Friday June 21st – first day of summer, maybe

Our drive to Saint John, New Brunswick took us on smaller roads to Calais, Maine.  Along the way Rob spotted two snapping turtles trying to cross the road.  Of course, we had to stop, go back, pick them up, and move them to safety. We saw the larger one first and just had to move him to the bushes. Later we found the baby snapper. We had to locate water to release the baby snapper, so we had him in the car for a while. They bite, so there was no way I was touching that thing.

When we crossed the Canadian border we crossed into the Atlantic Time Zone.  We noticed a temperature drop and it was downright cold when we got to Saint John.  The temperature is 64 degrees and that is the expected high for the day.This is good weather here. “Welcome to the Maritimes”. Apparently, the Canadian Maritime Provinces – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island - are always cold. 

There is not much to see in Saint John. Our hotel is located in the middle of nowhere on Fashion Avenue next to Costo. Yep, Fashion and Costco. We went downtown to walk around and see the City Market. We walked around the Boardwalk and took some pictures.  While Rob was off to the side taking pictures, I was standing by myself looking into the harbor. This man came over and stood kind of close to me. I thought that was odd since I was the only person standing there and the railing was long – meaning there was plenty of space and this guy didn't have to stand so close. I moved away and walked over to where Rob was taking pictures and told him.  We then walked back toward the guy so that we could leave the Boardwalk.  The guy looked like he wanted to ask something.  Rob and I both concluded separately that the guy must have thought I was a hooker. Really. I had on jeans and my Kung Fu shoes. But all the guy saw was me standing on the boardwalk alone and then walking over and engaging a white guy in conversation...and then walking away with him.

Next we went inside a mall area and took a walkway though several buildings to the City Market.  When we got there, the shops were closing, but it looked and felt just like the North Market.  We walked around and then headed back to a Sports bar/restaurant for dinner. When we sat at the bar I noticed about 12 TV’s in the bar.  But 11 of the TV’s were tuned to the same station – a talk show about the Toronto Blue Jays. OK. Then Rob said “I bet the bartender doesn't know what time zone we are in”.  I told him of course she knows (young, blonde). And sure enough, when Rob asked, the woman had no clue what time zone we were in.  Somebody else sitting at the bar had to tell her. I felt like I was watching the Jaywalk All-stars (you know, when Jay Leno goes out on the street and asks regular people basic questions and they are so stupid that they can’t answer them correctly). Yeah, like that.

So far, I feel like I am in an alternate universe. We saw an older building downtown with "Canada Permanent Building" engraved at the top (are other buildings temporary?). Saint John is so boring that we were back in the hotel room watching TV at 7:30 pm.  And then we saw the strangest commercial for hot dogs. This body-builder was in a skimpy cow print Tarzan outfit with a cow cap on his head. He was flexing his pecs and talking to a woman about natural beef. It was weird. And now “La Country Show “ is on. Country music in French.

I have no idea what Halifax will be like. But we already know Halifax is dry, so that is not a good sign.