As Canadians who loves to travel, our family can often be found researching a destination. We pour over the pricing, activities and culture and then we make our decisions and hop on a plane or into a car to make some memories. Usually it’s the four of us but this summer I braved the unknown by taking my two little ladies away for a girls trip to New Brunswick with the Let’s GO! Retreat arranged by SJ Consulting and Tourism New Brunswick.
We have driven through New Brunswick before on our way further East but this was my first experience truly feeling the magic which is New Brunswick. Our party joined 7 other bloggers and their families to explore and be immersed in the culture of 3 different cities; St. Andrews by The Sea, Saint John and Moncton. Our first stop on the tour was St. Andrews by the Sea.
Travelling without my husband with us was a first, he was away on business so we were really looking forward to exploring together and I as a Mum was intrigued to see how these girls would get along. They are two very different creatures and I am often found in the middle of them, refereeing situations. My husband and I agreed, this trip would either be wonderful or a nightmare in parenting.
We flew into Saint John and drove approximately an hour and twenty minutes to St. Andrews by the Bay. Our hotel was the Algonquin Resort which took our breath away.
This hotel is idyllic and draws you back into a feeling of old world charm with its authentic 1800’s architecture, fantastic customer service, comfortable atmosphere and delicious food. The resort is steeped in history which includes the rumour that it’s haunted. This intrigues me and I’d love to spend more time there to investigate!
We enjoyed an afternoon at the hotel checking out all there was to do. The children squealed as they flew down the water slide at the indoor pool and had to stop to play a tune on the outdoor piano after swimming at the outdoor pool. My girls got along very well with each other and the other “blogger kids” in the group. This day was one that I will never forget…it was peaceful and their energy was one of happy excitement.
There is much more to say about the Algonquin Resort and I promise I will in a future article, suffice it to say that I give this resort an A+ rating and hope to return to spend a whole week there.
After a fantastic rest, the girls and I set off with the group of other bloggers in our half of the Let’s Go! Retreat group (Tammilee Tips, This Lil Piglet and Traveling Canuks) to see Fundy Discovery Aquarium. This was top of the list for my girls, they couldn’t wait to get there to see all of the marine life which lives in the Bay of Fundy.
The guides were fantastic, they led us around the aquarium teaching along the way about each creature and truly engaging the children. We learned about sea horses, seals and many more creatures found in the Bay of Fundy. The highlights were watching the seals and the touch tank where we got up close and personal with some of the marine life.
Look at that photo there, do you see my girls standing together? That isn’t something that often happens…by nature they seem to repel away from each other but over the course of our trip I noticed them drawing to each other often.
After the aquarium we headed around the corner to check out Kingsbrae Garden and have lunch at their Garden Cafe. The gardens are magnificent! The colours and fragrances are incredible.
The property has been well thought out, with surprises at every turn. There different types of gardens, a children’s fantasy garden (with adorable little play houses), a sculpture garden, a labrynth & mze and so much more. This is a gem!
Once we had enjoyed the garden for some time, we decided to explore St. Andrews by the Sea. This town is simply wonderful, worthy of a full week to enjoy all there is to see. It has one main road which is lined with quaint shops, eateries and leads to the pier.
We found a delicious Pizza place that had a patio overlooking the bay and settled in to indulge our foodie spirits! What a wonderful day we had in St. Andrews by the Sea that day, the place just seemed to envelop us and raise our spirits with every new sight or experience
After another lovely night at the Algonquin Resort, we headed back to the pier to set sail on a whale watching outing with the folks at Jolly Breeze. My girls and I were SO excited about this, and to be honest a wee bit nervous. We’d never been on a sailboat like this and weren’t sure what we were in for.
We needn’t have worried; the crew was fantastic!! We enjoyed bagels, fruit and coffee while the kids were getting their faces painted, steered the sailboat and even held starfish in a touch tank. We sailed around, looking for the whales and in the end we saw seals, porpoise and SUCCESS!! We saw 3 Minkie whales.
What a feeling of accomplishment it was to see these amazing creatures in their natural habitat…just stunning. The surroundings of the Bay of Fundy took my breath away and had us feeling the Maritime love.
Out on a sailboat with the Jolly Breeze of Saint Andrews Whale Watching tour We saw 3 Minkie whales today. Great tour guides and service on the boat #letsgonb #ExploreNB #NewBrunswick #maritimes #Canada #DiscoverCanada #travel #instatravel #getaway #vacation #traveling #trip #travelgram #instamoment #instagood #love #happy #travelfriendly #wheretonext #ilovetravel #visit #instago #instatraveling #igtravel #travelling #travelpics #travelblogger #instavacation #wanderlust A photo posted by Julie Elsdon-Height (@soberjulie) on
We finished up the tour and regrouped before packing up and heading out to Saint John. The girls and I agreed, we had fallen in love with St. Andrews by the Sea and added it to our list of places we’d like to visit for a week.
To read more stories from the #LetsGoNB Retreat, check out these blogs:
- This Lil Piglet – http://thislilpiglet.net/
- Tammilee Tips – http://www.tammileetips.com/
- Traveling Canucks – http://travelingcanucks.com/
- Whispered Inspirations – http://whisperedinspirations.com/
- Our Family World – http://www.ourfamilyworld.com/
- My Organized Chaos – http://www.myorganizedchaos.net/
- My 3 Little Kittens – http://www.my3littlekittens.com/
I loved this post and all the photos,I remember visiting my Aunt in New Brunswick in the summers when I was a teen and I always enjoyed the sites.
Saint Andrews is stunning. That piano was a hit among the kids lol
I have stayed here before, had a great time.