Mini Vacation, HUGE Seafood Platter @ a la Dune

Last week, hubs took two days off during the week and we headed to New Brunswick for a mini vacation.  After spending the first day riding the roller coaster non-stop at Crystal Place and the hotel debacle (the Crystal Palace Ramada reviews are sketchy for good reason, thank goodness the Best Western right next door had vacancies... their pool actually had water in it, their employees were genuinely friendly and they included a hot breakfast and were less expensive!), I was ready for a relaxing day at the beach before heading back home.

We drove to nearby Cap-Pele, and went to Aboiteau Beach.  This is an absolutely gorgeous beach and seeing that summer vacation has not yet officially arrived, it was almost empty... perfect!

The Beach Centre here is awesome!  It has plentiful and modern washrooms/change rooms and showers, huge seating/dining areas, both inside and out, a restaurant (more later) and even bar service... something I didn't take advantage of this time, but next time?  Oh yes :)  There are also 40 cottages on site (I didn't get any shots, but you can kind of see where they are in the hard right of the above photo... a boardwalk spanning a lush marsh connects the two areas.  I checked out their website when I got home to find out more about the cottages, and while expectedly pricey during peak season, they are fantastically priced during the shoulder and off-seasons... I think an early fall return trip might be in order.

Lil Miss Beach Bum couldn't wait to get splashing!

The tide was out, but the water was surprisingly warm already, so we were all splashing a bit. We also found some pools and were shown some hermit crabs and starfish that were living in them by another family visiting the beach that day.  We also learned how to spot the little hermit crabs... which kept me out of the pools somewhat :)

We played for an hour or so and then decided to go take shelter from the sun and get a drink and a 'snack' (snicker).

Restaurant a la Dune is located right within the Beach Centre, so it was the obvious choice because I certainly wasn't ready to leave, none of us were.

Since making decisions isn't my strong suit,  I suggested the Seafood Platter to share (nice snack, eh?), and a grilled cheese for Chelsea.

Hubs went inside to order for us and we grabbed one of the tables that were shaded.  The netted walls were such a nice touch and the fresh flowers growing and hanging everywhere made it such an inviting spot.

Chelsea was quite intrigued with this massive plate of food that daddy had brought back to the table (her grilled cheese is hiding back in the box).  To our surprise, Chelsea grabbed a clam and actually ate it.  She didn't go for any more, but the fact she ate one was a woo-hoo moment.  I haven't had this much seafood in years.  It was delicious!  While of course it was all deep-fried, it wasn't heavy and greasy-tasting at all... the fries underneath the mound of clams, scallops, shrimp and incredibly fresh fish were still super crispy.  The coleslaw (remember, I'm the 'slaw lover) was really good as well... basic cabbage and carrot and nice and fine-cut and creamy, how I like it with fish & seafood.

Try as we might, the two of us couldn't eat the whole thing (well, we got all the seafood finished)... that's saying something!

After lunch, we headed back to the beach, where we spent another couple hours frolicking in the sun, running and playing off that awesome lunch!

This was the perfect way to cap off a perfect overnight mid-week mini-vacation!