Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (08-28-18)

Well, I am kind of getting ahead of myself a bit. Before we went to Cape Breton, we spent 5 days in Halifax.  Halifax is the largest city in this area of Canada, and is where the historical records are kept for the province.  We spent 4 days combing through records.

We came up for air long enough to meet up with our friends Neil and Susan.  They live here, and we met them on our first visit here.  It was Neil that convinced us to go to Newfoundland back in 2013.

Once we had gathered all the information we could in Halifax, we left for Cape Breton. Cape Breton is an island, connected to the mainland by a causeway.

Its not a huge island, so we decided to stay at Battery Provincial Park for our entire stay. It is centrally located enough that we could reach all the places we needed to be.

It’s about 30 minutes from Port Hastings, where my father’s paternal grandparents were from, about 40 minutes from Isle Madame, where my dad’s maternal grandparents were from, and about 25 minutes from where my maternal grandmother grew up.

We really loved this park. With no reservations, we had to move sites a few times, and mostly didn’t have electric hook up, but that’s easy to do in the camper, and the park was very well kept and had great views.

As added bonuses, there were very few bugs, so we could have campfires, and there is a pair of resident bald eagles that we watched a few times.

I think we spent a total of 4 or 5 full days at the Port Hastings Historical Society. That is the area that the Kings were from, and when I said what family name I was interested in, they handed me a folder with a ton of information! I didn’t have time to digest it all so I took pictures and have been going through the information as I can.






One thing that makes it harder, is internet access. Although I have my full data allotment, Paul has nothing, so we have to share.  And Google maps is a data hog. Many public places have Wi-Fi, which helps some but it is still a challenge.

We took one full day and drove the island of Isle Madame, home to many many Samson and Boudreau families-I am related to most of the people on the island, in some way or other. We spent a few hours in the library there, and one of the guys working  there set up his computer and let me copy a “communal” family tree that was put together during a genealogy summit a few years ago.

Once we had that, we drove around the island checking out the towns and seashore. Samson Cove was very pretty.

My great grandfather Thomas Boudreau was born here on the island, in Boudreauville- there are many small towns on Cape Breton that are named for the family that lived there. I love sea glass, and it was actually really cool to find some on a beach near the town.










There are people who I correspond with who are researching the same families- so we are related in some way- and we share what information we find. I have also reached out to a few people on Ancestry DNA, sometimes to share info, sometimes just to say hi.

Leo King and I have been sharing information for a year or so now and he set me up to meet his brother Charlie, who lives on Cape Breton. Charlie and I are 2nd cousins once removed. It was very strange meeting a relative named Charlie King- that was my dad’s name.

Charlie was awesome and showed us all around, pointing out where the old settlements had been. Most were gone and the families moved on- often just down the road it seems. One challenge in doing research here is that the names of the towns have changed since the time period I am researching. My great grandfather was born in Caribou Cove- its now Port Malcolm. My great great grandfather lived in Plaster Cove- now Port Hawkesbury, and my great great great grandfather lived in Ship Harbour- now Port Hastings.  At least I feel like I have the lay of the land better now!



I got a response to a message I sent on Ancestry to a 2nd cousin who lives in Nova Scotia. The reply said “hi- I am the guy whose computer  you used the other day in the library- we are cousins??” Too funny!


The nearby town of Johnstown is where my grandmother Josephine Johnston grew up. While Isle Madame is the French/Acadian area of Cape Breton, Johnstown/Red Islands  is the Scottish area of the island.

Many of the signs are in Gaelic as well as English, including some stop signs. I have been fascinated with the differences we have found in the food and the accents on the Island. Many of the people of Isle Madame speak with a French-ish accent, and the people of Johnstown favor a Scottish one.

I remembered that the last time we were here, we missed the annual Milling Frolic by just a few days so I asked around and found out we would indeed be here for it this year!

It’s the oldest running milling frolic in Nova Scotia- 87 Years . In days gone by, people got together to “kneed “ wool cloth to shrink it. Nowadays it’s a social event, where they mill the cloth while singing in Gaelic.

They open the Sacred Heart church community center for the party. We were amazed to see hundreds of people show up for this event .

There is food served, a room where Bingo was being played, and a place for kids to do artwork.

Before all the “real singers” showed up they asked people to fill in the seats, so I got to sit while everyone else sang in Gaelic. Once the Gaelic singing was done they had a dance that lasted till 1 am. Or so we hear. We left at 10:30.

After about 10 days on the island, we were both ready to move on.

Out and About on the South Shore (07-11-13)

With only a couple of days left in the Halifax area,  we had to choose a couple of side trips to do because we can't do everything we want.  We decided to get up, get moving early, take the bikes and head to Chester, where we can catch the ferry to Tancook Island.  Its a great island for walking and biking, and we a overdue for some exercise.  The first problem we had was when we realized Canada has a mandatory helmet law for bikers and we don't have helmets.  Oh well, we figured we'd just walk the island then.  We made it to Chester, but it took us a while to find a spot to park the Beast.  Once we did, we were just in time to watch the ferry pull away from the dock, of course, so we walked over to check the schedule.  Bad news.  The next ferry isn't until 3:00.  Bummer, but hey, it was ok because  by now, problem number three, or is it four,  was drizzling down upon us.

  We opted to keep driving down the coast, and came to the town of Liverpool.  Liverpool was home to the privateers of the 1700s, and was known for its shipbuilding.  Its just a small town and doesn't have the ambiance of Lunenburg, but we decided to take the walking trail that circled the harbor. 

After crossing the trestle bridge, we started hearing live music.  We went to investigate and it turns out that Liverpool is also home to Hank Snow, and there's a museum here with his name on it.    If you ever decide to come here, come on Wednesday.  We arrived just in time for the free weekly BBQ and concert.  We had already eaten but we enjoyed the music.

At this point we were so far down the coast we were close to Kejimkujik National Park, which we had knocked off our list because it was too far away and its really just a beach. But since we were this close anyway......

Its about a one mile hike to the beach from the parking lot and although the sun wasn't out, it had stopped drizzling, so we took the trail.  The coast was beautiful and we got a chance to see the seals hanging out on the rocks offshore.

One of the things that I have noticed up here is the recycling. Canada puts the U.S. to shame when it comes to that. All the campgrounds recycle,  and even in public areas where you would ordinarily just see trash barrels, there are bins for recycling.  I noticed it on PEI and I thought they were so diligent there because its an island, but Nova Scotia is just as impressive.

Our last day in Halifax was a mixed day.  Practical chores, like laundry and trailer washing, reared their ugly heads and we spent the morning taking care of mundane things.  After lunch we headed again to Peggy’s Cove to get a better look at it.  It is very similar to Rockport, but only has a few stores and one restaurant.

The boulders were fun to climb on, but only because the rain held off!

Halifax- the Citadel and the City (07-08-13)

Sitting high on the hills overlooking the city,the Citadel was originally built to fight the French of Louisbourg and has been rebuilt 3 times over the years to protect Halifax and its harbor from a land attack that never came.

Because the harbor here is very deep and well designed by nature, it has played an important role both in commerce and in times of war.
During the revolutionary war Halifax hosted the British soldiers after they were run out of Boston. They say that Halifax could have been the 14th colony if there hadn't been such a huge British military presence here at the time.

During World Wars I and II the harbor was used to funnel troops and supplies to Europe.  In 1917 there was a horrible accident in the harbor. A French cargo ship full of explosives collided with another vessel in the harbor, and the ensuing fire caused an explosion that killed 2000 people and injured 9000.  It was the largest man made explosion prior to nuclear weapons.

The day we visited it was spitting rain but we brought umbrellas, hoping that would keep the rain away.  Our ploy didn't work very well.

We took the free guided tour which was led by a "Scottish Sergeant" in full kilt regalia.  Oops, wrong picture.

 

Years ago England refused to let Scottish soldiers dress in traditional Scottish garb, but when the ranks of the English army shrank to an uncomfortably low level,    the two cultures worked it out so that there would be specific Scottish regiments that would be allowed to wear traditional garb.

Our guide did a nice job of giving us the picture of what life would have been like at the fort back in the mid 1800s.

I did have one question for him that showcased my ignorance of Canadian history.  We had watched the orientation movie about the city and it mentioned, in a sort of casual way, the years before and after Canada separated from Great Britain.  So I said to the guide-" Wait a minute then.  When the U.S. wanted to separate from England, we had to go to war with them to get the independence we wanted, but when Canada wanted it's independence, England just said 'ok, sure'??"  Yup, pretty much.

While walking the grounds of the Citadel, we noticed several camera crews, and being nosy, we asked what it was all about.  It turns out that the Canadian Minister of Defense  was at the Citadel to make an announcement of some kind.

             

We did walk the riverfront again, during the daytime, and checked out some of the stores. 

The jazz festival is still going on, and a free concert was in process so we stopped to listen for a few minutes.  Unfortunately, neither of us is a huge jazz fan so we soon moved on.

   Along the way we tried "Cows" Ice Cream, the self

proclaimed best ice cream in Canada, and weren't overly impressed.  As we continued to walk Paul decided that even though we had just had ice cream, he had to try Poutine. 

We've been seeing it offered different places and it was "calling his name".  So, what is it?  French fries with cheese curds and gravy.  To that you can add a variety of “toppings” such as bacon or pulled pork, or in Paul’s case, both.  It's pretty popular up here, but it's a little over the top for me.



            Halifax is also home to the Nova Scotia Archives, and Paul and I spent one morning trying, unsuccessfully to add to my knowledge of my family history.  Most of my grandparents and great grandparents are from the Cape Breton area of Nova Scotia. Although we didn't find out anything new, we do plan on spending a few days exploring the towns that they lived in.

Halifax, Nova Scotia (07-07-13)

Halifax, Nova Scotia,  is my new favorite place.


Driving down from PEI, it  took us about 5 hours to reach our destination near Peggy’s Cove, just south of Halifax.  The toll was $5.25 so I had to check out my loonies and toonies to see if I could make exact change.  Canada has done away with the $1 bill, and in it’s place there is a “loonie”- a one dollar coin.  A Toonie is a two dollar coin. (on the right). As you can see, I managed to make the correct change for the toll.

I remember hearing how beautiful Peggy’s Cove is, so without remembering details, I booked the nearest RV Park to the cove.  We are at a place called Wayside RV Park.  We arrived, set up, and Paul’s stress level immediately went UP. Every once in a while we get to an RV Park that has electrical issues.  This is one of them.

 

With the temperature outside hovering at 95 degrees, we need the electrical system, and our air conditioners, to work correctly.  The site we were given has low voltage.  That means that although everything looks OK on the surface, our Power Management System, which we installed to protect our electronics from low voltage damage,  saw that we had a problem, and routinely shut off our air conditioners, electric water heater, and even our refrigerator.




After an hour of Paul trying to work around the problem, he talked to the manager about moving to the next site over, which has 50 amp service.  Our RVer friends know that 50 amp service is much easier to deal with than 30 amp service.  Once we switched sites ( only the second time we have EVER had to switch sites) everything worked perfectly and we could move on with our lives.  
 

Being a glutton for punishment, Paul wanted to do more driving, so we drove down to Peggy’s Cove.  It’s a tiny  little community on the water and reminds me a lot of Rockport in Massachusetts.  The nearby boulders looked very inviting but it was still too hot outside to do much, so we figured we’d come back when it’s cooler.

On the way to Peggy’s Cove we stopped to check out a memorial on the coast.  It turns out that it’s a memorial for Swissair flight 111.  In 1998 the airplane crashed 5 miles off the coast here, in St. Margaret's Bay.

At 9 pm the temperature was still a sultry 86 degrees, so we made the trek to Halifax Harbor to watch the delayed Canada Day fireworks.  Watching the boats arrive as the sun was setting made me very homesick for the Boston Esplanade!  For many years, Paul and I took our boat to the Esplanade for the July 4th fireworks. In fact, that’s how we met!

The harbor front in Halifax has a wide boardwalk, with many little shops and restaurants right on the waterfront.  We hope to go back when it’s not crowded with a hundred thousand people!

   

The following day we packed up a picnic lunch and headed down the coast towards the small town of Lunenburg. The whole south coast region has a scenic loop, with lots of little small harbor towns, but  would take 2 days to drive the whole thing, so we have opted instead to choose one or two places to check out.

Lunenburg is a small fishing village, established in the mid 1700s as one of the earliest English settlements in Nova Scotia.  The houses and shops are brightly colored making it appear festive.  We braved the high temperatures and strolled along the waterfront, in and out of the little shops for an hour or so before driving on.

Our plan was to drive just a bit further, to The Ovens natural park.  It boasts hiking trails that lead to sea caves, which sounded pretty interesting to us, except for two things. It is a private park, and the entrance fee is $8 per person.  This late in the day, it wasn’t worth paying.  Secondly, it was so hot outside- mid 90s again, that we really didn’t want to hike anyway!  I hadn’t realized it is more like a destination place for families, with a pool, small campground, and a beach.






Instead,  we punched in the address for a restaurant in the small town of Chester, and headed there for dinner on the deck.  The weather was perfect for sitting outside listening to music.





I am exhausted just writing about all the driving we did, and sure enough, Paul was tired of being behind the wheel. 





With temperatures predicted to be in the mid 90s for one more day, and being surrounded by all this beautiful water, we elected to scrap our plans for Sunday and get the boat out on the water.

The weather was perfect, and so was the water temperature- cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough to swim in.








PS, I had major issues editing this post.  I don't know if  Blogger is having a problem or it's my computer but I couldn't move the wording around the pictures correctly.