Thursday 4 June 2026--Up at 8:30. I forgot to bring the phone charger in last night, and the phone's at 10%, so I go out to the car to retrieve it. It's nice out...I know it's going to be much warmer later. I have a bagel and OJ, then decide I can stand a little more sleep while the phone charges. Next thing I know, it's mid-afternoon. Ugh.

Head out to get some coffee, my grogginess compounded by the afternoon heat. Maybe I should have gone to Saint John instead; it must be cooler on the coast. The barista in Mill Town Roasters is a cheerful lad who tells me Fredericton is a lot like Ottawa. I guess I get what he means...I don't tell him I think Fredericton is maybe like some small obscure neighborhood in Ottawa.

Fortified by a large triple-shot Americano and a smoked meat sandwich, I head down Queen Street toward the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge. Cross the river and pop into Picaroon's Roundhouse for a pint. It's quite busy...the line at the bar discourages me from getting a second. Back across the river, then, and down to Graystone to use my gift card. Then back to the room. Don't feel like having dinner--the sandwich was enough. A snack, maybe.

Not much of a day...there wasn't really anything I wanted to do here. The Beaverbrook Gallery, maybe, if I'd had the energy. I planned two nights just to have a rest day after the long drive, and that seems to have worked out. Bus driver mode will get me through a long driving day, but increasingly, as I get older, there is a price to pay the next day.