Chester, Lunenburg

I just had to stop and take a picture of this sign.  It reminded me of my Mother.

She was married a few times--her daughters are not sure of the exact number--but anyway, she had a great sense of humor about her marital ups and downs.  One time she bought a used car and it sported a bumper sticker that read, "Where's Chester?"  She didn't know any Chester but people were always asking her what the sticker meant.   

One day, in all seriousness, she informed an elderly lady acquaintance of hers, "Chester was my third husband and I have been looking for that scoundrel for years!" 

She loved the startled response from her friend so much that she continued to use that line from then on.

  I would love to be able to call her and tell her, "I finally found Chester."

And it was a beautiful setting as well.  The little coastal towns that surrounded  St. Margaret's Bay and Mahone Bay to the southwest of Halifax are easy to reach by following a rather narrow, winding, but very scenic road.

I stopped here for lunch and sat at a table under the tree to the right in the photo.  The signs you see attest to their great skill at making sandwiches.  I didn't think mine was that great.

But the view was worth the price.

One of the islands in this bay is Oak Island--the legendary "Money Pit" where some unknown vast treasure is supposedly buried.  The stories are endless of great wealth from Marie Antoinette's jewels, Ark of the Covenant, Captain Kidd's booty, to the Holy Grail. I think the treasure is in how much money has been spent looking for it.  I did not take the tour to see the 'Pit' but there are TV crews on the island and if a treasure is ever found I am sure I will be able to see it on TV.

Anyway, this is the real treasure.

Mahone Bay is a beautiful little town that rivals Palmyra, N.Y. for its many churches.

The main street was rather narrow and there was no place I could park without blocking part of it...

So I ventured on.  I wasn't in the mood for shopping anyway.

I planned to drive as far as Lunenburg then turn around and head back to Halifax before dark.

Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized as the best surviving example of a British planned colonial settlement in North America.   The brightly colored houses date back to the 18th century.

In 1753 Lunenburg was settled by German, Swiss and French colonists.  

The bright colors are everywhere and the homes have been lovingly cared for.

Lunenburg was obviously a wealthier town and there is a good reason for it.

From 1920 until 1933, the sale of alcohol was prohibited in the United States.  This prompted a demand for smuggled liquor which proved to be a lucrative business for organized crime in the United States and for Nova Scotian fishing vessels and their crews. 

  They would load barrels of liquor on their boats and transport their valuable cargo to just outside the U.S. 12-mile limit where it was transferred to smaller American craft for the 'run' to shore.  

 Although dangerous work, it was legal for the Canadians as long as the Canadian vessels did not enter United States territorial waters.  It paid better than fishing and provided a boost to the Town's economy during the Great Depression.

Once again we see evidence that prohibition as it relates to man's indulgences only fuels the fire. 

If only we could learn by our past over-reactions.

Anyway, Lunenburg turned out to be the wealthiest coastal town of all that I had seen in Canada.

I loved this British comedy.

I found a place to park then two cars hemmed me in so tight I had to wait an hour for one of them to move.

I walked.

This  lobster was caught on Georges Bank, it weighed 25 lbs.  The largest recorded lobster was caught off Nova Scotia in 1977.  It weighed over 44 lbs and was probably more than 50 years old.

I suspect there are very few of these mega-lobsters left.  I have seen hundreds of the one-pounders in stores and restaurants.

(All items in italics are from the printed materials handed out by the communities)

Halifax

The Province of Nova Scotia is made up of many tiny fishing villages and lots of healthy looking farms but there are a few larger cities and Halifax is the largest.

The wharf area is the heart of downtown and it is where the city started.  There are several large parking lots that allow for 24 hour parking.  Yeah! For $16 in the daylight hours and $6 for overnight, that's where I stayed for the first night in town.  

And what a view!

The port of Halifax is one of the world's finest natural harbors.  Ice-free year round, its main channel depth of over 60 feet offers shippers some of the deepest and most navigable waters along the North American east coast.

It was great walking and I had a chance to visit with quite a few of the locals...

...including this couple named Mary and Mark who were enthralled with my nomadic life.  I am expecting to hear from them sometime in the near future when they sell their home, pack up their stuff and hit the road in an RV.  

There are lots of opportunities to meet people here.  Just sitting on a bench for five minutes can bring new friends with interesting ideas and lots of information,

I think this is artwork--though it may be a result of Global Warming.

This was in front of a very popular restaurant called "The Bicycle Thief".

Little kids love these fountains, even in their Sunday best.

THE GRAND DERANGEMENT

L'Acadie, established by France in 1604, was a strategically located and highly coveted colony.  In 1713 it was handed over to England and renamed Nova Scotia.  The Acadians were perceived as a threat, and in 1755 the British authorities launched their systematic deportation, splitting up families and communities, seizing all lands and possessions.

This was the Grand Derangement, or Great Upheaval.  Nearly 10,000 men, women and children were piled into ships and deported to the Anglo-American colonies, to England and to France.

Some Acadian families returned to their former homes, but most never again set eyes on Acadie.  Many took root in Quebec and France, while those that settled in Louisiana gave rise to a new community that produced the rich Cajun Culture.

It was in Halifax on July 28th, 1755 that the Nova Scotia Council (British) made the decision to remove every Acadian (French) from the colony.  Over the next decade, Georges Island (small island in the harbor) was used as a prison for hundreds of Acadians at a time.  The first prisoners were the deputies who pleaded the Acadian cause before the Nova Scotia Council in July 1755.

Lieutenant-governor Lawrence described the Island as 'The place of most security," so Acadian partisans who took part in the resistance often ended up there.  The facilities on the Island were inadequate and living conditions were terrible.

The last attempted mass deportation came in 1762 when more than 600 prisoners were shipped to Boston.  Massachusetts refused to accept them and the ships returned to Halifax.  

The deportation policy ended in 1764, and the government made sure that the Acadians who resettled Nova Scotia did so in scattered communities.   

The Deportation Cross

I do not know why these tourists are holding their heads but I thought this picture was kind of funny.

IRISHTOWN

 Once known as Irishtown, the name was first coined in the mid-1700s with the expulsion of the Acadians.

  At that time a number of Gaelic-speaking Irish fishermen, who were among the first settlers, built fishing camps along the harbor south of the newly established town of Halifax.  

The fishing camps and the name were short-lived however, as in the 1760s, the fishing families moved to the coastal villages.  However, by the 1870s, 40% of the city's population was of Irish descent.

I thought this statue was strange--why is he dressed like someone from the 50s? A hat?  What does the briefcase signify?  I think most of the Emigrants were fishermen, farmers or soldiers.

THE EMIGRANT

The pain of separation he overcame, 

with faith and hope his heart aflame...

And what about her?  As usual, the suffering is all about him--she just waits stoically behind--tending to the kids and those weird weeds growing out of the top of that wall.

SAMUEL CUNARD

Samuel Cunard was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1787.  

For more than half a century, the S. Cunard & Company wharves on the Halifax waterfront were the center of a vast shipping empire engaged in the West Indies trade.  Samuel Cunard became the foremost entrepreneur in Halifax and one of the largest owners of sailing vessels in the Maritime Provinces.

Finally, Something I could relate to...The Farmer's Market is held daily on the wharf...

 

And it was huge with wonderful fruits, vegetables and...

...something for everyone.

I followed her around the market trying to get a picture that did not have a glare in it but this was the best I could get.  The 'Free Spirit' sign should have been over her head.

Exhausted, I went to bed early that night but the revelry continued for hours with folk singers, dancing and even an opera singer at a restaurant right next to the RV.  I would have liked to spend more time there but I had miles to cover and time was getting short.

The information in Italics is from the signs posted along the wharf.

Thanks to Karen and Tony for the suggestion on parking on the Wharf.  Their Blog, "Rolling in a RV-Wheelchair Traveling" is a wealth of information for RVers.  A link to their Blog is on the upper right of this page.