See Bar Harbor for the history of Saint John. French, British, fighting, Revolutionary War, Canadian city.
Michael:
Well, we are back in Canada and that means it’s raining! I escorted a trolley (that’s Canadian for uncomfortable bus) tour of the city, and guess what – it isn’t much. However, Saint John does have some bragging rights. It is about to celebrate its 225th birthday, making it the oldest incorporated city in all of Canada. It is also the largest (in area) city in Canada. It is located on the Bay of Fundy, home to the biggest tides in the world – up to 54 feet. The change was 28 feet today. The tide moves at about five feet per hour so it is very easy to actually see the rise/fall. In fact, more water pours through the Bay of Fundy at tidal change that through all other rivers in the world that empty into oceans – COMBINED!!!
St. John was birthplace of some well know people – Louis B. Mayer, Donald Sutherland and Walter Pigeon (from Forbidden Planet – the best movie ever made!). We stopped at the local farmer’s market and discovered a local treat called Dulse, which is actually seaweed that is harvested at low tide. It dries to the consistency of potato chips but gets moist and chewy as you consume it. And guess what it tastes like – SEAWEED!!
We have had such marvelous weather on most of our stops, except for the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Does the sun ever shine here? Oh, yeah, it’s called liquid sunshine! It feels just like home.
What is special about St. John? It has Canada’s oldest continuous farmers market, oldest continuous museum, and the city itself is Canada’s oldest incorporated city. But the really special thing about St. John is the Bay of Fundy. Michael briefly described it, but here is a little more information. The tide is the largest in the whole world, it’s faster than a speeding bullet, higher than a 4-story building, and able to squeeze 100 billion tons of seawater in and out of the bay two times a day every day. This event causes the “Reversing Falls Rapids,” whereby the river actually flows back upstream. Slack water only lasts for approximately 20 minutes. The Saint John River is 450 miles long and starts in Maine.
I also took the same trolley tour as Michael. Mostly, we wove our way through many residential streets and saw many grand parks and Victorian homes. The farmers market was small, but very charming. The smells were delicious and you could buy fresh meats and vegetables to take home for dinner, and yet enjoy a scrumptious lunch from one of the many food vendors and stands.
The city is hilly and the streets are named for loyalists: Queen, King, Duke, Princess, etc. There was a big fire in 1876 so much of the central business district has been rebuilt. Irish immigrants played a major role in rebuilding the city and shipbuilding brought prosperity to the city during this time. Douglas Avenue had lovely restored Victorian homes – on the side of the street toward the bay were the riverboat captain’s houses; on the other side of the street toward the sea were the sea captain’s houses, which had cupolas or widows walks. Nothing like being politically correct and class distinction, eh? Thirty three percent of the inhabitants are of French descent making New Brunswick is the only province that is bilingual, speaking both English and French.
Michael:
Well, we are back in Canada and that means it’s raining! I escorted a trolley (that’s Canadian for uncomfortable bus) tour of the city, and guess what – it isn’t much. However, Saint John does have some bragging rights. It is about to celebrate its 225th birthday, making it the oldest incorporated city in all of Canada. It is also the largest (in area) city in Canada. It is located on the Bay of Fundy, home to the biggest tides in the world – up to 54 feet. The change was 28 feet today. The tide moves at about five feet per hour so it is very easy to actually see the rise/fall. In fact, more water pours through the Bay of Fundy at tidal change that through all other rivers in the world that empty into oceans – COMBINED!!!
St. John was birthplace of some well know people – Louis B. Mayer, Donald Sutherland and Walter Pigeon (from Forbidden Planet – the best movie ever made!). We stopped at the local farmer’s market and discovered a local treat called Dulse, which is actually seaweed that is harvested at low tide. It dries to the consistency of potato chips but gets moist and chewy as you consume it. And guess what it tastes like – SEAWEED!!We have had such marvelous weather on most of our stops, except for the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Does the sun ever shine here? Oh, yeah, it’s called liquid sunshine! It feels just like home.
What is special about St. John? It has Canada’s oldest continuous farmers market, oldest continuous museum, and the city itself is Canada’s oldest incorporated city. But the really special thing about St. John is the Bay of Fundy. Michael briefly described it, but here is a little more information. The tide is the largest in the whole world, it’s faster than a speeding bullet, higher than a 4-story building, and able to squeeze 100 billion tons of seawater in and out of the bay two times a day every day. This event causes the “Reversing Falls Rapids,” whereby the river actually flows back upstream. Slack water only lasts for approximately 20 minutes. The Saint John River is 450 miles long and starts in Maine.
I also took the same trolley tour as Michael. Mostly, we wove our way through many residential streets and saw many grand parks and Victorian homes. The farmers market was small, but very charming. The smells were delicious and you could buy fresh meats and vegetables to take home for dinner, and yet enjoy a scrumptious lunch from one of the many food vendors and stands. 
The city is hilly and the streets are named for loyalists: Queen, King, Duke, Princess, etc. There was a big fire in 1876 so much of the central business district has been rebuilt. Irish immigrants played a major role in rebuilding the city and shipbuilding brought prosperity to the city during this time. Douglas Avenue had lovely restored Victorian homes – on the side of the street toward the bay were the riverboat captain’s houses; on the other side of the street toward the sea were the sea captain’s houses, which had cupolas or widows walks. Nothing like being politically correct and class distinction, eh? Thirty three percent of the inhabitants are of French descent making New Brunswick is the only province that is bilingual, speaking both English and French.
Did you have any of the Dulse!! it looks strange!! You can't have good weather all the time since that would spoil you!
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe all the history you write about. How do you remember it all?
Marilyn