People in Saskatchewan, at least around Saskatoon, have no idea what a lot of snow looks like. Snowbank size is relative, but when I visited my mom and dad in northern New Brunswick in March after an epic winter, there was no question who should have had a licence to say something negative about their winter.

Landing in Bathurst, I was immediately taken by the amount of snow on the ground. Driving on the highway from the airport into town was like driving down tunnels of snow. Even after about a week of melting, here’s what the snowbanks in my parents’ driveway looked like.

Just for reference, here’s my dad at the end of the driveway where the height of the snow was pushing 7 feet off the ground.

Enough about the crazy snow still lingering after a winter for the ages in Bathurst… It had been about four months since I had visited my parents and it was good to be back with them for a few days. Here’s my mom and dad and their dog Tia in front of their house just before we hopped into the car for a drive to Miramichi for the afternoon.

If you’re like me, you’ll want to see a closeup of Tia. Like all doggos, she’s a good one. She doesn’t sit still for long, but I captured her taking a brief break while in the middle of trying to destroy one of her toys.

Since my previous visit to Bathurst, a new craft brewery, Four Rivers Brewing, had opened downtown. My dad, knowing my interest in all things beer-related, booked us a brewery tour at the crisp hour of 10am. We had a great visit talking with one of the owners about all of their beers and their plans for the future.

And like all brewery tours, we ended up in the taproom for some sampling. Four Rivers makes some great beers. I left here with that can of British Mild and a few cans of my favourite of theirs, their Harve-St Pierre, a delicious amber ale.

Dad was allowing me to sample liberally as he was doing the driving, so I was feeling no pain after polishing off the rest of his sample tray.

On my last night in Bathurst, dad and I went out for a pub dinner then to the Bathurst Titan hockey game. Dad picked us up some sweet seats for the night. I’ve missed going out for dinner and a game with dad since moving to Saskatoon, so this was a great night of watching some hockey. Sadly, the Bathurst team was in the middle of a terrible season and were no match for Cape Breton in a 6-1 loss.

While the home team may have lost, I was the big winner. A night out with my dad, and a chance encounter with the mascot of the Titan!