Canada Days 22 & 23, June 28 & 29, 2012

On Thursday, the 28th of June we drove the Jeep to Yarmouth, NS to sightsee.  On the way in, we stopped at the following lighthouses:  Cape St Mary Light Station

Bunker Island Light

And Cape Forchu Lighthouse

After lunch at a little Italian place where I had fish & chips, and Marilyn had a scallop burger, we went to the Yarmouth County Museum.  It is in a very unusual location, since it is housed in an old church.    As part of the cost of our admission to the Yarmouth County Museum, we were able to tour the Pelton-Fuller house.  This was there summer home where they escaped from Connecticut.  Mr. Fuller started the Fuller Brush Company for those of you who are old enough to remember the door to door Fuller Brush salesman. 

Friday, the 29th’s sightseeing also started out with a stop at Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal, NS (both of which were named after Queen Anne.  Fort Anne is a National Historic Site that was built by the French along with 3 other previous forts in the 1630s.  It was French first, then English, then French, and finally British in 1710.  The earthen works are still in place, but most of the buildings are gone other than the officers quarters and a powder magazine.     Then we drove across the river to spend some time at Port Royal.  In 1604, explorer Samuel de Champlain named the harbor, and in 1605, a group of French men established L’Habitation, a settlement without women because it was a fur trading outpost.  The settlement was destroyed in 1613 by an English raiding party from Virginia.  Then in 1938/39 the settlement was re-created.  They have a docent to explain the history of the settlement, and describe life there. The settlement is a group of buildings linked together to form a square for defense. 

of course the day wasn’t complete without stops at three lighthouses.  The first is Annapolis Royal Light located in downtown Annapolis Royal. 

Next is Schafner’s Point Lighthouse.    And finally, we stopped at Gilbert’s Cove Lighthouse on the way home. 

Type at you later.

Canada Day 21, June 27, 2012

We moved from the Thomas Radall Provincial Park around the coast of Nova Scotia to Belle Baie Campground at Church Point, NS.  Total miles were 125 miles, and the rate per night is C$33, and if you pay for 3 nights, you get the 4th free.  We are staying for 6 nights (1 free).  We made reservations for this campground in order to guarantee a campsite during Canada’s Holiday weekend. 

Since we left Sumter Oaks RV Park in Bushnell, FL we have driven the motorhome 3,008 miles, with an estimated 5,000 miles to go before we return the end of October.

Canada Days 17-20, June 24, 25, 26, 2012

On Sunday, the 24th, we drove 106 miles down the coast of Nova Scotia, past Lunenburg and Liverpool to Thomas Raddall Provincial Park near Port Joli.  Cost was C$33.47 per night for no hookups (no water, no electric, and no sewer).  It is still a very pretty park, and many of their sites are large.  Our site is large enough that we have been able to get Direct TV, except when it is very foggy or raining.  We walked down to their beach which was sandy.  Of course it is still too cold for us to go in the ocean.

Yesterday, which was Monday the 25th, we left in the morning to see the sights of Liverpool, NS.  Our first stop was Fort Point Lighthouse in Liverpool.    We found these painted fire hydrants too cute, so we took pictures of one of them also.    Then we drove around to Western Head Light standing next to its foghorn, and, off in the distance you can see a white dot that is Coffin Island Light.    Back in Liverpool, we spent a little time in the Hank Snow Museum.  He was born in nearby Brooklyn, NS, and his museum is housed in the local train station.    Since it was time for lunch, we headed for McDonald’s so we could check email.  We had to get help connecting to their internet, but it worked.  After lunch, we drove a little farther east to Medway to see its lighthouses.  First was the Medway Harbor Light, then we drove out to the Medway Head Light.     Across the street from the Medway Head Light is a house that was the second lighthouse on the site.

Today, Tuesday, June 26th, and our 20th day in Canada.  We drove back to Liverpool to see the Rossignol Cultural Centre.  The museum is located in their former Junior High School, which is a great use for the former building.  Their collection of stuffed animals and birds from all over the world were very interesting.  Some reminded us of our trip last summer to Alaska.    One room contains the walls, doors, table etc. crated and shipped from London.  The harp is an amazing touch.    We had to see the outhouse museum.  There were a couple of former outhouses, collections of pictures, and a collection of salt & pepper shakers shaped like outhouses. 

I will publish this on the 27th.  Our next campground says it has an internet hotspot.

Type at you later

Canada Days 15 & 16, June 22 & 23, 2012

Yesterday was  nice, rather cool day (high of 68 according to the Jeep).  We drove the Jeep to Lunenburg where we spent most of the day in the Fisheries Museum.  They gave talks on lobsters, showed various commercial food fish caught in the North Atlantic, etc.  They had boats inside and out that were used in the commercial fishing industry.  They have a movie about the Bluenose, a sail fishing boat that won various races against US ships.  The Bluenose I has been lost, but is immortalized on the Canadian dime.  The Bluenose II is in dry dock for repairs, and we took pictures of her.  After leaving Lunenburg, we drove to LeHave via ferry.   Outside of LeHave is the Fort Point Lighthouse.  The fort was called Fort Sainte Marie de Grace, and was established in 1632 by Isaac de Razilly.  There are some descendants if the original 300 people still living in the area.  The current lighthouse is a recreation used as a museum, but still looks good.

Today, the 23rd, we woke up to kind of a cloudy dreary day with a high of 62.  This afternoon it has also been drizzly.  The highlights have been reconciling credit cards and Marilyn’s doing wash.  We will get to the grocery store for some more milk.  Then we will just relax.

Type at you later.

Canada Day 14, June 21, 2012

Today is the first day of summer, and we just worked around the motorhome.  Marilyn cleaned the inside this morning, and I washed the outside of both the jeep and the motorhome.  I even cleaned the wheels, although probably not up to Dennis’s standards.  but they look better.  After a shower and lunch, Marilyn and I drove in to St Margaret to the grocery store, liquor store, and the bank.  The bank changed US dollars for Canadian at C$99 for US$100.  Then on the way home, we bought a lobster (3 lb) and she wanted some muscles.  The lobster was delicious, and we followed their recipe for the muscles (1/2 cup wine, a little onion and a clove of minced garlic to steam).  Marilyn said the muscles were delicious also (I did not see anything edible in those shells).  We have decided to spend two more nights here at $20 per night Passport America rather than moving down the road to more expensive parks.  We have made reservations for the 1st of July weekend because it is a Canadian long weekend holiday.

Canada Days 11, 12, 13, June 18, 19, 20, 2012

On Monday the 18th, we drove the Jeep into Halifax, the Capitol of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada.  The tourist area is on the waterfront along Lower Water Street.  Halifax harbor has always been a very busy port, because it never freezes.  Of course our first stop was the visitor center to see if there were any stops we had not previously heard of.  Then we went to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.    Of course there was more to see in this museum than we thought.  We went out for lunch, and then back to the museum for the whole afternoon.  They have a Titanic exhibit because they had ships leave harbor to give aid.  There are exhibits from the Days of Sail, Age of Steam, and ships wrecked nearby.  Before heading back to the motorhome, we walked along the harbor walk until we could get a picture of George’s Island Lighthouse.

Tuesday, the 19th, we drove back in to Halifax for more touring.  We started at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site.  It is a fort that was designed to protect the Halifax Harbor from up on the hill overlooking the town.  Throughout the fort there are re-enactors displaying life at the Citadel in 1869 for the 78th Highland Regiment.  Private Hardy gave us a tour of the Citadel in English.  They also give tours in French.  Our tour included descriptions of the uniforms, a visit to the barracks, views of the town from the wall surrounding the fort, watching the firing of the noon gun, and listening to the pipers and drummers.  After lunch, we took a harbor tour on the Tall Ship Silva.     We then went to Province House where Nova Scotia’s legislative assembly has met since 1818.  Where we hang pictures of governors, they have beautiful oil paintings of Kings and Queens as well as portraits of governors.  And then finally we took some pictures of Theodore Too, from the Canadian television cartoon of a tugboat working in Halifax Harbor.

Then today, the 20th, we went back to Peggy’s Cove where we stopped at the Swissair Flight 111 memorial as well as another view of the lighthouse.

From Peggy’s Cove, we continued east to Terence Bay.  There we saw the Terence Bay Lighthouse.    Then we stopped at the memorial to the sinking of the SS Atlantic on the night of April 1st, 1873.  It was the most terrible sinking until the Titanic came along.  Of the almost 1,000 people aboard, 562 lost their lives, and 277 were buried in a mass grave just behind the rope in this picture.

Type at you later.