Today I had the good fortune to be driven along the coast west from Saint John by a colleague. She had lived in the area some time ago and was glad to show me the less travelled roads through fishing towns and villages and tell me some of their stories. Many of the details she knew from serving on a volunteer fire and rescue crew, everything from how to get really fresh scallops to how to distinguish fishermen's houses from packing plant workers'. We spent the whole day going through places with delicious names like Musquash and Chance Harbour (see picture). We found the province's best yarn shop in Blacks Harbour (tipped off by a local knitter, of course). The brutal cold (-16, plus windchill to -28) was tempered by sunshine so we could pop out of the car for pictures and a quick walk around at our lunch stop, St Andrews by the Sea. I came home loaded with yarn and a much better feel for this end of maritime New Brunswick.