Nova Scotia 10/1-10/8

New Bedford/Nova Scotia

Halifax harbor

Bedford Basin history

Bedford Basin

We finally arrive in New Bedford and are reunited with our long time friends, and hosts, Pat and Don MacDonald.  Pretty sure that their favorite city outside of Nova Scotia is San Francisco and we wanted to experience the beauty and history of this part of Canada.
Day One:  Pat and Don took us on an historical tour of Halifax.  We stopped at Bedford Basin and learned of the importance of Halifax prior to the U.S. entry into WWII.  The port was a main location for shipbuilding and also escorting ships to Europe to protect them from German U-Boats.
We then stopped at the cemetery that has an entire area devoted to the tragedy of the Titanic sinking. Halifax had the difficult task to recover the passengers who died.  They retrieved over 300, many are buried in the heart of Halifax.  Below are some of the headstones.

Dinner on our first day features lobster at a very popular restaurant.  Lobster, all you can eat mussels and salad, and dessert for less than $20.   The bib is what I usually wear when I eat out. Other famous visitors ate at the Shorebird.

On our way back to the MacDonald's we stop at a special memorial for the crash of Swissair 111.  In 1998 this flight was scheduled to fly from JFK to Switzerland.  The investigation showed that a fire started the emergency but from there it seemed to be a series of mistakes by the crew.  Halifax assisted in recovering the plane.

Swissair Flight 111 memorial

Adventures in Cape Breton

Day Three:  We drive to Baddeck in Cape Breton.  The scenery is beautiful although the Fall colors have not fully appeared.  The trip will take us to the Canadian home of Alexander Graham Bell and tomorrow to Fort Louisbourg. Although most know of Bell's fame with the telephone he was a very gifted inventor.  He also developed the "Silver Dart" The plane was the first controlled powered flight in Canada in 2009

Alexander Graham Bell's office

Silver Dart

Baddeck B&B "Mother Gaelic" (No not Irish gaelic)

.Day Four:  Traveling to Fort Louisbourg.  Another famous site in Canada.  The historical Ft. Louisbourg.  Important location for the French-English wars of the 17th and 18th centuries.  2013 marks the 300th anniversary of the fort.

Ft. Louisbourg B&B

Fort Louisbourg

No! He's not part of the Tea Party although the costume looks familiar

Back in New Bedford we enjoy a very good dinner at a Halifax restaurant.  We end our stay in Canada after 7 days and lobster or some other fish dinner on 6 of those days.  Yum!

Salty's on Halifax harbour

After eight great days seeing the spectacular sights of Nova Scotia we fly home.  The MacDonalds have been excellent hosts and we can see why they are so proud of their part of Canada. 
Three wonderful weeks on the East Coast and in Canada.  We have a brief stay over at the airport in New Jersey.  Saw no "Real Housewives" but enjoyed a "New York style" slice a the airport.

Massachusetts 9/24-9/29

New York city skyline from the Amtrak train

As we approach the holidays we thought about our fabulous trip to the East Coast and Nova Scotia to be with family and friends. The rest of this blog represents some of our memories.  It started with a train trip from Union Station, Washington DC to Springfield Mass.  I could swear that I saw many of the remnants of some old cars I owned in the junkyards we drove through on the train.  So much for the beautiful countryside of the east.  We did travel through Philadelphia and New York city.  A few hours later we met my cousin, Sandy at the Springfield train station.  Over five days we spent time with my cousins, Sandy, Maryellen (Mel) and Tom.  The highlight was our time spent with my 94 year old aunt, Claire, the last of my Dad's family.  Our short time in Massachusetts was packed with many memories, highlighted below.

Bresnahan family home (with some modifications)

Bresnahan Holyoke family plot

We drove about the Springfield-Holyoke area visiting sites of my parent's childhood.  My grandmother won a lottery in 1932 that helped pay for the family home.  The priest delivered the $3000 winnings in cash. (Oops! I don't know if my grandparents paid the tax on the winnings)

Woodstock Inn and Restaurant, Woodstock, VT.

Granville Country Store

 

Kringle candle store

Day three we took a short trip to the historic town of Woodstock, VT. and lunch at the famous inn there. Pictured below that is the Granville Country Store.  Day four we joined my cousin, Tom, to visit this little store in Granville, MA.  It gained notoriety 80 years ago because it produced "Cellar aged cheese" that was the absolute favourite of President Roosevelt.  It was common knowledge that any chance he had he would send a friend to bring back a few pounds of the cheese.  The store has not changed to this day.  We also paid a visit to the Kringle candle store that is an off shoot of the legendary Yankee Candle Store.  Considering my Dad's career I thought this was a poignant scene.

Journey from Springfield to Nova Scotia

L.L. Bean headquarters

Mary walking the beach in Kennebunkport

Great Maine lobsters

Hidden gem outside Freeport, ME.

September 29-30

We start our drive to Nova Scotia with brief stops along the way.  Early on the journey we stop in Kennebunkport Maine.  Lunch was at the famous Maine Diner (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives).  First lobster lunch.  Mary took a short stroll on the beach there.  Early the next morning we begin with a stop at the L.L. Bean headquarters.  I was relieved to read that any of the thousands of guns that are available there for sale cannot be bought or taken through the clothing section (Whew!)  It looked like an amusement park for clothes.  Our lunch that day was at the A-1 Diner (again Diner's, Drive Ins and Dives).

New Brunswick

John Gyles Motor Inn

Heino's German restaurant

Benton, N.B.

We end the second driving day in Benton, New Brunswick.  We stay at the John Gyles Motor Inn.  It is known for its authentic German food in the restaurant. Mary was able to get Spatzle which reminded her of a dish that her mother made when Mary was young.  We awoke on October 1st to a beautiful view of the surroundings.  The owner came here from Germany and you can see why he chose this location.  We pulled into a local gas station and were surprised at the low gas prices ($1.25) Later we find that the price is per litre.  So it's $5.00 for about a gallon.  As we entered Nova Scotia at a toll plaza we gave the toll taker American money which he gladly took but said there seemed to be many Americans entering Canada (This was during the government shutdown)
We now head to New Bedford, N.S!

Holocaust and Natural History Museum (9/23)

Interesting last full day in DC.  We started with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.  Brings many tourists back to earth.  It is an extremely moving experience.  Each of us carried a card of a short biography of one of the victims.  We then jumped on the Hop On Hop off bus and off to the Natural History museum (Keep it a secret: we used our pass beyond its expiration time).  Plenty to look at in the museum including the famous Hope Diamond.  As we walked to the Metro we noticed the Clinton Federal Building. 

Dismantled Nazi symbol: Forever

Natural History museum

Hey Lady! Watch out! We're going to need a bigger boat

Butterflies are not always free

Hope Diamond

So many secretaries

We have enjoyed DC and leave on Amtrak for Western Massachusetts for the next five days.  We missed some things so it means a return trip is in our future. Special thanks to Dave Mineta and Congressman Jared Huffman for making it a special first visit.

Air and Space Museum and some significant monuments (9/22)

Air and Space Museum
We enjoyed this museum for the longest time.  It is amazing how one building could hold so many symbols of flight in America.  The most amazing part of the museum was the food service provided by McDonald's. Unlike the other museums that had prices from "outer space" McDonalds was more down to Earth. We ended the day with monuments to some of our military heroes.

Kitty Hawk

No it is not Amelia's original plane

Rover, rover come over!

Mary touches the Moon

Still under construction after 2011 earthquake

Abe.  What happened to your party?

Whew that was close! Luckily they didn't need my Army Cook skills in Vietnam

Friend: Medford Chrysler RIP-graduate of Terra Nova

Georgetown and the American History Museum (9/21)

Julia Child's kitchen: "I didn't cook until I was 32, I just ate"

Our first adventure on the Big Red Hop On Hop Off Bus.

We started with a short tour through Georgetown.  Our guide was a young irreverent Georgetown student.   He mentioned that we could find everything we wanted in Georgetown except a bargain.  We drove by the Paul Martins Tavern where JFK proposed to Jackie. Traveling though this part of town at 25 mph was enough of an experience for us so now on to the Smithsonian American History Museum.
A treasure trove of American memorabilia where words are not needed:

Air raid on Pearl Harbor: "This is no drill"

"Toto I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore"

Just the car that Mary's Dad drove

Library of Congress and the Capitol (9/20)

Library of Congress and the Capitol (9/20)
What do you mean I owe $2405.50 in overdue book fines?

LOC

 Hope Room

Friday morning we were up early and off to the Library of Congress then on to the Capitol.  It began with a tour of the Library of Congress.  Most amazing architecture and a Library with more books than any other.  How anyone in Congress can get facts wrong is beyond me with this source.  A pleasant surprise was the room dedicated to Bob Hope and some of the comedians he encountered during his career.  A special section includes a tribute to Mort Sahl who loves the food and people of Vasco in Mill Valley.  When he arrives he greets Annie with "Hello kid"

Mort Sahl tribute

Capitol Building Hall of Statues

A short walk underground and we were in the Capitol.  The numerous statues, all over the building are impressive (each state picks two famous citizens of that state to honor).  The original room where government business was carried out has an acoustical oddity that allowed Congressmen to eavesdrop on the opposition across the room.  By the end of the day we had walked 6 miles. We did receive Gallery passes for the Senate and House from Congressman Huffman but due to conflicts we missed the chance to see Senator Paul speak about the "Good Old Days")

Quick! I think Ted Cruz is reading children's story

California's contribution: Father Junipero Serra