Tuesday, July 9, 2024, Port Royal and Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada

From Parker's Bay, we visited the Port Royal National Historic Site one of the earliest European settlements in North America. The original habitation was built by Samuel de Champlain in 1605. His drawings and plans were used for the reconstruction using the same materials and tools. Beautifully crafted timber frame construction was assembled with no nails. Mortise and tenon joints were locked with pegs. 

Interpreters in costume described life's challenges in the fort and their relationship with the native Mi'kmaq.

Only a few of the rooms had windows with glass panes. Most of the windows had oiled sheepskin instead of glass that allowed in some light while keeping out the insects and cold.

Many of the rooms led one into another so the blacksmith was next to the kitchen next to the bakery which led into the common room.

One corner of the habitation was the house for the governor. He had a bit more room and luxury. Upstairs was a four-poster bed. 

Port Royal was only occupied for a short few years before politics across the ocean changed direction and it was abandoned. The land was farmed for hundreds of years before the decision to reconstruct the habitation. We were told there were probably only a few stones in the foundation that were original to the 1605 structure.

Next, we headed to the quaint seaside village of Digby, the scallop capital of the world. One of the locals recommended we stop in the Crow's Nest for the scallops. Joani had the seafood chowder loaded with scallops, fish, shrimp, and clams and I had the pan-fried scallops. Both were certainly tasty!

It was a pleasant day so we opted to sit outdoors and watched the tide rise as we ate.

I thought this deck was different. It was originally the aft section of a large fishing boat.

It was nice to see so many faces from our tour around town it made us feel like we were locals ourselves.

Sunday, July 7, 2024, Move to Parker's Bay, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada

We moved to Parkers Bay near Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, a short trip of 102 miles. We were warned the park owner could be difficult. She had to park each coach herself. That meant we had overwhelmed her and coaches were waiting on the highway. We drove a few hundred yards around the corner and found a large parking lot where we took the car off the dolly and waited for the crowd to clear. Across the highway, I noticed boats tied to the wharf. I liked the relative sizes - small, medium, large.  

Since we were safely out of the road, we waited until the traffic jam cleared.  We were last to get parked, but we were rewarded with a nice oceanside view. The sites were grass and it had rained the night before so the ground was pretty soggy. The park had some power issues. We only had about 105 volts but faired better than a few of the others.

Getting in so early meant we had plenty of time to take a first look at Annapolis Royal. The streets were deserted and most shops were closed on Sunday. It was a pleasant day so we decided to get our steps in.

The Ryan Royal was high and dry. Maybe she was in for repairs or maybe she was just waiting for the tide to head out to the fishing waters again.

Fort Anne was a historic site managed by the Canadian National Park system (we can use our passes). We thought it was closed so we just walked the grounds. We found out later the museum was open.

The trademark red Adirondack chairs were positioned to overlook the bay.

The town had a bit of charm but after Lunenburg, it seemed a bit bland.

The building across the street was home to a lawyer's office and an artist's studio.

I don't know what went on upstairs but I hope that was the artist's studio.

Friday, July 5, 2024, Fisheries Museum, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada

We woke up to a foggy morning. That was not too much of a surprise along the coast. Unfortunately, the fog persisted and the Captain of the Bluenose chose to cancel our cruise. After seeing it on our first day and thinking about it since, everyone was heartily disappointed. Our tour wagon masters did get us admission to the Fisheries Museum which was not a fair trade but it was something. We had noticed the museum on the waterfront but I really had no desire to tour it so I thought I would be disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised, the museum was interesting and we spent a fair amount of time there.

This map of the Maritimes was nicely done in 3-D. I know the depth was exaggerated but it really showed the fall off beyond the continental shelf.

How big a pot would you need to cook this 25-pound lobster? This lobster didn't need to worry about a boiling pot because he lived in an aquarium. The largest recorded lobster was caught in 1977. It weighed more than 20 Kg (44 lbs) and was estimated to be more than 50 years old.

I really liked the way they presented models. They appeared to float on a blue plexiglass sheet that represented the rippled ocean surface. You could see above and below the waterline.

Ahh, just dreaming of piloting the Bluenose II.

I'm sure it was a hard way to make a living, fishing from a little trap skiff out of sight of the shoreline. I doubt I would have made a good fisherman. These were used from the early 1800's to the early 1900's. They were easy to row, had plenty of room, and were easy to build. It also sailed reasonably well using a single "leg-o'mutton" sail. 

We took a break to have lunch at The Old Fish Factory on the second floor of the museum. We realized too late that we could have visited below the deck of the Theresa E. Conner (very similar to the BluenoseII) docked outside along the pier. Instead, we had a picture with Captain Seymour Fogg - I wonder if he was the one who canceled our cruise.

We walked around a few more streets and found more beautifully restored houses.

We hiked back up the hill to our campsite. It turned out to be a pleasant but somewhat disappointing day. As is often the case when RV'ing we just had to roll with the tide!

Sunday, June 30, 2024, Cape Breton Highlands National Park/Bell/Ceilidh, Nova Scotia, Canada

One of the most popular attractions on the island was the Cape Breton Island National Park. It was encircled by the Cabot Trail. The complete loop was more than 180 miles. Getting a late start on this misty, overcast morning we had no illusions about seeing it all. The weather, however, did add a certain amount of drama to our sightseeing.

Along the road, there were many stops where you could walk to the shoreline. Joani could have spent all day along this one beach.

One of my favorite shots of the rugged coastline was from a roadside pull-off.

Along with the indigenous First Nation people, the Mi'kmaq, the island includes Acadian, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, and English cultures. Everywhere signs were in Mi'kmaq making them very unusual. There was no chance of understanding the signs without a translation.

Unama'kik is the word Mi'kmaq used to refer to Cape Breton Island, and loosely translates to Land of Fog; Pjila'si loosely means Welcome: Come in. I'm sure you could have guessed that's what the sign below said.

The rain held off although the skies always looked like they could open up at any time. Once we were inside the park boundaries the scenery became even more spectacular. My short hair doesn't give any indication of the wind blowing on the point below. It nearly threw me off balance while I walked the boardwalk.

I wondered who would leave a red chair on the cliff overlooking the beach. It was perched above the waterfall. I carefully chose my angle to hide it in the photo below. Later, as we were hiking through the woods we found the same chair. Since it was bolted to the rocks, we can assume the park installed it so I could enjoy the view and contemplate the beauty of nature. 

We followed the Cabot Trail counterclockwise to Neil's Harbor before running out of time and turning around.

In Baddeck, we visited the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.  A nice view of the building, a Canadian flag, and a lighthouse in the distance greeted us on our way inside.   

The museum was free with the National Park Pass provided by Fantasy RV Tours.

The museum has a lot of history regarding Bell's famous invention and the evolution of the phone since then.

A reproduction of Bell's office showed he was a man of very modest means. I suspect he spent most of his time in a lab or outside flying kites (for research, of course).

I did not know about his interest in many areas beyond the telephone. His study of kites and airplanes sparked the development of hydrofoil watercraft.

Below is a full-scale replica of the HD-4. Two large propellers pushed the craft along as foils, fore and aft, and under each wing raised the body above the water. It reached speeds of 70 mph. That's not bad for watercraft in 1919. 

Eight of us planned to meet at the Freight Shed in Baddeck for dinner. They only had seating for us outside but it was cold (they offered blankets) and it was raining (mostly dry close to the wall). When we hesitated they suggested we try their alternate Shed just a short walk away. Warm and dry indoors was the better option.

Bruce and Linda

Randy and Jean

Brian and Jean

When everyone was full, it was time to find the venue for tonight's music. We were assured Ceilidh in Gaelic was pronounced "Kay-lee" and meant "a gathering". Gather-we-did in this small hall where a crowd of about 80 listened to traditional Scottish music for nearly two hours. 

Baddeck Gathering Ceilidhs was not included as part of our tour, but it was recommended as a "shouldn't miss." 

It didn't disappoint.

A very rare selfie while waiting for the show to begin.

Buddy MacDonald, Rachel Davis, and Darren McMullen

Hot tea and oatcakes were served during intermission.

The love of Scottish music runs deep in these folks. It was clear these three loved playing together and loved the music. In fact, Rachel and Darren had just celebrated their 2nd anniversary and Buddy's wife was with us listening to the music. 

The music ended around 9:30 so it was dark as we headed home after a full day. I remembered the signs saying to be alert for moose so I was hyper-focused looking for glowing eyes along the roadside. We saw no moose, deer, or other critters and hit the hay as soon as we were home.