TO HALIFAX AND BEYOND

So before we leave the land of the Celtic culture on PEI and Cape Breton, I loaded short videos from the  Ceilidh we saw.  We won't find a performance like this in the rest of Nova Scotia.  

We drove from Cape Breton in the north to the capital of Halifax in the middle of the Atlantic side staying just outside of Peggy's Cove.  

HALIFAX
What a delightful city this is and it reminds me so much of a small Toronto.  The Citadel, waterfront, and downtown area are not to be missed.

Halifax was involved in two major man made disasters.  I always knew the city played a part in recovering what they could from the Titanic.  Many lost souls were brought back to Halifax for identification and burial in three cemeteries and many residents crowded the churches for the funerals.

But 5 years later, in December 1917, Halifax experienced massive devastation when a French ship carrying explosives for the war effort collided with another vessel in the harbor.  The resulting explosion cleared a half mile radius and blasted the water out of the harbor causing a tidal wave.  Two thousand people were killed and nine thousand were injured.  A vicious snow storm hit the next day and the misery was compounded.  The only man made disaster more devistating was the the dropping of the atomic bomb.

The city of Boston came to the rescue sending supplies and personnel to help cope with the tragedy as soon as they received word.  Every Christmas since that year, a Christmas tree is delivered to the city of Boston from the Halifax people to express their thanks and continued gratitude.

It is a playful and peaceful harbor now.

The Citadel is about 1/2 mile from the waterfront in the
green area and is the fort that guarded the city.

Entrance is guarded but this is not an active military post.

View from the Citadel which was not touched by the destruction because
of its thick walls and earth foundation.

The Citadel and Halifax were never attacked.

The buildings and rooms in the protective walls
tell the history of British occupation of Canada. Scottish troops were assigned to guard the Citadel.  All the guides are in kilt uniforms.

This Piper was actually born in Scotland.

It must be Opposite Day!

on to .....

LUNENBURG, a UNISCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

A village with special cultural or physical significance, Lunenburg is the best example of a British colonial city in Canada. Since earning the designation in 1995, restrictions are in place to keep it as close as possible to its 18th and 19th century roots.

These homes are an example Lunenburg architecture
called the Lunenburg Bump.

At this very prosperous fishing community, wives would leisurely sit in the bump doing their handiwork while neighbors strolled by.  Conversations were held catching up on village news.  When the time came to install plumbing, the bump was the logical location. A porch was build below the bump to accommodate the pipes.

Most of the building were painted white with black trim, just like the fishing ships.
But there are no restrictions on colors now.

The village suffered from an abundance of superstitious beliefs.  This shoe was actually found in a wall near the door to keep the devil away from the entrance.  Our guide informed us that many people still follow many obscure rituals.

Double wooden doors for winter is another characteristic.

St. John's Anglican Church was built in the mid 1700's and is the most important church in the area.  Read on....

The focal point of the village was St. John's Church, but the real miracle is inside.  Fortunately detailed records about the building were kept along with photographs in later years.  In 2001 the  worst happened; the church burned nearly to the ground.  Water flooded into the interior but that action saved the floor, pews and 10 feet up on some walls. Builders and volunteers worked tirelessly to bring the church back.

 Everything was completed except the painted gold stars on the ceiling above the alter area by the Cross.

Older ceiling pictures were taken to a University in Halifax, Astronomy department.  The original star pattern in the church was suspicious and appeared incorrect.  But after much research and computer analysis, it was determined that the pattern of stars painted in 1763 was how the sky would have looked from Lunenburg on the traditional date of Christmas in year 1!!  Almost unbelievable, but it is true.

For those who want to know the entire star story of St. John's, check this out.

www.ap.smu.ca/~turner/stjohns.html

KEJIMKUJIK NATIONAL PARK or KEJI for short is on the map.

  A beautiful spot in the middle of southern section of NS

A section of the park is on the Atlantic shore side and at one time  a farm was here.

Birds and seals occupy the shoreline now.  Nova Scotia does not seem to
get much snow but the winds can be wicked. 

The main Park is full of hikes, biking (road and mountain), and a very large lake for canoeing.

Glaciers left large boulders scattered everywhere but the trees adapted.

Keji is a very popular park for campers even on cold fall weekends. Our one night

 stay turned into  three.     

The Park is designated a Dark Sky Preserve for star gazing  and we had one clear night of viewing.  The Milky Way was beautifully visible but only 1 shooting star was noticed by us. The silence was so amazing.

We camped next to a German couple who had been away for 5 years in their unusual camper which they shipped from Germany.  It resembled an armored troop carrier to me.  They had traveled all 50 States, Mexico, Central and South America!  I asked if they had experienced any trouble or uncomfortable situations.  They replied, not at all in broken English.  Not one problem, they said.  As they left the next morning to drive to Halifax and return to Germany, we saw them driving down the wrong way on a one way road!
Ignorance really is blissful

Next
WRAPPING UP NOVA SCOTIA

CAPE BRETON ISLAND and THE CABOT TRAIL

Our first visit was to the area in PINK

CAPE BRETON ISLAND and the village of BADDECK.

In the northern part of Nova Scotia is the island of Cape Breton, where you find the
Cabot Trail, famous for its magnificent scenery. The area also hosts a popular National Historic Site known as the Fortress of Louisburg.  But the busy entry to all of this is through the village of Baddeck, at the southern end of the trail, where we stationed ourselves for 5 days.


Highlights of Baddeck, Cape Breton

Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Alexander Graham Bell actually worked and lived in Baddeck and a spacious museum is open to exhibit his life.  We know him as the inventor of the telephone, but his work with the hearing impaired, inventing visible speech,  is still a therapy used today.  It is  a method where a deaf individual can acquire speech.  His wife, who was deaf, learned several languages this way. He worked on many other projects during his lifetime, but with limited success.  For example, he competed with the Wright brothers, working on a flying machine.

I had to put this photo from the museum 
in the blog because no one would believe this.

Bell studied anatomy of the throat and mouth to see which sounds could produce words.  His unlikely student was actually his dog.  As the dog growled, Bell manipulated his mouth to form parts of words.  A very daring move on his part.

SAILING ON THE AMOEBA

We had an unexpected fun trip when we decided to sign up for the sailing excursion.  We have never been on a sail boat this size which was exciting, plus we had a entertaining crew who told us stories about the area and themselves.  

We had a smooth sail that day, but the captain often sails to the Virgin Islands for the winter.
Not a trip I would make from the north Atlantic.

I can't tell how much we enjoyed that experience!

Finding something to grasp was very important. Fortunately, not one of us slipped overboard!

Bell's home as seen from the schooner. (The only way to see it.)
It took 120 men 1 year to build their home and is still privately owned by Bell's decedents.

THE CABOT TRAIL

The Cabot Trail starts and ends at Baddeck and can be traveled in either direction, but clock
-wise is preferred.  Cape Breton Highland National Park hosts 3 campgrounds and a number of hikes.  Energetic people can be seen biking the Trail but it is very challenging and the pictures tell why.  No words are necessary to describe the land meeting the ocean at Cape Breton.

The northern most part of Cape Breton is Meat Cove...
an unusual little village because it is so remote.

Clearly biking, especially when it is windy, would be difficult.

Even our new friend, Dillon, loves to travel the Cabot Trail in back of a motorcycle.

THE FORTRESS OF LOUISBURG

In the mid 1700's, the French were busy establishing footholds in North America naming it New France.  One of the largest was Louisburg.  At its height, the port was the 3rd busiest, following New York and Boston! (If you look at the map, it is on the north Atlantic coast.)
This is a recreated site.  Having said this, years of researching architectural and cultural details was done to recreate what we can experience today....a French Fortress of the 1700's.

A fort is a military establishment only, while a fortress incorporates a town.  The reason for being here was to protect the fishing industry for France.

  This Fortress was built in the 1960's as an exact replica of the original in every detail even down to the gardens.  The work force came from displaced coal miners who needed work when area mines closed.  They were trained to build with identical methods that were first used in the 1700's.

When the fortress established, young French men were recruited from Paris to serve as soldiers at the Fortress.  They were promised much, but received little when they arrived.  Yet they were better off here than living under the harsh Paris conditions.

The main street does not look busy here, but a few hundred people were there the day we toured.

People in period dress takes their roles very seriously
and are never out of character.

This woman was actually a freed servant who ran a
business in the 1700's.  I never thought of slavery as
part of Canada's history.  Canada had an active
slave trade.

This man portrayed a Catholic Priest who lived at Louisburg.
These people make history come alive.  This man had such a sense of humor,
we could have listen all day.  We were served Heritage Chocolate, a drink served at historical sites in the U.S. and Canada. It is the most amazing concoction. 

The animals were even in character.  Garden plots grew behind houses.

Only 20% of the original Fortress was rebuilt using as many of the original stones.

I am sorry the pictures look a little bland, but the weather here is often cool, overcast, misty and very breezy.  It is said the area has its own weather patterns.

This is a painting of Louisburg and all the activity.  Fishing, like many of the shoreline communities, made the residents prosperous.

Time to leave our 18th century friends behind and drive into the sunshine
.....literally

On to the rest of Nova Scotia......

2016 to 2017 TRAVELS- 1ST STOP- PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA

                        

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND or PEI

                                           

With a size comparable to the state of Delaware, PEI, the birthplace of Canada, has an abundance of small farms, country churches, and villages so small you don't realize you are driving through them.  It boasts of COWS Ice Cream (and founder Scott Linkletter, whose famous father was Art), and of course L.M. Montgomery, the author of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.

The entire island has a population of 140,000 (Scottish, Irish, Acadian and French). The capitol and largest city on PEI is Charlottetown, with 32,000 people and the University of PEI.  The official language is English, but many speak French Canadian.  

CHARLOTTETOWN  

                                            

Located on the southern shoreline, it resembles our southern cities of Charleston or Savannah because of the historic character to the streets, buildings, and waterfront.  The Confederation of Canada was formed in Charlottetown in 1867 due in part to the Civil War.  American aggression and financial security were on the minds of the delegates when they met.  Also England was anxious to have its colony financially independent.

Cafes and galleries line this pedestrian only street.

                                                                                    

Historic homes are open for tours.

Most of the churches are Catholic....

and very ornate.

Low tide in Charlottetown does not hinder huge 
passenger ships  docking on a regular basis.

What to do on a island when your world is so small?

Bike  270 miles of the Confederation Trail which spans PEI.  In our case, 
we biked a fraction of that.

                     Go to a Ceilidh which is a Celtic performance of music and dancing.
                    This was the high energy Ross Family performing is a little town hall.
                                                             What a treat!
                                                           

Hike the National Parks along the shoreline.

Visit country churches...

and more churches.  47% of the population is Catholic, 
but there are a few others sprinkled around.

Go for a swim!  It is the warmest water north of Virginia!!

Visit all 45 beacons of light.

Tidy up your house.  Many of the houses are a variation of this style.  
All are very well kept and the yards are immaculate.

Have a conversation with John MacDonald,
 one of the founding fathers of the Confederation of Canada.

Perhaps it is time to leave the Island.

Before we go, a visit to Green Gables is a must!

The popular village of Cavendish on the northern coast of PEI is where L.M. Montgomery grew up and created the fictionalized  character made famous in her book, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES.  The National Park Service manages the area with a recreated 19th century house.  It was disappointing to learn that this house is not where Montgomery lived.  Her cousins lived here.  Montgomery spent much of her time with this family, but you have to imagine this is where she placed Anne Shirley.  Montgomery's house no longer exists.

This is Green Gables.

 None of the PBS mini series was filmed here. How sad.

A part of you wants the character of Anne to be a real person 
who spent time this bedroom.

We found few libraries, fewer policemen, hundreds of small cottages for summer visitors, a small Amish community, many fishing boats, and lots and lots of wind.  

After several days, it is finally time to pay our toll ($45 Canadian) to drive across the bridge and head for Nova Scotia.