Day 16 – Quebec City

Day 16 – June 30, 2008

Its sunny today! Horraaay!!!!! Well, I must say this was an eventful day for all of us. Phil has always wanted to see Quebec City because of the history, but thought he would never get to see it. Lucas did not know about old Quebec City – he thought we were seeing another old fort, but didn’t know about old city walls, or the old city downtown core. I thought it would be old, dirty, and the people would be unfriendly and not speak English.

We were all pleasantly surprised! We visited old Quebec city with the citadel, the Plains of Abraham, old beautiful buildings and streets, restaurants, the Parliament Buildings, Chateau du Frontenac, Notre Dame Basilica. It was really beautiful! We started out the day at the citadel, which is a working fort, which means there are army personnel living there today, some just came back from Afghanistan, and some are getting ready to go. They live here, practice and gear up to go. The 1 hour tour was guided throughout the complex. We were fortunate enough to be up on the ramparts when a navy ship went by (a Corvette we think) and when a navy ship passes Quebec Citadel it gives a 21 gun (artillery) salute.
We then had lunch outside at an Italian restaurant, which was among a whole long street of restaurants, shops, and galleries. We enjoyed watching the people come and go, the horse drawn carriages tours, and the busyness. It was very busy, but in a calm way. We actually have experienced our best customer service of our trip right here in Quebec. They are really friendly, helpful, and all the people we have encountered so far speak English, and appreciate our feeble attempts to speak French. Once they hear us stumbling, they go right into English. I was impressed. It was just a great sunny day in the heart of Old Quebec City. We all would like to come here again and spend week just walking around and seeing all there is to see.

We then left for the city of Montréal. Speed limits posted on the freeway are suggestions as best. Everyone speeds here, and not just a little, a lot! We got terribly lost in Montreal as the address in our Super 8 book and our GPS did not agree. We found the address in a run down residential area, completely on the opposite side of the city where we were supposed to be! After about an hour, we found our hotel exhausted.

Lucas’ statement: Did you know… within the Citadel there is another ”mini fort” where soldiers could make a last stand.

Day 15, June 29 2008 – New Brunswick to Quebec and all things Francais…

Day 15, June 29 2008

Monsoon Rain would best describe what we woke up to in Fredericton N. B. which lasted from about 7:30 a.m. to well after 12:00pm, however nothing like a little Starbucks to bring sunshine to the day! After our continental breakfast in the hotel (hopefully won’t be staying at too many hotels where the Breakfast room is actually in a hotel room, where they kept the food in the bathroom. Muffins, bread and other things were piled up in there, and some on the toilet. Hmmmm wonder what Health Canada would say….. but anyway, sometimes that’s life on the road!

As I said, nothing a little Starbucks can’t cure. Most stores and museums, attractions do not open in this city until 12:00 p.m. we find out, so are in limbo until then.

Our first stop is the Old Government House, downtown Fredericton, which is beautiful and old. This house was completed in 1829 (the first on at this location burned down in the great New Brunswick forest fire, which burned 1\4 of New Brunswick) to help bring the community together and to re-build after the horrible fires. The house was then sold in the late 1800’s as it was too expensive to keep. Everything in the house was auctioned off for a total price of $2,000. Amazing! When the building was resotred they were able to get some of the orignals back and used paintings and documents to find furniture from the era that matches the originals. During our tour, we were allowed to sit on the furniture, and touch things as they call this “the peoples house.” It was and, since its full restoration, still is a place were people are invited to attend functions, parties and social functions.

We sat on couches which ranged in price from $20,000 to $100,000! We saw a few chandeliers which were original to the house, which now would fetch a sum of $500,000. They still sit around a Peacock Mahogany wood table (looks like mahogany, with specks on it like Peacock feathers) to dine, during big receptions, and this table’s worth is at over a million dollar value. (As with most of the furniture in the house, it was designed and made by Alexander Nesbitt whose furniture now fetches top dollar on the antiques market.) It was originally in 4 sections, but they only have 3 so there is another section out there somewhere worth a lot of money. Maybe it will show up on the Antiques Road Show! Anyway, on this tour, the lady with all the info says that they had a number of pieces appraised, so that is where they got the values from.

The house has been used as everything from a school for the hearing impaired, a hospital, an army residence, and also the RCMP regional headquarters for about 30 years, until they moved to a new building. What is amazing is that a lot of the plaster, floors and crown mouldings, and even a solid wood sliding door were preserved because they (RCMP) put in false \ floating ceilings, and temporary walls, so when all this was taken away, a lot was still there. There was one buffet that survived the fire as the lady of the house at the time asked the servants to carry it out before the fire, as it was her favorite piece. This buffet is still in the house today. Was well worth touring! Nicely well done. They lived in Opulence back in dem der days!

We then took the scenic route north along the St. John river and area to see some of the famous covered Bridges. This was really cool, because we found an old wooden covered bridge built in 1913, on Morehouse Cross Road, which crossed the Keswick River. We had to check it out, and it did not disappoint! Beautiful old structure, lots of graffiti, but really nice, followed this road around back to the highway along Morehouse Branch road and Morehouse Corner road! Something to research when we get back home. We also drove over the world’s longest covered bridge in Hartland, some1282 feet long. Again, really nice, a lot more pomp and circumstance with hanging flower baskets, and flags. Beautiful old covered bridges from a day long gone by.

We then surprisingly came across the Chutes & Gorge at Grand Falls, There is a hydro-electric station there. This was pretty amazing to see as well. In the spring freshet the volume of water going over the falls is equal to 905 of that of Niagra Falls!

Then on to Quebec and Quebec City, which is about a 3.5 hour drive, but with all the potty stops more like 4 hours! However, gave us time to listen to our Learn French CD’s. We were also drilling Lucas for any French he knew from Grade 5 French. I think we will be able to order 11 cheese hamburgers with chocolate milk! Any more than that, and were lost.

Must sign off, big day tomorrow in huge Quebec City.

Lucas' Statement: In the spring the volume of water going over the Grand Falls is 9 million litres per second - equal to 90% of that of Niagara Falls!

Day 14 – Hopewell Rocks and Magnetic Hill

Day 14, June 28 2008

Magnetic Hill started off our day today. This is a park area where you drive your car down a hill, put it in neutral, take your foot off the gas, and the magnetism pulls you back up the hill! Really cool! They explained the magic to us, but if you want to know about it, you have to come yourselves. From there we went on to Hopewell Rocks on Hopewell Cape on the Bay of Fundy. This area also sees the highest tides in the world (up to 50 feet). Here we walked on the ocean floor during low tide. The rock formations were beautiful – the trail we took was called Flowerpot rocks – hence the trees growing out the tops of the rocks. Beautiful place!

To end out our day we did a little mini-golfing at Magic Mountain and go carts. We are hoping that Lucas will get so experienced in driving he will be able to assist later in our trip ( just kidding)
For now……….

Lucas' Statement: Spoiler Alert!!! If you don't want to know the magic of Magnetic Hill don't read any further..................................... Its an optical illusion. You are actually coasting downhill not uphill, but it sure looks like you are going uphill.

Day 13 - Dunes, Indecency and New Brunswick

Day 13, June 27, 2008

Day 13 started out cool, wet and with much muttering and complaining. Then we got out of bed and got after it. After wandering (driving) around aimlessly trying to find out where we were (PEI is violently opposed to signage) we found our way to Greenwich National Park on PEI’s North East shore. This park has 3 walking routes, one goes down to the beach to see the fisherman catch mussels, lobster and other sea crustaceans. One leads down to info on the Acadians and farming. The route we took was to the dunes. The path was to lead us through a field, through thick dense forest, to an open marshy area with a floating boardwalk to the dunes. This is what I wanted to see, and you see pictures of this area in all the brochures. Simply lovely place!

Upon leaving the car we were greeted by a horde of mosquitoes passing themselves off as villains in a Hitchcock thriller – fortunately we had enough illegal deet to drop the number of attacks down to triple digits per minute per person. And since we didn’t come all the way across the continent just to whine, we resolved to head to our destination while whining. A short 45 minute scramble led us to a deserted white sand beach covered with dunes. It was a beautiful sight and we thoroughly enjoyed running and playing on the beach.

Lucas and Phil then decided to shed good judgment, good taste and good clothing to dip au naturel into the Atlantic ocean. The first attempt ended in a scramble to re-robe as a busload of Chinese women tourists crested the bank for a view of the white beauties themselves. (That is the sand not the boys bottoms.) OK it was really just a couple, but how exciting is that? Once they left, the boys again bared all and jumped in. I got some pictures but Phil said if we put them on the blog they may end up on something like lardbuttandtheboy.com.

We reluctantly left the beach, braved the mosquitoes and headed back to the car to set off to Moncton New Brunswick. Lucas and I were able to catch a few winks while Phil drove. Again refreshed we hit the Crystal Palace Amusement park. Lucas quickly hooked up with a boy his age and they spent the evening running to different rides and amusements while we sat and enjoyed… are you ready? Starbucks!!!! Woohoo, finally back to civilization.

Not sure if we will stay another day in Moncton, head to Fredericton or off to St. Andrews… we will decide tomorrow. Stay tuned…

Lucas' Statement: Did you know... there are actually over 50 types of rollercoasters.

Day 12 - Sneezy and the Boys Tour PEI

Day 12, June 26, 2008

Actually Phil wanted to call today’s blog entry “Anne Up the Ying Yang,” but we settled for the current title since that really described the day. (My allergies were really acting up.) We travelled out to “Anne’s Land” around Cavendish to see the historical site of the house and property that gave rise to the Anne of Green Gables stories. We walked “Lover’s Lane” (now bordered by a golf course), and the Haunted Woods (bordered by the same golf course).

We also toured the “Green Gables” house, which was actually owned by L.M. Montgomery’s grandfather’s cousin. L.M. Montgomery visited this place often and was inspired by the house, the woods, and all of nature around it. It is really an idyllic setting for a home – up on a knoll, overlooking a pond or creek with great woods all around with brooks running through it, ferns and moss, wild flowers of every kind and the sounds of birds. Beautiful area.

We stopped by an amusement park (closed due to rain), went to see scale replicas on famous English buildings (closed until “summer”), and another beautiful Catholic cathedral in the middle of nowhere (open! … thank God for the Catholic churches which are always open).

We then went off to check out the dunes, however were headed in the wrong direction, and didn’t realize it until about an hour or so later. (At one point in the drive however we were greeted by the yummy smell of potato chips and then realized we were driving by Cavendish Farms where presumably they were cooking up their frozen French fries sold in some grocery stores. ) Anyway we opted to turn around, go back to Charlottetown, and catch a dinner theatre instead. Dinner was o.k., the theatre was great, lots of singing – group did really well.
We hope to go out to the dunes tomorrow to the Greenwich National park. Forecast is for highs of 17, and 90 % chance of rain. Good thing we brought rain gear!

So until tomorrow…

Cool Facts we learned:
1) It’s the 100th anniversary of the first book published book of Anne of Green Gables.
2)There is a store in downtown Charlottetown that sells all things “Anne.”
3) Anne of Green Gables the musical is the longest running show in Canadian history.
4) It appears virtually the whole economy of PEI is based on Anne.

Lucas’ statement – (see correction on last blog : L.M. Montgomery did not marry her teacher. We found this out today while on our tour. ) Did you know… Lovers Lane and the Haunted Woods are only separated by about 100 metres (or couple of hundred feet if you are over 30), but the one is actually a little spooky and the other is very nice.

Day 11 - Onto to PEI

Day 11, June 25, 2008

After spending the night in Amherst, and much to Lucas’s relief, we finally left Nova Scotia behind and headed to another province. Its sunny and warm so it makes for a great day whether travelling or sight seeing. At just after noon we crossed the Confederation Bridge into Prince Edward Island. The bridge is about 8 miles (12 kms) long and is the longest bridge in the world. It took us 10 minutes to cross it. After a couple of pictures we head into Charlottetown to tour Province House where the fathers of confederation first met and decided to join the British North America colonies into a unified country. It turns out there isn’t much to see, just a couple of rooms available for viewing, but it was an important part of our history, so we were glad we saw it.

We also went into a beautiful huge old cathedral (St. Dunstan’s Basilica). Very high copper spires, lots of stained glass, and once again a very quiet and reflective space. It was beautiful!

We go to check in, and Phil opens up our room, only to find it in disarray – the room hadn’t been cleaned and looked like someone was still staying there. Just another moment in the Morehouse holiday log of Blips along the way. Fortunately they did have another room to put us in for the night. I would hate to think what would have happened if there wasn’t.

We took in the Anne of Green Gables, the musical at the Confederation Centre for the Arts. Great production, very funny, great singers and actors. Was superbly done. We all enjoyed the production and re-hearing the story. The theatre was beautiful – nice roomy seats, and even more than ample leg room. What a novel idea!

We will be happy to return to civilization again to get Starbucks. We have been without since we left Halifax. We were lucky enough to get near enough to Halifax to find one on the outskirts, which was about 3 days ago! There are none in PEI, but I hear there may be one in New Brunswick! Here’s hoping!!!!!

Cool facts we learned:
1) The Charolotteown conference on unity was meant to be just a meeting of the Maritime colonies discussing unity. Canada (just small parts of present day Ontario and Quebec) wasn’t invited but John A. MacDonald got wind of the meeting and insisted he and other Canadian representatives attend. Until then the maritme leaders had never met the Canadian leaders.
2) We travelled in 3 Provinces today. We were in Nova Scotia, and then had to go through a little of New Brunswick and then once we were over the bridge we were in PEI.


Lucas’ Statement: Did you know that…. Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables was proposed to her teacher at the age of 16, but she refused and married a pastor when she was 36.

Days 9&10 - The Fortress of Louisbourg

Day 9&10, June 23-24, 2008

Today we headed off to Louisburg on the eastern tip of Cape Breton. Got some pictures and then traveled up the shoreline of Bras d’Or Lake - beautiful really big big lake. Road again really rough – hardly any traffic, lots of forest. This route takes us to Sydney, where we then take a road to the Fortress of Louisbourg.

As we approach the fort we all go WOW!! We had no idea how big it was. What a sight. We were expecting a fort that looks like those you see in the movie, or like a Fort Langley. Not a chance. It turns out the original Louisburg was actually a planned, fortified city often made of stone and built with the King’s money (Louis XV of France) so it actually was similar in appearance to a European city of the time. It encompassed 30 full city blocks and although only 5 blocks have been reconstructed we quickly realize we won’t see it all in one day. To Phil this was like what Disneyland is to Lucas so we toured as long as we could and then returned the next day.

The gate keeper was not sure if they should let Lucas in as he was wearing a red coat and carrying a musket (he purchased the toy musket at the gift shop prior to going into the park). This was quite the joke, and so they warned Lucas to be on his best behavior because they watch carefully the men in red coats (the British wore red coats – the French wore blue).

Phil took the guided tour, while Lucas and I went directly to the military area and where the cannons were. A couple of dozen fortress staff are dressed in period costumes to answer questions about the buildings, and the life of the people in them. They do demonstrations of military drilling including firing muskets and cannons, (its really loud, trust me), music, dancing and “public punishments” where one of the actors is marched through the street to the jeers of the costumed town folk (and 10 year old boy customers) to be placed in the “iron collar.”

Because the French kept meticulous records of the building and operations of Louisbourg, Parks Canada was able to reconstruct the buildings on the original foundations exactly as they were in 1744, and used largely the same building methods and materials to do it. There was a record of everthing tht came in and out of the city, so from furniture, to dishes, to clothing was catalogued and recorded. It was very cool to experience the life of the residents of the time. We tried some “middle class” bread baked exactly how it was done 250 years ago (you need strong jaw muscles to chew and only about 3 bites to fill you up for the day), ate pea soup and French toast bedecked in a large white napkins tied around our necks and using a single spoon for everything we ate.

Lots of fun and we highly recommend this to anyone who comes out to Nova Scotia.

Cool facts we learned:

1) Louisbourg’s executioner was a guy from the West Indies who was visiting Louisburg, got into some trouble and was to be hanged. The current executioner quit as the West Indian was standing with a noose around his neck. The West Indian volunteered to take over the executioner duties in exchange for his life and the governor agreed.
2) Under the mercantilist system used by France at the time, Louisbourg was not allowed to produce anything for trade or even thier own use, but had to order everything (literally) from France. They were only allowed to send fish (mostly cod) to France, and act as a shipping gateway for fur from the rest of North America.
3) Salted cod was a very lucrative trade. A pound of cod was worth four times more than a pound of beaver pelts.
4) A “well turned” calf muscle was considered a very sexy asset for upper class men - meant to be showed off to its best advantage during the dances. Some men who didn’t score so high on this would stuff there socks with material to “enhance” there legs. In paintings of the time a trained eye can actually spot the falsies.
5) After a canon is forged it is buried in sand and takes 7 days to cool down enough to be shipped.

6) Louisbourg is built exactly on the 46 degree paralell, which meant ships could sail directly on the paralellel and land at a port in France near Paris. The trip could take as little as 4 weeks.

Lucas’ Statement: Did you know that… soldier's bread was made of 80% whole wheat and 20 % rye flour, middle class bread was 50% whole wheat and 50% white flour, and the officers bread was all white. (By the way, a soldier loaf was about half the size of ours loaves today and weighed 6 pounds!)

Day 8 - Bays, Coves and Lighthouses

Day 8 – June 22, 2008

Leaving Bridgewater this morning we find a gem of a sight on the Lahave river. There was a "retired" naval ship (a destroyer we think) docked about 100 ft off the highway. So we had to stop and check it out. We then continued past these cute little towns and took the Lighthouse route on to Lunenburg. This drive was beautiful filled with ocean and rocky views with a splattering of houses and old barns and you guessed it - Lighthouses. We stopped in Lunenburg, a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is a beautiful setting for a town of old buildings and churches, but that’s it. Lots of souvenir shops and restaurants and an interesting Maritime Fishieries Museum where Lucas got to hold a starfish, and we learned how to spell our names with the color coded flags.

We proceeded onto Mahone Bay, a lovely little town along the bay. Again a beautiful setting for a town of old buildings and churches. Plenty of souvenir shops and restaurants. On to Peggy’s Cove. It took us a lot longer taking this route as the road winds all over – beautiful ocean vistas, but really rough road. The fog began to roll in about 15 mins before we got to the famous Peggy’s Cove. Didn’t get to see a lot because of the fog, but got some really nice misty foggy pictures. We lodged at Port Hastings in Cape Breton for the night. This little town is just across the Canso Causeway (land crossing which joins Nova Scotia mainland to Cape Breton).

Cool Facts we learned:
1) Lunenburg was the 1st British Settlement outside of Halifax. Est. 1753.
2) Tuna and the Mackerel shark are the only warm blooded fish.
3) Some Bay of Fundy commercial fisherman don’t even need a boat. They set poles with nets in the sand during low tide, the tide comes in (30-50 feet high), and then at the next low tide they drive a tractor out to the net and pull the fish off the net.
4) Mahone Bay is named on of Canada’s best small-town downtowns, on a bay of more than 100 islands.
5) Peggy’s Cove was so narrow, the fisherman enlarged the entrance in the 1900’s. Using large boats at low tide, they loaded dynamite into the bedrock bottom. After the explosion, the high tides helped lift the heavy boulder, which were then towed out to sea.

Lucas’ Statement: Did you know that… the largest tuna ever caught was 679 kilograms (1,500 pounds), which was caught off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Day 7 - Beauty All Around

Day 7 – June 21, 2008

On the 7th day we rested … until about 9:00 a.m. and then back to sight seeing. Today started off with the Historical Gardens in Annapolis Royal. They are found right downtown, beautiful 17 acre park. Was serene, and really quiet. Then on to do some Go-Cart racing. We were the only 3 people on the track, so got to race each other. Lucas mopped the floor with us. Apparently being lighter was an advantage, and as Phil said, Lucas beat him by about 5,000 doughnuts. (Also no one told me I wasn’t supposed to break on the corners! – doesn’t everybody?) He had a great time beating mom & dad.

Then we toured around Annapolis Royal town, won the title "World's Most Livable Small Community" at LivCom's 2004 International competition (endorsed by the United Nations), and was named one of the five Cultural Capitals of Canada in 2005. – I can see why. I started taking pictures of all these beautiful old houses and Inns, and got Phil to stop at each. Well about a block away, I just got out and walked. Every house is old and well kept and beautiful. The Inns are spectacular!

We then took a route that cut across N. S. towards Middleton & Liverpool. Both these towns are beautiful and quaint as well – perfect Norman Rockwell places to live. Fort Point Lighthouse Park is a must see! The lighthouse was lived in until the 1950’s. The drive was beautiful and scenic – road was in pretty rough shape. I will never complain again about our man-holes in Kelowna that feel like potholes! I took about 300 pictures on the drive so if we ever invite you over to see vacation photos you may want to nap first and bring supplies for a sleepover or two.

Lucas’ Statement: No facts today, but I dipped my foot in the Atlantic Ocean so I only have 3 more oceans to go.

Day 6 - Thrills

Day 6 - June 20, 2008

Today was a real holiday day! Sunny, really warm, and we spend the day at Upper Clement Amusement Park. Amazing – in the middle of nowhere! This park had a roller coaster, log ride(they called it the Flume) bumper boats, pedal go- carts, paddle boats, water slides, and something like a Ferris wheel. We along with 15 school buses and 5-7 charger buses (this is what we saw and counted when we came in the gates) filled with school kids enjoyed a day in the sun full of screams, candy apples, and really wet kids. As Lucas put it – “I am wet’n happy!”

We then drove to Digby and had Digby scallops (what they are famous for) and lobster. We ate this ocean side with full view of Digby Harbour. Really tasty! We also got to watch the fog roll in – quite fascinating! Then we drove to Prim Point, Digby Neck, and then to Centerville, to see where the Morehouse ancestors first homesteaded in the late 1700’s. We actually found the church and the barn on the land which was granted to James Morehouse (Phil and Lucas are direct descendants of his) by the British governor, when he granted land to Empire Loyalists who supported Britain when the American Revolutionary war began.

Cool Facts we learned:
1) Generally it is a good idea for adults to avoid amusement parks where junior high school buses outnumber passengers cars. An exception can be made for adults with a recently filled prescription for Valium (we didn’t).

Lucas’ statement: Did you know… Roller coasters weren’t that exciting until an inventor configured a 3 wheel design with one wheel on top, one on the side and one on the bottom. This allowed the coaster to go side ways and have loop-the-loops.

Day 5 - Really Old Forts

Day 5 – June 19, 2008
Today started off cool, then became really sunny! Was beautiful to see the sun! We ventured back to Grand Pre to see the church set up as a memorial to the Acadian peoples. This story struck us hard because when the British took the lands, they told the townspeople they would make an announcement in the church – for all the men and boys 10 years of age and older to meet at the church. Upon arriving they found out that their land was being taken away and that they were being forced off the land. They (the British) then held all the men and boys in the church for a month under lock and key-separate from their families so no one would flee. After this month they forced the people on ships bound for the south to the US. Then they proceeded to burn all their houses, barns and churches so they would have nothing to come back to if they escaped or tried to come back. Some colonies in the US wouldn’t accept them so some of the ships sailed to France and England. Many died on the trip across the seas.

We then drove to Port Royal Habitation. This is a replica of the original, which was built by de Monts and Champlain in 1605 and was the first permanent European settlement set up in North America north of Florida, beating the Mayflower settlements by 3 years. It is exact in size and detail and built on the original site. Once again, pretty rough living. This was a trading post for furs, which attracted some wealthy business men and skilled tradesmen. (Wealthy business men here means they had their own separate living quarters, and didn’t live with 22 other men!)

We also stopped at Fort Anne National Historic site in Annapolis Royal. This is an earthen star shaped Fort dating back to a few years later than nearby Port Royal, which the British built after… you guessed it, they torched the Port Royal buildings. (Note: if you have British friends or relatives visiting we suggest keeping a close watch on them.) The officers quarters built in 1797 is still standing, as are the powder magazines (not a fluff movie star, nor a makeup magazine) buildings built in 1709. Lucas and Phil stormed the fort from the ocean and you can guess which one was wheezing when they finally claimed victory. Great day for sight seeing and it has finally warmed up! Got some laundry done too!!!!

Cool Facts we learned:
1) Star shaped Forts are stronger as the cannon fire can’t hit the fort walls squarely.
2) The earthen fort was stronger yet as the cannon fire was absorbed by the earth – no walls for it to penetrate or weaken.
3) The French were trading furs in North America 90 years before the British.
4) The Acadians and Mi'kmag indians got along really well – The Indians let them farm because they didn’t disrupt their fishing. They helped each other out in times of need. The Mi'kmaq Indians kept all the original Port Royal residents alive through the winter after the British burn down the habitation, and later on helped the Acadians who escaped from the deportation.

Lucas’ statement: Did you know that…these earthen forts were dug into the ground so they could not be seen or targeted by attackers.

Day 4 - Old Homes

Day 4 – June 18, 2008
Windsor, N.S is where we parked for the night. Another cool and cloudy day with light drizzle and rain off and on, however that didn’t dampen our spirits for seeing all things old! We are still trying to tell ourselves to sleep at 10:00 pm ( 6:00 pm Kelowna time) so some nights are a challenge, but we are slowly getting accustomed to it. No Starbucks in this region, so we sojourn on without the caffeine boost! Not to difficult in this area. We are in a little town called Windsor. Everywhere you look could be a picture postcard. Really! Today we toured some old house museums. In this part of the country, there is no shortage of old houses, and the grander ones and the estates are now museums. First the Haliburton House and, on to the Shand House, and then to my favorite so far: the Uniacke Estate.

Originally the estate was comprised of more than

2000 acres, which included 11 lakes. The house was completed by 1709. Mr. Uniacke was a lawyer, and married a 12 year old girl! The marriage was happy, and lasted 28 years until she died, and then he married gain. The house is completely furnished with the original furniture, décor and personal items. One of the surviving ancestors (a woman who never married) realized its heritage value and importance, so arranged that upon her death the whole kit and caboodle was to be sold to the Province . The colors in the home are really similar to our time. Buttery yellows, darker greens, blues and pinks. Very beautiful. They also had clothing displayed. There were beautiful dresses from the mid 1700’s that are still beautiful today! Clocks all around the house all still work today – these are 200 years old – wonder if our watches or clocks of today will last that long? I think I know the answer to that one! We also sent to Grand Pre – this is home to some of the first Acadians. They have an interpretive centre, theatre for their video ( beautifully built to look like the inside of a ship) and a beautiful church built as a memorial to their expulsion from this land and their struggles as a people. Didn’t get to see all of it so plan to visit again tomorrow.

Cool facts we learned:
1) Haliburton was a lawyer, and mined gypsum on his estate. Sometimes after death, they wanted one last picture so they propped up the deceased in their favorite chair or desk. They think Mr. Haliburton was propped up for his last picture.
2) Shand house they had a wreath made of - no, not pine cones… or shells… but of hair! They often did this for loved ones and family members who would were overseas or far away.
3) Uniake Estate – when someone passes on, they would take locks of their hair and sometimes weave it, or put the curls in lockets and trinkets. They also made jewelry out of the hair – rings and broaches! This creeped me out but I could kind of understand the sentimental intent.
4) Boys wore dresses, had long hair (ringlets) and had pink colored bedrooms until they were 6 or 7 in the 17-1800s. This creeped Lucas out!
5) They put holes in their closets big enough for cats go crawl in – to catch the mice.
6) The Acadians were forced into exile by the British because they wouldn’t swear allegiance to the British monarchy. More than 1\2 of their population were children and many died on the journeys.
7) The Acadian language is still spoken in some areas and is a mixture of ancient French, modern French and English. To our non-bilingual ears it sounds much different then the French we are used to hearing and every sentence seems to have a smattering of English words.

Lucas’ statement: Did you know that…Haliburton wrote stories about an unethical “Yankee” salesmen named Sam Slick who sold shoddy goods to Canadians. The books became very popular in Britain because they were quite funny and put down Americans.

Day 3 - Citadel and St. Mary's

Trouble getting accustomed to being 4 hours ahead of Kelowna, however, we have a full day ahead. Halifax Citadel was a highlight. This star shaped fort is just up the hill (quite a climb – we chose to drive) from the Maritime Museum and the Science Centre. Weather was cool, cloudy, and some drizzle but tapering off by early afternoon. We just made it in time to hear and see the “soldiers” fire the noon cannon. (Actually they are summer government employees and fired it at 11:58 by my watch – not sure who was wrong.) The shot was from a 200 year old cannon that still works! Great views of Halifax Harbour and Georges Island from up top. Eye opening tour of what life was like for these guys – harsh, cold, and lots of rules.

Then on down the hill we visited St. Mary’s Basilica. Beautiful Church, lots of stained glass windows – gothic design. Nothing modern about this church! Upon entry you felt still and silent knowing it was a place of worship and prayer. Considering converting to Catholicism… just kidding Dad. Simply awesome.

Cool Facts we learned:
1) The Halifax Citadel was so well planned and protected, they never fired a cannon out of anger. It had a great reputation of being impenetrable, so enemies didn’t even try.
2) Drums were used to tell the soldiers what to do – they couldn’t hear commands yelled out over gun\cannon fire.
3) The fort raised discs and flags on the fort's flagpole to alert townspeople to the type of ship and its country-of-origin entering the harbour.
4) Soldiers were locked up in their barracks at night to keep them from escaping.
5) Windows in St. Mary’s Basilica were blown out in the Halifax Explosion. They were then replaced by a company based out of Germany who used the old ancient style of stain glass windows – the colors actually get more vivid as they age.

Day 2 - Halifax Harbour

We all woke up around 10:30 this morning - a little groggy! The weather was grey and cool. Nothing a little Starbucks can't cure! We set off to Discovery (science) Centre. Saw what we will all look like at age 72 - let me warn you, this was a little scary! Maritime Museum was really interesting, a walk on the wharf and supper at a Japanese restaurant to enjoy some entertaining Teppanyaki cooking finished off our day. (We all got to try a little mid air egg splitting with some mixture of success, embarassment and laughter.)

Cool Facts we learned:
1) Halifax Harbour is the 2nd largest natural harbour in the world.
2) The Halifax Explosion in 1917 (a munitions ship exploded in the harbour) was the largest explosion ever until the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima - windows 100 kilometers away were blown out of the buildings.
3)Halifax was the main centre of rescue and recovery for the Titanic.

Day 1 - Morehouse "Blips" along the way...

Our great journey starts off June 15th with Lucas and I flying to Halifax to meet Phil, who had left May 30th, drove through the US to arrive in the maritimes 6 days later.
Well, our(Lucas' and my) journey started out not unlike any endeavour we encounter. As Lucas says, "what's a Morehouse vacation without some blips along the way". Our blip came in the form of a cancelled flight - who would have thought that a flight would be cancelled in the summer time. Well, you haven't travelled with the Morehouse clan! Lucas and I had a great flight into Toronto, "smooth sailing" so to speak. Flight was great, we were ahead of schedule by about 25mins. Got to Toronto under heavy black skies, monsoon rains and the most lightning I have seen in along time! We sat on the tarmac for 15 mins, then another 15 mins, then another 15 mins. We were then cleared to go to the terminal.( Airports have this 5 mile radious thing if there is lightning within 5 miles, all planes and personnel have to stop) Upon arriving at the terminal, we waited for our next flight from Toronto to Halifax. We sat for 45 mins, then another 1\2 hour, then found out our flight had been cancelled due to the severe storms. We were then instructed to book another flight - find gate #20 , find phones, and book another flight. Wow, great service I thought. Anyway, we found the phones, and a nice lady who was flying to Halifax also. She was an experienced traveller so we stuck with her. At about 3:00 a.m. Atlantic time we arrived in Halifax and joined Phil. We were so happy to see him! 2 weeks was too long not to see (as Lucas put it) "our dad"! He was right 2 weeks was too long to be away from Phil.
We were all together again, and ready to start our x-Canada Epic Journey!