The weather network really does try it's best in this province but really, it doesn't have a chance. What they predict rarely is reality but for part of the day they were right.
After breakfast in the lovely dining room here, overlooking the whole Annapolis Basin, I packed up my day travelling gear and set out for Annapolis Royal. This is one of the oldest settlements in Canada and switched "ownership" 7 times between French, English and Mi'kmac.
Again, I took the scenic route to get there and went through what was a booming naval academy area in Cornwallis. This base is still used for training Cadets but only in the summer months by the look of things. Again, I can see how it made a major impact on the economy of the area. The views of the basin are equally stunning from here and I must be a picture in the fall.
Highway 1 took me through some salt flats and then pow! Right in the middle of Annapolis Royal. No warning but there was the town. Just a few streets and then the water and wharfs and the oldest National Park in Canada, Fort Anne. I set out to wander around.
The town is ancient with the first English folks arriving in the early 1600's. Then the French came along and blew them up, then the English fought back all the while there were the Mi'kmac Indians having their fair share of battling for the area. Naturally a fort was built and with the now garrisoned town it had a fighting chance but it too fell back and forth between French and English. There seemed to be so many times that a family would build a house then leave again because the other country had taken over then come back again, to the same house, when the other country won the town back. Just crazy!
One place with this history is the Sinclair Inn. I had to take the picture because of my friend L, who's last name is Sinclair!
The town is full of interpretive plaques and are very informative. I spent 2 1/2 hours just wandering around reading the plaques and looking at stuff. Some of the plaques had lots of reading on them.
As the tide lowered I could hear, in the distance kind of a waterfall sound. This is the first tidal power generating plant. Neat! The turbines are always turning as there is a small dam that is blocking part of the Annapolis river as it flows into the basin but as the tide goes out (it drops about 30 feet here) there is more water let through the dam and the turbines go faster and faster. If you stand close enough to the plant at the lowest tide you can hear a high pitched whine of the turbines going nuts. It was raining too hard for me to hear that but I believe it.
Power in Nova Scotia is expensive because there isn't any real form of production. The tidal turbine is one way, there are a few wind turbines but they aren't consistent producers and there is more research being done on it. There are no nuclear plants and no solar fields as there isn't a whole lot of flat ground. So, the tidal turbine is really a unique option!
The major part of the town is Fort Anne. It is situated at the point of land that would best defend the rest of the basin and the river. It was at the "head" of the town and defended who ever was in possession of it at the time and their people. Some artifacts were displayed around the garrison and on the ramparts of the fort. Despite the rain I walked all along the ramparts outside of the fort. On the inside of the fort some cannons were on display. A French one caught my eye as it was so ornate!
Pretty much soaked from the knees down and hungry I headed off to Ye Olde Towne Pub. Yeah, it's really called that. Don't laugh.
Not knowing what to expect I hit the double swinging doors (love that) and found a small table near the window. (nice).
The waiter came over in about 2 minutes and offered me the menu and the specials. (nice again).
The special was a no brainier. Kind of a mash between a Reuben sandwich and a quesadilla. Now that can't be bad.
The appetizer that caught my eye was scallops "cooked" in vinegar. Huh??
I asked. What the heck? I'm from Ontario and this doesn't occur on a menu I've seen.
Hmmm.
Okay!
I'm in!
The scallops were harvested yesterday and brought to shore last night for processing (due to the tides the boats won't be able to come in during the early day) so they are as fresh as you're going to get.
Even more yummy!
This was AWESOME! The acidity of the vinegar made the scallops nearly melt! It was sooo tasty.
Oh yeah the Reuben was awesome too.
Sean kept me amused with stories of different happenings and ghost stories and then with the "locals" that sat beside me I was having a blast listening to them talk about how to solve the problems of the world. I had such a great time that I bought a souvenir t-shirt. Love the hospitality here.
Despite the rain I headed to the Historical Gardens. These meticulously manicured gardens have samples of roses and flowers and pondscapes that were part of the town when it was first developed and also examples of what flowers were brought with the settlers (like Scottish heather and French tea roses). It was beautiful and everything was labeled! Any gardener (I'm thinking of my cousin M, who's garden in Southampton is incredible) would love to visit here and take in the whole experience.
I have noticed here that the hydrangea plants are all blue. They are the big snowball looking plants that you see at Easter sometimes. Here, they can be massive and pretty much all blue in colour. I asked the girl at the garden entrance and she said it's because of the acidity of the earth. That's why they are blue.
The poor blooms in the picture below took a beating in the rain but I hope the colour shows through. They were really bright blue!
The winding road took me through the base of a nice mountainy area and I got a completely different view of the basin. The road ended at the other side of Digby Gut which is the small break in the land that allows all the fishing boats, ferrys and others through to the Fundy side. Neat!
Tired now and the rain really increasing I decided to head back to the Inn and do my laundry. Nice to have the facilities here and I figured at 4 pm there wouldn't be anyone after the two washers or dryers.
Task completed (maybe the last time on the road) I settled in to watch the weather change (again!).
Rain drifting inland, clouds changing and the fog hovering at the entrance to the Basin. The scallop boats were heading home for the night and people were settling in here for the night.
Who knows what tomorrow's weather will bring. Now it's changed to being 20 degrees and sunny! Wait! Next hour it might change again!
I can tell you I can see the light on the green buoy out in the Basin and the flags are gently flapping.
I don't know what it means but that's what I see!
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