Well aside from the pool of water in our tent, we managed to stay dry.
Though, due to the crappy weather, we didn’t get much swimming in.
The jelly fish were also a bit of a nuisance.
Even though the weather has not been ideal, Prince Edward Island has been a highlight.
We visited Province House in Charlottetown, the building which housed the initial talks re: Confederation in 1864.
We fully enjoyed Charlottetown’s Festival. All summer, there is live music on every corner. We went to see Anne of Green Gables, the musical. And, went to a Ceilidh –our favourite! Scattered all over the island, there are Ceilidhs every night.
Hanging out in front of Dunstan Cathedral, Charlottetown.
And, you can’t miss the Cow’s ice cream which is everywhere.
Presently in Cavendish, PEI, fully immersing into Anne of Green Gables.
Olivia, Sophie and I met Anne. Then, the girls took part in potato sack races with Anne, and her best friend, Diana Barry. Mrs. Stacy, Anne’s teacher was also there to help out.
After, we each had a bottle of raspberry cordial, while sitting next to Green Gables. We couldn’t find any of Mirella’s red currant wine.
Well, when you’re camping for so long, there’s bound to be a few mix-ups. We packed up on Grave’s Island a day early. Rather than re-set up, we decided to carry on to Grand Pre, National Historic Site. Grand Pre is the site of the deportation of the Acadians in the 1750s.
Dressing up like the Acadians.
We spent the day in Halifax, touring the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Citadel Hill National Historic Site and Halifax Harbour. It was a busy day!
I found Pier 21 emotional — it was the gateway into Canada for over a million immigrants from 1928-1971. There are video testamonials from new Canadians, grateful for a new start in a ‘new’ multicultural county.
At the Maritime Museum, we learned about Cunard, the Halifax Explosion and the rescue efforts sent out from Halifax to the Titanic.
Moored outside of the museum, we boarded the Bluenose II.
Then, up to the Citadel, a fort at the top of Halifax’ central hill. Apparently, this is the 4th fort that has been built. The original was built in 1749.
Chester, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg
So far, Nova Scotia is my favourite — beautiful old towns on the ocean.
We’re staying at Graves Island Provincial Park and our campsite is surrounded by sea.
Graves Island is in Chester, a picturesque little village with cafes that serve good coffee. Also, there is the Lido saltwater swimming pool that is FREE.
And on Tuesdays, they have concerts in the park, featuring the music of the Maritimes.
We passed through Mahone Bay, another beautiful though more touristy little town.
Then, on to Lunenburg, historic fishing village and home of the Bluenose. We went to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.
And, learned about the Bluenose, the schooner featured on Canada’s dime. Unfortunately, it is in Halifax at the moment. Hopefully, we’ll see it today.
This is it’s original wheel cover.
And, thanks to my dad, here is some info. about the Bluenose II.
http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/mobile/bluenose-ii-makes-first-public-sailing-after-restoration-1.2465684
Home of the beaver…
As we hiked the trails, we saw tons of silver birch. Olivia and Sophie wanted to use some of the bark as paper. And, we spotted the resident beaver twice in his pond. Sadly, I couldn’t get a photo with my phone camera but here is a photo of one of his lodges/dams. He would swim underneath it.
Fundy National Park has been wonderful! According to Olivia, yesterday was our best day yet. We hiked Moosehorn and Laverty Trails. Moosehorn is rated as a black diamond hike — New Brunswick’s trail rating scale is quite different than BC’s. The hike was long but relatively easy. The best part was that we passed three waterfalls and we could swim in two of them.
After the hike, we cooled off in Bennet Lake and looked for enormous tadpoles. Around each lake, we heard bullfrogs.
And, each night we swam in the park’s saltwater pool, free with your park pass.