A Visit to Ministers Island in Saint Andrews

We're off on another weekend getaway to Saint Andrews. Travel is limited to the Atlantic bubble (unless you wish to self-isolate for 14 days upon your return), and we're quite happy to stay within the bubble for now. During the pandemic, it's been one of the safest places to be in North America. 

The leaves are changing and it was a beautiful day for a drive.

I think these are blueberry fields. Love the red!

We decided to stay at the Treadwell Inn this time. It receives great reviews on TripAdvisor and also has a restaurant with glowing reviews. 

Our room was on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the Saint Andrews harbour. 

Wait a minute! No one mentioned this construction next door. It towers over the Inn and they were hard at work when we arrived. Fortunately, they stopped work at 4:30 and were not working on the weekend. 

If you look closely on the right, you can see Jim on the second floor balcony. The wood protruding onto our balcony was right where we were sitting. The workers thankfully sawed it off so we didn't knock our heads on it.

Low tide...

Pam and Trevor were also there for the weekend and we enjoyed dinner at the Gables Restaurant and stopped to say hello to the lobster.

Due to COVID, they cannot offer breakfast in the restaurant and have devised this plan. Let them know what time you would like breakfast and this yummy tray is left outside your door. The coffee and croissants were particularly good. 

We've been talking about going to Ministers Island for ages. We planned this weekend around the tide times, as you must drive across the "ocean floor" at low tide to get to the island.

The island was the summer home of William Van Horne, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Low tide was scheduled for 11:30. Jim said he didn't want to the first car there. No problem! There was already a lineup.

And we're off!

There were still fairly big puddles of water and some sandy sections. One car did get stuck and had to get a tow truck from St. George, about 1/2 hour away.

The tide still wasn't completely out. So peaceful...

And then we waited...and waited. There was a section that was still covered with water.

Look at that amazing barn on the hill...

Clam diggers were out. The early bird gets the...clams!

By now the first cars were across, but they took all the walkers through the ticket booth first, so we were still waiting.

The lineup behind us...

In all, it took about an hour to get onto the island and off to do our exploring.

You can drive around to see the barn and the house. The rest of the trails are for walkers and bicycles.

Van Horne was a very talented, forward-thinking person.

The early inhabitants...

That barn is amazing!

We decided to make it our first stop. Due to COVID, you wait outside until the group in the barn has exited and then you are brought through by a guide. 

Part of the milking area... The guide told us that one of the workers in the barn waved at Van Horne through the window, and the next day he had the windows raised. Alrighty then...

The creamery...

OK...I might have taken a few pictures of the barn!

The white house was built in 1790 by an Anglican minister and Loyalist, Samuel Andrews, hence the name Ministers Island. 

No more barn pictures after this one!

The trees had not finished changing colour. So pretty...

Van Horne had prize winning Clydesdale horses...I'm not sure what these are. 

And then it was on to his summer home, Covenhoven, named for his father, Cornelius Covenhoven Van Horne. I thought it looked a bit like a railway station.

We had a briefing outside and then were free to tour the house on our own. Van Horne loved to paint and his works were evident throughout the house, including this landscape over the fireplace.

A painting of the Last Spike with Van Horne to the left of the gentleman with the white beard.

There is a room named for the Passamaquoddy, the original settlers on the island. One of the arrow heads was estimated to be over 10,000 years old!

These baskets were amazing!

On to the dining room...

"Attentive staff kept a watchful eye through the three small windows in the swinging door to the Butler's pantry."

There were many portraits of Van Horne throughout the house...

Part of the pantry...

Wow...interesting chairs!

Into the kitchen...

This soap is good for anything! You can still buy it on Amazon. 

A General Electric refrigerator with a globe top that housed the mechanical assembly...

The staff dining area...

Laundry room...

The Butler's bedroom...it was very sparse, but he did not share a room as most of the other servants did.

A well travelled suitcase...

Pretty sparse bathroom as well...

A typical room for the servants...

The house didn't look that big from the outside, but I was definitely lost by now. Follow the arrows...

Van Horne loved to collect model ships...

The Van Horne room...

Early train tickets...

The many immigrants who came to Canada to work...

I like his style!

Van Horne liked to paint at night and felt that sleep was a waste of time; therefore, he and Lady Van Horne had separate bedrooms.

Loved the hats and hatpins...

I wasn't sure why they had this area of the ceiling uncovered in the hallway. I am sure if I asked one of the staff, they would have told me. They were very helpful with any questions we asked.

One of the many stairwells...nope, don't go down this way.

Addie was their first child and she never married.

Addie's room...

They had a son, who died at the age of five, followed by a son, "Benny," who was nine years younger than Addie. Sadly, Richard liked to drink and gamble and died at the age of 54.

A nursery was constructed with the arrival of Van Horne's grandson. His parents were Richard and Edith Molson of the Montreal Molsons.

This border in the nursery was painted by Van Horne and couldn't be restored...

So this border was painted and hangs in front of the original one. 

These beautiful Dutch tiles surround the fireplace in the nursery. Originally, the name was spelled Vanhorne and it came from the Dutch word "hoorn" meaning a point or a nook, and the prefix "van" meaning one who came from.

On to the billiards room...

The score board...

The studio...

And Van Horne's bedroom, which was off the living room as you entered the front door.

Whew! That was a tour and really interesting. 

They were having a "lobster roll" weekend. The food truck is something new that they are trying. 

At first it looked like a bit too much mayo, but nope...it was delicious.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy the surroundings...

The windmill and gashouse...

Inside the windmill...

By now Jim had had enough...wearing a mask inside the house for the tour had pretty much done him in. He moseyed back towards the car and I headed down to the carriage house and garage.

The apartment above the carriage house...

I cannot imagine coming the across the bar at low tide in this!

A penny farthing in the corner...

The garage seemed relatively small compared to everything else on the island.

What a beautiful view...I can see why they loved to come here. They had the whole island to themselves.

Next stop, down to the bathhouse...

Loved this tree...it reminded me of a place where lovers would leave notes to each other. 

It is so nice that people can still come to the island and are free to roam and enjoy the surroundings.

The bathhouse...

The saltwater pool...the sun would heat the rocks at low tide and the water would be lovely and warm at high tide.

Look at the chandelier and the construction of the roof...

Down the stairs...

To the changing rooms...

And down the ramp to the outside...

The saltwater pool...

Looking pretty much as it did in 1912...

Back up the ramp...

Through the door...

And heading back towards the house...

Where the carriages would arrive...

I met Jim back at the car and we headed down the beautiful tree-lined road...

Massive flower pots!

And with that, our visit was over. Time to head back across the bar... 

It was really low tide now...

That was a great visit. Back in town, we did a quick tour by the park and the blockhouse...

These kids were enjoying the cannons and I heard "let's do a TikTok!" The new generation!

We went back to the Gables restaurant that night because it is about one building away from the Inn and we were feeling lazy. A beautiful sunset...

A little goofy...

The lobster!

View from the Inn...

And breakfast the next morning...I actually preferred the granola and yogurt from the previous day, but change is good, right? Sausages were hiding under the tin foil and a chocolate croissant made an appearance.

Before we left Saint Andrews that morning, we headed down to see the difference in the tide going to Ministers Island. It was pretty foggy.

A great weekend and a lovely drive home enjoying the fall colours...

We live in a beautiful province!