Canadian Maritimes with Mahoney/Brewers 08

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We are so enjoying your posts Betty, Russ and Jeff and living virtually through your trip.  I was ever so delighted to see some of the Louisbourg fortress as Fred had several ancestors and peripheral cousins of sorts fight in that battle.  Some wounded, some killed, most made it back o.k.  It was a place I had always wanted to go, to get more of the flavor of what went on there. Almost the entire New England male population of the times fought there, or had something to do with ensuring the British took it over.  I think some of Fred's French ancestors may have fought on the other side as well. They were Acadians and later driven from their homes.  His immediate ancestors survived by hiding in the woods and later finding their way to Quebec and were not among those rounded up and sent on the "long journey".  Family lore has the family hiding in the woods with infant twins, hands over their mouths, with the thought that if they started to whimper, they would have been suffocated immediately, rather than give them away.  Hard times for those people and I certainly would not judge them by today's standards.  I did not have to walk in their shoes.....

Anyway, enjoying your trip with you and look forward to the full report when next we see all of you again. 

Daisy
 
Thanks Daisy, I think I had relatives on both sides of Louisburg as well, some in Maine and my grandmother's family from the PEI area.

Jim & Richard:

Are we all talking about the Sierra Vista branch of the State of Maine Chamber of Commerce Tourism Council? ;D ;D
 
As Daisy commented about walking in others' shoes, I hope our current Canadian visitors willl be able to follow the Evangeline Trail and find the chapel dedicated to those Acadians.  Inside are six of the most moving paintings I've ever seen.  They tell the story of the "long journey" that narrative simply doesn't do justice.  The chapel was built with donations from the descendents of those who were exported around the world.  I did not realize the number of countries to which these people were sent.  It wasn't just Louisiana as most of us grew up thinking.  Instead, think India and other "exotic" countries and that's where you will find Acadians.  Husbands were sent on one ship to one part of the world and the women and children were put on other ships to other parts of the world.  It never ceases to amaze me how people can be so cruel to one another to achieve their own ends.  This is true throughout history and across all ethnic, political, social, and religious lines.

ArdraF
 
August 9, 2008 Halifax City Tour Halifax, Nova Scotia

Today was sunny and we were off to see sights recommended by tour books and Forum Friends. (thank you Ed) We first looked for a place to park. We?ve forgotten about big cities and the crowds. We did not realize that the Busker Festival is in town that brings in thousands of visitors. We found a perfect spot right in front of the Saturday Farmers market. Russ looked for tomatoes and I looked for sweet corn and Terry looked for a place to stand where tourists would not run him over. I wanted to tour the Alexander Keith Brewery but tours are $17 and started at noon. Now,  even with free samples I did not see the value of this tour. We visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to see nearly 26, 000 marine objects and displays about the nearly 10,000 shipwrecks that are along Nova Scotia waters. Among highlights for me was a 3-D video film on the remains of the Titanic. We saw displays on how the city of Halifax was  the first to recover victims of the Titanic. Several sailors experienced what we could now call PTST after recovering bodies. We would learn more about the city?s response to the tragedy later on the tour we took. I learned about the 1917 Halifax explosion that was the largest man made explosion before the atomic age. A ship collided with a munitions ship heavily laden with chemicals, explosives TNT and on an on and it blew up devastating over ? of the population of the city. In today?s population standard over 65,000 people would have been killed. The 1400 pound anchor was blown over 2 miles away. We saw the bronze statue of a World War II sailor that honors the thousands of sailors who passed through the port of Halifax.

We boarded a Grayline double- decker bus for a 3 hour city tour. I did not take notes so much of what I heard will become an interesting detail that did not stick but here are some details I do I recall. Halifax is the capitol of Nova Scotia and the second largest city in Canada ( by geographical area) The population is just under 500, 000 so the city is called the ?Biggest Little City?. It is also home of the second largest deep water harbor in the world. Do you know who has a harbor larger and deeper? The city is a nice blend of newly renovated buildings with the historical charm of the old renewed. We were glad to be on a bus as the traffic was terrible in part due to the Busker Festival, where street artists perform their magic acts, juggling acts, some music and lots of fun. We toured the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site which is an impressive star shaped fort that is still guarded by the 78th Highlander Regiment. . We hummed to the rhythm of the bagpipes and watched the changing of the guards. A most moving part of the tour was a visit to Fairview Lawn Cemetery to visit the graves of Titanic victims. The graves are arranged in a row to mimic the shape of the bow of a ship. A simple stone has been placed at each grave engraved with the name of the deceased if it was known. Following the movie The Titanic a grave marked, J Dawson has kept with fresh flowers, money for upkeep and even room key with notes. It is thought to be the grave of ?Jack? in the movie. The real Jon Dawson was a coal shoveled and would never had had contact with Titanic passengers so it isn?t really Jack but you can?t tell that to true love seekers. The body of only one child was recovered and it buried at a place of honor. The sailors who recovered the body contributed their own money for a very nice stone monument. It was given a place of honor among the victims and it was later learned that this child had been buried at the feet of his mother We toured the port, saw huge cargo containers being loaded on a ship in port. We learned 3 cruise ships will be in town on Tuesday and made note to NOT return to Halifax on that day. We dined at a place Terry selected called Sweet Basil Bistro. However when he saw the menu he decided to go next door for fish and chips. Russ and I had halibut encrusted in sunflower seeds, with raspberry balsamic sauce served with vegetables and potatoes of gourmet quality. A FINE dining experience! We took the long way home and passed by Peggy?s Cove where we will return tomorrow for a deeper exploration.



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Daisy said:
We are so enjoying your posts Betty, Russ and Jeff and living virtually through your trip.  I was ever so delighted to see some of the Louisbourg fortress

Daisy,

I'm happy to take you and Fred along on our touring.  I am having so much fun.  I am learning so much.  Wish I had known of Freds ancestors.  I would have paid more attention to the tour guides, even though it was pouring rain!

Betty
 
Betty, I forgot to mention that if you do go to Eastern Passage, on the Dartmouth side, there are 2 nice restaurants at the boardwalk, one is mainly fish and chips, and the other Boondocks offers a little fancier menu.
 
August 10, 2008 Lunenburg , Nova Scotia

We got off today after we said good byes to friends we made from Florida. We stopped at the lobster pond next door to get the scoop on buying freshly cooked lobster which we will do tomorrow. We headed out to take photos as the weather was cooperative. We drove through Mahone Bay which is very picturesque and filled with artsy tourist shops. We did not stop, a fact that probably saved me some money.

We headed for Lunenburg and found a festival in session. We dined at the restaurant atop the Fisheries Museum. Then we attended the Fisheries Museum which was very well done and if we had opted to stay the entire day could have seen live demonstrations of a variety of sea life tasks from years ago including scallop shucking but no samples are provided. The city of Lunenburg has been designated a UNESCO Heritage site as the many buildings of the early 1700?s are preserved and we enjoyed the colorful variety of Victorian homes. We did not get a chance to ride on the Bluenose II as it was being used as a stage for the festival singers. We listened to music coming from the wharf and we did not even have to buy a ticket. As we circled the city looking for the perfect photo vantage point we stopped along the Harbor and Terry mentioned to a man sitting on his front porch that he had a great view. He came out to speak to us. It turns out his wife is the vice principal of the local high school. She has a retirement from BC already. We enjoyed their stories of how they made a move from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia some 7,000 miles. This city is so colorful with unique architecture . Nova Scotia is very upscale and much more populated compared to Newfoundland. It reminds me of a Newport Beach of the Atlantic. Sailboats abound in the harbor and the waters are beautiful. It was a very pleasant day. Terry wants to take the day off from touring tomorrow as he is the driver daily and needs a rest. I am just loving this part of our trip. But then I have loved it all.



 

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Betty,

I have been reading every day and enjoying your writing. We have never been to NF and our only trip to Nova Scotia and PEI was back in the early 90's when we still have the HR TT.

Sheila had been reading but kept getting in a bad mood every time she read, because she wasn't there! I finally let her catch up today. BG.

As I told Russ via email, tomorrow starts the next chapter in our lives preparing to travel more (much more) and work less (much less). Hopefully all will be set for next summer (maybe even next winter).

ken
 
Betty

There is a park on top of a hill in Lunenberg with a city campground next to it. It overlooks the town and harbor and we had some great views up there.
 
Hi Bernie,
Yes Russ showed us that campground on our tour of Lunenburg yesterday.  He stayed there 8 years ago.  I was glad we  were not there as it was full of the folks visiing the Festival and the streets are so narrow and hilly,
Betty
 
August 11, 2008 King Neptune Campground, Nova Scotia

Today was Terry?s day off.  We slept in (until 10:30 am)  as he had watched the Olympics until 3 am.  ( yeah American Olympic Swimming relay team!) I got  in the mood to do a cleaning of the inside of the motor home.  Pam would be so proud of me.  I oiled all of the wood, washed all of the inside windows, cleaned all portions of the toilet, even  with a toothbrush.  I vacuumed, dusted, cleaned steps shook rugs, are you tired yet?  It was a pleasure to do as I could look outside and see a wonderful view all day long.  And the feeling of satisfaction in doing a  hard days work  speaks for itself. Even touring in wonderful destinations requires cleaning once in a while.

At noon, we  went to the lobster pond next door, to order our dinner for tonight.  We selected our very own 1.5 pound lobsters.  We were to return at 5 pm to have them already cooked.  At 4:30 I cooked the corn on the cob and set the  picnic table outside Russ? motor home as he  has the best view.  Armed with loads of paper towels, we devoured our lobster.  Terry purchased  a roller to use to  get the lobster meat out of the legs.  This is something we would not have to do at our favorite  restaurant The Fish Company in Los Alamitos, California.  But for $ 8.75 a pound, cooked, this was a deal.  I would be  intimidated to order a lobster like this in a restaurant  but out here on the picnic table  no one cared how messy we were.  The view was to die for and we think we are so fortunate to have  such a life.  We will order lobster again tomorrow. 
 

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I like the "before" and "after" pictures.....you sure did damage to those lobsters ! Looks like there's nothing left.

Wendy
 
Betty, I showed Donna the pictures, and her only comment was that she was surprised how formal the lobster supper was, plates, table cloth, etc.  It should be on the beach, with a tire iron to crack the lobster, and an open bottle of apple jack (alcoholic apple cider) to swill down the lobster.  Of course, to be followed with blueberry grunt, and hot rum toddies.  You are in the land of the rumrunners.
 
Terry took these of our yesterday trip and I think they are worth a look.

Betty
 

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OHHHH!  YUM, YUM, YUM.  I am so envious!  They look scrumptious.  I even enjoyed McDonald's lobster rolls.

Time to put my tongue back in my mouth.  ;)

ArdraF
 

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