Dreams Fulfilled

3womenwhowander
Aug 10, 2023
6 min read

Women Who Wander NB

2023 Adventure One, Part I

If you can dream, it you can do it

Walt Disney

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow can stop the Women Who Wander NB! However, house moves, reunions, dog sitting and trips out West apparently can. We are back now and fear not, we have a few more wanders up our proverbial sleeves.

A few of our adoring fans have been, as they say here in the Maritimes, “giving us the gears” about our lack of posts, leading us to believe that their admiration might be waning. So to avoid the loss of our small but mighty following, we decided to get The Incredible Wander Wheels (the car) polished up and get back on the road asap!

Leaving little time to ponder and plan (fearing a mass exodus of followers), we hauled out our stack of places-to-check-out lists! In so doing, we discovered that many of our previously visited towns, villages and back roads have added attractions that required repeat investigation by the Women Who Wander NB.

So, off we went to the ever-popular Village of Gagetown, an easy and beautiful 35 minute drive east of Fredericton!

Quite sometime ago, when the Women Who Wander NB were a fresher version of the women you know today, our favourite photographer (OK our only photographer) coined the phrase “I do so love a good bakery!”, which translates (in a slightly passive aggressive way) to mean “if we see a bakery you better STOP The Incredible Wander Wheels (the car) right now"!

Well, guess what! Gagetown, NB now has Sweet ‘Evans Cakes located at 56 Front Street right in the center of the Village!

Not only did we find awesome sweets there but we also found Lisa Smith and Anita Elste proprietors of Sweet ‘Evans Cakes. Our favourite photographer was very happy, indeed!

The story of how this dynamic duo wound up settling in Gagetown, New Brunswick is a fascinating tale of adventure and exploration with a little serendipity thrown in.

Start with two adventurous ladies, one from California and one from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Plunk them both down in Frankfurt, Germany for work. Stir in a little of our old friend Jane Geurts, who was then operating Bankside Cottage Gallery in Gagetown, dump it all out on the table and you have Lisa and Anita moving to the Village of Gagetown fulfilling their dreams of opening Sweet ‘Evans Cakes in the re-invented location at 56 Front Street!

Clearly there is a bit of an obsession story going on in Gagetown because, by the time we pulled up at the front door of the cakery, just shortly after noon, the Villagers had already plundered....... er.... purchased, 95% of the delicious baked goods on offer!

Not to be deterred by these voracious Villagers, the Women Who Wander NB put a sizable dent in the remaining 5% of inventory on the shelves! Let me just say this: Butter Biscuits that would make you cry. The best homemade granola in the world. Huge rice crispy bars for a trio of Women Who Wander NB grandsons and a Nanaimo Bar extraordinaire all which left the cakery in our possession.

You must go and you must go early lest those hungry Villagers get there before you!

We got word that Sweet ‘Evans Bakery has muffins that are out of this world but of course, by the time we got there the cupboard was bare.

We were a little bitter that there were no muffins left for us to add to our treasure trove but, we'll just have to go back and make sure it's bright and early when we do!

If you miss the artwork of the former proprietor of 56 Front Street, (Jane Geurts of Bankside Cottage Gallery), fear not.

There is a lovely selection of Jane’s paintings for sale at the cakery along with a few additional imported, scrumptious looking, edible treats and drinks as well.

Take our advice: find a sunny chair out on the Sweet ‘Evans Cakes patio, settle in with a freshly brewed coffee and a Sweet ‘Evans muffin.

Just while the day away pondering life along the lazy river – or just plunder your Sweet ‘Evans purchases just as we would likely do!

Hey, you can always go back and get more - though you may have to beat off the Villagers! Just sayin’.

When you’re finished reading about our day in Gagetown, hop on over to the “Friends We Meet” section on the Women Who Wander NB website! You can get to know Anita Elste (baker extraordinaire) for yourself!

If you want to check out Sweet 'Evans Cakes before you head off to Gagetown, you can find them at https://sweetevanscakes.com/ or just search for Sweet 'Evans Cakes on Facebook!

Finishing up at the cakery found us very near noon and we were getting hungry....... and a bit drowsy. (Some people have sugar highs and some of us have sugar lows).

As luck would have it, we had heard of the opening of a new bed and breakfast in the Village! We were hopeful (delusional?) that a quick visit to the new bed and breakfast might result in the innkeeper allowing us to have a quick nap on the premises.

As hungry and drowsy as we were, we managed to stay rooted in realisum and headed out to find The May Queen Bed and Breakfast located at 25 Tilly Road in Gagetown.

Once there, we met the proprietress, Jane McGinn! Immediately our thoughts of nap and nod transformed into convincing Jane to sit with us on her cozy front porch and maybe tell us (and you) what bought her to Gagetown and the new-to-her bed and breakfast in the first place!

As it turned out Jane was a grand hostess and told us all about her dream fulfilled.

Jane and her husband, Al Giberson, moved to The Village of Gagetown upon retirement. They immediately purchased a home in the Village for themselves then started looking for just the right place for their dream project.

After a bit of “toing and froing” Jane and her husband happened upon the perfect property and quickly made it their own. It is now Jane’s dream fulfilled and home to The May Queen Bed and Breakfast on theTilly Road.

The bed and breakfast is named after The May Queen steamboat, one of many steamboats that traversed the Saint John River in the mid 1800’s, many of them having a scheduled stop at the wharf in Gagetown.

Walking up the path to The May Queen Bed and Breakfast, you are drawn through the front door where you find yourself in the sweet, glass-enclosed front porch.

Without a word being said you’ll know you need to move into the entrance hall where you land right in front of a charming wine-glass style church pulpit that has been re-purposed as The May Queen Bed and Breakfast front desk.

You will, most likely, be greeted and checked-in by Jane! If you are lucky enough to have a reservation or stop in by chance and score an unreserved night in one of the three cozy bedrooms you should consider yourself lucky, indeed!

Each room has been dressed in super comfortable beds with soft, fresh linens, beautiful antique furniture and convenient, private ensuite bathrooms.

In the morning, breakfast will greet you from the lovely dining room on the main floor where Jane dishes up special breakfast creations worthy of rave reviews.

After breakfast, take your coffee around the corner to the living room to enjoy the last sips and savour even more handsome antiques and lovely art pieces personally curated by Jane.

Stepping out the back door will land you on the deck overlooking the stunning gardens fit for any magazine photo shoot or romantic summer wedding.

Of course, for the Women Who Wander NB, the jewel in the crown is an on-site gift shop filled with locally made products available for guests to browse at their leisure.

Does it get any better? Sleep in one of those glorious, antique filled guest rooms , devour a magnificent breakfast (cooked by someone other than you), nap or read a book on the adorable front porch, take a morning stroll through the charming gardens or shop the cute little gift shop whenever the urge strikes!

After all that, you can head down the walk to explore the Village!

Not even an hour’s drive by car from Fredericton or Saint John and just over that from Moncton and you could find yourself ensconced in the luxury of The May Queen Bed and Breakfast. This trip would be an awesome “good for the soul” getaway with your favourite girlfriends - which the Women Who Wander NB plan to do for one of the upcoming Village of Gagetown events very soon!

Hop over to “Friends We Meet” and get acquainted with Jane McGinn and The May Queen Bed and Breakfast for yourself!

Also, check out our 2020 Episode 4 (Old Familiar Places) and 2020 Episode 8 (Backroads and River Crossings) to learn more about The Village of Gagetown.

Finally, stay tuned for Part II of Dreams Fulfilled!

Just advenutre!

Women who Wander NB

Lynne, Barb & Gail