According to my preliminary research Kouchibouguac is a National Park formed around some beautiful coastline that centers on some epic sandy beaches. As such, I planned a two day stop here to slow down the fast paced and hopefully adventure filled trek that I had planned leading up to it. We generally get to our new locations around noon, I know this because I immediately arrive ready to get out and experience the park and Amy argues that people need sustenance to survive. We soon find that this is a great park for biking around and so we park the bus for the duration and cycle around. We are a couple weeks ahead of the busy season and find that we have the beaches all to ourselves but also that’s because it’s a bit windy to be swimming or lounging on the sand all day. Luckily, Kouchibouguac, pronounced Koo-chee-boo-gwak, also has some beautiful hikes to bike to that my research missed. We hiked through a flooded cedar forest and down to the dunes at Kelly’s Beach where we found (and returned) many beautiful shells and a sand dollar. We eventually settle down for some relax at a calm beach, Amy and Fitz go for a swim and the kids open up a ocean front restaurant serving a variety of sandfood that may or may not resemble what you ordered. If you can get reservations, personally, I recommend the Crème Brûlée which was a phenomenal representation but pass on the charcuterie board which lacked variety and did not meet my expectations. 

In reality, the seafood prices are unbelievable here and the exchange rate makes it even better. Fitz and I pick up a three dollar tuna steak to sear over the campfire. We stay up late and play poker together. Amy always says some of her favorite memories were playing games around the campfire, so we pull up our chairs and table close to the fire and use sour patch kids for bets. Eventually this turned into whoever is the richest paying the poor candyless kids to do remedial chores for sour patch kids. A real lesson in economics and the value of the Fold, a move unheard of around our table. I feel recharged and ready to take on the epic coastal cliffs of Fundy Bay, our next destination.