Part 3 of The Muddiest Vacation Ever

I guess I still need to post about the last leg of our trip this summer.

From Hopewell Cape we drove to St. Andrews-by-the-Sea where we stayed at the Hotel Algonquin. On our drive we passed through Alma while the tide was out. The boats sitting on the ocean floor are a great example of the magnitude of the tide.

{fishing boat at low tide - Alma NB}

By the time we arrived here, we were tired and really ready to relax.

Well, this was certainly the place to do that.

{a view of the hotel from the pool}

The hotel was gorgeous and far exceeded my expectations. There was shuffle board, mini golf, a beautiful outdoor pool. There were thick white bathrobes for us in the bathroom, plus our room had a little kitchenette and a sitting area. There was even a bar within the hotel with pool, foosball and air hockey. All that and it was within walking distance of the town and the Bay.

{shooting pool}



{mini golf}

{shuffle board}



{relaxing by the pool}



{cool NB fog}

{the pier in St. Andrew's}

In addition to enjoying all the amenities the hotel had to offer, we managed to get to Minister’s Island, Kingsbrae Gardens and the Huntsman’s Marine Centre.

Minister’s Island is only accessible at low tide by driving across a sandbar and was the summer estate of a CP rail magnate back at the beginning of the 1900’s. This summer estate makes my house look positively puny.

{the estate at Minister's Island}

 

Kingsbrae Gardens was Meredith’s excursion of choice (Mastodon Ridge in Truro was Isobel’s). The gardens were filled with lush, blooming flowers and many unique bushes and trees. It was a gardener’s delight and I think Meredith took over 300 photos in an hour and a half!!

{self portrait}

{in the hedge at Kingsbrae}

Huntsman’s Marine Centre was undergoing renovations but had the cutest harbour seals that were willing to perform some tricks for us.

{Soki the harbour seal}

We were in St. Andrews for 5days and 4 nights – not long enough in my opinion. I think you could visit the Hotel Algonquin and never leave without getting bored.

We left early in the morning on the 20th and drove home through the USA. Our plan was to stop in Albany NY but by the time we got there we weren’t ready to stop but when we were ready to stop we were only about 4 hours from home so we pushed through and drove 16 straight hours to arrive home shortly after midnight.

It was a great trip, but it was nice to sleep in my own bed again.