Thursday 18 September 2025--The Swallowtail Light bids farewell to visitors on the departing ferry, just as it greeted them on arrival. We enjoyed our stay on Grand Manan, even though the tourism infrastructure is not very well developed. I can't think of a really good reason to return, but maybe I don't need one. Just being there would be enough, I think. I find myself comparing it to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Grand Manan doesn't have the attractive and coherent townsite, but it does have salt water and high tides. It's a lot cheaper to get to, too.

Blacks Harbour is very foggy when we arrive. It's clearer inland, away from the bay. We're only going to Saint John, a 45-minute drive. Stop for a look at the reversing falls on the Saint John River, unimpressive as always, and find our B&B in town. It's a very nice place, and the couple who run it are friendly and chatty. Their taste in decoration is a bit baroque...I suppose a couple would find our bedroom romantic. It makes me think of a brothel in a Clint Eastwood western. Either Ron is out of place, or I am.

We walk into town through the old Loyalist cemetery and Kings Square. There's a cruise ship in, and some of the escapees are poking around the City Market as we pass through. I want to check out the Area 506 Container Village on the waterfront, not having seen it before. It's ticky-tack tourist retail, fudge, fast food, souvenirs, aimed mainly at the cruisers, I guess. Been there, done that.

We get dinner at Bigtide Brewing, and then stop for a pint at Picaroon's General Store. Finish the evening with a dram at the Hopscotch Whisky Bar.