New Brunswick - Shediac

Today we wanted to get out into the countryside to check out all that Shediac and its communities have to offer.

We drove up the peninsula on the east cost of New Brunswick to explore as far as Cap-Pele in one direction and Bouctouche in the other direction. The entire area was settled by Acadians and is still over 75% Acadian even today. Acadia was a colony of New France in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine to the Kennebec River. Acadians are the descendants of French colonists who settled

in Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries, some of whom are also descended from the Indigenous peoples of the region.

The colony was located in what is now Eastern Canada's Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), as well as part of Quebec, and present-day Maine to the Kennebec River. Although today most of the Acadians and Québécois are French-speaking (francophone) Canadians, Acadia was a distinctly separate colony of New France. It was geographically and administratively separate from the French colony of Canada (modern-day Quebec). As a result, the Acadians and Québécois developed two distinct histories and cultures. They also developed a slightly different French language.

Cap-Pele is a village was founded by Acadians in 1780 and

incorporated as a municipality in 1969. Fishing is the dominant industry, and the town is home to several smoked herring processing plants known locally as boucannières. As many as 30 smoke houses are found in Cap-Pele and its surrounding areas. Work in the smoke houses tends to be seasonal, and during the summertime certain smokehouses offer guided tours. Cap-Pele provides over 75% of the smoked herring supply in all the world. Very fascinating place.

We did find a cute little road side restaurant, serving up great fried seafood. So we ordered what we thought were single serving lunches and sat down with Roxy. Boy were we surprised when the food came out. Portions were the size of your head. Rick had the lobster roll and I had the "combo" of fried scallops and clams. Both of course came with fries that could feed an entire family. We gave it a good effort to get through the meal. No scallop was left behind.

What we found when we were touring New Brunswick is that French is spoken every where we went and many people in the smaller centres only speak french. Not at all what I expected. New Brunswick is often thought as a province that people just drive through to get to Nova Scotia or PEI; but they do offer a ton of outdoor activities; such as, hunting, fishing, canoeing, hiking, sailing and anything else you might be able to do when bundled up in the winter months. Most of it's employment is during the spring-fall months, with it's high industry being fishing and tourism. It didn't appear that they farm or ranch any of the places we went by.

I'd have to agree with what I read about New Brunswick... a nice place to drive through to get somewhere else. If you like the quiet and tranquility this is your place; so stay awhile.
Otherwise we will see you tomorrow in PEI!