East Coast Trip 2024 - July 11

July 11: Saint John, NB. Happy 26th Anniversary to us! Overnight it rained and left a few puddles. Today's schedule included a guided bus tour around a few sites in the city, ending at the City Market. The first stop was at Fort Howe and we saw a short video about its history because it is at the end of a complete restoration and not visible. "Fort Howe (1777 — present historic site) was a British fort built in Saint John, New Brunswick during the American Revolution. It was erected shortly after the American siege in 1777 to protect the city from further American raids. The 18th and 19th century British Army fortification stood at the mouth of the Saint John River where it empties into the Bay of Fundy. A replica blockhouse has been constructed approximately 250 metres to the northeast of the original structure." If you wish to read more about it, here's a link to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Howe. The bus tour took us to the Reversing Falls Rapids and the river current does just that - reverse. "The Bay of Fundy tides are the highest on the planet—which means they have some punch. And one of the places where this punch is most visible is the Reversing Rapids. It’s a unique phenomenon created by the collision of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John River. At low tide the river empties into the bay causing a series of rapids and whirlpools. As the tide rises, it slows the river current for a brief period—called slack tide. The Bay's tide continues to rise, gradually reversing the flow of the river; rapids form again, peaking at high tide. An 8.5-metre (28-foot) tide cycle is roughly 12.5 hours." At one time the City of Saint John controlled six markets; a fish market and wharf on Water Street, a cluster of sheds on Market Street called the Country Market, Sydney Market that served Lowe Cove, a Hay Market on King Street and a cattle market in King Square. Here is a link to the history of the market. https://www.sjcitymarket.ca/history. After a break back at the RV, we had a celebration "linner" at Taste of Egypt restaurant less than 5 miles away. They are not licensed so we had mocktales which were delicious. Alan ordered Rack of Lamb and I ordered Egyptian Moussaka. Our meals were outstanding. A quick trip to Costco was needed and it happened to be in the adjacent shopping center.