By Robert Selwitz
From Franklin Roosevelt's Campobello Island vacation home to the amazing Bay of Fundy tides, Canada's coastal New Brunswick has plenty of reasons to spark a summertime visit.
It takes just a minute to drive from the U.S.-Canada border at Lubec, Maine, to what is now the Roosevelt Campobello National Park. The home that in 1905 was a wedding gift to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt is the prime attraction. This is where they and Franklin's mother raised their children during the summer months. This is also where the future president was brought after being stricken with polio in 1921.
Jointly run by the United States and Canada, this comfortable, lived-in dwelling (which lacked heating) is rich with fascinating photography and personal and political memorabilia. Also appealing is a stroll with interpretive guides around the grounds along with the informative visitors center and twice-daily "Tea With Eleanor" in a former neighbor's cottage. Here two guides reminisce about Mrs. Roosevelt while serving tea and cookies. Topics covered include her likes and dislikes and the political career she undertook after President Roosevelt died in 1945.
Eighty miles, about an hour-and-a-half ride north, bring you to St. Andrews by the Sea. Loyalists from Maine, those who wanted the British to win the American Revolutionary War, established the community in 1783. The town initially thrived as a military and trading center for Great Britain, and it was also a go-between for U.S. and British merchants when their countries were fighting or having strained relations.
By the mid-1800s peace generally reigned and commerce drifted elsewhere. However, since bad economics can make for good preservation, a healthy collection of 19th-century homes and business structures survived the modernization that affected so many other sites. Today, designated as a Canadian National Historic Site, the town offers a sizable collection of beautifully preserved Cape Cod, Salt Box and elegant Georgian townhouses.
Fascinating are the Old Charlotte County Jail, which dates back to 1832; the adjoining courthouse; and the Ross Museum, an 1824 red-brick Georgian mansion filled with elegant furniture and decorative arts. Also not to be missed are the old fort and blockhouse that were built to guard the St. Croix River from Americans in Maine less than a mile away on the opposite bank. The fort was never attacked.
Roughly 64 miles and an hour's drive east brings you to St. John, New Brunswick's largest city. Though founded by 17th-century French explorers, the city got a major residency boost from thousands of Loyalists looking for another venue after Britain's Revolutionary War defeat. Indeed, the city's most noteworthy resident during its early growth period was Benedict Arnold, who lived here between 1787 and 1791.
St. John thrived for much of the early 19th century, profiting from its position as a year-around, ice-free harbor, factors that led to prosperity through fishing, shipping and shipbuilding. However, the great fire of 1877 that leveled much of the town squelched much of that.
Nevertheless, hundreds of noteworthy structures survived, and today they form the core of the 20-block Trinity Royal Heritage Preservation Area. It's great fun to stroll here, observing elaborate brickwork, gargoyles, arched windows and intricate exterior details.
Specific highlights include the elegant Loyalist House, a two-story Georgian structure built around 1817 by David Daniel Merritt, a pro-British merchant who came here from New York City in search of a more comfortable place to live and work. According to our guide, this is not only the city's oldest standing structure (it survived the 1877 fire), but it has not been structurally altered.
St. John's harbor area is another must-see. Cleverly revitalized, it features a beach volleyball court and is the starting point for an extensive covered mall that extends from the Hilton Hotel for more than a mile. En route are the New Brunswick Museum and City Market.
The museum features a full-scale right whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling, extensive collections of Canadian paintings and explanations of industries that made the city a powerful economic force. There's also a fine discovery center with educational activities that make it extremely family-friendly.
City Market, with its inverted ship's-hull ceiling, features all manner of live and cooked fish, area cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables, and many tasty snack choices.
Not far away is King Square, with gardens, an impressive bandstand and fountain, and the cobblestoned-path Loyalist City Burial Ground, with graves of two centuries of city residents.
You'll also want to see the reversing rapids, the point at which, twice daily, waters from the St. John River that flow into the Bay of Fundy are blocked and reversed by bay tides. This creates rapids where the river waters are forced back upstream.
For an even better sense of the Bay of Fundy and its extraordinary tides, travel 95 miles northeast to Moncton, New Brunswick, and then continue for another 24 miles to Hopewell Rocks. There it's a good idea to make two visits: once when the tides are at their highest, exposing what seem like islands topped with vegetation. Several hours later, when waters have retreated, you can walk safely amidst the fascinating formations and arches that are only visible during low tides.
It often takes little more than two hours for the Fundy tides to rise an average 39 feet from sea level to their maximum height. Park officials carefully track the water levels and let visitors descend a wooden staircase to the bay floor only when it is safe to do so.
There is also a fascinating Acadian Museum at the University of Moncton. Here art, artifacts and informative lectures tell tales of three centuries of Acadian life in the Maritimes. You'll also learn about the 18th-century trek the Acadians made to Louisiana when the British drove them out of Canada. These were the ancestors of the Cajuns who are so prominent in New Orleans and surrounding regions.
Moncton is also an ideal departure point for visits to the smallest of Canada's 10 provinces, Prince Edward Island. Starting an hour outside of Moncton, the 22-year-old, eight-mile-long Confederation Bridge exits eight miles from Charlottetown, the island's capital.
Incidentally, the bridge is one of two major ingress-egress options. There are also ferries connecting eastern Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia. The bridge ensures year-around connections to the outside world. Previously, when waters near the island froze solid, there was no way to enter or leave.
Aside from the island's amazing greenness, major draws include golf, all manner of "Anne of Green Gables" memorabilia, the lovely preserved homes throughout Charlottetown and the stately Province House National Historic Site. This is where the 1864 conference took the first steps that in 1867 led to the creation of the Confederation of Canada. Visitors enjoy an excellent movie and presentation and get a look at the actual room and furniture where delegates deliberated.
Other highlights include a taste-tempting Saturday farmers market, a fine museum and theater at the Confederation Center of the Arts, and the parabolic Greenwich Sand Dunes, protected as part of Prince Edward Island National Park, which is 44 miles from Charlottetown.
WHEN YOU GO
For general information: www.tourismnewbrunswick.com
Family Fisheries Restaurant, Campobello Island, offers extremely tasty and reasonably priced lobsters: 506-752-2470 or www.familyfisheries.com.
The Algonquin Resort, St. Andrews by-the-Sea: www.algonquinresort.com
The St. John Hilton (www.hilton.com/saint_john) is a well-located, comfortable downtown property.
East Coast Bistro, St. John (www.eascoastbistro.com) provides clever takes on seafood and regional specialties.
For information about Prince Edward Island: www.tourismpei.com
Terre Rouge Bistro Marche is a superb downtown Charlottetown eatery that features cuisine prepared from local sources: www.terrerougepei.com.
Robert Selwitz is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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