Photography – Page 2 – Maritime Love

A Decade in Saint John: My Best Of List

October 24, 2016Melissa SmithLeave a comment

Since posting that I’m celebrating my 10 year anniversary of moving to Saint John, its become clear that my schedule is not going allow me to write a separate post for each of my favourite places in Saint John as I’d hoped . If you follow me on Instagram, I’ve been posting a few photos of my favourite places in Saint John over there (link on sidebar).

Since time is pressing and October is almost done, I decided that a single post with all of my Port City Best Of’s would be more efficient.

So here are my Best Of Saint John:

Best Place to Find Outdoor Adventure

Rockwood Park – with over 55 trails and endless activities to choose from, you can disappear into the wilderness, right inside the city.

Best Place to Catch Live Music/Eat Your Body Weight in Wings

Peppers Pub – showcasing the best in local and come-from -away talent. Wing nights are Thursday. Get there early.

Best Place to Watch a Sunset

Brothers Cove/RKYC – any night of the week in the summer, you can find people drawn to this beautiful spot to watch the sun disappear over the Kennebecasis River in fantastic fashion.

Best Views of the City

Fort Howe – panoramic views of the city and harbour. Also, get a selfie with the famous Saint John sign!

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Best Place to People Watch

King’s Square – pack a lunch and park yourself on one of the benches around the King’s Square Bandstand and watch the people go by.

Best Place to Catch an Amazing Show

Imperial Theatre – a theatre circa 1913, restored in incredible detail. I don’t know what I love more: The shows or the setting.

Best Place for a Fancy Meal

East Coast Bistro – Chefs Tim Muehlbauer and Kim Steele serve up locally sourced food with a distinctively Maritime twist. You won’t be disappointed.

Best Place for Bargain Meal

Thai Pho – owners Julia and Dave Park welcome you to Thai Pho as if it was their home. They take great care to serve delicious Thai and Vietnamese food at a great price.

Best Place to Score Killer Style

Exchange on Germain – selling mid to high-end consignment items, I find something great every time I open the doors.

Best Place for a Cocktail

Port City Royal – house mixologist Eric Scouten was named one of 10 Mixologists Putting Canada on the Map, by destinationcanada.com.

Best Place to Get a Coffee

Java Moose – I’m going to say specifically in the Saint John City Market, this iconic Saint John coffee company is much loved by locals and visitors alike.

Best Place for a Romantic Getaway

Chipman Hill Suites – with numerous beautiful buildings around historic Uptown Saint John, you can have a romantic getaway right in the heart of the city.

Best Place for a Walk on the Beach

Bayshore Beach – while most people will tell you that New River Beach is the nicest beach around (and I wouldn’t disagree), Bayshore Beach on the city’s west side allows you to stroll along the famous Bay of Fundy ocean floor in much closer proximity.

A Trip to Dalvay-by-the-Sea, PEI

September 19, 2016September 19, 2016Melissa SmithLeave a comment

I’m not one to really celebrate dates. My husband and I never celebrated the anniversary of our first date, we don’t really do anything for Valentine’s Day. We’re low maintenance kind of people.

Our wedding anniversary seems different, though. I think it’s important to celebrate this commitment and reaffirm it each year. We normally do this by taking a trip together. Since getting married three years ago, we’ve been to Iceland and the Magdalen Islands for our first and second anniversaries. This year, we decided to stay closer to home but still wanted to commemorate the event. So, we ventured over the Confederation Bridge for a weekend of sun and surf at Dalvay-by-the-Sea in beautiful Prince Edward Island.

Dalvay-by-the-Sea is a National Historic Site situated within one of PEI’s National Parks, with 25 guest rooms at the Inn and eight, three bedroom cottages on the grounds. The house was built in 1895 as a summer home for Alexander MacDonald, a wealthy businessman with the Standard Oil Company. It was built in the Queen Anne Revival style, known for it’s whimsical and exuberant features, asymmetrical lines, many gables, bright colours and wraparound verandas. Local materials were used extensively: Island sandstone boulders cover the entire lower part of the exterior and three massive indoor fireplaces are made from quarried blocks of the same stone.

The effect is a truly stunning structure. Many of the rooms are very small, and there are no televisions, but that just encourages you to spend more time in the common spaces, which are the true charm of the Inn. Curling up with a drink by one of the three roaring fires quickly became my favourite activity. Also, don’t miss out on trying a delicious meal in MacMillan Dining Room, courtesy of Chef Chris Colburn.

If you think the Inn looks familiar and you’re an Anne of Green Gables fan, you might remember it as the White Sands Hotel from the Road to Avonlea series and the Anne of Green Gables movies produced in the 1990’s.

One of the many carriages used by the MacDonald family

Staying at an Inn inside a National Park has some great advantages. You’re super close to hiking trails, walking distances from beaches and there are even bicycle rentals right on site. The Inn is also situated on a lake, and canoe and kayaks are available to take out for a spin.

As we were driving into Dalvay Friday night, the sun was setting just behind the sand dunes in the most gorgeous shades of pinks and oranges I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of it, we were tired and just wanted to get out of the car. You will have to take my word for it, it was stunning! We checked in just in time to get settled and have a couple night caps by the fire in the main lobby.

Saturday morning we got up early, had a delicious breakfast at the Inn and headed out to hike Robinson’s Island, in the park. The trail is an easy 5 km loop taking you through forest and along the shoreline, with a few beach access points along the way. As we walked through the sun-filtered woods and explored the deserted beaches, I understood how these landscapes could inspire Lucy Maud Montgomery to pen her famous series.

“The woods call to us with a hundred voices, but the sea has one only — a mighty voice that drowns our souls in its majestic music. The woods are human, but the sea is of the company of the archangels” – L M Montgomery, from Anne’s House of Dreams.

After our hike we made our way over to the PEI Preserve Company to buy some of the best preserves you can get anywhere. Seriously, check out the Peach Salsa and Strawberry & Grand Marnier jam. So good.

We had a lovely dinner at The Dunes Studio Gallery and Cafe, which is a really unique spot close to Brackley Beach. Not only do they serve great food, but you get to eat it surrounded by an incredibly eclectic collection of locally made arts and crafts. There are so many interesting things to look at, you might find yourself spending hours strolling through the seemingly never-ending compound and gardens.

Back to the Inn for one more drink by the fire and a moonlight stroll along the beach pretty much brought us to the end of our Dalvay stay. It’s a charming place and feels a little like going back in time. The season is coming to a close for them very soon but if you can, you should definitely check this place out next season when they reopen!

A Kaleidoscope of Colours: The Atlantic Balloon Fiesta

September 10, 2016Melissa SmithLeave a comment

The Atlantic Balloon Fiesta takes place is Sussex, New Brunswick, every year around this time. With dozens of colourful hot air balloons launching twice daily, it’s truly a sight to behold. I had never been so I thought I’d get up early this morning and check it out. Early is a bit of an understatement, as the morning balloon launch begins at 6:30 am, meaning I had to get up at 5 am to make it there from Saint John on time!

It was so worth getting up early on a Saturday though, and those who gathered to watch got lucky as conditions were nearly perfect. Often the balloons aren’t able to launch due to strong winds or cloud cover. Calm, early mornings are often your best bet to see them in the air.

It’s impossible not to smile when you see those beautiful big balloons going up into the air. Silhouetted against the blue sky, in a multitude of patterns and colours, it’s pure magic. I can’t even imagine how excited the children in attendance must have been. I know I felt like a kid.

The fiesta runs through Sunday but with the rain scheduled to come in, this evening at 5:30 pm might be your last chance to see them. Hot air balloon rides are available, at a price of $180/person but I’m guessing most of the seats have already been sold. There’s also a craft fair, live music, a carnival and several other events happening on site.

Here are a few pics from my fantastic morning at the fiesta:

Beautiful morning for a hot air balloon launch!

img_1571-3 — They’re coming fast and furious now!

Nothing Gold Can Stay: Exploring The Places of Our Youth

August 28, 2016Melissa Smith3 Comments

While visiting my hometown this past week to help my parents with the wild blueberry harvest, I took my camera out to explore some of the areas of my youth, mainly the fields around the old homestead that me and my friend Meranda used to frequent.

You see, we were kind of horse crazy in our early teen years, and Old Man Russell had a little farm just down the road. He had cows and work horses and lots of cats. He liked to sell and trade the horses often, so there was always a new resident to welcome. We often walked down to feed the horses a carrot, clean out the barn for Russell and sometimes even go for a ride around the fields. It was a pretty perfect setup for a couple of horse crazy young girls.

Russell died some years ago and the old homestead stands empty now, the house long ago torn down and the old barn now collapsed. The vegetation has grown up so that it practically envelopes the abandoned buildings. Where trails and pathways across brooks used to be, now only stands a wall of shrubs and trees.

I was struck by how different everything looked to the picture I had frozen in my memory. It’s funny how you expect things to stay exactly the way you remember them, frozen in time. It’s just not the truth. It reminds me of that Robert Frost poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Despite the fact that nothing gold can stay, there is still plenty of beauty here. You just have look for it.

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A Trip to Kingsbrae Garden

August 16, 2016Melissa Smith3 Comments

Kingsbrae Garden is a flower lovers dream. Even for non-gardeners, stepping through the gates of Kingsbrae Garden into these lush grounds feels like entering the Garden of Eden, perhaps even heaven.

Sprawled over 27 acres, Kingsbrae Garden is located in the beautiful town of St. Andrews-by-the-Sea. The gardens contain over 2500 species of perennials as well as numerous types of trees and shrubs. There’s also a nature walk through the Acadian Forest, a sculpture garden, a windmill and animals to entertain the kids.

I had never visited the gardens before but after seeing a stunning shot of the entrance taken by a friend, I knew I had to drop by for a visit.

I was absolutely stunned by the size of the Kingsbrae Garden. As Donald would say, it’s huuugge. You really need several hours to fully explore the grounds and see everything. All I kept thinking while I was walking around and marveling at everything was how much work it must be to maintain this perfectly manicured tribute to nature. There are so many interesting things to examine, and so many flowers bursting with colour. I’m sure it’s a full time job for a whole staff of green thumbs.

I would say that the flower trees at the entrance and the sculpture garden were two of my favourite areas, but literally everything is worth seeing. Kudos to those who work so hard to maintain such a wonderful addition to our province, for tourists and locals alike. It’s truly something that everyone can enjoy.

Below are some photos from my visit.

If you’ve ever wondered if Kingsbrae Garden is worth a visit, or if you haven’t been there lately, please go! For anyone who likes to take photos or who is a gardener, this place is amazing. I couldn’t stop taking pictures and every one was as beautiful as the last.

For more information on Kingsbrae Garden, visit their website kingsbraegarden.com.

On Top of the Maritimes: Our Mount Carleton Trek

July 12, 2016July 12, 2016Melissa Smith1 Comment

Mount Carleton, located in the north of New Brunswick, is the highest peak in the Maritimes, at 820m (2,690ft). The mountain is located within the Mount Carleton Provincial Park, where there are 4 peaks and more than 42,000 acres of wilderness to explore. Mount Carleton is the highest peak, followed by Mount Head at 792m, Mount Sagamook at 777m and Mount Bailey at 564m.

On Saturday, Joel and I got up with the sun and headed for Mount Carleton, an almost 5 hour drive from our home in Saint John.

We arrived at the park just after noon. We would have loved to be able to hike some of the other peaks but we only had a few hours and we definitely wanted to bag the highest peak in the Maritimes so we headed straight for the Mount Carleton trail.

The trail is a roughly 10km loop. Park staff suggest doing the hike in a clockwise fashion, up the left side of the trail and back down the shorter, right side of the trail.

The trail is considered moderately difficult, but we found that it was a steady uphill climb until you get to the last kilometer or so, where you can split one of two ways: one a more gentle roundabout climb and another that takes you right along the cliff edge, with a lot more boulders to climb over. We took the more exposed side as we wanted the better views.

The trail up the mountain is a pretty one, following a babbling brook for part of the way. Headwaters campground is on this side as well, if you’re looking to camp overnight. Once you hit the fork in the trail marking the last kilometer, you very quickly begin to climb out of the tree line, revealing some amazing views of northern New Brunswick. It truly is spectacular.

It is said that on a clear day, you can see more than 10 million trees from the top of Mount Carleton. Standing at the summit on Saturday, I definitely felt like I could see that many trees.

You are truly in the wilderness, unplugged from the grind of life, and connected to your immediate surroundings. This is what I love about hiking. It gives you a goal to achieve, it’s a great workout, and it allows you a chance to connect with yourself and the quiet solitude of nature. Joel remarked afterward that there were a few moments of the trail of absolute silence, and how peaceful he found it.

There are so few moments of silence in our everyday lives. So much information coming at us at once, from all angles. We must make time to unplug from our lives, and to make time for silence.

After we were finished hiking, we headed back to the pretty town of Perth-Andover and The Castle Inn. The Inn was first built in 1932 as the private residence of Bill and Pauline Lewis. The structure has a Norman Chateau facade and features many local river rocks collected by the couple themselves.

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The building suffered a fire in the 1940’s and when the structure was rebuilt, the tower was added, along with a stunning, spiral staircase.

After his parents passed away, Lance Lewis planned to turn the home into a Bed and Breakfast but died unexpectedly and was not able to achieve his goal. The building is now owned by Peter Dunlop, who began building on to the existing structure in 2004 and turned it into the charming Inn we stayed at on Saturday night.

The food was great, the service warm and the rooms were lovely and well appointed. There is a great spa area with pool, hot tub, gym and saunas. It was fun to wander around the Inn and examine the beautiful woodwork and rounded doorways original to the house.

We had fun hanging out with the castle cat, Smoky, who comes and goes as he pleases and can often be found curled up on a comfy seat near the front desk.

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King of the Castle 😼 #castlecat #smoky #catsofinstagram

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It was great to cross something off my 2016 goal list this past weekend and to discover some new places in my own province. Now, on to the next adventure!

Canada’s Symbol: The Maple Leaf, A Photo Exploration

July 2, 2016July 2, 2016Melissa Smith1 Comment

As Canada Day 2016 approached and I was in my backyard practicing photography in the evening light, I started wondering about the maple leaf and how exactly it became the most widely recognized symbol of this country.

In 1834, at the inaugural meeting of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Montreal’s first mayor, Jacques Viger, called the maple leaf, “The king of our forest;…the symbol of the Canadian people”.

After this, the maple leaf slowly became used more and more as a symbol of Canada. The golden leaf was often used to represent Ontario, and the green leaf was often used to represent Quebec.

It wasn’t until the maple leaf was incorporated into the national flag in 1965, that it was officially cemented as the central national symbol. The maple leaf represented on the national flag is a generic, stylized version, with 11 points and does not to represent any specific type of maple tree, of which 10 species grow naturally in Canada.

As I examined the trees around my neighbourhood, I saw several types of maple trees, including red, silver and Norway maple. I noticed that no two maple leaves were exactly alike. The choice of the maple leaf as a national symbol seems therefore rather appropriate, given our rich history as a country of immigrants. Just as no two maple leaves are the same, no two Canadians are the same, either. We are all as unique as the symbol that represents us.

Here is my photo exploration of the maple leaf, as a symbol of our Canadian culture.

Not the classic 11-point leaf, but a maple leaf all the same

Canada Day festivities on the Saint John boardwalk. The maple leaf is everywhere.

Canada Day parade. This is Canada. We all wear the leaf.