and old architecture.

So my aim while stopping through here (aside from visiting with family and friends) was to get a few pictures capturing just a little bit of the essence of Fredericton and all of it's hidden beauty--from the lush riverside drive along Waterloo Row to it's big picturesque churches, uncluttered by big city structures.  Fredericton is one of my favorite cities in the East Coast--maybe because I have a lot of family and friends here but also because it really is so beautiful.

Downtown Fredericton from the North Side with the old train bridge (now converted into a popular walking bridge) off to the left side.  And a family reunion.

One of most of the iconic Fredericton churches located right beside the walking bridge--Christ Church Cathedral. 

The best wading pool in the city, located right off the river and across from this beautiful government house.  

Lots of talented artists live in this city, including a number located in the old converted barracks downtown as part of the Arts College.

 More beautiful homes down on the river.  And then it was it, off we drove into the sunset back to Toronto.  Another two days on the road, another 16 hours in the car (with all the little breaks along the way) and we were welcomed to busy, heavy Toronto rush hour traffic regardless of how well we tried to time it.  Back to the big city--and all of our friends.  We are another 4500 kms richer, a few inches taller (the kids, anyway) and all that bonding time, well, I think it really cemented the friendship between our children.  They have learned to find playmates in each other (at least lately)--something every parent dreams of!  So, do I recommend packing up your car and driving across the country with your kids for a month a half, sharing a 5 ft by 6 ft space for hours at a time, and often a room at night?  Hands down, absolutely.  We sang a lot, we played a lot, we learned a lot, we fought a lot, we snuggled a lot, we saw a lot.  It was intense.  But we loved it.  So, as long as the kids are game, and you, my friends, will still have us, well, we'll be a-knocking on your doors next summer on our way through: our journey to nowhere in particular, destinations many.  

See you on the road!

Xo from us,

In Toronto 

New River Beach (GECA Part 8)

So it's actually been very very hot in New Brunswick.  In an effort to both escape the heat and meet up with friends on the south shore, we orchestrated a beach date on the ocean at New River Beach.  Similar to both Hopewell Rocks and Kepploch beach, you have to pay attention to the tide schedule, because when the tide is low, the beach stretches out a very, very long way, shallow and calm.  But when the tides come in, it is quick and can make the beach much more hazardous.  We witnessed this when we arrived as the tides were changing and coming back in.  We were astonished at how quickly the water rose while we had to pull up our beach gear.  It seemed like we literally had to run back and forth with our arms full to avoid having our belongings swept away.  And when it was up as high as it would go, the waves were high, the water was deep and we really had to keep our littles ones near and in hand for fear of the strong undertow.

It ended up being a chilly ten degrees cooler down there by the water, which was a nice reprieve from the heat.  And the fog rolled in just as we arrived, but it was still quite beautiful and we stayed as long as we could visiting some friends from my childhood--Danielle and Megan and their brood of children.  

Gabriel is just the perfect age right now for making and playing with little friends.  Everywhere we go, he meets someone and off they go, running and splashing and laughing in the waves.  So it's always a delight to see him making besties with the little people belonging to my own friends.  I don't know if it's seeing pictures from facebook and the blog that helps him to remember or not feel like they are strangers or what.  Or maybe it's just the age, but I am loving how both my littles make connections with other little people so easily. 

And while we were there, we ran into another friend from many years ago when she saw my son playing on the beach, recognized him from all the pictures (even though she has never met him) and traced him back to us!  Oh Gabriel, did you know you are famous?? Haha!