Our Rick Steves Moment

Daphne and I became big fans of  Rick Steves somewhere between 2020 and 2021. The borders to most countries were closed at that time, but we could vicariously travel the world by watching Rick Steves's Europe. It was fun to watch him experience other cultures, and we picked up a lot of Rick's travel tips along the way. 

One of my favorite travel lessons from Rick is to always listen to the locals. We got our chance to do this on our summer vacation in Canada. 

Here's our itinerary for the day we drove from St. Andrew's to Moncton: 

We found the Reversing Falls Rapids first.

Here's my picture of the Reversing Falls Rapids in action.

The sun was really bright, and I couldn't see my phone's screen. I didn't know I was in "selfie" mode until later. The rapids weren't the only ones reversed. 

It took us a while, but eventually we found the St. John City Market where we shared a nice, but unphotogenic salmon burger. Char ate the fries.

Our leftover cash from a previous trip included two Canadian $100 bills. A lot the vendors would not accept bills that large, so we were having trouble using our cash. Daphne had the idea to try to break them at a local bank. The Abc Royal Bank wasn't very helpful, but a teller at the National Bank of Canada was great.

He asked Daphne what we were doing in St. John as he was counting out twenties. She explained that we were on vacation and told him where we were headed. 

"Might I offer an alternate route?" was his response. Daphne quickly agreed. He grabbed a voucher and flipped it over to write on it. 

As an alternative to driving to Fredericton, he suggested we visit the village of St. Martins where they have excellent ice cream and sea caves to explore. From there it is a short drive to the Funday Trail Parkway. He warned us that it would cost money to enter the Funday Trail, but the Parkway was worth it. He also offered the Funday National Park as a free alternative. Alma is a village that is on this route, and they have an excellent bakery. 

He also explained that he grew up in St. Martins, and he drives from there each day to work. I think Daphne wanted to hug him, but there was a counter in the way and her husband standing by. We all thanked him instead.  Daphne consulted Google maps while we walked to the car. We were rerouting.

The ice cream at Octopus was very good, but the waffle cones made from scratch were amazing. I've been in bakeries that didn't smell this good on the inside. We didn't have time for the sea caves.

We crossed a covered bridge and headed to the Funday Trail Parkway. This is from their website:

"The Fundy Trail is a 2,559 hectare/6,323 acre park featuring a 30 km/19 mile parkway hugging the southern coast of New Brunswick. With stunning views of the world-renowned Bay of Fundy, the park has been carved out of the Fundy escarpment, one of the last remaining coastal wilderness areas between Florida and Labrador.

Visitors can drive the paved parkway that hugs the 250 m (820 ft) coastal cliffs, explore trails that connect to paths or stairways leading to pristine beaches and river estuaries, cross an 84 m (275 ft) suspension footbridge, see tumbling waterfalls and Precambrian rocks or stop by the interpretive centre and discover the rich history of a once thriving lumber industry."

We were greeted with beautiful views.

These are the cable steps that take you down to the tumbling Fuller Falls. You have to be careful because some steps move a bit.

Fuller Falls comprises three different types of waterfalls: first there are Plunge Falls, followed by Chute Falls, and then Cascading Falls. Here's a short video: 

Our next stop took us to a path that lead to...

the suspension footbridge! These bridges make you think you have to watch your step because the bridge can move, but you're fine. 

After crossing the bridge, we walked to a beach covered with these rock formations.

Char had to create a small formation for herself.

We also walked a trail that finished at... 

a lookout platform!

I think we were pretty high up. I didn't lean over the railing to find out for sure.

There were several other stops we could have made on the Funday Trail, but we ran out of time. Still, look at all the unplanned things we did. 

I said to Daphne when we were back in the car, "I can't believe how lucky we were to have met that guy at the bank. He really knew what he was talking about. What a nice guy."

She replied, "I know! This was all very Rick Steves."

I laughed and agreed, "You're right. I hadn't thought of it, but yes, today was very Rick Steves."

(Wouldn't it be cool if your name becomes an adjective for having a good time?)

First Recital! 🎹

Charlotte had her first piano recital last night. She performed "Gentle Thoughts."

She has the piece memorized, but Charlotte saw that other students were using their sheet music, and she wanted that saftey net, too.

This is what relief looks like.

We celebrated with ice cream afterwards. It's tradition. 

"Did you do your best?"

"Yes."

"Good! Let's go eat something!"

Celebrations and Ice Cream

Char's dance recital went well today. Her smiles were bigger, and I couldn't be prouder.

According to Monson tradition, we asked Char if she did her best, did she have fun, and where would you like to eat?

Yes.
Yes.
Sweet Swirls.
Done.

Daphne and I some swirled ice cream, too. 

I Scream, You Scream

Let's do another one of those "time flies" posts. I've got a buddy who agonizes over pictures of his kids when they were younger. All he sees is the time that has passed and what he'll lose when they grow up. Instead of looking for what I've lost, I like to see how far we've come.

One of the surest ways to know that spring is here is the annual opening of Snookies Malt Shop. We've been going to this malt shop for years. In fact, Charlotte had her first taste of ice cream on Snookies' opening day in 2011.

 

She had the teeth to chew the animal cookie that comes with every cone three years later.

Now she's experienced enough to pick her own flavor. She chose a marshmallow sundae for this year's opening of Snookies. Looks like Mom wants some, too.

What did I get? 

Check out this thing of beauty - a small sundae with melted peanut butter and hot fudge. I'm not being abstemious by ordering a small; I'm splurging. I don't think people know that Snookies puts on the same amount of toppings on all their sundaes. It doesn't matter if you order a small, medium, or large. Getting a small increases the topping to ice cream ratio tenfold.

Just look at that fudgey, peanut buttery sheen. I'm a genius.

Walking to Casey's To Get Some Ice Cream On A Saturday Night

One of my favorite childhood memories is eating vanilla ice cream topped with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Spanish peanuts while sitting on the Paulson family's porch. While we sat there we could see the fireflies float between the corn stalks in the field, and it was like watching the stars dance.

Time will only tell if Charlotte remembers eating this twist cone.

There's a chance...