Melvin Family Tour Canada: NOVA SCOTIA

Okay where did we leave off seems like a long time since we have done an update.

Friday, September 16

We did the 6 hour ferry crossing from Port-aux-Basques and arrived back in Nova Scotia around 7:00 this morning. We headed straight over to the Fortress of Louisbourg and arrived there before the doors opened so we were able to catch a few minutes of sleep before cleaning up and going to see the sights. (On the ferry crossing we were not able to get a cabin so we spent the night trying to sleep in chairs.) The Fortress of Louisbourg is definitely worth a visit, the staff are very knowledgeable and friendly, the fortress is beautifully restored and the experience was a lot of fun. We got to witness the cannon firing and changing of the guards and toured through many of the homes and businesses set up there. Then we enjoyed a 1700 meal in the tavern where we were provided with only a large spoon and mega sized cloth napkin with which to eat our meal. It was quite fun to watch the girls try and eat their french toast this way. All the staff in the fortress are dressed in and act as though the year is 1754 which makes the visit great fun. The children loved this experience and hopefully have learnt a lot.

The entry gate to the Fortress of Louisbourg.

A lady demonstrating life as a lady in 1754 doing an acceptible past time - making lace.

The girls found a place to play dress-up. They are guarding their tower.

The girls with a 'real' solider.

As you can see the fort has been very well recreated and is hard to believe it is not authentic when you are going through.

Aagh - this is getting very frustrating I have lost the next two days worth of entries three times now!! :{

Sunday, September 18

We had a lovely meeting at David and Maxine Conrad's. Martin and Wanda Baker invited us over to their place for lunch following. We had a very nice lunch with Martin and Wanda, their children Dale-Marie and Dana where both home so we got to see them as well. They also had Reg and Geraldine and Wanda's mom Eva and following lunch Wanda's brother Brent, his wife, Nora and their son, Luke stopped by. We had a great afternoon of visiting and Reg and Gerry had us down to their place for a pizza supper after that - I hope we didn't wear out our welcome. The Baker's live on a quiet three house street and all the homes are homes of the friends. At the end of the road is a lake and the last lot on the street is owned by Martin and Wanda and Brent and Nora. It is a great one acre piece of land bordered on one side by a creek with no home but a beach, dock, trees, and lots of space for enjoying the perfect holiday retreat without driving hours (how perfect). Martin gave us permission to camp down on this beach lot. Can't beat it - great campsite with power, privacy and right on the lake, doesn't get any better than that.

Reg, Martin, Wanda, Dale-Marie, and Geraldine Baker.

Monday, September 19

Today Reg and Geraldine came with us to be our own personal tour guides as we toured Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg. First stop Peggy's Cove - Beautiful! This is just as beautiful as in the pictures, only complaint - too crowded. The cruise ships that come into Halifax send bus loads of tourists out here and hence makes it a very busy spot. In spite of this, we enjoyed our walk on the rocks by the lighthouse and then down through the darling fishing community. We enjoyed a great lunch up by the lighthouse and had fun poking through the various shops. We continued down the coast to Mahone Bay. Mahone Bay has been said to be the prettiest town in Canada and I would say it is defiantly up their. It hugs the waterfront with lots of old beautiful homes and three grand old churches right beside each other looking over the water. Not only is the town beautiful but when you look out to the bay you see all the fishing boats and sailboats. Now on to Lunenburg another beautiful old town. Lunenburg was established in 1753 and is said to be the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement. All colonial settlements were to be built in the rectangular grid layout and almost two thirds of the old town buildings date back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We drove down the streets lined with beautiful grand, colorful homes and down to the harbour where we toured through the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. Museums are always more interesting when you have a personal connection and with Reg as our tour guide we got to see and learn more than if we (land-locked folks) had gone on our own. Fishermen all love to share fishing stories and Reg was a lobster fisher and a sword fisherman in his younger years. The museum entry fee also gives you access to the two boats anchored out on the wharf so we toured through them as well. The Bluenose II is housed here but is currently undergoing an overhaul so we did not get to see our boat on the dime. :( It would have been fun to explore more of the town on foot but with 80 year old tour guides you can't over do it. So we headed back and stopped for supper at Swiss Chalet on our way home (yes, this is the restaurant of choice when you reach retirement age). We didn't get Reg and Gerry home until 8:00 so we thought we didn't need to extend our visit any longer and went back down to the beach for the night.

The unique landscape close to Peggy's Cove.

Fomous deGarthe Monument houring the gallant fishermen of Peggy's Cove.

The girls climbing on the rocks around the lighthouse.

The lighthouse at Peggy's Cove.

Looking down into Peggy's Cove.

Now this really is beautiful isn't it.

Another darling fishing community.

The town of Mahone Bay.

The girls made a new friend at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg.

A model of the Bluenose II.

Reg talking fishing with the other fishermen.

One of the buildings along the harbour in Lunenburg.

Tuesday, September 20

With plans to visit Halifax today we headed up the street to say good-bye to Reg and Geraldine and here they were all ready to go with us for the day. So once again we had our tour guides with us and we went to see the sights. We parked downtown on the harbour front and toured on foot the length of the harbour. We walked down to the historic properties at the north end of the harbour and had fish and chips at Salty's. The historic properties are a wharfside collection of very old stone and timber-frame structures, which were originally built in the 19th century to hold the booty captured by privateers. Now they house specialty and gift shops, pubs, restaurants and coffee shops. From here we headed back south and walked past the various boats along the harbour and the buildings on the harbour front. We stopped in at NovaScotian Crystal which consists of a showroom with an attached workshop where we witnessed mouth blown hand cut crystal being made right there. We saw Theodore Too the tugboat tried up to the wharf but he only goes out on weekends this time of year so we were not able to take a harbour cruise on him. We enjoyed the beautiful warm sunshine and walked all the way down to Pier 21. Kent, the girls and myself went in and toured through the Pier 21 museum. Pier 21 was a very busy port where over a million immigrants entered Canada, where the 'home children' were received and where Canadian military personnel passed through between 1928 and 1971. This brought us to close to 4:00 and Reg was worried about getting caught in the rush hour traffic so we headed back to drop off Reg and Geraldine. We decided to return to the KOA we had stayed at on Saturday night because we wanted to head over to the Annapolis Valley the next day. We had a great time with the Baker's and they made us feel very welcome and at home.

The historic properties of Halifax.

The harbourfront boardwalk.

Looking up one of the streets from the harbour.

Victoria, Katrina, Juanna, Kent, Reg and Geraldine with Stephen's Island in the background.

Glass blowing.

Some of the many boats in the harbour today:

A pilot boat.

A dory.

A tall ship you can tour the habour in.

A sailboat and a cruiseship.

Passenger ferry from Dartsmouth to Halifax.

The girls and Theodore Too. Now wouldn't that be a fun way to tour the Halifax habour.

Juanna on a bench at Pier 21.

Outside Pier 21.

Wednesday, September 21

Even though it will put us a couple days behind schedule we want to go and see Caleb and Rebbecca in New Minas so we are waiting another day in the Halifax area. We went into a little shopping district to find an Old Navy because we are thinking we could use a few more warm tops. So, today was a day of shopping. We got a hold of Glenn Andersen and he made arrangements for us to join him for Wednesday night meeting. It was very nice to see Glenn again it has been about 9 years since they lived in Kelowna. We didn't get to Sheila or Moira but Glen did bring Riley with him.

Thursday, September 22

We drove over to the Annapolis Valley this morning and it is a beautiful area - reminds us of the Okanagan with lots of orchards and vineyards. We drove through the pretty little town of Wolfville and found the Grand Prè National Historic Site where the British entered this Acadian village in August 1755 and began the Geat Uprooting or Le Grand Dérangement. This another interesting look ino the life of the Acadian people and the terrible treatment they received from the English. Now over to New Minas. Caleb had found us a campsite across the road from the housing community where they live so we went and got set up. Caleb came over with Brook and Cabe and took us back to their place. We had a lovely time visiting and the children got along great with Jade, Brook and Cabe. Rebbecca made supper for us and after supper Mia (formerly Woods) came by with her four children and their exchange student from Germany for some dessert. We had a very nice evening and it was great to see the Caleb Howden family.