We DID end up having a relaxing day in camp on Wednesday, and it was a real treat after Tuesday's long drive. No photos of that day...it's not very exciting to look at pictures of 2 people tidying up camp, doing laundry, lounging around the pool, reading, and cooking, so I thought I'd spare you the boredom. We met our camp neighbors, Annette and Bob, from British Columbia. They were getting ready to fly back home after a month's vacation with their family in a rented motor home. So when they cleaned our their fridge and cupboards, we were the grateful recipients of their bounty!
We also reconnected with Dennis and Vivian whom we met on PEI, and who are camped around the loop from us here, and had a wonderful evening of conversation, music, tea & cookies.
Wednesday we headed into Halifax in the early afternoon. We had heard that it was the week for the buskers to be doing their music and various acts all over the streets of Halifax, but alas, that turned out to be last week. However, we headed for the Maritime Museum and had a terrific time around the Harbour.
Papa was a fishnet maker, and he would sit on the sidewalk outside his house in Jacksonville, Florida every day, knotting his fishnets by hand. As Jacksonville became more and more urbanized, he was soon dwarfed by the increasing commercial development on his street, but still he sat outside making fishnets. Pedestrians would stop and visit with him, and he would explain what he was doing in his thick Danish accent. He always managed to sell the fishnets; they were such a work of fine old-world craftsmanship that even though Jacksonville was no longer a fishing town, people just wanted to have one of his nets for the esthetic value. Papa was always very kind to me. he would pat me on my head and call me "Le'el Kahen," and he would let me sit and watch him work, explaining the process very patiently. I wish I remembered it!
We toured the historic research vessel, the Acadia. Since my Dad was on ships in the Navy, I've always loved them. They have a unique smell that I've experienced nowhere else, which always brings back memories.
Here are a few shots of Halifax Harbour. A very picturesque place!
Aren't the clouds magnificent in these photos? I've never seen clouds like the ones here in the Maritime Provinces!
We went into the last shop in North America that still makes crystal by hand, blowing glass and cutting the designs into it, Nova Scotian Crystal.
We were fortunate enough to catch one of the master craftsmen at work. Between his thumb and forefinger you can barely see one of the decorative grooves he has just cut into the crystal vase. He was so precise and sure-handed; it was fascinating to watch him.
We returned back to camp to a crockpot of homemade French onion soup that had been simmering all day (thanks to the bounty of onions from Anita and Bob!). We took the soup over to Dennis and Vivian's motor home and shared a delicious dinner with them.
Today we visited the picturesque harbour town of Lunenburg. We knew Vivian and Dennis were heading there as well, but since none of us had ever been there, we didn't know how to arrange to meet each other. So we just left it that if we saw each other there, that would be great, but we weren't going to spend a lot of our sightseeing time searching. As Curt and I drive through the many crowded streets looking for nonexistent parking places, we figured that we'd be touring the city alone. Finally we found a full parking lot right next to the harbour, and we had to wait about 10 minutes until a parking space opened up. As we sat there in the truck, Dennis and Vivian were eating lunch at an outdoor restaurant just above us. Dennis was wondering why that truck was just sitting there, and it gradually dawned on him, when he saw Curt's washtub bass in the bed of the pickup, that it was us. So the four of us managed to enjoy the town together after all!
Lunch overlooking the harbour.
The Bluenose was a beautiful historic racing and fishing sailing vessel that was built in Lunenburg Harbour and launched in 1921. She was an undefeated schooner and was a great source of pride for Nova Scotia. In 1946 she stuck a reef off Haiti and sank. However, the ship had become such a legend and a symbol of Nova Scotian fishing and sailing prowess that the Bluenose II was built and launched in 1963. Curt had read about this magnificent vessel and was hoping that she would be at harbour when we arrived. We were in luck! She is being restored, so though we couldn't board her or take a sail on her (as he had hoped), we did get to see her up close in all her splendor. What a treat!
Facing the stern.
The cabin and mainsail.
Facing the bow, with Lunenburg in the background.
Just a few more miscellaneous shots of Lunenburg, it's buildings, murals, and some picturesque scenes I liked:
And the cutest shot of Vivian and Dennis!
Tonight we're snug and warm in our pop-up with rain coming down steadily on the roof. Curt is reading and I'm reliving the day...an altogether cozy evening. Tomorrow is our last day on Nova Scotia, and then Sunday we'll take the ferry back to New Brunswick. We're headed back toward the States within the week. We've loved our visit to Canada!
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