Sep 22, 2018 - Hampton wharf

I went to Hampton Wharf at 10 AM to see the high tide - to compare to the low tide yesterday afternoon. The wind was up and so more wave action. I may have been an hour too early as later it looked as if the tide table I was looking at was Eastern time not Atlantic time. Anyway - the boats were definitely up in the water the the beach was covered with water so although not dramatic the tidal action in the Bay of Fundy was evident. The drive up and over Hampton “mountain” was fun. There are low mountains on both sides of the Annapolis...

Sep 21, 2018 - Annapolis Royal and Port Royal

39 degrees this morning per the weather on the internet - first day of fall today. Should be in the mid 60’s and around 50 or less at night. Ray is putting on the Hydrohot on so we are finally using it and no problems. Great not to worry about heat as we are needing it. We drove to Port Royal which is a reconstruction of the first French settlement here in 1605. It's very interesting as they built a fortified place of wood that housed many military men and eventually missionaries and some women. Very solid constructionand is called the...

Sep 20, 2018 - Bridgetown

We had a short drive to Bridgetown, no issues. Got diesel at a Big Irving and went to the truck side. The guy next to me was a Monaco Diplomat and he said he was from Yarmouth, had a lobster fishing business for many years and had just retired, had a home in Belle Glade Florida too. Said he had an American Eagle at one time and sold it - he had looked to get another but couldn’t find one in good shape that wasn’t new. We got to the campground, not much to look at but level, 50 amp, pull thru and we get Dish 129! Haven’t seen HD since...

Sep 18, 2018 - Titanic cemetery and Pier 21

Halifax is a ways from the campground but on a freeway so not too bad, we went over a toll bridge and thankfully had a Looney for it. First we found the Titanic cemetery for Protestants. Other bodies were buried in the other Catholic and Jewish cemeteries in town. We walked past 121 stones in the Fairview cemetery. A small child has just recently been identified, but many victims are just numbered as their names are unknown. This is a stop for tour buses and there were lots of people there. We spoke to a woman who manages the cemetery and...

Sep 17, 2018 - Peggy’s Cove and Swissair flight memorial

Today we drove SW to see the site of the Swissair crash. This was a tragedy that occurred 9/2/98 and all 229 on board perished. There have been many theories about what caused the crash but we don't think it's been firmly determined. This is a moving memorial that points toward the ocean where the plane went down and the rescue efforts that were initiated from two small Nova Scotian towns. The weather was just spectacular today. We then drove to Peggys Cove with it's iconic lighthouse and beach. Ocean waves were crashing and we witnessed a...

Sep 16, 2018 - KOA

The good and the bad. It’s a KOA that means trees and dirt roads in the campground that are up and down hill. The people next to us were led to their site and hit a tree, knocked the awning topper to the side and the staff had to come out to fix it. This place is not meant for a big rig to drive through it. But the good is we have a back in (would have preferred a pull thru) that is large enough and open to the sky to get 2 of the satellites. Also the WIFI is strong as it’s a week day. People next to us live in Wisconsin and Florida (Cape...

Sep 15, 2018 - North Sydney and ferry terminal

It is very windy here on the north end of Cape Breton Island. We are going to stay here one more day as the wind might make that drive over the mountain to get out of here dicey. We stayed at the Eagle as it's cool here as well. For dinner we went out to eat - drove into North Sydney to find a place to eat and found just fast food. Tim Horton's is always busy but just has sandwiches and donuts so we decided to try out Lick a Chick as the parking lot is always full. Not much to write home about - lots of french fries and chicken just OK....

Sep 14, 2018 - Baile nan Gaidheal Highland Village

Today we took what was supposed to be a scenic drive along the lake to Iona. We did see Bras d’Or very little - most of the drive was through the forest. The highland Village is top notch. It starts in the 1770’s in Scotland with a stone Black House that is what these settlers left behind. The interpreter was so informative. They are in Scotland and the landlord continues to raise the rent to a level they cannot afford as he wants the land so he can raise white sheep. Sheep are more valuable than people. The next stop was at the farm where...

Sep 13, 2018 - Alexander Graham Bell

We drove to Baddeck to see the Alexander Graham Bell national historic site. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1847 and moved to Ontario in 1870, then to Boston to teach where he patented the telephone in Boston 3/27/1876. He first visited Baddeck in 1885 and built his home Beinn Bhreagh there. He was president of the National Geographic Society in 1897 but formed the Aerial Experiment Association in 1907 with Glenn Curtiss. He loved aviation and invented the Silver Dart that was flown off a frozen lake at Baddeck 2/23/1909 - the first...

Sep 12, 2018 - Gaelic college

Ray slept in and I went to the Gaelic College in St. Ann's. A very scenic a drive to the college even though it was overcast and rainy. The college has a Great Hall of the Clans museum that I toured before the demonstation of how to make a kilt from a flat piece of fabric, followed by a milling frolic and short exposure to Gaelic, followed by a fiddle and dance demonstration. The dancer was the 2nd fiddle player we had seen at the Cultural center. Very talented. The fiddle player told about touring the world as Cape Breton music is becoming...

Sep 11, 2018 - Sydney and Glace bay

We drove to Sydney to the harbor and there was a cruise ship in port, probably the same one that was in Charlottetown. We think this may be due to hurricane Florence that caused a cruise ship to go to Atlantic Canada rather than Bermuda. Because of this the harbor was busy, there were many shops set up to sell to those cruisers. The center had a video about the construction and concept of the big fiddle. It symbolizes the musical tradition of Cape Breton and is to accurate scale. It is illuminated and also plays music on the plaza, it...

Sep 10, 2018 - Fortress Louisbourg

We visited Fortress Louisbourg that is a reconstruction of the French settlement established here in 1713. The buildings are to original specifications including historical building techniques and are on the actual foundations left by the British when the city was finally razed in 1760. This is a Williamsburg type of experience with interpreters in period dress at most sites demonstrating tasks such as cooking, blacksmiths, bobbin lace weaving, baking, etc. We spoke to the baker about the type of bread provided to the troops vs the higher...