From the Observation Deck

July 24, 2010

Ancient footprints, legends, and traditions.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under travel, Uncategorized
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Continuing on with the Nova Scotia trip was our excursion up through the Glooscap Trail. First stop was the wildlife provincial park. Upon entering the park we spotted a beautiful peacock. He had plenty of friends scattered around the park and they communicated by bellowing loudly to each other. Then we passed the cougars—hyper things these creatures are. They pace back and forth continuously like they have ADD or something. Other impressive animals included the moose—the only ones we saw on the entire trip even though the locals boast of seeing them everywhere—and bears, bobcats, owls, and a horse (not really defined as wild) that had an itch. I found it comical to watch it scratch its behind on the fence we were standing in front of. Maybe he was looking for an assist.

Our trip continued with a drive past the 50-foot Mastodon located at the midway point from the equator to the pole. I thought it was the 49^th parallel until my dad pointed out it was the 45^th parallel. After thinking about the math for a moment I told him to shut it. (Just kidding.) Just up the road was the Glooscap Heritage Center. This was where we learned all about the history and culture of the native Indian tribe—the Mi’kmaqs. Their mythical legendary hero (for want of a better description) was a massive creature who took the form of a man and could pretty much create mountains and rivers and conduct other miraculous feats. There was statue of him you can see for a distance down the highway.

Next stop was the Joggins fossil cliffs—way up the trail near New Brunswick. This was very cool. Due to the nature of the tides and how the land had formed from swamps, glaciers, etc., there were tons and tons of fossils from plants and animals dating back 350 million years. We took a tour and went down to the beach where you can see fossilized trunks from trees right in the side of the cliffs. The cliffs get worn away each day so the scientists there continue to discover new findings all the time. As we walked on the beach, we picked up rock after rock just sitting there that had markings on them. The biology geek in me was fascinated.

After leaving the fossil cliffs we made our way down the Sunrise Trail and stopped off at Jost vineyards. We took a quick tour of the facility and of course shopped for some wonderful local wine. Not much more to say on that.

From there we stopped over night at the slanted house in Pictou and then took off the next day toward the highlands. One last stop before crossing the causeway was at Antigonish for the Highland Games. Unfortunately like so much on this trip, we missed the actually games but got to walk the town during the festival. There were cute girls dancing in costumes, local singers entertaining the crowds, and a few extremely large gentlemen dressed in kilts who demonstrated a few of the contests for us. They had a very heavy metal ball that I could hardly pick up which they told me they toss over their heads as far as it can go. I could only imagine the warriors of the 15^th century and how they must have looked like these guys but only dirtier and with bad teeth.

Well that’s it for now. Our adventure continues with a tour of the Cabot Trail in the highlands of Nova Scotia.

July 22, 2010

Aoi a bhfuil fáilte roimhe coimhthíoch oilithreach. (Welcome foreign pilgrim.)

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A few of my previous posts have been part of my Canterbury Tails series about interesting people I meet along the pilgrimage of life. There were no shortages of them in Nova Scotia.

Our first character was Wayne. Wayne was our waiter in the café where we stopped for lunch in Truro, Nova Scotia. The seafood chowder was delicious and on this rainy day it really hit the spot. And so did the conversation. Wayne was the kind of guy you just have to love. He loves life, loves people, and is just plain pleasant to be around.

During our short time at the cafe this is what I learned about Wayne. He was once a sailor and traveled the world. Scotland was his favorite place. He knew since he was kid that he wanted to retire and travel. In eight years when his wife retires, he’s going to put his Harley on the back of his RV and they are going to go to Europe and travel around for a few years. Then they’ll pick another place to travel.

He has two German Sheppards and has their pictures framed and sitting on a shelf in the restaurant. He doesn’t own the restaurant but you wouldn’t know that unless you heard him talk. And come to think of it, you’d probably hear him talk if you met him so you’d probably find that out. Okay, anyway. Wayne has been putting money away for his retirement since he was young. He brought up his kids as a single parent and is happy to be at work at 5 a.m.

Seriously, we were only there for less than an hour and I haven’t told you everything. What a great guy—good luck and bon voyage, Wayne.

Another character who I didn’t get to meet for that long was our innkeeper in Pictou. When I called to make reservations and asked about a confirmation she said, “Well, I’m the innkeeper and this is your confirmation.” Maureen took us down to the house we rented and made some recommendations for dinner. She checked to see if the place was clean but I was much more concerned about the 20 degree angle of the house. Seriously. My mom and I slid halfway off the bed during the night. The leaning tower of Pisa has nothing on Maureen’s inn overlooking the harbour. But she was nice and hard working. Got to love the attitude.

Another one of our innkeepers was Barbara who ran a B&B in her townhouse. Driving up through a neighborhood that could have been mine, I was a bit concerned. But she was very helpful and kind. After she suggested we leave for the airport at an ungodly hour, I was sure that she and my dad had been hatched together. She was a bit cat crazy, which of course I loved because they were so cute and I was missing my furry babies. When not teaching her cats how to do a “high five” she was sleuthing on the computer—looking me up and checking out where I lived. All in all, it was a nice place to lay your head.

Our final character was Ben our waiter at the Mic and Mac restaurant. Awesome place outside Halifax by the way. He had this strong voice and a very friendly manner. At one point he came out with a cupcake and sang happy birthday with a beautiful, operatic, loud voice. This is the kind of guy who is comfortable in his skin and can really make you smile.

Many more lovely people were met on our pilgrimage through Nova Scotia and we enjoyed our time with all of these very friendly people.

Slán agus beannacht leat. (Goodbye and blessings with you.)

I don’t have photos of our new pilgrims so here are some funnies from the trip.

Me in the scarecrowe village

Mom and me in Pictou

A stuffed Pilgrim

July 20, 2010

Riding the tidal bore.

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One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Nova Scotia was to visit the Bay of Fundy. This area boasts the world’s highest tides. At one point they reach up to 55 feet. That’s akin to a five story building.

So here’s what happens that makes it kind of interesting. The tide comes in from the ocean and gets funneled into the bay and then into the Minas Basin. It then gets funneled further into a narrow river called the Shubenacadie (Shoo bin ack uh dee). When the tide goes out, the river is almost drained dry—lots of sand can be seen and the water that is left is extremely shallow. Then, when the tide comes in, it meets the water that is receding and forms what is called a tidal bore. A wave.

My parents and I arrived at the Tidal Bore Rafting Park and Cottages and sat on the deck of their restaurant overlooking the river. It was dinnertime so we ordered the Lobster rolls and took some photos of the dry river bed. Just a little while later we noticed a very fast moving body of water filling up the river. It was amazing to see. Seriously, the river was filling up before our eyes in less time than it took to have dinner.

The next night we hopped on board the zodiac and took a nice serene trip up the river. We got to see a few bald Eagles way up in the trees and the banks of wet mud on either side. Travis was our guide and he was a nice local kid who I would characterize as someone who lives for today. Travis just bought a house on the river in the flood zone with no flood insurance. During really high tides his basement floods and they fish right off his deck. When he told us the river widens by two feet each year I teased him about how in a few years he’ll just have to open up his refrigerator door to catch fish. Travis was a good guy though. I must attribute some great wisdom to the guy. He said, “You never know what’s going to happen when the tide comes in.”

And with that we hit the fast running water and he proceeded to drench us in the waves. The last bit of dunking managed to throw me and another camper off the side of the boat. I don’t remember much—just that Travis said not to hold on to the boat or we’d get sucked under. That was precisely what was going through my mind when I was under water. That and getting caught in the motor. But my Dad, who was halfway out the boat after I went over, said I “popped” right up. Yeah. Popped. I swam very hard to the surface with a ton of waders and wet shoes on. But all was well. I got into the boat and up the mud banks back to our warm cabin all safe and sound. Funny how the pulled muscle in my back didn’t hurt until much later.

All in all, it was a really fun adventure and I’d recommend it for all. But try to go during the mid cycle of the moon. If you go during a full moon you may end up getting more than dunked into the “Shubie.”