Oh, Deer Island

April 24th was the nicest day of the year so far. Temperatures soared to 20 C in Saint John. Monica and I wanted to get out of the house and go for a walk on one of the 145 official NB Hiking Trails. We headed west to Deer Island to do the only registered trail on the island; the Clark Gregory Nature Preserve trail at Chocolate Cove. It is listed as ‘moderate’ difficulty with a couple of wet spots and lots of tip-toeing around roots and rocks. However, it is short at only 1.5 kms and only took us 30-40 minutes. The views across the water of satellite islands and fishing weirs are gorgeous. It is well worth the trip for something different plus the ferry ride to and from the island is always interesting.

Working up an appetite on our hike called for lunch on a beach somewhere. So, we headed to Deer Island Point at the southern tip of the island. The tide was ebbing fast giving us a dramatic show of “Old Sow” (world’s second largest whirlpool) as we enjoyed chicken salad sandwiches in the sunshine. Then a bit of peaceful beach-combing for sea glass and digestion of lunch.

We continued our tour around the island poking into random side roads to discover hidden gems like buoy covered shacks and small herds of deer! We could not drive past the 45th Parallel Restaurant at Fairhaven without stopping in for a hot fudge brownie sundae… these are home-made brownies…hot and scrumptious!

We ended our day on the drive back to Saint John with a stop into the Canada Green garden nursery and landscape center in St. George. Besides having any plant or garden tool you could want, a tour of the property is like strolling through a zen garden abounding with fountains and sculptures. Monnie picked up an herb planter (pre-Mother’s Day gift). I will look forward to whatever she plants and subsequently feeds to me. 😁

Thanks for reading. Here is a short photo album covering our drive and walk on Deer Island April 2021.