Life at the Lakes Festival

Attending a festival usually evokes images of crowds of people, lots of activity, lively music, colourful vendors and maybe even fireworks! The Life at the Lakes Festival in Cambridge Narrows, however was an experience that took us on a journey down picturesque country roads dotted with uncrowded points of interest. The photo above was taken on the lawn of a B&B that displayed the work of local artists and artisans.

Cambridge Narrows is a rambling network of country roads connecting a few very small communities with farm houses, an art gallery, a winery, historic buildings and other points of interest dotted along the way. The Washedamoak Lake that connects to riverways that flow into the Saint John River, is a main feature of the area that has attracted cottagers and seasonal campers in recent years. One of our first stops was at a building that was once the town of Cody's general store. Today it is a pottery studio owned by a local potter with a wealth of knowledge of local history and an eagerness to share the technique of her craft with us.

The Best Lunch in Cody's

Although it was early in our little road trip (about 11:30), we didn't want to miss out on a good lunch so we stopped at the Women's Institute to check out the menu!

As it turned out, for $10.00 we got a choice of homemade sandwich and soup, tea, coffee or iced tea AND …. a dessert table! …… chocolate cake. lemon squares, carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, butterscotch pie, date squares and the list goes on. Needless to say, we got our money's worth!

So, with a hearty lunch under our belts (literally!), we continued our journey along the bucolic landscape.

Our first stop after lunch was Acacia Gallery to view some wonderful art by Richard Flynn. To enhance our viewing pleasure we were treated to a glass of wine from a local winery. (How civilized is that!) Check out Acacia Gallery - https://www.flynnfineart.com/

We continued our trek through the countryside checking off the points of interest on our map …. an historic home, winery, B&B hosting several artisans and artists, antique car show, distillery tasting etc ….. all lovely. And, as it happened our route also took us by the actual homestead of one of our companions, Nilah, who grew up in the area! The tall pine trees lining the driveway in the lower left corner of the collage above were planted by Nilah's husband Paul!

Our journey ended as the sky darkened and a brief, but forceful rain shower chased us to our car as we were sipping some local rum. It wasn't Disney World or Napa Valley, and I'm glad ….. no crowds no traffic just a relaxed saunter down country roads. A great way to spend a summer afternoon!