>We'll be spending a couple of nights in St. John and a night in Grand
>Falls, NB, on our way home to Toronto after our drive up the coast of
>Maine.

I love that stretch of coastline along New Brunswick province. Most of what I found interesting was in observing the tidal behavior of the Bay of Fundy, and in my opinion the two best spots from which to observe the tides are Hopewell Rocks and Truro. At Hopewell you can walk on several hundred feet of beach at low tide, but when the tide begins to come in, you must sometimes run to stay ahead of it. We tarried a little too long in one cove, and within 15 minutes the water along our path back to the stairs had risen to hip level. There was a park guide who was rushing to get people back through the rising water, to higher ground. There is a nice museum at Hopewell, as well as a little snack shop, both of which are appreciated if you want to hang out there for the six hours between high and low tides.

Truro is not precisely in New Brunswick, but rather in Nova Scotia, practically at the top of the Bay of Fundy. Because of its location, it maximally catches the tide as the narrowing of the bay forces the water to uncommonly high levels. The tide actually flows up a little inlet in town (known as the tidal bore), and twice a day there are crowds there to watch it, as it rushes in literally like a river. The inlet goes from being a dry gully to a high, swirling river within minutes.

If you drive along the tidal coast, at low tide you will see what seem like miles of ocean bottom stretching out from dry land, with boats resting on their keels on the sand, and piers, docks, and ladders 20 or 30 feet above your head. Then at high tide, the docks are at sea level, and the boats are all afloat and heading out to sea. We best saw this in the town of Alma, where there was a nice B&B right on the shore.

If you have the time and the interest in American history, I always recommend the tour of Campobello, Franklin Roosevelt's summer home in Maine. It is quite interesting to see how the place evolved during his lifetime, and not the least of which because it is also where it is thought he contracted polio while swimming in the ocean. Campobello is just south of the U.S.- Canada border.

By the way, the town of St. John is absolutely charming. We could have spent several days there, just walking around investigating all the museums and gardens.

Joel, in Chicago

Mod's Note: Hi Joel, Thank you so much for this! Best regards, Don and Linda