Maritimes 2007: St John 2

This morning started out cool and sunny and we headed back into St John. Our agenda for today was to take another walk, this time along the harbor and then visit the City Market. When we got into town, we found it even cooler than in the campground area, so much so that both of us wore an extra layer for warmth.

The Harbor Passage was OK, but not much to write about. The one notable thing we saw was the site of Fort La Tour, the trading post built in 1631, that eventually became the city of St John. If I was living in St John, I would like the Harbor Passage because it is a relatively flat walking path and also serves as a bike and roller blading path. The only bike we saw during our walk was a St John Police officer riding his patrol and we saw a father and son roller blading (probably tourists). What amazed me was how few people were on the path. For that matter, I was surprised at how few people were walking around the town. This being a work day, I could understand why there were not many people on the streets, but the restaurants were not crowded at lunch time.

After the Harbor Walk, we headed up the hill to the City Market. This is Canada's oldest continuing farmers' market and has been operating since 1876. Since St John was a shipbuilding center, the shipbuilders constructed the wooden roof in the form of an inverted ship's hull. The market has three major aisles and occupied a city block. The aisles have vendors selling meats, fish and vegetables as well as vendors selling jewelry. Some of the seafood vendors also sell cooked foods and we were tempted to bring home some cooked lobster or other fish... but we didn't. The City Market is connected to City Hall and Market Square by an enclosed walkway...very convenient in inclement weather

Our next stop was at King's Square, just east of City Market, one of several small parks that are located in the Uptown area. To the east of King's Square lies the Loyalist Burial Ground, which dates back to 1784. It is hard to believe this is a cemetery. There are no fences enclosing it (I guess people are not dying to get in... bad joke), and it feels more like a park with benches and flowers scattered throughout.

Our last stop was the New Brunswick Museum, with its ecclectic collection of art, natural history, crafts and a floor dedicated to the industries of New Brunswick. It was an interesting experience, but like everything else we encountered in the city, it had few people walking around in it.

As we headed back to the campground, it became increasingly cloudy and noticeably cooler. It looks like a wet night and possibly a rainy ride as we head east along the Bay of Fundy tomorrow.

St. John, NB
9 July 2007
This morning started out cool and sunny and we headed back into St John. Our agenda for today was to take another walk, this time along the harbor and then visit the City Market. When we got into town, we found it even cooler than in the campground area, so much so that both of us wore an extra layer for warmth. The Harbor Passage was OK, but not much to write about. The one notable thing we saw was the site of Fort La Tour, the trading post built in 1631, that eventually became the city of St John. If I was living in St John, I would like the Harbor Passage because it is a relatively flat walking path and also serves as a bike and roller blading path. The only bike we saw during our walk was a St John Police officer riding his patrol and we saw a father and son roller blading (probably tourists). What amazed me was how few people were on the path. For that matter, I was surprised at how few people were walking around the town. This being a work day, I could understand why there were not many people on the streets, but the restaurants were not crowded at lunch time. After the Harbor Walk, we headed up the hill to the City Market. This is Canada's oldest continuing farmers' market and has been operating since 1876. Since St John was a shipbuilding center, the shipbuilders constructed the wooden roof in the form of an inverted ship's hull. The market has three major aisles and occupied a city block. The aisles have vendors selling meats, fish and vegetables as well as vendors selling jewelry. Some of the seafood vendors also sell cooked foods and we were tempted to bring home some cooked lobster or other fish... but we didn't. The City Market is connected to City Hall and Market Square by an enclosed walkway...very convenient in inclement weather Our next stop was at King's Square, just east of City Market, one of several small parks that are located in the Uptown area. To the east of King's Square lies the Loyalist Burial Ground, which dates back to 1784. It is hard to believe this is a cemetery. There are no fences enclosing it (I guess people are not dying to get in... bad joke), and it feels more like a park with benches and flowers scattered throughout. Our last stop was the New Brunswick Museum, with its ecclectic collection of art, natural history, crafts and a floor dedicated to the industries of New Brunswick. It was an interesting experience, but like everything else we encountered in the city, it had few people walking around in it. As we headed back to the campground, it became increasingly cloudy and noticeably cooler. It looks like a wet night and possibly a rainy ride as we head east along the Bay of Fundy tomorrow.

	Fort La Tour the site of the French trading post that became the city of St John. The Uptown area is seen to the east of the site.

	The main aisle of the City Market. Note the ceiling looks a bit like an inverted ship's hull.			The City Market as seen from King's Square

	Loyalist Burial Ground			Carvings by John Hooper in the New Brunswick Museum. Hooper also carved the clock outside of Market Square (see yesterday's pictures).

		Susie and a friendly moose. It seems that wherever we go I get to take at least one picture like this.
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St. John, NB

9 July 2007