28 July 2013 Glen Margaret NS and Peggy's Cove

It was a short ride from Hilden to Glen Margaret, Nova Scotia, today. We drove through farmland and fields of corn and other crops (and some John Deere machinery!) and circled Halifax to get to our park. We passed a Costco, and two large shopping centers within two miles of our place! We haven't seen so much retail shopping opportunities in ages. The population of Halifax is 380,000, that's over three times the size of St. John's, Newfoundland!

We were surprised to be greeted at the Wayside RV Park entrance by our special friends Jim and Cynthia. They went to Alaska with us in 2007 (as did Marge and Jerry). Jim and Cynthia had just arrived at the campground--we had been in touch with them since the beginning of our trip, and we knew we would probably meet up with them sometime. Carlos recognized them even before we did--he was so excited and wiggling with doggie joy! We got to know Jim and Cynthia during our trip to Mexico with the "Mexican Connection" Escapees club, and Carlos remembers them every time we meet!

After setting up our rigs and visiting a bit, we all decided to go to Peggy's Cove for dinner. We would then shoot some sunset photos of the famous lighthouse located right across the road from the restaurant (The Sou' Wester). The dinner and local beer were great. We all shared some ginger bread with warm lemon sauce, some chocolate and espresso bread pudding, and some double chocolate tort for desert.

Jim, Jerry, Marge, Cynthia, and Patrice

Peggy's Cove lighthouse sits along a solid rock shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean right at the entrance to Margarets Bay. The last one-half mile drive to the restaurant and lighthouse was through and around large boulders (up to 30 feet in diameter). Tourists and locals were at the lighthouse and on the rocky shoreline, all waiting for the sunset. The weather was wonderful for dramatic shots.

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

The sky was partly cloudy and provided an opportunity for some great photos at sunset.

I was  able to catch the flashing red light just before we left the area.

A great introduction to this area--we are looking forward to the next four days.

Marge and Jerry toured this area in 2001, and stayed at the same campground. They went out to Peggy's Cove every day, and every day was rainy and foggy. They were excited to have this good weather.

27 July 2013 Difficulties with jacks, on to Hilden

We moved from Baddeck to Hilden today--some 175 miles. Got a late start because Jerry and Marge had some problems with their landing gear. One of the front jack gears became stripped during the last two moves and today they could not get the rig lowered onto the truck. Jerry was trying to jack the front of the rig up when the jack slipped and the rig fell.

Fortunately Jerry was kneeling at the jack so he was not crushed. We all felt so fortunate that he was out of the way! We stabilized the rig and called Good Sam Road Service, who sent a tow truck. The operator used the winch to lift the fifth wheel; we then could place enough blocks under it so that Jerry could back his truck under the hitch and lower the rig onto it.

Now what? [Us looking sad and stymied]

Where is that tow truck?

 On the road at 12:30 pm after lunch at the picnic table.

One night at Scotia Pines Campground at Hilden tonight, then on to Glen Margaret for five nights. There we'll explore Halifax.

25 July 2013 Baddeck

We woke to a steady rain this morning so we had a late breakfast and did some computer work until early afternoon. After the rain let up at about 2:30 we drove to downtown Baddeck and did some shopping at gift and craft stores, and got some groceries at the local Co-op. The Co-op stores have memberships that give weekly and monthly special prices on many items. They are organized under an umbrella organization, because some of the brands are the same in all Co-op stores, and the advertising and packaging look similar in all we've shopped. They are well-stocked, reasonably priced, and the produce is very fresh and mostly local. We look for the Co-ops when we need groceries; occasionally we need to find a bigger store, like Sobey's or Dominion for some items.

We had dinner at home (called supper here in Canada) and then went into Baddeck to attend a Ceilidh (Gaelic, pronounced KAY-lee). This get-together happens every night at 7:30, at the parish hall, and has been going on for 13 years. Local musicians rotate in this parish hall presentation, with Melody and Derrick Cameron playing quite often. Tonight Tyson Chen joined them on the piano.

Derrick is a local farmer, plays the guitar in the ensemble, tells great stories and corny jokes and keeps the act moving along. He spoke about how the Highland Scots that came to Cape Breton brought their music with them, and that the music was handed down and about the communities, and learned and influenced by other groups in the places they settled.

Derrick accompanies Melody his wife, the star of the show, and man, can she fiddle! Melody said she learned Cape Breton fiddling listening and imitating, although she could read music. "You can't write style," she said. Tyson Chen joined them on the piano. The music was mostly Highland Scottish with a little Irish and Acadian flavor added. The musical numbers were medleys of three to five tunes that started out with a lively beat and with each following tune the beat became more rapid; Melody set the pace, and often the last tune in the series was increasingly faster until the fiddling fingers were flying. There was lots of foot-pounding going on. On the fastest tunes Melody had one foot stomping and the other swinging--we wondered that she didn't fall off the stool!

Tyson played a beautiful piano solo. He learned to play this Cape Breton music by working with other local musicians and persistence; he can read music and had a difficult time sitting down at a piano with no music to play. He came from Ottowa to Baddeck to find work (exactly the opposite of what usually happens) and stayed.

There was a break at 8:30 when we could buy tea and oat cakes. Derrick did some more story telling, answered questions from the audience, and found out where in the world people in the audience were from. Out of about 80 people attending, probably 20 were from the US. Four couples from the audience volunteered to learn two square-dance numbers and Melody did a Scottish step-dance as the final number. She did a bit of "Riverdance" type stepping again getting more rapid near the end of the tune, and she didn't look tired or out of breath at all!

At the end of the evening (9:30), Derrick warned us all about moose on the roads. There have been a couple  recent encounters. Again, we didn't see any moose.

We are sure glad we attended this Ceilidh; it was a great show.

Tomorrow we visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.

24 July 2013 The Cabot Trail

Today we took a 10-hour, 230-mile ride around the Cabot Trail. The Trail was named after the Italian explorer John Cabot who reached the shores of the area in 1497. The trail begins about 15 miles east of Baddeck and circles counter clockwise the northern peninsula of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It ends about 5 miles west of Baddeck, a block from Adventures East RV Park, where we're staying. Our adventure took us through the lowlands of the Baddeck and the St. Ann's Bay Areas, the commercial Ingonish Area, the Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada, the Top of the Island and Pleasant Bay Areas, and finally, the Cheticamp and Margaree Areas. [The excellent Cabot Trail tourist map broke the drive into these areas.]

We left our RV about 10:30 a.m. and headed across the Baddeck Area and into the St. Ann's Area of the Trail. On one of the maps we have, there were listed North Gut St. Anne's and South Gut St. Anne's. We didn't see any of those marked on our road.

The skies were partly cloudy with several sun breaks and no rain--it poured buckets, barrels and tubs last night! We saw this interesting road sign and wildflowers along the way, as well as flower gardens.

Oregon Road sign on Cabot Trail

There are many artisan shops in the St. Ann's Area. We picked up a brochure listing 31 shops along the Trail, ten in the St. Ann's Area. We picked up some pewter items at Piper Pewter and some leather goods at the Leather Works.

Next we entered the Ingonish Area of the trail. This area has a large commercial area serving the wintertime skiing and snow-shoeing enthusiasts and the summertime golfing crowds. There are many sandy beaches along the ocean, full of sun and surf revellers on this warm day.

The Ingonish Area is the gateway to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada, which protects 366 square miles of highlands and coastal wilderness. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Animals protected in this park include moose, bears, foxes, and snowshoe hares--we saw none. We drove through the eastern end of this park on our way to the Top of Island Area. The coastline through this portion of the park has rocky shores, coves, and sandy beaches edging the Atlantic Ocean. We ate our picnic lunch along one of these rocky shores and saw a curious seal poking his head up here and there offshore We visited several other pull-offs and looked for more seals and maybe even whales, but alas, saw none.

Ingonish Area rocky beach

The drive left the park for a bit  and entered the northern portion of the peninsula called Top of The Island. Here is where Cabot landed in 1497. There are many whale-watching, deep-sea fishing, and kayaking tours available in the communities along the shore. In addition, there are many craft shops and eateries located all across this north coast--we stopped to get a picture of this lighthouse at Neil's Harbour only to discover it was an ice cream parlor. You guessed it--we had some ice cream--loved it on this warm and humid day.

Neil's Harbour ice cream lighthouse 

We turned southwest then westerly and re-entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, climbed in elevation to about 1,500 feet and passed through a magnificent mountains ridges and looked down into deep (very) valleys--a subarctic-like region of bogs, stunted spruce forests, and rocky barrens. The road then dropped down to near sea level and entered the Pleasant Bay Area of the Peninsula. This area supports a major fishing industry and the harbor areas are indeed. . . pleasant!

After leaving Pleasant Bay we started south toward the Cheticamp Area and passed through some of the most amazing seashore-and-hill terrain. While the scenery in Newfoundland was indeed spectacular in its own right, this was awesome. The road was cut into the side of shoreline cliffs with views up-slope to lush mountains and down-slope to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Road to Cheticamp cuts along the shore

The area has been shaped by glaciers and evidence of hanging glacier valleys and deeply incised stream valleys abound. At one viewpoint we could observe one of these valleys and its entry into the ocean.

Looking down valley to the ocean from viewpoint

Looking up valley from same viewpoint 

We decided it was time to take our formal trip pictures from one of the seashores along the road to Cheticamp.

Marge and Jerry 

Patrice and Phil

We reached Cheticamp about 5:30 and decided on dinner at Le Gabriel (French for The Lighthouse, and indeed, the restaurant was shaped like a lighthouse). Phil and Patrice had the best lobster ever! Jerry had ribs and Marge had chicken alfredo. Carlos had dog food in the truck. He was mostly bored with the trip, except when he was able to get out and walk around a bit.

After dinner we traveled south through the Margaree Valley Area. Here the Margaree River meanders through lush pastures and farmlands on its way to the ocean. 

Also marked on a map we have of this area are:  Margaree Forks, Margaree Harbour, Margaree Valley, North East Margaree, South West Margaree, and Upper Margaree. Amazing.

The farms in this area were gorgeous. All of the buildings were brightly painted and kept in top notch shape, including barns and sheds. There were no abandoned, falling-down barns, no junk in the yards, and no garbage along the roads. We enjoy seeing the "neat and clean" communities and roads. 

We arrived back to our rigs about 8:30 p.m., just as the fog was coming in and light rain began. What a great day!

  

23 July 2013 Miner's Museum in Glace Bay, and on to Baddeck

[July 29, catching up]

We were only 35 miles from the next RV Park in Baddeck, so we returned to Glace Bay to visit the Miner's Museum. Coal mining on Cape Breton began more than 250 years ago. In the early 1700's the French extracted coal from seams that outcropped in the cliffs near the Fortress of Louisburg and in 1720 the first coal mine was officially opened at Port Morian, just across from the bay from museum and the mine under it. Until 1820 the colonial government, through private leases, mined coal deposits on a small scale. Beginning in 1826 General Mining Association (syndicate of British investors) sunk shafts at the Sydney mines and built a mining complex and railroad to North Sydney. The association surrendered its mining rights to the province in 1856 and by 1893 thirty coal mines were opened in the province producing 700,000 tonnes (tons) a year.

The first large mine, the Hub Shaft of Glace Bay, opened in 1861 and soon after 12 mines nearby were producing coal. In 1894 the government gave exclusive coal mining rights to an American company (Dominion Coal) and by 1912 they had 16 collieries in full operation and producing 40 per cent of Canada's total output. [When I was a boy, Dominion Coal was delivered to hour home.] Most of the coal mined in Nova Scotia went to Ontario and Quebec to provide power for industries located there. [colliery: a coal mine together with its physical plant and outbuildings]

Above ground near the museum entrance, there is a historic minor's village consisting of a stable building, the company store, typical minor's home, and a restaurant. A panel at the stable described how well the ponies and horses were treated. These animals were used to pull the fully loaded coal wagons to the mine entrance. They were led early in the dark of the morning to the mines, worked long days in the darkness of the mines, and were led back to the stable in the darkness of the night. In the stables they had plenty of hay and grain, clean bedding, and a spacious stall where they could stretch our their tired necks. If the horses ever had a vacation from the mine they wore blindfolds because they were not used to the daylight.

In the museum were panels describing the geology of coal; in addition, many coal mining artifacts, panels explaining coal mining and mining techniques, panels that discuss the geologic development of coal reserves, and panels describing stories of coal miners and their families. A mannequin of a minor in full work gear stood in a plastic box with the tools described. The lighting and arrangement of the items was clear and inviting. The highlight of the museum experience is an underground tour of the "Ocean Deep Colliery." Before beginning the tour we watched an eight-minute film that described the life of the early miners and their families. These early miners truly owed their "soul to the company store." In 1873 their pay ranged from 80 cents to $1.50 per day--boys (as young as 8 years old) were paid 65 cents per day. The miners had to pay the company for their tools, equipment, clothing, and powder to fragment the coal. They also had to pay the company rent for their houses, buy their groceries and goods from the company store, and even pay the company for coal to heat their houses. These miners were usually immigrants from many different countries who had been promised free housing, a job guarantee, and the ability to earn money. Money didn't change hands, however.

By the 1930's the miners had to work twelve hour-shifts every day. Problem was they had to ride a train two hours through the mine to their work area in the morning and two hours back at night prior to the work shift and at no pay. Some mines extended out under the ocean, several shafts on top of each other, beneath the sea. Once at the work site the miners undercut, drilled, and blasted a portion of the coal seam. Before they could begin loading the coal cars they had to shore up the ceiling of the mine. All of this work was at no pay. Once they had loaded the coal car they would put their tag on it and send it to the surface. Their pay at this time was based on the amount of coal they produced as identified by the tag on the car. Trouble was that other miners sometimes stole the tags off the car and re-tagged it with their own and sometimes the company would mysteriously lose the tags.

Given the their low wages and the requirement to buy everything from the company the miners were always in debt to the company. (This was the same situation experienced by the early cod fishermen.) If they tried to quit they were hunted down by the company police and dragged back to work.  Injuries and deaths in the mines were frequent. If a deceased miner was the sole male worker in the family another male family member (even a young boy) would need to replace him or the family would lose their home to the company.

Any and every attempt by the miners to unionize was met with physical force by the company. Because the provincial government was paid a royalty for the coal, they would use provincial police to break up the striking miners. Finally a more union friendly provincial government came into power and the miners were able to prevail. However they did not win much as a result of their first victory. The miners work day was cut to 8 hours and the minimum age for a boy was increased to 14 years.

The mines at Glace Bay closed in the 1990's and all the miners and people associated with the mining activities were suddenly without work. Most of those put out of work left Glace Bay and the town nearly became a ghost town. The town then turned to tourism and the Miner's Museum came into being. Retired miners and some of those without work helped build the museum and became guides for the underground tour.

Abby, who worked 34 years in the mine, was our underground tour guide. He gave a 30-minute talk about the mine and the hardships his father, uncles, and grandfather had endured as miners here in Glace Bay. Abby told us that the coal mined here in 12 separate mines was bituminous (a soft coal), that the main mine extended some 8 miles out under the Atlantic Ocean. The floor of the shaft at its far end was some thousand feet below sea level. We put on hard hats and a cape to protects our clothes from dripping water and coal smudges during the tour. We chose walking sticks from a provided container, because much of the tour was at a height of 4.5 feet.

Our mine tour began at the entrance to the "Ocean Deep Colliery" and extended some 1/4 mile to an end point short of the Ocean.

 
The first 1/8 mile was through a well lit, dry, and spacious concrete tunnel. Things were soon to change.

The next 1/4 mile was through a dark and wet mine shaft with a head clearance of about 5 feet. Rusty and wet steel beams had been placed across the shaft about every 6 feet. You could hear hard hats hitting these beams as the headroom diminished. We passed several side shafts where we could see abandoned equipment and look at the coal seams. Abby would stop the tour and explain the mining processes and equipment used. He explained how the pillars of coal were left to support the roof of the shaft and how when the mine closed the company ordered that the pillars of coal be salvaged. As they were being knocked down some of the roofs collapsed killing miners working there.

During the last 1/8 mile our mine shaft was only 4.5 feet high. Near the end of the tour Abby spent several minutes demonstration the undercutting, drilling, and blasting processes. All of the appropriate equipment was available for his demonstration. Finally we went a few more feet and sat down around a flower bed. Abby explained that one of the miners was convinced he could grow flowers underground and here was proof that it could be done. By the time we got to the end of the tour, we were standing up once again, but we were all tired and sore from walking bent over for so long.

The tour was difficult for us older folks; however, we were glad we had done it. We really enjoyed our time at this museum and capped it off with a meal at the miner's restaurant. It is the only building in the miner's village that is open, and it has a clean open feel to it.

We then returned to our rigs at The Golden Arm Campground in Bras d'OR, readied them for travel, and moved westward to Beddeck. After setting up camp we scouted out the town and had some ice cream before calling it another good day.

22 July 2013 Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, and Marconi National Museum

Today we visited the Fortress of Louisbourg located in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, and the Marconi National Museum located in Glace Bay. Both of these facilities are National Historic Sites of Canada. What a great sunny warm day for sight-seeing!

The first French settlers (mainly cod fishermen) arrived in Louisburg in 1713 after having been driven out of St. John's, Newfoundland, by the English. Under the Treaty of Utrecht France was permitted to keep Cape Breton Island (eastern island of Nova Scotia) and Prince Edward Island. Between 1720 and 1745 the French built the massive Fortress of Louisburg on 6,000 hectares (14,826 acres) to defend these colonies. The fortress town was surrounded by a masonry and packed earth wall nearly two miles long.The fortress served as a headquarters for the French fleet and became an important fishing and trading center.

In 1745 the fortress was captured by the British after a 47-day siege. In 1748 the colony was returned to France by Treaty only to be again lost to British forces in 1758 following two blockades. The fortress was demolished by the British in 1780.

About one fifth of the original colony has been reconstructed at the site to its 1714 appearance. The reconstruction has been based on the original stone foundations that remained after the fortress was demolished, and on copies of the blueprints used by the fortress engineer who designed all of the buildings. The engineer returned to France every winter and registered the blueprints, which have been preserved.

Fortress of Louisburg from across the bay 

Patrice and Marge at the entrance gate to the Fortress of Louisburg

Reconstructed stone buildings

Reconstructed buildings include several houses of the lower, middle, and upper class residents of the colony including the residences of the governor and engineer;  bakery, laundry, theatre, church, ice house, and kitchen; and storehouses and stables.  

Barred window at stone building

Chimney with lichens and fleur de lis 

Thick rampart walls

Reconstructed military buildings and installations include the King's bastion, barracks and ramparts, guardhouses, powder magazine, artillery storehouse and forge, armoury, and chapel.

Canons at King's Rampart

We were scheduled for a guided tour of all of the building and facilities at 1:30 so we walked around the fortress and inside of some of the buildings prior to the tour.

[Patrice writes] The reconstructed Roman Catholic military chapel was enclosed in the King's Bastion, different from the parish church that was outside the military fortress area. It would have been for the use of the soldiers exclusively.

There is a mission in California called, San Luis Rey de Francia, "Saint Louis King of France," and refers to the French saint whose portrait is pictured below. The French saint was honored because of favors done for the Spanish missions during their establishment.

Even for such a popular saint, I have my doubts that a large portrait of a saint would be hung above the altar in a chapel where mass was held. [I have since seen another treatment of a French church with another saint, and another large picture of the saint above the altar. So, I was mistaken about that.]

 Portrait of Saint Louis IX, King of France, in military chapel

A statue of Saint Roch was placed in this chapel also. I asked a soldier guard nearby, and he said that Saint Roch was a priest who lived in northern Italy. He caught some malady (he's pointing to an owee on his leg) and rather than be a burden, went out into the woods to die alone. A woodsman and small dog found him, took care of him, and nursed him back to health. The dog has some bread in his mouth to signify that he had been nourished. After he returned to his people, he went on to perform miracles, and after he died was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

This saint was prayed to for intercession to heal illnesses and maladies. [Patrice is done now]

Saint Roch in military chapel

Marge and Jerry with Saint Roch at the military chapel 

Painting of the harbor and fortress hanging in the theatre building

Fortunately we were able to observe the noon musket and canon firing at the King's Ramparts.

 Patrice, Jerry, and Marge waiting for the noon firings

 Drum and fife troop and soldiers parading to posts for firing

 Musket firings at noon

You can tell that the third musket did not fire--the soldier looked up, and there is no smoke. Muskets that don't fire are set aside and dismantled carefully, so that they don't explode before the misfiring is corrected.

Canon firing at noon 

After the noon firings we had lunch at one of the period restaurants. Our group had seafood chowder, split pea and vegetable soups, french toast, mussels and bread, and chocolate cake, and bread all around, all served on pewter plates. We were each given a large pewter spoon (only!) to eat with, and wore large cotton napkins tied around our necks. No food had potatoes in it, because potatoes had not been introduced yet, and tomatoes were considered poisonous at the time. 

Most of the buildings were open for public viewing and several of them had actors who were doing period work related to the building type. Most of the actors would only converse as if they were actually working and living in the year 1714. In addition, many actors were roaming around the fortress and buildings, engaged in period activities and performing skits.

Woman in kitchen of a fisherman's house

Those who lived outside the fortress agreed that if a British ship was seen to be advancing on the colony, the residents would set fire to their houses, gather the family and grab what valuables and belongings they could, and head for the fortress.

  

Actors with pilgrim geese

Pilgrim geese were common in the colony. They were flightless and rather gentle, only attacking if provoked. Cattle, goats, and chickens were also kept, along with the horses for the soldiers.

 Actors playing games

Impromptu court, trying a thief who stole a loaf of bread

A visit to Louisbourg Fortress is educational and entertaining. Of course, this is the height of the tourist season; we arrived early in the day--not so packed. In addition, this year is the 300th anniversary of the colony, and the big celebration is this coming weekend. We noticed many French-speaking visitors enjoying the setting and activities. Being a Canadian National Park, all tours and signage are available in French as well as English.

It is evident that Parks Canada has made major investments of money and time in this reconstruction--Marge and Jerry had visited about ten years ago, and at that time there was no visitor center. You drove up to the gate and parked right outside the fortress walls; none of the reconstructed buildings we saw today were present then. Today we parked near the visitor center and a bus took us to the gate at the fortress. 

Because all the buildings were destroyed and the fortress also dismantled when the English took over, it was necessary to do extensive archeological research to make all the buildings as authentic as possible. Furnishings are mostly reproductions, with a few precious items original to the time period. The research continues, and there are plans to reconstruct more buildings. We could have spent several more hours exploring this important Canadian National Historic Site.

After spending time at the Louisburg Fortress we returned to our rig, picked up Carlos, and drove about 30 miles east to visit the Marconi National Historic Site of Canada located in Glace Bay. From here, on December 15, 1902, Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the world's first official wireless message to Europe.

The Glace Bay station, completed in 1902, consisted of four 200-foot high wooden towers that supported an inverted array of wire cables. There is a large picture on the wall of the museum, taken of downtown Glace Bay in 1902--you can see the towers in the distance. The concrete foundations are still visible at the site.

Model of the Glace Bay Marconi Wireless Station

The museum shows the life of Marconi, and you see pictures of him as a boy, and follow his interests and passions as he matures. The story of his pursuit of wireless communications is fascinating, as you see the same handsome sober face, looking directly into the camera, among his colleagues and business partners.

In our July 6 blog we described our visit to the Marconi relay station on Fogo Island. Here trans-Atlantic wireless messages were sent to ships up to 288 miles offshore and then relayed on to Europe. As noted in our July 15 blog, we visited the St. John's Marconi Signal Hill station where he received the first direct trans-Atlantic wireless signal (a Morse Code "S") from Europe. Marconi wanted to establish a permanent wireless station in St. John's but was sued by existing competing American telecommunications companies. Marconi fled St. John's rather than face a court trial. He planned to try to set up his station at Cape Cod, Massachusetts; instead, he was offered a Canadian permit and $80,000 to set it up at Glace Bay. In 1904 the station was dismantled and moved to Fort Morien, across the bay from Glace Bay.

So ends our visits to the Marconi sites where modern telecommunications began. We had dinner at the Miner's Museum Cafe in Glace Bay, part of the exhibits of a miner's village outside. Patrice had a wonderful seafood chowder and I had a pork roast dinner with turnips, peas, and carrots. For desert we shared a ginger bread pudding with rum sauce. In Nova Scotia we found the restaurant food prepared with tasty spices and the presentation is attractive.

We visit the Miner's Museum in Glace Bay tomorrow.   

17 July 2013 Bay Bulls and the Avalon Colony

[Patrice is writing today's posting.]

Bay Bulls sits on the shore about 10 miles south of St. John's. We headed to Bay Bulls today to visit Louise O'Brien. Louise is 91, and a second cousin to dear friends of ours, Rod (the cousin) and his wife Annette. Rod's grandfather and Louise's father were brothers, in Newfoundland. Rod and Annette have been out to visit Louise, and Louise has relatives in Vancouver BC, so Rod and Annette have met up with her out west.

Rod heard that we were visiting Newfoundland, and suggested that we look Louise up. As instructed, we asked at the only store in town; as Paddy was looking across the valley describing Louise's house to us, in come John Deagen. John said that Louise's niece was his sister-in-law and we should follow him to her home, and she would take us up to Louise's place.

Ann Marie Deagen took us to Louise's place, and Louise was thrilled to meet us and hear about our knowing Rod and Annette "Such sweet people." Louise lives on her own with her daughter Joanie helping her some as well as being surrounded by the rest of her family. She walks well and has a walker handy because she loses her balance now and then. She has a "little blood sugar," and is proud that she takes no medications, only that the doctor tells her to watch what she eats a bit.

Louise is a lively lady, full of fun, and laughs a lot. We had tea and "jam-jams", partidgeberry jam being jammed between two cookies. Ann Marie had some too, and before long up shows Madonna "Donna" Hawkins, Ann Marie's sister. They were all heading to Point Broyle to play cards--a game called 120.

Bay Bulls is at the start of what is called The Irish Loop, Highway 10 that swings around the peninsula below St. John's. Irish town names, Irish surnames, Roman Catholic churches, and Irish accents--John Deagen and Louise's accents were recognizably Irish--Ann Marie recently retired from BelAliant, the phone company; I noticed her accent sounded more Newfie.

Louise and Mary Ann

What nice smiles these ladies have!

What a delightful time visiting with them. We weren't related to them, but wished that we were.

Later in the evening we called Rod in Tacoma, Washington, to tell him about our visit with his second cousin (and in the case of Ann Marie and Madonna, third cousins). He loved hearing all about our visit to his cousins; our visit to Newfoundland is all the more special.

Just outside of Bay Bulls, we discovered miniature boats and ships of all kinds in a small pond alongside the road.

Morgan's miniatures

There is a small sign in the midst of them with a phone number on it. Directly across the road we saw a large sign on the house that said "Morgan's"; in the yard were lots of other miniature boats and vehicles, but no welcoming indications, only the phone number in the pond. We didn't venture further, just enjoyed the display.

Our second destination of the day was the colony of Avalon, in the town of Ferryland, where an archeological dig continues to find out about the early settlers in the area. The colony of Avalon was founded in 1621 on behalf of Sir George Calvert (meaning that he was the main investor), and in a few short years, because of favorable winters, it became an impressive settlement. Later George Calvert, now know as Lord Baltimore, later arrived with his family to take charge of the colony he created.

The winter of 1628-29 changed the Baltimore's minds about the feasibility of the enterprise, and by 1932 Lady Baltimore had enough--they abandoned the colony along with some of the settlers who wished to stay despite the conditions. They moved and formed the colony of Maryland, and that became Baltimore's crowning achievement.

The colony struggled on, with new governors taking over the buildings and keeping the work going, until the colony was destroyed by French forces in 1696. While Lord Baltimore's settlement has always remained a part of local history and legend, its existence was largely forgotten. For the last 20 years an archeological dig has found more than one million objects relating to the occupation of the site, and tours are part of the admission, around the dig, and some reconstruction and re-enactment of activities. We decided not to go through the exhibits or tours--of course the craft shop was open, for free.

Instead, we drove out the peninsula toward the lighthouse. The walk was about an hour and a half out to it, so we decided to have our lunch by the bay at the vehicle turn-around.

It was a gorgeous day. Rain had been predicted, and we were just done with lunch when the drops started.

From far away Ferryland Head Lighthouse

Just opposite of our lunch site, there was an island  with sheep on it, probably about 35. The top of the island was flatish, and looked like it was full of grasses. We also noticed that there were fences and a stall-like area, and wondered how the sheep got out there, and how they were taken care of during the winter.

On the way back north, we stopped at the Holy Trinity Stone Church (Roman Catholic) on the hill above the entrance to the peninsula. It was consecrated in 1865 and has been going through some renovation lately. 

A tower with dome stood at the opposite end from the entrance, and the Renovation Foundation of Ferryland wants it restored. Alec, the tall young man attending the entrance talked about how the original stained glass windows, the plain blue ones along the side, came from England in barrels of molasses to protect them. The alter, a huge white piece, came from Rome. Six of the large statues were from the original decoration of the church, and the stained glass over the alter was installed within the last 10 years.

 Altar windows

Alec also solved the mystery of the sheep. A man in town owns the sheep, and keeps them on his own property until after the lambs are born in May. In June he takes them over to the island in a boat, one at a time, where they stay until about September. He just recently died, so his sons have taken over the task of checking on them a couple times a month. 

Laundry, lovely laundry.

On the way back home we explored some more little inlets and bays. This area is at the bottom of Five Island Road.

 Another island with sheep

Only three out of the five Islands

Tomorrow more touring on our last day at St. John's.