Our next destination was Murray Beach Provincial Park. It has its pros and cons. However the reason I chose it is because it is near the Confederation Bridge to PEI. Seen here as we passed it on the way to the park.

I had originally planned to go to PEI from Murray Beach. However, the government was being extra cautious about reopening to the rest of Canada (those outside the Atlantic bubble) They planned to open in September so I decided to not go to PEI. They changed their minds and made it August but that was still too late. However I decided to keep the reservation at Murray Beach. They don’t allow dogs on the beach but they have nice grass – that Greta really enjoyed.

Now, a quick word about electricity. The first thing is that we got all packed up, ready to go and the car wouldn’t start. Something may have been left on. Thankfully I had roadside assistance with Budget. It took about 50 minutes on a Monday morning for the driver to come and boost the car. He was local and knew where I was. Guess he’s been out here a few times.

The second thing is I’ve learned that when I making camping reservations, I try to book serviced sites. That means water and electricity so I can recharge to phone overnight. The car had a USB port for the phone. Normally I use a Garmin GPS that plug into the lighter socket so I don’t have to use up the phone. However I decided to use the USB port, thinking that it would charge the phone at the same time. By the time I got to the Murray Beach, the phone was less than 5%. Murray Beach had no electricity on the site. Bye bye phone. The Administrative building is tiny but they did let me charge the phone.

We took the Acadian Drive most of the way to Murray Beach. This follows the coast. Stopped at a place in Rexton for coffee called Smile for Awhile. It is a little place that is only drive thru. Stopped first and let the pugs out for a pee break. The place in independently run and the woman was very welcoming. I’ve noticed that New Brunswickers are more welcoming with tourists. They realize what they missed because of the pandemic. She noticed my Ontario license and gave me a big smile. Ordered a latte and bagel with cream cheese. We stopped by a little waterfront area.

We stopped at Cap Lumiere. It is that sweet spot where the Northumberland Strait meets the Gulf of St. Lawrence – two legendary bodies of water come together.

There were some fishermen on the shore. One passed by us and I asked what the body of water was called. He said “Arrgh, you got me there”.

Rolled into Shediac to get a picture of the Giant Lobster. I took one of Dublin and Raisin when we were last here. There was no one around unlike before where we had to wait our turn. Gave me time to pose the girls and promise them a treat. Just over the bridge going into town is the Shediac Lobster Shop where I stopped to get a 1.5 lb cooked lobster. The prices are higher this year because of the pandemic – $22

The big plus for Murray Beach is there is no gravel campsite – it is all grass. Greta immediately got to rolling around on it. This trip has been a WTF experience for her. After spending most of her life in a cage in a back shed, she has to take moments to get her bearings and realize this is her new life.

And, of course, she has 8 years of cuddles to catch up on. So after the grass, she curls up in my lap for a snooze. The umbrella tent is good for providing shade. There isn’t much of it at Murray Beach – the downside of the park. The shaded areas are booked by the seasonal campers. But we were happy in our little spot.

Of course, some of us prefer the warmth of the sun on our back.

Then there was the lobster dinner. I had brought my cracker but forgot the pick. I used a steak knife point to get what I could. My next stop would be Alma on the Bay of Fundy. My plan was to compare the Shediac lobster in the north with the Alma lobster in the south. I’ll get a pick in Alma.

We setup a fire later in the evening and watched the sun go down. There was a big Labrador dog in the next site over who would bark when he saw the girls. He continued barking until the owner started angrily shouting “NO”. I moved the umbrella tent in the way so the dog could not see us, stop barking and stop getting yelled at.

Tried to get a shot of the sunset but was getting sleepy. The sun went behind the clouds, took this photo then headed off to bed.

I only tied down one side of the tent shell. In the other campsites the trees block the wind. However, in the openness of Murray Beach, the wind whips across from the Northumberland Strait. I woke up at one point to the shell flapping about in the wind. Made a mental note to tie it down next time and went back to sleep.