On Friday, our next stop after Campbellton, NB was planned for the town of Shediac, NB near the bridge for the crossing to Prince Edward Island.  It was going to be about a 200-mile run which is longer than we normally want, but the highway looked good, and we felt that it would be easy enough.  And there was some urgency to the timing.

The surprise was that Gail had learned in a conversation with her “friend/boss” Gail Mercer-MacKay that she would be near Shediac visiting a friend and helping her pack for a return trip to the Toronto area.  She would be there on Friday and leaving early on Saturday.  We had just one chance to get together, so we decided to meet for dinner on Friday.  We had to get there, get to our RV park, get settled, and then get to dinner.

It all worked out!  We had a great time visiting with Gail, swapping RV stories, meeting Gail’s friend, Holly, and having Holly’s famous chowder.  We also picked up a LOT of groceries that were not going on the trip home since they were packing a small car!  It was one of those serendipitous things that just happens!  

With that complete, and after finding space in the fridge for the haul, we spent the next day driving the Acadian Trail starting by going up to Cap-Lumiere and driving back to Shediac on the beach road. 

Two of the most interesting stops along the way were the boardwalk along the Bouctouche Dunes at the Irving Eco-Center near Chockpish.  The dunes angle outward into the ocean almost 7.5 miles, beginning at the beach.  The boardwalk is only about the first ½ mile and allows a view of the dunes and marshes and public access to the beach.  A very nice walk.

And second was the Irving Arboretum that is located on the grounds of an old convent and had been converted to the arboretum over the years with about 5000 trees and an Elizabethan Garden.  We parked and walked again around the garden and down to the lake.  Again, a very nice walk.

(FYI, the Irving family is known for their chain of gas stations all over Canada and northeastern US, and their philanthropy.)

In between the two, we stopped along the road at a small food trailer/picnic area called Vue de Cap Canteen and decided to share the lobster roll.  Really good choice!   Small place with a large menu. 

And a little further down the road we passed a guy fishing on a sand bar island.  Thought this was interesting and wondered if he knew the tide was coming up!  Great photo!

Lastly back in Shediac, we did the obligatory photo op with the famous giant Lobster statue!   Next day we were off to Prince Edward Island.