9 Day St Andrews By The Sea

We depart this morning traveling northeast through Tennessee into Virginia stopping for lunch in Salem, Virginia before continuing to Pikesville, Maryland for our first overnight.

Today, we travel to beautiful Longwood Gardens, sometimes referred to as the DuPont Gardens at Kennett Square, Pennsylvania in the Brandywine Creek Valley. Longwood was created by Pierre S. du Pont. The entire estate has 20 outdoor gardens and 20 indoor gardens with 4-acres of heated greenhouses, 11,000 different types of plants and spectacular fountains. It is one of the premier horticultural display gardens in the United States. See one of the world’s largest indoor conservatories. We will enjoy a delightful lunch at the Gardens Restaurant before continuing to Mystic, Connecticut for the night. Time for shopping and browsing the many hand-crafted gifts, high fashion jewelry and accessories, international treasures, and Mystic-made souvenirs in The Shops at Olde Mistick Village. Suggestion for dinner is The Gallery Restaurant.

This morning we enter the state of Maine arriving for lunch in Ogunquit, Maine at the Old Village Inn (included). This historic, downtown inn and restaurant is located in one of Ogunquit’s oldest buildings. Ogunquit is a town on Maine’s southern coast. Ogunquit Beach, a long, sandy peninsula with grassy dunes, lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the Ogunquit River. It’s a two hour drive to Boothbay Harbor. Calling themselves “the soul of the coast”, the residents of Boothbay Harbor are proud of their seaside town. After a brief stop we continue to Camden, Maine for the night. In Camden, we enter Camden Hills State Park where the view of Penobscot Bay from 800- foot Mt. Battie is spectacular. We make a photo stop at Curtis Island Light located at the entrance to Camden Harbor, at the southeastern end of Curtis Island.

This morning we travel to Columbia Falls and the Wreaths Across America Museum. Here we see hundreds of items that serve to document WAA’s history and the wreath laying ceremonies that take place each December at Arlington National Cemetery and some 50 other locations. The museum is dedicated to remembering those who gave their lives while serving their country, honoring those who serve and teaching the value of freedom to the next generation. Next we cross the border to Canada via the FDR Memorial Bridge to visit Roosevelt Campobello International Park. The park preserves the house and surrounding landscape of the summer retreat of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his family. It is located on the southern tip of Campobello Island and is now known as the FDR summer home. We tour the Roosevelt “cottage” which was built in 1897 where the family spent summers from 1909 to 1921. Following an included lunch we have a guided tour of Campobello Island. We see all the hidden-away gems, the beautiful view points and historic light houses. We learn about the island’s history and today’s island-living. Included on the tour are Friars Head, Liberty Point, Roosevelt Campobello International Park Natural Area, Head Harbour, and East Quoddy Light House Area. We travel on to New Brunswick and St. Andrews by the Sea. Our hotel for the next three nights is the exquisite Algonquin Resort Hotel. Dinner is included at the resort this evening.

Breakfast is included at the hotel this morning. Today we enjoy a whale and dolphin watching cruise on The Bay of Fundy. The world’s highest twice-daily tides stir up a bounty of food in local waters, which attracts several species of migratory whales. Species that you may sight may include the Minke whale (12-30ft), Finback whale (35-75ft) and Humpback whale (35-55ft), as well as harbor porpoises, harbor seals, Atlantic puffins, bald eagles, razorbills, black guillemots and other pelagic sea birds.This cruise was fabulous last year. We saw 4 kinds of whales, a pod of dolphins, white sided porpoise (very rare and unusual to see), and many seals. We will visit Kingsbrae Garden, named one of the Top Ten Public Gardens in Canada a 27-acre horticultural masterpiece. The gardens officially opened in the spring of 1998. Unveiling an array of over 2,500 species of perennials, as well as, a wide variety of trees and shrubs. Kingsbrae isn’t just about plants, of course. The garden’s 11 alpacas are a big draw, too, and you can see them being paraded on the front lawn of the cafe daily from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., weather permitting. Rest of the afternoon free to enjoy activities at the resort or for relaxing.