Fantasy RV Caravan - Day 4

Monday, 5 August - Day 4

We woke up to a crisp morning, 57 degrees and sunny.  Today is a major Canadian holiday called Civic Holiday.  New Brunswick is one of six Canadian Provinces that have it as a statutory holiday.  We remember last year we were traveling in Canada this same weekend and it was also a holiday in Ontario. 

Today was a designated free day on the caravan schedule.  Fantasy RV offered an optional trip for the group to go to Ministers Island.  We gave some thought to playing golf on our free day, but as we mentioned before, the Algonquin Resort golf course in St Andrews is pretty pricey (although a fellow caravaners checked it out and said it was absolutely gorgeous).  We briefly had a dilemma - golf or Ministers Island.  We both referred to the saying Mandy Lea found on a bathroom wall in Alaska:

• “Always buy the ticket, Always take the chance, Always make the memories” - at about 4:13 in her Alaska to Mexico #6 YouTube video, https://youtu.be/CZs_LV34H5s

So we elected to make the memory.  Ministers Island got its name back when St Andrews was settled by the British Loyalists.  The minister built his home on the island instead of in town.  The house remained mostly in the Andrews family until 1891 when it was purchased by Sir William Van Horne.  The ministers house from 1790 still stands today.

Ministers Island is only accessible during low tide. The point where you cross is 5 meters below sea level. So there’s a window of about 4 1/2 hours that you can drive, bike or walk across.  Today, the window was 7:15am to 1pm.  As the tide comes in, the crossing point is covered with frigid water, and you have to wait for the next low tide.  The water temperature is such that you would suffer hyperthermia in addition to strong currents if you tried to swim it.  Tidal range in St Andrews is about 24 feet.

As we were one of six RVs without a Toad, we decided to ride our bikes to the island.  We had several offers to ride with others, but we wanted to get some use out of the bikes.  After all, anyone can drive across the ocean floor in a car, but how many ride their bike on the ocean floor?  

We rode our bikes along the Van Horne Trail, a short walking and biking trail that started near the campground and went most of the way to the crossing point.  It was mostly paved, with some sections being on gravel roads.  Google Maps said it would take 22 minutes to ride to the island, and it did indeed take us 22 minutes.

Once we paid our entrance fee, we rode our bikes to the Main House.  We arrived well in advance of our caravan mates.  In fact, we were probably at the Main House when our caravan mates were just leaving the campground by car.  And most of our caravan group did the Ministers Island Tour.

Our guide was Susan, who took us through the house, then gave us additional time to explore any specific areas of interest at our own pace.  The Main House official name is the Covenhoven House, the summer residence of Sir William Van Horne, Canada’s railway baron.  It has 50 rooms, 17 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and 11 fireplaces.  His winter home was in Montreal.  

Sir William Van Horne was the project manager for Trans-Canadian Railroad, through difficult terrain (Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes) in less time than anyone thought possible.  He later ran the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR).  He was a man of vision, and is credited with CPR building resorts, the city of Vancouver as a Pacific terminus for CPR, and even ocean liners.

After touring the Main House, Susan led the group to the bathhouse, which was a structure near the water overlooking the salt water bath that was created from quarrying the sandstone used to build the houses.

We then went to the Barn, which was one of the largest in Canada.  Sir William Van Horne was very involved in the establishment of what was a very progressive farm for its time.  The barn had three levels, and a dumbwaiter for moving heavy things between floors.

It was then time to head back.  Ministers Island has a number of trails that are walkable or bikeable, but the lady at the tool booth expressed some concern for Darrell's skinny bike tires.  and we sure did not want to miss the crossing to get back.

The crossing had dried up a bit since we came across earlier - it made some places easier to ride on than before, and others more challenging.  

Riding on the ocean floor at the crossing was like riding on gravel - where the rocks moved around a bit, our tires would get more bogged down, especially Darrell’s bike which has skinnier tires.  Once across, we had to climb the hill we had ridden down to get back to the Van Horne Trail.

Once back to the campground, we enjoyed the beautiful weather sitting around the campsite.  Sometime a little after 4pm, we heard the horn blow signaling happy hour gathering.  The group has migrated a little to take advantage of the shade provided by Frank and Sharon’s Tiffin  Class A and the large tree rapt the back of their site.  I think about half the caravan mates gathered, with most of them the first-timers.  The groups started to wander off about dinner time, and one couple announced they were hosting the campfire gathering later in the evening.