Yesterday we got up early...ish... and began a day of adventure. We first had a fantastic breakfast of homemade breakfast sandwiches and then hopped into the "mostly working" Jerusalem. We drove out of Saint John and remarkably did not get lost as we headed to a town called Kingston. We were lucky as we managed to come at the perfect time to get onto the ferry and across the K-Word. A beautiful jaunt along the peninsula and we were at our destination: the Kingston Farmers Market.
Kingston Farmers Market
It was pretty much a regular farmers market. There were doodads and knitted sweaters and bread and jam and beef... well not that much beef... but salmon, there was salmon. We had already eaten so we didn't need to buy much, but I could not refuse some salmon.
That was great an all, but buying salmon meant that now we had to go home before going to our next stop. Oh well. We decided to take a different route home that would take us through the towns of Quispamsis and Rothesay. I never really knew the difference but we have now figured it out. If you are working on the ground floor you live in Saint John. If you are a middle manager you live in Quispamsis. When you start getting to the top of the corporate ladder you live in Rothesay. The difference between Quispam and Rothesay is... millions. The houses in Rothesay are just incredible. They are enormous and they are encased in trees and green. You can just see in on some of them from the road. Incredible!
Eventually we made it back home. There was a slight detour as the road was blocked off and it took us a while to figure it out. Salmon in the freezer and we were off to our next event. "Sundaes on Saturday" an event as part of "The Give" which is a fundraiser to help to update the emergency room at the Saint John Regional Hospital.
The Most Best Sundae Ever!
The big catch on this one to get the people to come was all you can eat sundaes with all you can eat toppings. As those of you who know me might guess, this was a popular choice for me. It was unfortunate. There have been changes in the fundraising campaigns so there were less people than anticipated, but I guess that means more ice cream for me. Despite the low turn out at this event I did run into someone I know, and they were able to tell the world that they have surpassed the halfway point for the fundraising campaign.
Fair... Kinda Deserted Like...
In trying to do everything that the Maritimes has to offer in a very short time we moved on from the ice cream to a fair that was in Saint John. We did not know anything about it, but we saw it on the way to a movie and decided to check it out. It was not a very large fair (no Stampede sorry) but it was still good to check out. There was one thing that was very interesting. I had been told about this in advance. There are people there who have a drill that you put a potato on and it shaves the entire thing. This ends up making a very long and very thing potato thing. She then put the potatoes in the deep fryer, and voila!, chips!!!
Drill Potato Chip Maker Thingie
Potato Chips (Made with a Drill!!! (See above))
We made it home and began the next leg of our journey. We were at a beach a while back and we saw people having campfires. We also found out that there are snails in the ocean that we can pull out and eat... uh... after cooking. This naturally seemed like a good idea to me so I got the cohorts in action and we piled into the forest to try and find some wood. This was interesting since there was a great variance in the forestyness of each of us. So in our quest for wood, some of us stood by the side of the forest... That was ok... We got the wood.
The time came to head to the beach. It was my intention to swim in the ocean, however it was cloudy and foggy on the water and really not that hot. Actually, it was a bit cool. We were on our way, and over the Reversing Falls Bridge, and then... Wait!!!
I had heard of these guys, they sit in this empty lot with a pickup truck full of used tires. Sure it sounds a little sketchy. I have heard that these guys buy the tires from garbage and sell them. I have heard that these guys steal the tires off of cars and sell them. I have heard that the tires are a front and that they are actually selling something else... I have also heard that they are totally legitimate businessmen, um... well maybe not, but still... I had been looking for them everyday since I had heard of them (since I drive by that spot to and from work) but now, on the way to the beach, there the guy was.
We pulled in, I explained the situation, and I said I was looking to buy. It just so happened that he had some tires that would work. Slight difference in dimensions, but that's ok, Jerusalem can be pimped out a little with a raised rear. Price? $40. Hmm... with new tires going at $100 a piece $40 for a pair seemed like a great deal. And so, Jerusalem has new tires. The Car Doctor can put them on for me on Tuesday.
There was a thick fog rolling in from the ocean, and it made the beach look a little... Haunted. How exciting! The tide was out, and where the tides are the highest in the World, out means waaaayyyyy out!
The House on Haunted Hill
We went out on the mudflats and I made the executive decision not to go swimming. This did not stop me however from wading into the water to look at all of the exciting things living in the ocean. There were not a lot of rocks, but there were enough to find what we were looking for... periwinkles...
Periwinkles!
We pulled 'em off the rocks and put them into a bag. We filled the bag with seawater and sealed it up while we went back to the shore. We grabbed our hard stolen wood and began to build a fire. I don't think that my partners in crime had much faith in my fire building ability, but it went very well, and so did the hot dogs, and so did the periwinkles.
Periwinkles really are a poor man's escargot. They taste about the same, though they look way grosser and are way smaller. They were actually surprisingly good. I would show you how good they are except that my camera ran out of batteries about the time that I was trying to eat them... trying... succeeding. Again... surprisingly good.
Periwinkles on Fire
The experience was good, I mean, the whole cooking periwinkles in a can on the beach and eating them right there (oh yeah, my co-worker was right, better not to look at them when you eat them). Anyways, everything was washed down with some s'mores, and then we were headed back home.
Overall a good day. I don't think it will be the last time I enjoy periwinkles, and well, the ocean is still waiting for me.
Atlantic... I'm coming for you!
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