Reservations

Reservations

Well, bite my tongue about being relaxed re reservations in Canada. Who knew about Natal Day? Not us. We did hear about fireworks on Natal Day in various cities on the TV, but we thought they were local celebrations. After all, Canada celebrates July 1, which we thought was the equivalent of July 4 in the US and that is, after all, the date of our birth. So, when we saw it on the schedule of events celebrated in Pictou, we thought we had better ask our waitperson at the restaurant. She was unclear and embarrassed about it. She thought it might be about the navy and seamen, clearly confused about naval and natal. The best explanation we have yet heard is that it is an excuse for summer fireworks. We’ll take that.

So, try and get a campsite with Natal Day just a week away. The whole point of the day trip to Pictou (pronounced pick toe-I don’t want to know.) was to find the best campground. MDT had done the research and even looked at the photos on the website. There was Wi-Fi at the site, and the camp is near the ferry to PEI, and on a beach. What could be better. Facilities. Though we booked for several days, it is clearly not the “resort” atmosphere we expected. Perhaps a step above total trailer trash, but only one.

Our plan had been to stay for a week in the Pictou area, but there was no place for us and we would not want to stay long in this campground anyway. Since our original plan included leaving the RV and doing an overnight in Cape Breton, we felt we could manage our allotted 4 days at the trailer trash campground. There is a lovely hotel room in Sydney (Cape Breton) that welcomes dogs, so we are set for an explore. We will be taking all of the valuables with us and not mentioning that we will not be returning for the night. It just is not that kind of campground.

Luckily, the KOA in PEI has room for us on Natal Day and 10 days after that, so we will get well acquainted with PEI.

Here is the protocol for reservations at our next two campgrounds: Pictou writes my name in a spiral bound notebook along with my RV size, and says, “See you on the 31st. The KOA pulls me up on computer, automatically figures in my KOA member discount, takes my credit card #, and we are all set. I also get an email confirmation from KOA.

I just hope their Wi-Fi works better than the one here. The KOA inspectors told us that the signal was quite strong at the KOA in PEI. However, things change. We were doing pretty good here, with the exception of rainy or foggy days, but the past few nights it just shuts off at our campsite. I notice the benches near the office are often full of laptop people. I myself am doing laundry and computing at the same time.

So, today and tomorrow will be spent cleaning up and breaking camp. This is the longest we have stayed at any campground, and we have come to feel right at home. Stella appreciates not having to ride. “I don’t want to go in the box.” She says. Nevertheless, it is time to explore more of the island(s) and we are glad to be on our way.

Third Tuesday

Third Tuesday

Stella and I first encountered Janna on one of our walks around the campground. We struck up a conversation. I said “my friend” and she said “my partner”, and since we each have dogs, it was on the pretext of a dog play that we met. So, Maggie the Schipperke and Stella the Corgi made immediate friends, and shortly thereafter, so did Janna and Pat, or Taylor and Tracy (last names) and Marcia and Kay. We shared a lovely dinner (Third Tuesday) in the screen room till we all almost froze, and then a day trip back to Lunnenburg and Mahone Bay.

The PJ’s or T’nT live in a float house in Vancouver, British Columbia, and had just bought a house in Newfoundland. In Newfoundland they sighted 18 moose, and have a lovely moose photo screensaver as proof. They claim that there was a pod of Minki whales cavorting in their new bay (they had no photographic evidence of this, but though it is incredible to us, apparently it is rather commonplace in Newfoundland.). This is not to mention, Puffins, which are so much a given in Newfoundland that they hardly bear mentioning. So, we are looking forward to visits in both BC and Newfoundland in the future, and hope they will join us for a little manatee watching, river kayaking, and perhaps even a Second Saturday sometime this winter.

So, the other important thing we did in Lunnenburg (our third visit there) was take photos of the Kaulbach house, built by none other than Susan Hunter’s great (X?) grandfather. We intend to hear the whole story the first Second Saturday we get home (if not sooner provided Susan will respond by comments on the blog). I did get to talk with one of the owners, but just on the doorstep-was not invited in. He said it was pink until they bought it a year ago. Perhaps it was pretty in pink, but I don’t want to think about it. The colors they have chosen are quite fine.

On one of those rainy days MDT wrote about, we joined the multitudes of people wearing “Crocks”. We briefly debated, and Marcia found a local store were they were $5 cheaper, so we got them and promptly spent our $5 savings on “jibbits” to go on the crocks. I held back at just the red maple leaf, a daily souvenir reminder of our visit. We both found the “flower power” jubbits easy to pass up-been there, done that. However, Marcia sports a lady bug and a blue cat on hers. They are quite comfortable all the time, and I find them particularly fine for walking the dog through wet clover in the mornings. I think they will really like the river and the beach. Are you seeing them on the river? Our survey of the playground here reveals that over 80% of the kids are wearing crocks or some look like crocks. I hear there is a patent dispute, but haven’t checked it out online. Anyway, we got crocks, and possibly very soon will be needing socks with our crocks.

I had a gut feeling that I should call Vermont for reservations today, and sure enough, I got the last campsite at the Moose River Campground in St. Jay. Whew. You go to Canada for a month and forget about Labor Day. I think we can be more relaxed about the Canadian parks. Though there are many license plates from the states and almost every province in Canada, there just is not the competition we see over the border and particularly in Florida. I notice this in consumer goods as well. It is a subtle difference, but the selection is generally a bit more limited. There just is not the population to support it. However, we find everything we need and then some, and we definitely enjoy all the benefits of a “western (capitalist consumer driven) democracy”. I myself am supporting the "dollar" stores regularly. Dollarama, EFADS (Everything for a dollar), Canadian Dollar, etc.

Along this line, we were admiring the smart cars we see mostly around Halifax. Wish we had one. Wish we could get one, but apparently the US does not import them. Perhaps GM, Chrysler, and even Toyota would not like them imported. There is plenty of room in the front seats-at least as much as we have in the CR-V. There is just very little back end. Parking looks like a breeze, and I will be looking them up online to see what their gas mileage is.

A Rainy Weekend

We thought that we were sure to escape anything tropical with winds while we were here in NS. We were advised of our wrong thinking as TS Beryl wound by on it’s way to Newfoundland and the north Atlantic Friday afternoon and evening. It was nothing compared to what we experienced in FL and only one event occurred when we noticed that one of the awning tie downs had come loose. We both dashed out to get it secured again. Unfortunately this was also the “low” side of the awning that facilitates rain flow away from the screen room. We both got soaked from the amount of water running down the awning and following the tie down to earth. All repaired well and we continued to watch the bouncing awning for another disconnect that never came.

Saturday and Sunday brought more intermittent showers from a front that pushed Beryl on out to sea. We did have less wind for both these days that provided time for us to tending to laundry, housekeeping and etc. Kay continued her to work on her genealogy slide show and I read two of my books. Stella napped.

Stella did have a nice visit with Maggie her new four-footed friend. Her owners are from BC and we all had a nice visit with them on Saturday. Lena, you can be assured that she is not suffering much as you can see. We have space for regular Frisbee activity and regular walks.

A rabbit visits every day to add new smells to distract Stella from her Frisbee practice. She does not like going on our daily outings and prefers the comfort of her couch when we are gone.

We did venture out Sunday for a short ride to prevent getting “pen sickness”. Sunday is still not a shopping day although we did find a few new places in Bedford that we would want to visit at some point. Monday has started with continued showers that are supposed to clear by this afternoon. This is our last week here near Halifax and we have had a exceptional time.

Lunnenburg and Mahone Bay

Lunenburg and Mahone Bay

Now knowing the fast route to Mahone Bay, we headed there for lunch and poking around. Though the things we thought we would be enjoying didn’t pan out, other things did. I like this about traveling.

Our lunch spot afforded us a view of the three churches of Mahone Bay.

We got a better look at Lunenburg-first in the car, and then in a horse drawn buggy. What a charming little village. It is a U.N.E.S.C.O. world heritage site. It was laid out by a famous English town planner in the 1750’s. There are quite a few houses from the 1800’s remaining. The churches and schools were quite striking. Though we saw one house that had been aluminum sided, they have outlawed that practice. There were quite a few painters at work.

I particularly liked the cod weather vane atop the church steeple. Our guide quipped, “In cod we trust.” Apparently the town was made prosperous by cod fishing.

Lunenburg’s more recent claim to fame (1920’s) is as the birthplace of Bluenose and Bluenose II (1963). For the non-sailors amongst us, the Bluenose was the fishing schooner built by the Canadians for competition with the US in sailing races. She could get 16 knots at sail, and she won hands down for 18 years. To the horror of local Canadians, after WWII, her owner sold her for shipping in the West Indies. She eventually ran aground on a reef near Haiti. The Bluenose II was built by the same plans as Bluenose, in the same town, and by some of the same shipbuilders. It was sold to the government for $1 and now is an ambassador for Canada. It sails 7 months of the year. Therefore, we have no photos. However, we do have Marcia modeling her new sou’wester from the Bluenose Company store.

Halifax Tourists

Halifax Tourists

We took the Harbor Hopper for a one hour tour of the city. Our guide was desperately trying to stay hopped up on adrenaline, but at 4pm after a day of hopping, even he occasionally sagged. He compensated by increasing the volume and jumping around. Nevertheless, we got some interesting factoids and views of the city. And a ride in an amphibious vehicle rehabed from the Vietnam war.



















If you click on the photos, you get a larger view of it all. In this photo, you can see Citadel hill. We went up there, and really found little of interest but the view of the city and harbour. We did find it interesting that there is a cannon fired every day at noon. Apparently it is so taken for granted that no one thought to tell the world leaders (including Bill Clinton) attending a world summit in town. There was great scurring about by snipers and limo drivers and secret services. The Canadian Prime Minister was the only one left standing.

The other thing I found of interest was the yacht. Do you think it would be big enough for the Second Saturday group to get around the Greek Isles? Anyone's ticket come in??? The closest we have gotten was Kalamari at John's Lunch, but that was excellent.

A Day in the Public Gardens

A Day in the Public Gardens



July 16, 2006

On Sundays there is a concert of some sort in the Public Gardens. All kinds of people come, but the most highly represented segments of the populace are the elderly and families with young children.

Today’s featured performers were three older guys (contemporaries no doubt) who had a wide repetore and a lively sense of what would make folks get up and dance. And they did get up and dance. There was even some wheelchair dancing.

Meanwhile, there were ducks to be fed, swans to be ogled, and a bride and groom to be photographed.

Looks like those Knights of Pythias are everywhere (e.g. KP hole)

Musings on Nova Scotia

We’ve been here for nearly two weeks now and have started to get some sense of how things are here in Nova Scotia. Beyond the beauty this island province is noted for, there are many things that Kay and I have noticed, had some time to think about and wanted to share.

This island is a patchwork of geology, nations and individuals. Visitors here that get away from Halifax, the most common entry point, may begin to understand how interesting the geology is here. The south side of the island with its rugged seacoast is the one that I always see in photos and travel info.

















It is beautiful, changeable and striking in contrast to areas just a short distance inland. Glaciation, wind and weather have had their way with the rocks leaving barren balds where vegetation has found few spots to cling to. The towns and people also seem to cling to the coasts where living is easier and nature has provided space for them to live and work.

Inland areas, not too distant from these coasts, are filled with dense forests peppered with wetlands, streams, lakes and methodically placed towns. One of the interesting things one can see on our maps is that the southern half of the island from looks like a huge cat has been using the land for a scratching post gouging out spaces for long ponds and lakes that often drain into streams that are guided by opportunity to the coast. It’s not easy living for anything on all this granite.

I was interested in finding a place to enjoy some fly-fishing while I was here but had a lot of difficulty finding places that could be accessed without an ATV, buckets of insect repellent, and a ride through unfamiliar backcountry. There are a few, but fish stocks are not doing well. It seems that this area has been having lasting troubles with acid rain for decades and the fish have died off along with some of the trees on the upper areas of the mountains. Run-off from septic tanks placed on this hard granite has helped wipe out many of the lake fish populations as well. I hadn’t noticed this until it was explained to me with a review of the progress being made with restocking lakes with trout and bass. Now, I have begun to see the effects of this continuing problem in patchy areas along roadsides and off in the distant hills where stands of grayish spires of dead trees await recycling surrounded by dense rings of their 5-10 ft. green progeny. I hope that these Scotians continue to recover.

The northern side of the island is turning out to be my favorite. It shares responsibilities with New Brunswick for holding the Bay of Fundy tidal basin tightly between high ridges and shallow bays, thereby providing the showplace for the highest tides in the world. Here you can see where the tides do their work and the glaciers dropped sediments from the hard rock of the southern side of the island. There are still plenty of granite cliffs and basalt columns to see here, but the red sand-clay cannot be ignored-- especially when it layers itself within the gray and green shales. Cambrian fossil finds are abundant here where the shale pokes out of the soft, sandy red zones.

Rivers on this side of the island are wide red expanses near the coast, especially when the tide is out. Inland, the rivers become miniature snaking canyons where the tide can make its way inland with its massive amounts of water that back up the fresh water inflow. These twisting canyons can extend miles inland where they are least expected. At low tide, small bridges that we cross in farm areas offer a stunning surprise of a deep red gash running clear water underneath its span. When the tide is in, the water is a muddy red boil waiting to be released back to the sea. Eons of this ebb and flow have done much work on the land and made this area very different from its sister to the south.

The Minas Basin locks in soil and nutrients that make this coast and inland areas prime farmland. When we first entered this area from the thick forests of spruce and aspen, it seemed to soften and flatten before our very eyes. There are places that it looks similar to the Central Valley of California or perhaps Ireland where glaciers have also created expanses of prime farming prospects. Dairy and beef cattle are raised here with their patchwork of corn and hayfields. Huge lines of hay marshmallows line the side of barns or fences. Potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce, apples and other fruit and veggies dot the smaller farms. Towns here are very small and functional—the grocery, hardware store, gas station, maybe a farm tractors/implements dealer, church and cemetery. The few houses could leave one to think that few people actually seem to live in town and run things there. They don’t boast population stats at the edge of town here—how would they figure who belongs to what little town wedged between the fields?


Families appear to have been here for a long time. You can tell by the ever-expanding cemeteries near the churches. Family plots with 20+ headstones with common surnames are normal. Dates with 1700 to 1800-something are not uncommon. Names in the town cemetery seem to cluster by nationality— Irish, French, English, Scotch, German, and Scandinavian. They vary by each town as to what combination of names identify the occupants-- Hafners and Owens here, Dorst and O’Reilly there. The people are as much a patchwork as the land. I think it’s helped make them strong and tightly woven as they work the land through the seasons as most farm families probably do.









The people of Nova Scotia seem to be sewn well in spite of the long history of national change and transitional governments. Yes, there are pockets in specialized areas where the Irish, French, English, Scotch, German have set up camp on the island but they really seem to get along well. Halifax, the largest and perhaps the only qualifying city is a microcosm of cultures. As in most large cities found in the “new world” today, you can hear multiple languages, find any kind of native food being served and the problems any city is bound to deal with. But these people seem generally cheerful and full of hope for their province and country. It’s good news for our northern neighbors and for their admiring visitors.

Musquodoboit Harbour and Martinique Beach

Musquodoboit Harbour and Martinique Beach

July 15, 2006

We took a short afternoon jaunt to the beach today. The eastern shore seems to be less touristy and more Canadian. While some of the homes appeared to house year-round residents, others seemed to be summer homes. On the way back, we took Rt 207, and passed several areas that flew the flag we have come to associate with French pride-the red, white and blue of the French flag with a single star in the upper left corner.

There were several times we saw reminders that glaciers deposited some fine boulders here. Right in the middle of the cove is a huge rock, and some people have made fine use of their boulder front yard. New meaning for “rock garden”.

It seemed like everybody was at the beach today. I enjoyed a walk and stone collecting. There were a few shell fragments, but most of what I found was well-worn rocks of many different colors. I did find a sand dollar. It has a brown red shade. Lots of the earth around here looks just like that.

By the way, the hostas are blooming.

Maitland and Walton

July 14,2006

Today’s adventure was the tidal bore at Maitland. We read that two days after the full moon would be higher and more dramatic bore.

Our trip took us down one of the rough roads we have come to expect. Better to be in the Honda. There is not a big deal made about the bore from a Floridian’s perspective. No huge billboards, and not even state/province signs pointing the way. So, we stopped at the “?” and were directed right down the road.

At the end of the road was an herb farm and restaurant. Just as well, as we had not packed a lunch; nor had we a recommendation from the guidebooks. Actually, we have an addition for the guidebook, because this lunch was quite the treat. With the exception of ice cream and coffee, we ordered everything on the menu. Since the waitperson was a one-woman show, and there were a couple of other tables full of people, our meal came one entrée at a time. We loved it all, but the salad, which came as dessert, was the highlight. We were able to buy bags of these super fresh and vibrant greens. I kept thinking that this was the Cheryl LaMay salad lovers delight.

We waited a long time for the bore. We were perched on a bluff overlooking the river. Several birds entertained us during the wait. I like the swifts; especially the yellow bodied ones. The bald eagle was probably most interested in finding rodents in the recently mowed field near the herbary, but it certainly gave us a fine show.

Well, the bore finally came. I have quite a few photos. This phenomenon does not lend itself to still photography, but I tried to snap one area that would show the tide coming in. I snapped every few seconds-just enough time for my digital camera to recover. Here is just a sampling.

One of the tourist draws is rafting the tidal bore. There are brochures showing these rafts bouncing around in white water like going down the Colorado. Perhaps this happens some days. Not this day. One group of rafts was coming in with the bore on an adrenaline rush. The other single raft waited on high ground in the river, so they could see the bore and when the water got high near them, they could just hop on the raft and ride away with it. I like the second approach best. They also gave me a subject to photograph showing how the water comes in.

One option the “?” person gave me was to watch the bore come in at the herbary, then jump in the car and drive 8k back to the bridge and see it again. We opted for just watching the waters rise. It is amazing to see the force of the tide. I am looking forward to a visit to the only electricity generation plant in the world using tidal forces. That will be just before we leave NS.

We opted for a drive around the Minas Basin and Bay of Fundy as opposed to the quick route home. Got another look at Five Islands from the other side of the basin, and came upon a charming little lighthouse at Walton. Most of the route was bumpy road, but we saw some lovely gardens and inhaled some lovely sweet flower before passing some olfactory stimulating dairy farms.

Once home, we took out the frozen lobster bisque, toasted the LaHave bakery herb and cheese rolls, and made a salad with our new greens, Ontario cherries, PEI gouda, and our own toasted pine nuts from Sam’s. MDT made a dressing of macerated cherries and balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Life is good.

Photography from the road

The roads in Nova Scotia offer so many opportunities for photography that Kay and I often return from our day trips with our photo cards full. Not all of these photos make the blog and some of them need help from the photo tools. Some are totally mistakes that are just out of the ordinary.

We often photograph from the road. These roads have caught my eye these days as they jar and jostle us to our destination. Some give me pause to admire the transportation divisions’ attempt at patching and repairs that could be used as Rorschach testing.












One photo revealed a hidden landscape. Look at photo sideways








We went to the Nova Scotia Art Museum the other day. My favorite has always been the Impressionists with their varied techniques and views on people being caught in their daily lives or a landscape caught in it’s most vibrant state. I took several photos of farms in the Minas Basin some were lovely some needed help but two turned Impressionist on me and provided me some pause. What do you think?
















I initially was wowed with the beauty of this photo taken near Cape Split near the Minas Basin. Changing my perspective for a moment caused me to flash back home on the river and find that huge gator eyeing me as a snack.