Astronomical and other phenomena

We traveled to New Brunswick, Canada, to see the eclipse. It was a beautiful trip. Sunday afternoon and evening in St. Andrews by the Sea, and then Monday in Woodstock (across the border from Houlton, Maine).

Archeological

We discovered a new beach in St. Andrews. It is reached by a walking path. We did not walk very far though. It was chilly, breezy, and muddy underfoot. So I took this photo and we turned around.

Pagan Point is designated a Provincial Historic Site for its archeological findings which include a layer of shell, bone and other refuse more than a metre deep in some places. It retraces the life of ancient hunter-gatherer-fisher people of Passamaquoddy Bay.

https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7798

Architectural

This little cottage known as Pansy Patch was built in 1912 “in the French Normandy tradition.” I would love to see the gardens and the inside but we were just passing by.

And a big fancy hotel in the Tudor style – the Algonquin. We had lunch there. Sadly, it was beet salad with way too much olive oil. The fancy hotels in Canada are associated with the early days of the Canadian Pacific Railroad when the railroad executives had to give people a travel destination. I guess that’s still true to some extent.

Water Street is the main drag of the town. There are a lot of shops with historic markers, mostly still closed for the season. It was pleasant being there with so few people around. And the coffee shop, Honeybeans, was open.

Artistic

I enjoyed this folk art whale on display outside The Whale Store. It’s hard to see, but there is a boat with two little people in it riding on the spray coming from its blowhole.

I took a walk on the wharf in the early morning. I’ve been to St. Andrews before, but never noticed these charmingly subtle wire sculptures on each lightpole along the wharf. I also learned a new word: “wharfinger,” the keeper of the wharf. That’s what the sign said above the door of the little building on the wharf.

Another whale-themed sculpture on display in the plaza where the whale watching tickets were sold. The title was Breached. The eye was so remarkable. The ropy texture on the left was made with wire.

Astronomical

We left St. Andrews early and drove the back roads to Woodstock. There was no traffic, one concern I’d had going north to view the eclipse. We saw a red fox strolling along near someone’s house. Acre upon acre of northern forest. It felt refreshing to see so much wild territory.

Once in Woodstock, we found a place to park the car and walked down along the St. John River to where the town was gathering for eclipse viewing. We met an astronomer named Winston from Cliff Valley Astronomy. I didn’t realize there were organizations like this. He had a nice set of equipment: a tracking telescope, solar panels, and little batteries. He knew everything about the eclipse and answered all our questions. He had a big job ahead. He was going to announce the start and end of totality; when the crowds could look at the sun without protective glasses and when to put the glasses back on.

We left Winston and his crowds and headed up the hill to where our car was parked. The partial eclipse took some time, then it seemed like the curtain of darkness fell very suddenly. The glow on the horizon intensified – spillover light from the surrounding areas where the eclipse was not total.

The period of totality was short and intense. I felt like we were whirling around trying to take it all in. I tried to take a picture of the sun with my cell phone, but it was actually much more beautiful in real life.