Ferry Fun to Newfoundland!

July 5, 2015 – Day 20

On the first day of our caravan, the length of each rig was measured with the tow vehicle attached so that ferry reservations could be made.  Ours measured 59 feet long!  The wagon masters obtained advance reservations for each of us and today was the big day for the ferry trip to Newfoundland! It was very organized…as we passed through the entry gate booth, they verified the measurement, we gave them our reservation number, had to show our drivers license, and they told us what lane to get in.

 

There were commercial trucks lined up, a whole bunch of rv’s (our group of 23, plus more!), motorcycles, and a lot of cars, all  waiting in the assigned lane.  There was an announcement that loading was to begin, Spot lifted his leg for one final time, the engines started, and we began driving onto the boat…first the big trucks, then some cars, then some rv’s, more cars, etc.  It was amazing that the boat could hold so many vehicles.  They loaded each lane, and parked the vehicles sooooo close to each other, it was scary--You could hardly walk between them.  But, they have a well-oiled system for loading and unloading and was quite impressive how smoothly it went.  All propane had to be turned off, and pets (including poor Spot) had to stay in the rv for the trip across the water.  The trip took about 5 1/2 hours.  But this ferry wasn’t a normal ferry…We walked up the stairs from the lower level parking and it was like we were walking into a cruise ship!  It had several cafes, a dining room, a gift shop, a bar, and lots and lots of seating with tv’s.  The only thing missing was a casino and wifi!  (I think they are missing a huge revenue stream.)   It was a smooth ride, and a lot of fun.  Some people slept (there was a lot of snoring going on), others played cards, or read, some knitted and crocheted, and others just visited and sat in the bar.  There was some drizzle and fog, so the views weren’t as pretty as they could have been, but some spotted a whale, and a bunch of seals during the journey. 

We finally reached land, and Spot was very glad to see us!  The strangest thing happens in Newfoundland…the clocks change by 30 minutes…to Newfoundland Standard Time, which is 1 1/2 hrs earlier than Eastern time.  Apparently they tried to standardize the clock several years ago, but the locals opposed it, so they remain on their unique time schedule. 

Another unique custom is the “Screeching” ceremony for all newcomers to Newfoundland.  Each newcomer must talk like a Newfie, eat like a Newfie, drink Screech run, and kiss a cod to become a member of the royal order of Newfoundland Screechers.

We had to wear yellow hats, learned some of their sayings, ate Newfie steak (bologna), drank a shot of Screech run, and kissed a live cod!! YUCK! Then, we were inducted with a ceremonial rite and given a special certificate and pin.

 

 

An authentic Newfie band provided entertainment for the evening. Fun to be in Newfoundland, and glad to be part of the Screecher Society!  Fantastic new experiences!

Hello!! and Happy 4th

July 4, 2015 Day 19

Everyone was in great spirits as we woke up to a beautiful day for the 4th of July! Our tailgunners dressed up for the occasion.

Today we travelled to the Arm of Gold campground in North Sydney, Nova Scotia.  This area did a lot of copper mining 100 years ago, thus the name for the campground. 

On the way, we stopped at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.  This place had so much information on the fascinating life and work of Mr. Bell--I learned so much about him that I was not aware of.  First of all, he had a summer home here in Nova Scotia where he spent the better part of the second half of his life, and many of his contributions were developed in this area.  His descendants still live in the homestead. The museum building’s style is based on the tetrahedron, the geometric form Bell used in designing his passenger carrying kites.  I knew about the phone, but didn’t know about the kites, or the Silver Dart, an aircraft that achieved the first controlled powered flight in Canada, or the HD-4 hydrofoil that broke a marine speed record, or the experiments with sheep breeding. He was also quite involved with the hearing impaired.  He married one of his deaf students, Mabel (they were married on my birthday in 1877).  She was the woman who inspired his greatest invention, the telephone!   Wonder how many people remember this rotary dial phone that was on display??  Hello…I do!

There were beautiful views along the way in this area that is surrounded by water on three sides:

 

I made a quick run to the grocery store and was reminded about the high prices here.  A big box of cereal was $8. Milk was $7 a gallon—that might cause you to think about drinking something else; but  a 15 pack of beer was $24.50 (I guess that’s a great way to control drinking habits!) And, on top of that, they charge a “container fee” of 1.50 (15 cans @.10)!  Oh, and Honeycrisp apples were $5.99/lb.  (I passed on those).  But, I got a “deal” on Ritz crackers…they were on sale for 1.67! I should have bought 2 boxes for that price.

We have a busy day tomorrow, so we went to mass this evening at St. Joseph’s, a church established in 1846 and within walking distance of the campground.

 

 

 

Everyone is loaded and ready for tomorrow, so we sat outside and tried to watch the race, but between the mosquitos and the rain  delay from Dayton, we decided to call it a night.

I just received heartbreaking news about a friend who died unexpectedly while on an RV trip out west.  Sending thoughts and prayers to the family.  Times like this remind us that life is much too short to waste it, to worry, to put things off, and to take things too seriously.  Don’t ever sweat the small stuff….Enjoy life while you can.

Lots of Facts about Halifax!

July 3, 2015 Day 18

It was an early morning tour after a late night, but well worth it to learn so much about the interesting city of Halifax.

Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia with a population of about 390,000.  It is called the city of trees, because trees are protected—residents are not allowed to cut down a tree, even on personal property without governmental permission!  There are 7 universities in the city, and Halifax is the 2nd largest harbor in the world, with a 60 ft depth at low tide.  It is an ice-free harbor, and 38 cruise ships are scheduled to be here this summer!

There are two very significant historical events that affected the city:  1) Although Halifax was 700 miles from the place where the Titanic went down, it was the nearest port connected to the mainland, so it became the central post.  Many of the victims were laid to rest at the Fairfield Cemetery where there are 121 graves for these victims. As the bodies were recovered, they were given a number, and because so many of the victims were never identified, it is only this number that appears on many of the tombstones, with the date April 15, 1912.  The stones are arranged in the shape of the hull of the ship, in a special area of the cemetery.  We noticed some names on the stones, like J.W. Marriott.  There was also a stone dedicated to the “Unknown child”, one of the earliest victims recovered.  Later, his shoes led to the identification of the 2 year old. Another stone with the child’s name was added at the foot of the stone, and those shoes are now in the museum.  Very moving.  The Company who owned the Titanic set up a trust fund to maintain the cemetery for these victims.

2) The Halifax Explosion is something I had never heard of until now.  It was December 6, 1917 when two ships collided in the narrows of the harbor.  One of the ships had a huge cargo of munitions, and the collision created an explosion that was said to be the biggest explosion in the world prior to the Atom Bomb.  The anchor of the ship was found 2 1/2 miles away!  1650 people died, 9,000 people were injured and 1 square mile was completely destroyed.  Boston was the first city to come to the aid of Halifax.  As a token of gratitude, Nova Scotia provides Boston with a Christmas tree every year. 

Halifax is also a huge shipping port.  There are two container piers along the waterfront.  It was amazing to see so many containers, and its a wonder that they are able to keep track of them.  The guide says it takes about 24 hours to unload and reload a ship of containers! 

 

 

We visited the Maritime Museum where we saw exhibits on the Titanic and the Halifax explosion, as well as detailed models of ships and sailboats, old equipment from boats, and a huge lens from a lighthouse. 

We were able to board an old ship the USS Acadia that was used for 50 years to map the coast.  Surprising how much goes in to making a map!  I just go to AAA for my maps—never thought about someone having to make them!

We closed out the day with a cruise around the harbor on a tall ship, the Silva.  It was a beautiful day, and great to see the harbor from a different view. 

 

As we were leaving the boat, I saw this guy playing a piano on the dock…strange…

 

We had our “driver’s meeting” when we returned to the campground, and everyone is getting ready for the drive tomorrow.

An International Tattoo!

July 2, 2015 -  Day 17-Part 2

Wow, awesome, spectacular, stirring…all words to describe the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo that we saw last night.  When I first heard about this, I pictured everyone in a line getting a big tattoo!! But, this was something much different.  It is an annual production that started in 1979 to mark the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Nova Scotia for the Gathering of the Clans.  It was granted Royal Status in 2006 by the Queen.  Tattoo is short for “turn off the taps”, a drumbeat used in the 1700’s to signal British soldiers to return to their quarters.   That gives a hint to the flavor of the event—it had a military twist—it is described as a celebration of the ties that exist between military and civilian communities all over the world.  The program is filled with military bands, pipe and drum corps, and included dancers, choirs, singers, acrobats, policemen on motorcycles, gymnasts, etc. from many different countries.  It’s so hard to describe, but it’s guaranteed that everyone left feeling great after this 2 1/2 hour performance  that included 2,000 performers!  The motorcycle policemen were from Paris, there were gymnasts and cyclists from Germany, bands from Sweden, Norway, UK, and even a pipe and drum group from Oman (an Arab country).  At one point Jim counted 44 bagpipes on stage!

There was an incredible opening and an even more incredible finale where all of the performers were on stage.    We weren’t supposed to take pictures (oops) but I did manage to grab a few shots without the flash.  The program moved quickly…as one group marched off, the spotlight shifted and there was something new beginning.  So different than anything we’ve seen. Very well done, and quite an impressive display of talent. 

It was neat to see the Fife and Drum Corp from Boston appear carrying the American flag.  There were several different gymnastic groups.

 

It was interesting that there was a religious song at the end, and they sang the national anthem for Canada at the end of the program.  There was a massive crowd, and we were lucky to have great seats for the event.  We can now say we’ve been Tattooed!

Too Late to Tell All…

July 2, 2015 Day 17

It was a day filled with activities.  It began with a repair to one of the rigs that had a problem with the jacks.  They picked up the repair part this morning, and had 5 people working to help put it in.  It was a successful installation, but not sure it solved the whole problem.

 

We took a bus to downtown Halifax and toured the Citadel which sits on the highest point in the city, right in the middle of downtown.  It is a National Historic site which was active for 200 years!  It is a huge star-shaped fortification of stone, protected by ramparts, and tunnels surrounded by a ditch.  It began as a base for the British Royal navy to protect the harbor, and expanded over the years.  It was active until 1951 when it was turned over to Parks Canada.   We were able to see the changing of the guard (after posing for a picture with the sentry).

The cannon fires every day at noon, 364 days a year (they get the day off on Christmas).  

We saw marching drills and rifle drills, the old barracks and the tunnels. 

They had an extensive museum on the wars.  It was interesting to see history from the Canadian perspective.  They gave us poppy seeds when we went in—Canada’s sign of peace.  They wear poppies on veterans day in honor of those who died.  They believe that healing wounds requires enemies to become friends and understand the hurt that each has caused the other.  A really interesting place that taught us all a little more about history.

We ventured downtown for dinner at the King George Hotel, and passed the Town Clock with has been keeping time for more than 200 years!  Several of us walked to the restaurant instead of taking the bus, and got there in time for a quick Happy Hour!

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we attended a spectacular show, and didn’t get back until after 11:30pm, so it’s too late to write about it because there is so much to tell…will fill in details tomorrow!  We have another bus tour at 8am, so must get to bed.

It was also a long day for Spot …we were gone more than 10 hours.  Our tailgunner Marlene stayed at the campground to take care of the dogs since we were gone for so long.  Spot, Raffi, Lakin and Lannie (the poodle girls), Chloe and Samantha were so happy to see Marlene.  She walked each of them and took care of their “needs”.  How nice of her to take care of our fur babies so that we didn’t have to worry.

It’s Canada Day-Eh!

July 1, 2015, Day 16

What better place to spend Canada’s 148th birthday than Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia!  Everyone is decked out for the occasion, especially our wagon masters and tail gunners.  That’s “WHale” in the center with a Canadian flag umbrella hat presented to him because he flies an American flag every day by his bus.  It was pretty funny!   Canada Day marks the anniversary of the union of the British North American provinces in a federation under the name of Canada.

We are staying at Woodlawn RV Park, a huge park with lots of trees.  Luckily though, we were able to park in a spot that allows us to get satellite tv—good thing because there’s a race in Daytona on the 4th of July that we want to see!  We were a bit worried when we pulled in, but Jim got on top of the rv and was able to find the satellites on his phone app and positioned the rig in the spot accordingly…woo hoo!  Bring on the tv.

It’s a lot warmer today…72 degrees, –-Not being on the water makes a difference, and it feels good to put on shorts for a change.  We went to downtown Halifax to explore the area, and found the City Park filled with people and entertainment. The lines for ice cream were way too long, so we had to skip the treat—darn.  We then followed the streams of people dressed in red and white with Canada shirts and painted faces, and sometimes painted hair.  They were going down to the waterfront.  It was so interesting to see the variety of people—young and old, dressed up and dressed down, speaking English and speaking other languages I couldn’t decipher.   And when we got there…wow, what a contrast to the small fishing villages we’ve seen for the past two weeks.  This place was hopping and pretty crazy with all of the people just walking on the waterfront, and boats zipping around in the water.  There were two HUGE private yachts moored at the dock. 

One had a sign indicating it was private, but provided some info about the boat named Sea Owl…203 ft long, 1494 tons, crew of 18, registered in Nassau Bahamas, and Owner:  not disclosed!  Wonder who is in town for the weekend?  The other one had a British flag, and just had a PRIVATE sign on the dock.  There were lots of sailboats and other boats creating quite a bit of activity around the area.

The campground has a band and fireworks for the Canada Day celebration, but I think we’ve decided on an early evening of relaxing and getting ready for the day tomorrow.  (Besides, we haven’t practiced our dance steps lately.)  Happy Canada Day!