Gulf Island National Seashore and Fort Massachussets

Twelve miles off the shore of Mississippi's coast in the Gulf of Mexico sits a small piece of land named Ship Island that is part of the Gulf Island National Seashore.
Ship Island Excursions provides a ferry service to the island twice daily from the Gulfport Yacht Harbor. The Gulf Islander delivered me right to the dock in a little less than an hour. The trip was enjoyable and a pod of dolphins came to play in the wake of the ferry. Most of the travelers on the Gulf Islander were prepared for sunbathing and picnics, some had come to visit Fort Massachusetts. There were a few serious fishermen and one women with long lens camera equipment who was planning to photograph birds in the afternoon light.

Fort Massachusetts from the dock.

The ferry docked on the North side of West Ship Island. A stingray was surfing the shallow waters of a sandbar as we were getting off the boat.   A boardwalk joins the dock and leads across the island to the south side where the best beaches are located. It is a pleasant walk and goes right past the fort.

Ship Island was originally settled by French explorers in 1699. They valued its deep port and the protection that the island provided from Gulf storms. Ship island served as a base of operations for those explorers settling French Louisiana, land which now makes up the center of our country.
Ship Island has seen action over its years as a port.
During the War of 1812 British ships gathered here before their unsuccessful bid  to capture New Orleans.
That war showed the country's borders to be vulnerable to attack and as a result the US War Department made plans to expand coastal defenses with brick forts known as Third System Forts. One of those forts Fort Massachusetts was to be built on ship island.
During the American Civil War Admiral David Farragut used Ship Island as a supply base as they captured the port cities of New Orleans and Mobile. The brick walls of Fort Massachusetts were only waist high at that point and didn't provide much protection. Ship island was held by Union forces and Confederate forces at different points in the Civil War.

Interior of Fort Massachusetts

Fort Massachusetts was completed in 1866 but never fully fortified. Events at Fort Pulaski during the Civil War proved that the forts defenses were no match for rifled guns whose higher velocity ordnance easily penetrated those thick brick walls.  Fort Massachusetts and other Third order forts that dotted the coast of the United States were made obsolete before their construction was completed.
It is small in comparison to other 3rd order forts that we have visited. There are no parade grounds at the center as we saw in Fort Pulaski and Fort Jefferson, no quarters or storage areas like at Fort Pickens and Fort Hancock.
A park ranger was on site to tell the story of the fort and to answer questions about its construction. It is amazing to me that such imposing structures with such precise details were completed with hand tools, levels and plumb bobs.

Gulf Islander waiting to bring us home

The beaches of West Ship Island are wild and beautiful. No manicuring is done here so you will find driftwood the size of logs, bits of shell and fishing equipment and the occasional plastic bottle dropped from someones boat. 

The beaches on West Ship Island had a combination of light and dark sands.

I expected the sand to be white as seen on other Gulf coast beaches. It was dark like the sand at Caspersen Beach near Venice Florida, and made interesting patterns as the water washed over it. I enjoyed a long leisurely walk along the south side of West Ship Island and was happy to spend some time breathing in the sea air. We are heading inland now and won't breath the ocean air until we arrive in Astoria Oregon in late Summer.

Resting with the fishermen on the way back to the marina.

Cape Fear and the Oak Island Lighthouse

Fisherman on Kure Beach with pelicans waiting for the catch

Kure Beach North Carolina is a small paradise that we might never of found if it weren’t for the military campground at Fort Fisher. We chose the area as a convenient stop on our way to Charleston, not realizing that we would be surrounded by water and that the beach was a short walk from our campsite.

Kure Beach is a lovely expanse of white sand and exposed rock surfaces that provide a beautiful place to spend an afternoon and breath in the peace inducing salt air. We were happy to share it with a few intrepid swimmers, flocks of pelicans and morning surf casters.

It was a pleasure to be able to take our walks in the wet sand between the rolling surf and rainbow painted condos.

Morning and evening walks along the water were a pleasure

Kure beach is a peninsula sandwiched between the Atlantic and the Cape Fear river.  Fort Fisher a Confederate stronghold during the Civil War was here. The forts remains are part of the Fort Fisher State Historic Site that include a museum and an undersea archeology program.

Oak Island Lighthouse

The Fort Fisher ferry took us over to Southport one afternoon and we drove through to Oak Island to visit another North Carolina Lighthouse. The Oak Island lighthouse is located on Caswell beach. It was a lovely drive through a residential neighborhood with lots of beach access points. We easily found the 153 foot tower. Oak Island Lighthouse was built in 1957. The poured concrete tower is a uniform 16 feet 4 ¾ inches in diameter with 8 inch thick walls. We found it interesting that the daymark colors of gray, black and white were permanently cast into the cement as it was poured. It is possible to climb the tower but reservations to do so must be made 2 weeks in advance. Unlike the circular staircase of a traditional lighthouse tower you reach the top of this column via a series of metal ship style metal ladders. 131 steps to the top with a landing every 17 steps. We did not have reservations so saved the climb for another day.

Bald Island Lighthouse

We used the beach access across the street  to get a good view of Bald Island and Old Baldy, the island’s lighthouse. The Bald Island light once provided navigational aid to those ships passing the aptly named Cape Fear. This place where the Cape Fear River joins the Atlantic Ocean is marred by Flying Pan Shoals a 28 mile shifting sandbar that made entering the river a hazardous endeavor.

The beach was deserted except for 2 far away fishermen so we gave Rascal a bit of off leash time that made him a very happy boy.

Cape Lookout National Seashore

Cape Lookout Lighhouse

Virginia was still damp and drying out as we headed south to North Carolina's lower Outer Banks. We had visited Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Corolla and the Bodie Island Lighthouse on a prior visit but had never been to the lower North Carolina barrier islands.
Threats of bad weather persuaded us to make camp inland rather than on the islands themselves. Havelock, a small city situated about half way between historic New Bern and the ferries that would take us to the Outer Banks was the perfect spot.
We parked the Behemoth at a Marine Corp Air Station called Cherry Point where a nicely remodeled MWR park provided a home base.

North Carolina has an amazing network of passenger ferries as part of its public transportation system. They connect the lower barrier islands to the mainland and are a delightful way to travel. Some were as small as 10 passenger water taxis and others big enough for the Behemoth.

Our first experience with the ferry system was a trip to Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Cape Lookout and the Shackleford Banks can be reached by private boat or by ferry from the National Park Visitor Center at Harker's Island.

Wild Banker horses at the Shackleford Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore

The National  seashore is made up of 3 barrier islands. Island Express Ferry Service carried us the 3 miles out to Cape Lookout with a short stop at the Shackleford Banks to drop off 4 passengers who were interested in shelling. We were told that the long narrow beach of Shackleford is one of the best in North Carolina for shell hunting.  Shakleford is also home to a protected herd of wild horses whose ancestry is linked to Spanish Conquistadors by local legend and proven by DNA testing. We were able to see a few of them grazing on the sea oats as we got close to the drop off point.

View from the dock

Island Express dropped us off a short distance away at the dock near the Cape Lookout lifesaving station. The island is only a few miles long and about 3/4 mile wide. We started our exploration on the bay side where the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and museum are located.
The National Park Visitor Center was manned by a couple from Charleston who were volunteering at the lighthouse for 3 weeks. Charlotte explained to us that they spend 5 days on island with 2 days off each week.  Their duties include manning the Visitor Center, watching over the museum, and keeping the public areas neat. It sounded like a great way to spend 3 weeks and we put it on our list of possibilities for a future visit.

Trails on island are a combination of sand and boardwalk to protect the fragile dunes. One of the boardwalks lead us to the lighthouse and the Lighthouse Keepers quarters which now serves as a museum. The lighthouse is usually open through the 3rd weekend in September but closed early this year due to threat of storms.

Cape Lookout Light is painted white and black in a distinctive diamond pattern. It is 163 feet tall and can be seen almost 20 miles out to sea.
The museum tour is self guided and told us a lot about the southern Outer Banks.  Area history is rich with stories of storms and shipwrecks as well as its roll in the Civil War and in WWII when German U boats sank more than 80 vessels in North Carolina waters.

The back porch of the museum had a row of rocking chairs that invite you to rest a while and enjoy looking out over the bay. Bayside is where those with private boats drop anchor. There were several boats the day we visited and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves floating in the water and visiting back and forth.

Oceanside beach

Fred enjoyed the waves

Cape Lookout's ocean beach was voted #1 in USA Today's 10 most beautiful National Park Beaches contest for 2016.  It was easy to see why.  We walked the boardwalk path across the dunes to find waves rolling onto a pristine sand beach dotted with seaweed and seashells. There were surfers and body surfers and surf fishermen with plenty of room for them all to play.  Fred couldn't stay out of the water and I must have walked a mile down the beach.  It was lovely. We stayed until we started to feel crispy from the sun and then headed back to the dock.
Island Express sent a smaller boat to bring us back so the ride wasn't as smooth but we did see plenty of pelican's and a couple of dolphins in the channel.

Lighthouse hunting at the Jersey Shore

Navesink Twin Lighthouses

New Jersey has 11 lighthouses. We have visited nine of them. Today we crossed the last 2 off our list. They are both in northeastern New Jersey.

High above the Sandy Hook Lighthouse on the highlands of New Jersey there is an impressive stone structure with a lighthouse at either end. These are the Navesink Twin lights established in 1928.

New York Harbor needed an additional aide to navigation once the Erie Canal was completed and traffic in the harbor increased. The lights are historically significant for many reasons.

1841-The Navesink lights were the first in the United States to have Fresnel lenses installed.

1893-The Pledge of Allegience was first head here accompanied by a grand Naval Flotilla anchored off the coast of Sandy Hook.

1899-Guglielmo Marconi set up his wireless telegraph at the Navesink lights and conducted experiment in transmitting ships in the harbor. Those experiments helped to establish wireless communication as a viable technology.

The lighthouse is located in an winding neighborhood of beautiful homes and pretty gardens. To reach it you must drive a steep one way road to the top and hope that no one is coming down the narrow passage because unless both vehicles are Smart Cars someone will be backing up.  

The lights were closed on the Tuesday that we visited. We spent an hour walking around the structures and enjoying the view before heading out to Sandy Hook. It was dissapointing not to see the museum or climb the tower but will will leave that for another trip.

Fred at Sandy Hook Lighthouse

Sandy Hook is a 4 mile long spit of land that reaches from the base of New Jersey’s  Atlantic Highlands out into New York Harbor. In the late 1700’s it was a serious hazard to navigation for boats using the harbor. Several shipwrecks in early 1761 caused merchants in New York to band together and petition the local government to provide a lighthouse at the tip of the Hook.

The lighthouse, funded by a series of lotteries, was first lit June 11, 1764 making it the oldest lighthouse on US soil that is still standing.

There was an attempt to destroy it during the Revolutionary War but the 10 foot thick stone walls withstood the attack of cannons.

Sandy Hook Lighthouse stands today in what has become the Gateway National Recreation Area, part of the National Park Service. It remains in it’s original position but as prevailing current constantly adds  sand to the Atlantic side of the hook is now located 150 yards from the water.

It has been in continuous service since 1764 except for intentional darkening during the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish American War and World Wars I and II.

We enjoyed our visit to Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Pete, the Park Ranger on duty is a former history teacher and his enthusiasm for the lighthouse and the area were apparent. Turns out that he was raised in New York not far from our home town. We had a lot in common and spent 30 minutes or so chatting with him.  

The climb was 95 steps. I skipped the last 8 which were a ladder straight up into the lantern room. Fred went up and really enjoyed the view of the Atlantic and New York Harbor.

Fortifications at Fort Hancock

I did take a walk around Fort Hancock admiring the fortifications and the Waterfront Victorian homes that were once Officer’s Quarters. Built in the 1890’s, the Fort protected NY Harbor from invasion by sea until after the end of WW II. In the years following the second world war the Fort was armed with anti-aircraft guns and then Nike Missiles. Fort Hancock was decommissioned in 1974. It is now administered by the National Park Service.

Sandy Hook Beach

Garden of beach garbage.

We left the Lighthouse and made a stop at the beach to enjoy the sound of surf and the smell of salt air. Sandy Hook Beach is a a long stretch of shoreline that is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. We found it peaceful on a warm and sunny September afternoon. We were impressed with the Garden of Garbage leftover from a Summer Education program.

Navesink Twin Lighthouse

2 Lighthouse Road

Highlands, NJ

07732

Open: Wednesday to Sunday 10-4:30

Sandy Hook Lighthouse

85 Mercer Rd

Highlands, NJ

07732

Open for climbing daily 1-4:30

Texas Gulf Coast: We made it to the Beach

I love the beach. Have always loved the beach. Fred has indulged me all of our married live by taking me to dip my toes in salt water at least once a year to keep me happy.We have visited many beaches in the last 40 years but never those of the Gulf Coast of Texas.
We have experienced Gulf beaches in Florida enjoying their soft white sand, shallow waters and gentle wave action.  We wanted to see how Texas beaches compared to those of the Sunshine State so we made our first stop Corpus Christi Texas.
We are staying at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi which is located right at the southeastern end of  Corpus Christi Bay. We can see the JFK causeway and bridge crossing the Laguna Madre from our campsite. Mustang Island and South Padre Island are located on the other side of that bridge. That's where the beaches are.

We start the morning with fog but it soon burns off

The drive  to get to them is beautiful. We can be on the causeway in about 5 minutes, once we clear the gate. We enjoy the drive across the 4 1/2 mile long causeway/bridge. It is quite common to see water birds like Great Blue Heron and Snowy egrets fishing in the shallow waters. Gulls and pelicans populate the tiny islets and fishermen set up for the day enjoying their sport. There are several cutoffs on the causeway that allow motor vehicles access to the Laguna Madre's  hyper-saline coastal lagoon that provides a great fishing spot for local anglers. We don't fish but have been told that they are after spotted seatrout and red drum. Once past the Marinas the Bridge rises up to cross the Inter-coastal Waterway giving you a view from the tip of Port Aransas to the North and down Padre Island to the South.

One of my favorite birds the Pelican

The beach in Port Aransas is about 6 1/2 miles long. We chose the Northern end of it as we could park there without a beach parking permit between the Jetty and Horace Caldwell pier. The free parking beach is less than a mile long but great for a picnic and to walk the shore. The jetty and the pier attract fishermen in droves. It is funny to watch the pelicans settle in near them to wait for scraps and handouts. It is not crowded in January and February and no one was swimming but we all enjoyed the sun and the sand. The jetty is formed by huge chunks of pink granite that were once topped by some type of macadam. Most of that has eroded away and you must navigate by stepping and jumping from rock to rock. We observed shrimp boats, tour boats and a barge entering and leaving the harbor and passing close to the jetty. We found that the beach can be foggy in the morning but the fog lifted by noon and allowed us to enjoy the sun. We were surprised to see people camping right on the beach and learned that for a fee you can park your rig in the sand and enjoy the ultimate beach experience.

The beach at Padre Island National Seashore is a thing of beauty. We found miles of sand and surf, wind drifted dunes, grasslands and tidal basins. The folks at the Visitors Center were very welcoming. They told us a lot about the National Seashore. We learned that Padre Islands 70  mile protected coastline is the worlds longest stretch of barrier island in the world and that it provides nesting areas for the endangered Kemp's Ridly Sea Turtle.

Interesting driftwood formations

The rangers at the visitor center lead bird watching and beach walking tours as well as give lectures at the campgrounds amphitheater several times a week. We walked the beach at the visitor center and then started down the beach road. You can drive the length of the seashore if you are brave enough and have 4 wheel drive. There were quite a few people on the beach fishing. We saw a few campsites set up nestled in toward the dunes. The farther south we drove the less populated the beach was. We drove for about 6 miles before turning around. I would love to go back early on another day and have the time to drive farther. We were told there are great shell beaches about 20 miles in. You just have to plan your trip and leave enough time to account for the 15-25 mile an hour speed limit. We had fun thinking people driving to the southernmost points and setting up camp for a while.

Padre Island National Seashore, mind your speed

Texas Gulf Coast beaches are very different from Florida Gulf Coast beaches. The sand here is a taupe color somewhere between grey and tan. The texture is different too not the soft powdered sugar that we are accustomed too. The wind is strong here and it drifts the sand into short formations that remind me of a lunar landscape. Texas beaches have fewer restrictions. We found them to be very accessible. The sounds of the gulls, the smell of the surf and the peace that I feel from being near the water are universal.

The wind blows the beach sand into lunar landscape looking formations

To see more Texas Beach photos visit our Flickr Album.

Pensacola at last!

Sunset from the pier at Blue Angels RV Park.

Pensacola! We finally made it on December 1. Fred and I were supposed to spend the month of April in Pensacola last year but a lengthy wait for parts for our leveling system left us in Ocala for 7 weeks and we missed the opportunity. I have been looking forward to it. My father served in the Navy and our family spent 2 years here in the mid 1960's while he was on "shore duty". I recognized nothing of course but it still was fun to explore the area.

9th hole at the mini golf course.

We stayed at the Blue Angels RV Park, part of the military Fam-camp system for NAS Pensacola. The park is divided into 2 sections. We chose Battleship row because of its full hook up sites with nice level concrete pads.  Our site #4 was near the water with a view from our deck and living room window of Pensacola Bay. The other camping area is closer to the Marina but is more rustic and offers only water and electric sites. My favorite Florida birds Brown Pelicans were plentiful at that end of the park.
The recreation area has 2 disc golf courses and a military themed miniature golf course. We were happy to find that the roads were well tended and gave us miles of places to walk and ride bikes.
Some people find it too windy here but we didn't mind, except for the night that it tried to tear the awning off of the coach. Days were warm and mostly sunny while nights were pleasant but cool. There is a large Commissary/Base Exchange complex near by and we had no problem finding anything that we needed.

We spent some great time visiting The Pensacola Lighthouse and Fort Pickens.

Al Fresco at the corner of Palafox and Main in downtown Pensacola

A day in the downtown area on Palafox Street visiting coffee shops and visiting with other travelers was fun too.. We were delighted to find a corner lot at Palafox and Main that features 4 classic Airstream trailers as food  trucks and a palm tree shaded outdoor seating area. It is called Al Fresco and seemed to be doing a brisk business. Pensacola loves it's Pelicans and we saw many painted ones throughout the city, much like the horses in Saratoga Springs.

One of Pensacola's colorful  Pelican statues.

 We discovered Perdido Key and the FloraBama a fun community oriented bar located on the border of those 2 states, where you can find everything from afternoon Bingo to Honky-tonk music. We are told you can attend Sunday services there and on Wednesday afternoons there is a potluck lunch and open mic. We enjoyed our visit there. Having drinks and sitting on their outdoor deck on a Sunny afternoon we were treated to the sound of the waves and the sight of 3 parachute sky divers land on the beach in front of us. Then the Blue Angels flew by.

Fred on the beach at the FloraBama

We noticed many flags flying and learned that Pensacola is nicknamed The City of Five Flags since the banners of 5 nations have flown there. They include Spain, France, England, The Confederate States of America and the United States.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Fred and I found the Panhandle area to be friendly and welcoming. The area is easy to navigate and  the beaches are plentiful. You have to love that soft white sand. Our 3 week stay gave us time to do projects. Fred set up a workshop on the deck and created hockey equipment drying racks for our grandsons. He caused quite a curiosity in the park as other RVers stopped almost daily to ask him what the heck he was making.  I set up the sewing machine and made crochet project bags and hook holders.  We had a great 3 weeks before heading North for the Holidays.
Pensacola and Perdido Key are on our list of places to return to.

Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Coastal Lighthouse Route.

Confederation Bridge from Marine Rail Park, Borden-Carlton PEI.

Fred and I had not planned to visit Prince Edward Island on this trip to the Maritimes but being so close we couldn't let the opportunity pass. We have always loved a day trip, and PEI gave us a perfect excuse for a drive.

We left Hopewell Cape early and headed North. The weather was iffy, very foggy with some misty moisty rain.   The kind of day where you are not sure if it's raining or if the fog is just getting thicker.

We entered PEI via the Confederation Bridge and headed West as we had decided to spend the day exploring the North Cape Coastal Drive. Our goal being to visit as many lighthouses as we could fit into the day. Lighthouse adventures are an enjoyable way to spend a day. Lights are often a bit of a mystery to find since even though they are marked on a map, most don't have addresses and you must guess about access roads and best vantage points for viewing. Many of them are bordered by private or commercial property and require negotiation to see them at all. 

Port Borden Rear Range Light

Port Borden Front Range Light.

The first lights that we saw were the Range lights for the Harbor of Borden-Carlton.  The Front Range Light has been abandoned and neglected since 1997. It is located on the grounds of a cannery so we could only see it from a distance. The Rear Range Light has been moved to the base of the Confederation Bridge in The Marine Rail Park.  The lights were automated in 1957 and then decommissioned in 1997 when the opening of the bridge rendered local ferry service obsolete.

Canola Fields.

The drive West  took us through rural farming communities.  There were potato fields as far as the eye could see. We rounded a corner at the top of a slight grade and came upon these beautiful fields of Canola's bright yellow flowers.  They were like patches of sunshine on this cloudy day.

Summerside gave us the opportunity to see 3 lights.

Indian Harbor Light

We got a distant look at Indian Harbor light across the Dunk River where it meets Hillsborough Bay. This light was constructed and put into service in 1881. Indian Harbor has been automated since 1961 and remains an active aid to navigation.

Summerside harbor Range Light.

Summerside is also home to 3 range lights.  We were able to locate 2 of the 3. These range lights guide vessels to the mouth of Summerside Harbor. They are similar in appearance with square lantern rooms and a white, trapezoidal daymark with a red vertical stripe.

Cape Egmont

Cape Egmont was one of the lighthouses that we had to work a bit to find. The road out to the light is off limits so we found a small Marina nearby that got us close enough to grab a picture. A very optimistic sailor was working on the Key West I.  This light was completed and activated in 1884 as a guide overlooking Northumberland strait. It was electrified and automated in 1958 and remains an active aid to navigation. Cape Egmont was awarded provincial heritage status in 2013.

We left Cape Egmont and headed inland.  The town of O'leary is home to a museum dedicated to Prince Edward Island's  largest crop.   The Canadian Potato Museum was a don't miss for us.  The museum  tells the story of potato farming but also the history of PEI's farming community. Fred enjoyed walking around its large  collection of farm implements and machinery and sampling the best hand cut french fries in the world!

The Canadian Potato Museum. How could we pass it by?



North Cape Light.

Leaving the potato museum we headed straight to North Cape, the northern most point of the island. The North Cape Light provides a guide to protect mariners from what is said to be the longest rocky reef in North America at 1 1/2 miles. The reef divides the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait. North Cape is an impressive structure at the top of a rocky cliff 76 feet above sea level. It was a pleasure to get close enough to see the beauty of its lens.

We were surprised to find the light house surrounded by a Wind Farm and the Wind Energy Interpretive Centre.  The Interpretive Centre has created an interesting and rustic walking path called the Black Marsh Nature Trail that meanders between the rocky red clay cliffs and the field of wind turbines.   There were small birds nesting in holes in the cliffs and a lone Great Blue Heron fishing in the ocean below. 

The Wind Energy Interpretive Center at North Cape.

Back on the road and heading South we located Tignish Run near Judes Point. This decommissioned light was in operation from 1887 to 1997. It has since been moved from the Harbor Entrance to Fishermans Haven Park where the community has adopted it and built a park around it. There is a playground, a boardwalk and a red sand beach.  The light house is open to the public when someone is manning the ice cream shop next door (they were closed).  

Tignish Run

We attempted to locate Old Miminigash Range Light but despite treks down 2 muddy, potholed dirt roads and a hike on the beach we were unsuccessful  in our search.  We did however  locate a car wash.

Northport Range Light.

Our last sighting of the day was Old Northport Range light in Northport. This was another off shore structure but we got a good view of it from the dock of a local restaurant.  Old Northport range was manned from 1885-1961 and now automated remains an active aid to navigation.

We crossed back over the Confederation Bridge tired but happy after a day of exploring. we saw enough of the Island to know that when we visit the Maritimes again we will spend a few more days exploring the shores of Prince Edward Island.

Flags of Canada and Prince Edward Island.

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick, Canada

The Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick have been on my wish list of places to visit for more than 30 years.  They came to my attention when I was working the overnight shift as a Registered Nurse in a medium sized community hospital in Upstate New York. One of my patients was a gentleman traveling through town when he became quite ill, requiring him to be admitted to our ICU.  He was understandably nervous and frightened about his health situation and it made him more comfortable to have someone to talk to. I listened for hours as he told me about his recent trip to the Canadian Maritimes.
The parts of that conversation that stuck with me for so long were his descriptions of the "Flower Pot Rocks", New Brunswick's own natural wonder.

The Hopewell Rocks are located in the Bay of Fundy which experiences that most extreme tidal changes in the world. The difference between high and low tides in the bay is 39 feet on average.

The rock formations are 40-70 feet tall. Many of them have trees and other vegetation on top. The portions of the rock that are below the high tide mark have been eroded over time by the turbulence of the tides.

We visited the Rocks at low tide so that we could see them completely. It was amazing to move around them, literally walking on the floor of the ocean. It was an amazing experience to be in a place that you know would be under more than 30 feet of water in 3 hours.

Looking at the top heavy rocks on their stony stalks I don't know if I will ever think of an island in quite the same way.

We wandered along the muddy beach peering into shallow caves and walking under a rock arch. There were Park personnel keeping track of the time and as the tide started to rise they shepherded the crowd closer to the staircase that would bring us back to the top of the cliff.

The Rangers made a point to tell everyone of the danger of the tide, but also how to stay safe if you were unexpectedly trapped.  Their instructions to find a rock surface close to the stairs above the high tide mark and wait for 3-4 hours for the tide to start to recede. These words were received with dismay by some, while others started to plan how to get "left behind".

Best quote of the day: Two young sisters were listening to the Ranger, one burst into tears and screamed for her Mother. The older sister, obviously embarrassed by this behavior, walked away shouting "Would you relax Tessa? It's not like we're going to die or anything."

The incoming tide continued to push us toward the stairs. Yes we all made it out safely, even Tessa.

We made it to an observation deck along the cliff to watch the rest of the tide come in.  The tide change seemed pretty passive. There were no waves or explosive rushes of water. It was only when you focused on a particular point on a rock or the cliff face that you realized how fast the water was moving.

The water seems dirty. It has a reddish brown color from oxidized iron in the surrounding bedrock. The Petitcodiac River located nearby in Moncton is nicknamed the Chocolate River due to it's unique coloration.

High tide came. The rocks are still lovely, their green leafy tops on top of the rock base visible above the tide line give them their name the "Flowerpots"

Kayaking the rocks at high tide is possible through a local company. We will return another day for that experience.