hopewell, pei, and sherbrooke villiage query
 

I'm taking my 80 year old Mom to NS and Bay of Fundy. She's very spunky, but her pace is slow. So....

1. Hopewell in Sept 22nd/23rd - the entry hours are 9 to 5 and the low tide is outside these hours - around 7AM. So that leaves only one hour to roam around the bottom at low tide. Do I understand this correctly? Can you see the pots from above even if you can't go down? Also, will the shuttle take my Mom up and down?

2. How much time should I allow to drive the Fundy coastline from Hopewell to Saint John? (numerous picture stops, but no hiking.)

3. Is the Fundy trail outside of St Martin worth more time? - or is it a repeat of Bay of Fundy park?

3. Is the Market in Saint John worth a special trip there? (spend the night on way down from Hopewell?) Or once at Saint John, is it better to head back to Hopewell? Everyone seems to dismiss Saint John as a place NOT to stay.

4. PEI - I only have one night. Is this a waste to go for just one night?

5. Sherbrooke villiage near Liscomb - Is this a so-so event? (We will have already done Louisbourg.)

Thanks

Saint John is not so bad and has some wonderful things happening in the downtown core including the market. They do have a festival by the sea at some point in the summer. Also one of the most beautiful hidden gem areas in the atlantic provinces is the Rothsay area where ther are outstanding heritage homes and some lovely b&bs. This is only a five minute drive from the centre of Saint John

About the tides, and Hopewell Cape.

My experience there is that IF you drive up outside of business hours, you can still park and walk down the long stairway to stroll the beach. I didn't even have to pay the entrance fee upon arriving after closing time (but still in broad daylight).

The timing of the tides really sucks for your visit, however I suspect that if you arrived shortly after 8am that morning, you'd still be able to roam well out into the ocean floor for some time before the water reached the foot of the stairs (perhaps not until hours later).

This web link shows the "hourly heights" at the bottom:

http://www.lau.chs-shc.gc.ca/cgi-bin...amp;stnnum=170

difference between 8am and 9am is just 1.8 meters, and at 9am the total difference from lowest tide is just 2.4 meters. At lowest tide the surf will be WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY the heck out toward the ocean, and "2.4" meters does not mean it is all going to come and fill the area to a height of 8 feet.

IF you don't trust me (and why should you), you will see a very clear YELLOW SIGN of caution which reads: "Warning, you must be off of this beach by _____ to avoid being trapped by the incoming tide". You have to walk under that sign to access the beach at Hopewell Cape - can't miss it.

High tide isn't until about 1:00pm so 9am will be pretty safe. (earlier you arrive, the more time you'll have, AND the farther out you could walk if so inclined)

And the "pots" are HUGE pieces of earth... the greatest impact is when you take pictures of one another in front of the 'pots'... taken from a ways away (hundred yards or whatever)... the human needs to be pointed-out to viewers later.


AS to PEI... some would say that (coming back from there) is a waste of about $40 for the stinkin' toll bridge.

HOWEVER... someone driving there for a night COULD give herself a reasonable sense of the place in an afternoon, an evening, and part of the next day.

Go ahead and do it if you have it planned... it doesn't seem to be taking away from anything else on your trip.

oh, more about the "Flower Pot Rocks"... go to google.com

then click on "images"...

then enter WITH QUOTES:

"Flower Pot Rocks"

and see some of the pictures of others.

Thanks so much for the info. Seems then that I can walk down early before the official "open" time, and then my Mom can shuttle it down later. It's 104 degrees here today - so I'm really looking forward to this trip.

Personally, I would skip Saint John...The market is nice, and a few parks, but really, it is a port city and very industrial. I would stay in a little town on the coast, or stay in F'ton or Moncton...much nicer.

If looking at Sherbrooke Village spend the night at either Liscomb Lodge or you can rent a small 2-bedroom cottage on the water just 1 mile from the Lodge. Don't know the price but call 9027527665 to enquire. It is a beautiful spot and very clean.

I found some pics of the cottage outside of Sherbrooke Village. Check out www.clansbrae.ca and then rates. At the bottom there is a spot that mentions rent a cottage.

contact hopewell rocks directly to ask about getting in early. i have my doubts that they'd let you.

Thanks for the info.
Susan