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!