The scenery does not disappoint in
this area of Canada. With large rolling
landscape, rich vegetation with lakes and rivers scattered throughout, the
drive was far from boring. Arriving at
the entrance gate I was curious to learn the proper pronunciation of the name
Mactaquac. Being in French speaking
country I figured is had a lovely sound when done right. Uh, nope!
Just like its spelled, I almost laughed when she spoke it! 
Any, I digress. The park was wonderful! We had a site one the grass near the trees
and we got settled ever thankful for the soft ground and quite all around. We’ve gotten to be pros at setting up camp
and made quick work of it before grabbing lunch and checking out our
surroundings. Wandering the grounds we
found a lovely lake and swimming area, a small marina and diverse
vegetation.
The nature trail was lined with
wood chips, soft underfoot and quiet, and we headed out to investigate. With four different sections in a linear
sequence, we followed one to the next finding wildflowers, a birch tree forest,
a beaver pond, human height cattails and more. Even I was spent
after the final loop and covering over 6 miles!
Feeling worthy of some frivolity,
we enjoyed the afternoon sunshine with refreshing vodka creations. We wandered further into the campground
finding kids for rob to throw baskets with and a spot for me to wade in the
water. Finally hearing English again was
settling and we had evening conversation with campsite neighbors by
candlelight. It was a relaxed night having
our feet on the grass and no noise from a surrounding retail crush.
Tempted to stay another night, we
knew we had a lot of great adventures ahead and we broke camp (but not a minute
before the allotted time!) Fredericton was
only a half hour drive away and the WalMart was a short distance from the
center of town. We arrived, found a spot
and hopped on our bike the short couple miles – down toward the river. (hold that thought!)
The afternoon was spent wandering
the riverfront with its converted railway to pedestrian bridge. The web touted numerous breweries which were
calling Rob’s name and even a cidery or two for me. Red Rover Cidery came first and we sat
outside the friendly establishment catching the guards returning from the
changing ceremony nearby.
Seeking out the closest – and best
– brewery, we walked to the other end of the “strip” to Graystone. Clearly a thriving brewery, they had over 20
choices on tap, a food truck in the lot, a wonderful outside deck and
construction on what was going to be an impressive indoor expanse for the
Canadian winters. We sat in the sun
enjoying a beer and meeting the guys on the next stools. 
Jeff and Adam were local bank investment
counselors on a rare day off. Conversation
covered the gamut – breweries, economy, health system comparisons – you name
it! By the time we parted ways, they
even invited Rob to a charity golf tournament the next day! And we found our way back to the bikes for the
ride back to the pavement…
This is where we recollect that
held thought. The ride back was three
miles straight UP HILL!! I swear this
uphill biking thing is NOT my strong suit!
But bike we did. And I can
actually say I was kind proud of myself – after I recovered! Thinking all that deserved a nice dinner ala
someone else but me, I was disappointed when the sky opened up and we stayed in
our cocoon for the duration. Chalk it
all up to the adventure, there is much more fun on the agenda yet to come!
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