USA
/ Canada, Newsletter 7 - September, 2012
So
back in Nova Scotia and another visit to Fort Louisbourg, the reconstructed
French Fort of the 1740’s
 |
| Fort Louisbourg |
|
 |
| Fort Louisbourg | |
 |
| Governor's Dining Room |
when all the struggles between the French and English
for sovereignty over North America were in full swing.
 |
| Governor's Bedroom |
So much we hadn’t seen
three weeks before. The weather was holding, warm sunny days and needing the light
douna at night.
 |
| Louisbourg - street scene |
We
then headed north east to the large peninsula with the pretty, scenic, coastal
route named The Cabot Trail (rhyming with "rabbit tail").
 |
| Cabot Trail, East Coast |
 |
| Neil's Harbour, Cabot Trail |
Two more sunny, warm
days to do walks in the National Park, to stop at some of the lookouts along
the way, and to enjoy seafood chowder at one of the many fishing villages.
 |
Cabot Trail - East Coast
|
Bras
D’or is a very large expanse of water surrounded by the eastern side of Nova
Scotia – a most favoured place to live. After making his fortune (having
invented the telephone),
 |
| Telephones |
Alexander Graham Bell was able to build a mansion near
Baddock
 |
| A G Bell Museum - Baddock |
and spend the rest of his life “inventing.” The museum, a collection of
these inventions, was quite interesting.
 |
| A G Bell - Hydrofoil |
He was always fascinated with speech
and “sound” and spent a lot of his life teaching the deaf to speak and
communicate, including Helen Keller.
Then
it rained – all day, so we did the road trip south, and almost made Halifax.
 |
| Halifax - Old Town Clock |
The
following day it started to clear in the afternoon – perfect to visit the
Citadel, a massive fortified site, built and rebuilt over 200 years,
 |
| Inside the Citadel, Halifax |
protecting the Harbour, where even as recent as WW2, the conveys of ships
assembled here to cross the Atlantic.
We’d
met Nancy, Dana and Darleen, motorcycling in Newfoundland. Nancy lived in
Halifax and insisted we spend the day exploring her city and surrounds, with
her and Dave.
 |
| Dave and Nancy - Peggy's Cove Lighthouse |
We all had a great day and saw it in brilliant sunshine –
Memorial to the Swiss Air disaster in 1998,
 |
| Swiss Air Disaster Memorial, Sept. 2, 1998 |
Peggy’s Cove - a photographer’s
delight,
 |
| Peggy's Cove |
|
 |
| Peggy's Cove |
|
 |
| Carving in Rock - Peggy's Cove |
Pier 21 – the landing point for millions of Canadian immigrants last
century,
 |
| Welcome to Canada - Pier 21 |
and the foreshore walkway, past renovated storehouses and
wharves,
restaurants and artisan galleries.
 |
| J & G with Samuel Cunard |
Last
stop was the Fairview Lawn Cemetery
 |
| Titanic victims |
 |
| Titanic victim |
 |
| Titanic victim from Australia |
 |
| Jack Dawson? |
 |
| Titanic "baby" victim |
to pause a while at the grave sites of some
of the victims of the Titanic – 100 yrs ago. To “top off the day” we came back
to the camp and had a BBQ and a bottle of Australian Red.
 |
| A BBQ and a bottle of red |
South of Halifax are beautiful seaside towns, fishing harbours and holiday places. Mahone Bay and Lunenburg were so picturesque in sunshine.
 |
| Lunenburg Harbour |
 |
| Houses in Lunenburg |
 |
| More Houses in Lunenburg |
So
we went across to Annapolis Royal to visit the tidal power station
on the Bay of Fundy (with it’s extreme tides) and the 1600’s French trading
post nearby.
 |
| Fort Royal |
 |
| Many furs at Fort Royal |
The
next day rain again. We’d booked the afternoon ferry out of Digby to Saint
John, so tried the famous Digby scallops for lunch,
 |
| Scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams - Digby N S |
and had a calm, wet, misty
three hour crossing. We had been aware of a possible hurricane that had been
making its way up the east coast of America for over a week.
 |
| Theodore Too |
We were very
fortunate as it made its presence felt the day after we’d left and dropped 150
mls of rain and very strong winds right up the coast to Newfoundland.
 |
| Nova Scotia - sense of humour |
Jane
and John welcomed us again and we had Aussie lamb for dinner.
 |
| Irving's Nature Walk, Saint John |
Spent the next
day sharing photos of our trip to PEI and Newfoundland, having the RV serviced,
a haircut and a forest walk along the coast.
 |
| Number plates are usually on the back |
We had to go back and check on the
sculptors whose works will be unveiled at the end of the week.
 |
| Sculptors at Work |
They had done a
lot and we will be interested to see the completed art works.
 |
| Sculpture in the making |
And
so sadly we had to say goodbye to Jane and John. We’d had such a good time
sharing their country and culture, and decided we are very similar.
The
Saint John River starts about 670 kms NW from Saint John (the city) and the
Trans Canada Highway (TCH), follows it almost to The St Lawrence Seaway. The capital
of New Brunswick, Fredericton, was our first stop along the river. Lord
Beaverbrook was a Canadian who made his fortune in newspapers and has donated a
wonderful art collection of English porcelain, furniture and paintings.
 |
| Beaverbrook Art Gallery - Fredericton |
One of
the curators had us intrigued with the story of the Dali acquisitions and had us
on the floor looking up at the Santiago El Grande (1957) experiencing the 3D
effect of the painting.
Further
along the river, a large hyrdo dam was being built in the 1960’s. In 1783,
15,000 United Empire Loyalists were granted land along the river based on their
rank in the British Army. Many of their historical buildings would “go under”, when
the dam waters rose over 50 metres, so the best were moved – 11 houses,
 |
| 1830's Loyalist's House |
2
churches, a school, store and sawmill,
 |
| Saw Mill |
and Kings Landing was created.
 |
| Staff at King's Landing |
Each
house and trade, has been restored to a different time period in the early
1800’s.
 |
| The Blacksmith |
They were meticulously researched and the history presented is based on
real families.
 |
| Cooking in the 1850's |
They all have “staff”, cooking (jams, preserves, stews and
cookies),
 |
| Tried Spinning |
spinning, weaving or working in gardens and barns on a back-breeding
program for livestock,
 |
| Farm fencing |
vegetables and flowers. (I was given a recipe for apple
butter).
 |
| Antiques from the 1800's |
A
lot of the antique furniture and porcelain must be worth a fortune.
 |
| Staffordshire Dogs |
There was a
complete Royal Albert tea-service commemorating Victoria’s Coronation in one
cabinet.
 |
| A Dining Room |
We
enjoyed King’s Landing so much we camped overnight in the nearby truck stop and
went back the next day.
The
next stop was Hartland Bridge across the river. It’s the longest covered
bridge- 400+ m. So we parked, walked, took photos and then drove through it.
 |
| Hartland Covered Bridge |
We
were now well into “French speaking” territory. New Brunswick has 30% French
speakers and everything in the province has the dual signage (double the cost).
The
river at its narrowest point is at Grand Falls where it is forced through a narrow,
1.6 km rocky gorge, with walls as high as 80m.
 |
| Grand Falls Gorge |
It’s been a dry summer and the
backed up waters are used for hydro generation, so the “falls” were not
spectacular but the gorge was.
 |
| Grand Falls Gorge |
Photos after snow melt showed an awesome body of
water crashing over the drop and through the narrow, winding channel. At
the visitors centre I was in awe of a quilt representing the work and scenic
places of the town - all very French.
 |
| Grand Falls Quilt |
And
so we turned left at the St Lawrence, into the province of Quebec and continued
on the TCH to Quebec City. We didn’t’ think it was a good idea to take Connie
into the old city. The ferry from the south side looked convenient so we parked
there and caught it over.
 |
| Quebec City |
From the deck the city looked very GRAND!!?? We walked all day exploring in the sunshine:
 |
| Porte St-Jean |
the Parliament building, the Citadel,
 |
| Quebec City Wall |
Governors Walk, the 1600’s foundations of
the first St Louis Fort and Chateaux beneath the Dufferin cliff walkway,
 |
| Dufferin Walkway |
the Basilica
and of course the Hotel on the cliff, Chateau Frontenac.
 |
| Copper Roof shining in the sunlight |
Below the cliffs the
old port is total touristy.
 |
| The Old Port |
Old buildings are restored with up market shopping
and bars and restaurants. We celebrated Jen’s birthday
 |
| Restaurante, Le Lapin Sortie |
with a duck and rabbit
combination dish,
 |
| Dinner for Two |
caught the ferry back in the evening and free camped in the
parking lot – the ticket was good for 24 hrs.
 |
| Quebec City at Night |
The
next morning was a little dull so we drove the couple of hours to Montreal.
Last time we were here, the tower to the 1976 Olympic Main Stadium wasn’t
finished (completed in 1988), and since the day was clear with some clouds
around we took the funicular to the observation deck - fantastic view of the city,
the wide river and bridges. From the port, cruise liners start and finish East
coast trips.
 |
| Original Main Stadium for Montreal Olympics 1976 |
The structure is unique and
the tower has quite a lean, with cables like long fingers holding onto the
insulated Teflon and Kavlar roof.
Ottawa
the next day, and we parked in the city at a government employees car park-it
was Sunday, so no workers. We were able to walk to the Victorian – style
Parliament House and the tour took us up the Peace Tower to the viewing level
(just below the clockface).
 |
| Parliament House - Ottawa |
Another perfect blue sky day so we walked to the
Rideau Canal locks, built in 1832,
 |
| Rideau Canal locks in Ottawa |
 |
| Eight Locks of the Rideau Canal |
and then over the Ottawa River on the Alexander
Bridge
 |
| Riverside of Parliament House, Ottawa |
to the Museum of Civilization. It was really exceptional with wonderful
displays and interpretations of everything Canadian.
 |
| Canadian Museum of Civilization |
Nearly three hours later
they are suggesting we leave as its closing.
 |
| Main Hall in Museum |
The
next few days we met friends of Brian and Penny (from Yass). Brian taught here at Appleby College 23
years ago. We were made very welcome, firstly by Fran and Sue,
 |
| Sue and Fran Richardson with Jen and Garry |
and had guided tours around Meaford,
 |
| Georgian Bay |
on Georgian
Bay (part of Lake Huron),
 |
| Storm over Georgian Bay |
which was preparing for the Scarecrow Invasion Festival,
 |
| Scarecrows everywhere... |
 |
| ...for the Scarecrow Invasion |
and then by John, Di and Barbara,
 |
| John and Di Berriman, Barbara Smith with Jen and Garry |
where we visited the school in Oakville on Lake Ontario.
 |
| Grassy Quadrangle and Chapel |
 |
| Playing fields, overlooking Lake Ontario |
Shirley
and Glenn live on a farm near Barrie.
 |
| The Applegate Farm buildings |
Shirley came to Orange on exchange almost 20
years ago and was David’s teacher. We have always kept in touch so couldn’t
pass by without spending time together.
 |
| Glenn, Shirley, Jen and Garry |
We visited markets
 |
| St Jacob's Markets |
and shops in nearby
Mennonite towns,
 |
| Need a broom? |
were shown by their friend how he harvests and processes maple
syrup in his sugar shack,
 |
| Ronnie's Sugar Shack |
and visited the re-constructed site of first European settlement in
Ontario – Sainte Marie among the Hurons
 |
| Sainte Marie among the Hurons |
– founded by French Jesuits in 1639.
 |
| Re-constricted fort and vegetable garden |
They were here for ten years trading with, and converting the Wendat, (first nation people).
 |
| Re-constructed Wendat Long House |
We also found a covered bridge, known locally as the "Kissing Bridge"
 |
| Rainbow seen from The Maid of the Mist |
And
so over the border after seven great weeks in six provinces of Canada, heading
for New York and meeting up with Carolyn (for her birthday) and Gavin who are
flying in from London.....
It
was while we were with Shirley and Glenn we heard of Jen’s Mum’s unexpected
death. She was admitted to hospital the week before for tests etc. Her heart
was only working at 40% and she contracted double pneumonia. Lyn and Kerrie
were able to be with her during this time and having landline phone connection
at Shirley’s made contact so much simpler. We had talked with her every week of
our trip and she loved to share her stories as she too had visited a many
places here. It had been six years and six days since Dad had died and she’d
missed him every day. She always said she’d had a really happy life so eighty
eight years was a “pretty good innings”. We received many notes of condolence
and support from friends and family, and were really appreciative of their thoughtfulness.
We are now working on our last newsletter. We are thinking where to leave our Connie for Winter, before making our way to LA and home.
Jen and Garry
