First out of the campground was at 7:00 AM this morning! We had two hours to get to Hopewell Rocks where we were going to see the Bay of Fundy again, along with the famous ‘flower pots.’ All any of us knew, is that we needed to park our RVs in a dedicated parking lot, unhook our cars and use those to drive to a different parking lot that we would be locked into. From there we were meeting a guide who would walk us down to the ocean floor during low tide, then immediately run when he tells us to come in. We were told it would be very muddy and dirty and to wear shoes and clothes that we don’t mind ruining. We were also told when we were done there, the wagonmasters would go to our next campground, only 1 km away, and Butch and Jo would send 3 rigs at a time so we wouldn’t overwhelmed the campground with 23 vehicles showing up all at once. We didn’t know anything about a tour, what amenities were there, or what the plan was for what we were could do while there.
So because we left so early, we arrived with quite a bit of time before we left to meet the guide at 11:30. We all sat in our RVs and just waited. When we met the guide at the next parking lot we were locked into to, he was great and immediately walked us down to the ‘ocean floor.’ He talked to us about the geological history, how tides work, etc. He was funny and entertaining. He did hustle us along as we were at the end of low tide and our access point was going to be under water quickly. Seems like we could have gone out a bit earlier since we were all there, but maybe the guide had had another tour. Anyway, we were all dressed like hobos because of our mud warning, but all we encountered was a wet and rocky ground. None of us got wet or dirty. From there our guide took us back up to the cliff area in our parking lot, and we just hung around. People brought our chairs, and our wagonmasters just plunked down in chairs, too. I had no idea what was going on. Seems like we should have been going to the campground. Finally, someone asked when we were going to leave, and Penny said 3:00! I guess we were supposed to sit and watch the tide come in for the next few hours. !!!!! Most of us had no idea that’s what was going on. I asked if we could drive back to our RVs so at least we could get a drink, eat some lunch, use bathrooms, etc. Penny said to me we could only leave if there was a consensus. Huh? I told her there WAS a consensus (because I knew people were done standing around in this locked parking lot.) So, we were let out and we could now return to our RVs. They told us there was an interpretive Center we could walk to from the RV parking lot. Steve decided to stay in the RV and I walked with friends to check it out. Fortunately, we had brought our name tags along, because we were able to get the fee waved since we were with a tour. Not all our folks knew to ask though, and paid the $33 to get in. Seems like the wagonmasters should have told us. They were able to get refunds once they realized what had happened. The interpretative center had a restaurant and a beautiful deck overlooking the manicured grounds and the bay. We joined some other friends for a beer and then did a little walking around. It was lovely. We should have been told about this as we could have been here instead of sitting in parking lots.
At 3:00 the wagonmasters starting slowly moving us 3 RVs at a time to the campground. This took almost an hour and we were one of the last trios to go. By the time we got there and hooked up, it was 4:30. There weren’t any nearby restaurants or stores, so I just made a quick chicken and rice bowl for dinner. A group of us gathered outside and chatted until the mosquitoes came out for their dinner.
Our visit to Hopewell Rocks was very cool, but I really wished we had been better prepared and organized. I felt like we wasted a big part of the day, and everyone’s frustrations got in the way of an iconic experience. Many of the group are taking notes and plan to report back to the company. We will be doing the same. Tomorrow will be our last night with the group. We will be leaving the next morning. We learned that Kelly and Kevin will be leaving too. Kind of a sad way to end our tour.
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| Hobo Pam and Steve standing on the ocean floor! |
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| Flower pots are freestanding rock formations with trees and plants on top |
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| This one is called ET and 45’ of it will be underwater at high tide. Check out the people next to it for a sense of scale. |
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| This flower pot is called the mother-in-law. I thought it looked more like George Washington! |
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| The tide is almost all in. That water looks just like chocolate milk! |
