The Maritimes IV: New Brunswick

Living history museums are the best.  We visited two excellent ones, as we drove through New Brunswick.  Our first stop was Cavernet, the capital of the Acadian area of New Brunswick.  Nearby is the Acadian Cultural Center, which portrays Acadian life from the 1700s, when the Acadians fled to New Brunswick to escape British persecution in Nova Scotia, to the 1900s.

 The docents were all bilingual.  They greeted everyone, "Bonjour" and proceeded in French or English, depending on whether the guest responded, "Bonjour," or "Hi."

 The Acadians lived simple, rural lives in New Brunswick.

 The Acadians were farmers and/or fishermen.  This man is mending his fishing nets.

 Everywhere in northern New Brunswick, there were white wooden churches.

 The Acadian living history museum included buildings and docents stretching into the early 1900s, with the advent of cars.

 We drove southwest to Frederickton, which was settled by Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution.  All along the way were white churches.

 Frederickton is a beautiful city, with a district of Victorian mansions and joggers running along the St. John River.  It is the province capital of New Brunswick.  The founders hoped it would become another Boston, but loyal to the King!

 The Parliament Building was impressive.

 We spent an hour in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, arguably the best art museum in the Maritimes.

 I particularly enjoyed the paintings that reflected Maritime themes, such a heavy winters and deep, dark forests.

 There was a large area of native art.

 And there were paintings of the Virgin Mary for the Catholic French.

 The Beaverbrook Gallery had a collection of sketches and paintings of Winston Churchill.  Canada is still part of the Commonwealth and recognizes Queen Elizabeth as its sovereign, although the real power is wielded by the Canadian prime minister, elected by the Canadians.

 We paused at the beautiful Anglican cathedral, with its ruby-rich stained glass windows.

 Our second living history museum was King's Landing, near British Frederickton, which celebrated the culture of the Loyalists.  Loyalists fled in droves into Canada following their loss of homes and businesses after the American Revolution.  Dave joked with the guides this was the only place that people thought more highly of him because he was a descendant of Benedict Arnold!  (the spy for the British during the American Revolution)

 The Loyalist village includes a mill and many homes and churches, with the buildings gathered from around New Brunswick.

 We drove on to St. John, the commercial hub of New Brunswick, located on the southeast coast.  It was completely rebuilt after a fire in the late 1800s, so the main street has a quaint but unified style.

 One of the featured sights is the block-long farmers' market, with produce, cafes, and crafts.

 I saw no need to taste dulse, "a sea vegetable grown at low tide" which takes root on rocks.

 We walked to the pier and gazed out at the foggy water, leading to the Bay of Fundy and the mighty St. Lawrence River.

 Poutin is a favorite dish of the Canadians.  It is french fries covered with gravy and cheese.  We saw it advertised all over the Maritimes, but we could never bring ourselves to taste it.

We loved the street statues by the St. John dock.

We finished the day with a fish dinner at Billy's.