Digby Scallop Days

The Digby scallop days were started in 1975 and is the big community celebration for the local inhabitants as much as tourists or even Digby expatiates coming home for the holidays.
The parade was led by fire trucks from the area.

There were a few rein-actors with costumes that harken back to the founding days of Digby as a British Loyalist colony in 1783. The RCMP car was giving rides to people for fun.
Scallop days start Thursday night and go till Sunday Night. There's buskers, a reptile show, street hockey, classic car show on Main street. Lots of local businesses sponsor or have displays around town and also have floats in the parade.

Highland music and culture is strong in the area as well and British, French and Native American.

Most small communities will have war memorials and honor the fallen in conflicts Canada has fought in. Veterans can be seen and are proud of the role they served but dreading war for their descendants.

Nearby Cornwallis has Sea Cadets there throughout the summer and participate in local parades and events.

I thought this was a clever and well made float.

Here is the newly crowned Queen of Scallop days with a very bored gent beside her.

Here is an example of an imaginative local business float.

Masons...always masons...

Here is a float for one of the two kids summer camps that had floats. Scallop days ended off with a very impressive fireworks display.

Lobster Roll

A North American upper East Coast favorite, the lobster roll is simple to make but also easy to foul up. It commonly made with chunks of lobster meat and mixed with mayonnaise. After that it depends on the region. Some mix lettuce, scallions, spices, butter instead of mayonnaise...etc. Even Subway and McDonalds have thier own lobster rolls when in season in the Maritimes. The best place to have them is where the locals have them in the area you're at. If you're skimped out on the meat, beat a retreat. The roll above is in the middle of the road for meat quantity. I ordered it while waiting for the Digby Scallop Days parade, to go, from a restaurant I was standing in front of. It was my first lobster roll in a while and it was delicious! So if you're in the coastal New England or in the Canadian Maritimes, try one at a popular local establishment.

Lake Cottages

 Lake cottages are popular throughout Canada. I prefer beach cottages but sometimes the coastline or location doesn't allow it.

 This lake is near Digby (20 minute drive) and is fairly large. That's my sister and her son on the water in kayaks.

 I went out with my step brother in a canoe and we rowed to this beaver lodge. It has been used for many years and I saw a beaver on the far side jump into the water and dive down just before I took this picture.

 The row was a good workout and very calming.

 There's lots of nooks to explore.

 The cottages are near to each other but not too near. I like that about this cottage owned by my step-family.

 The inside of the cottage is fantastic. Reminds me of my grandparents cottage with its quirky knick-knacks and cozy feel.

Also just the right amount of amenities while remaining rustic.

Nova Scotia - Annapolis Royal - Fort Anne

Fort Anne was originally a Scottish settlement built near the ruins of a French fur trading post and the native Mi'kmaq peoples. The Mi'kmaq peoples fought alongside the French and later Acadian peoples as they tolerated limited French settlements near their land. The area was abandoned by the Scots and re-settled by the French Government. The vauban style earthworks, seen via aerial view (actually a picture of a postcard) were started in 1702. It was taken by the British in 1710 and was attacked thirteen times and changed hands seven times. Up to 70 buildings were present in the fort during its height of importance. The town of Annapolis Royal lies just behind it.

 Here is the fort, with my nephew for scale, and the officer's quarters as the sole remaining main building. It was originally built in 1797 and refurbished in the 1930's.

 As you can see, the vauban earthworks would be very hard to climb with full kit, especially when being fired upon. Plus the shape of them allow for overlapping arcs of fire.

 This French cannon was left behind.

 It bears an impressive coat of arms and other adornments.

 This is a side view of the seaward side. The trees are probably from when the fort fell into disuse after the war of 1812 with the Americans. The town of Annapolis Royal was raided by American Privateers and driven off the first time but the troops were deployed elsewhere and the town was raided a second time.

 Here my nephew is trying to scale the earthworks. Easy in summer clothes and sneakers when taking his time.

 This is a view looking out on the seaward side.

 This is a view from the outer earthworks looking out on Annapolis Basin. Just beyond the island in the top middle of the picture you head right to get to the Bay of Fundy. The British had small forts on either side of the entrance to the basin at one time.

 Here is a view of the town of Annapolis Royal, on the opposite side of the inlet to the Annapolis river.

 Here is a reconstruction of the magazine. Another awesome thing about the Fort Anne site is everything except the museum is free. That's right...free.

 Here is a model of the blockhouse that was torn down in the late 1800's by the custodian of the site. I was made out of the wood retrieved from that same blockhouse.

 In the museum they have an extensive history of the area and Fort. They also have cool costumes that you can try on and pose. Please excuse the wild collared shirt sticking out. It definitely was not period French.

 Here is an excellent model made of the fort during its building of the earthworks in the early 1700's by the French. Sorry about the glare.

 The white flag was used by the French Marines and not as a flag of surrender at the time.

I had been coming here since I was very young and always like to revisit. Its fun in the winter time with a crazy carpet or toboggan. The Fort Anne site is the oldest National Park, established in 1917.

If you're in the area, at any time of year, come down and enjoy. The museum is only open during the main summer months.

Annapolis Royal - Open Air Farmers Markets

Founded in 1628, as Charlesfort, it is the oldest town in North America. Its one of my favorite little communities (population of around 500) in the Maritimes. Myself and my wife once thought of retiring here, when we are of retiring age.

The market atmosphere is different that that of the businesses that sell local crafts and produce for local farmers and artisans. Here, for the small fee of a table, you can sell produce, cheese, meats, prepared foods, books, crafts, artists, wine and spirits (a new distillery has opened up since I was last here), and much more. It makes for an excellent snapshot of the community. I always pay attention to where the locals go and buy from there. My taste buds generally thank me for it.

So when traveling, no matter where you are, pay attention to the days and times of the local farmer's markets. You'll be glad you did.

Nova Scotia - Cornwallis

When Cornwallis was a Canadian Military basic training facility, I had come here as a Sea Cadet and again when I joined the Navy. It was completed in the winter of 1942-43 and served as a training facility for new navy recruits until it closed in 1946. It was re-commissioned in 1949 and served as a Navy recruit base until 1968 when the Canadian Forces unified and then was used by all three branched of the Canadian Military. It was closed down in 1994. Just in front of the stop sign were the tracks for the train that took new recruits here from up Nova Scotia and also went South to the Digby ferry terminal.

 The field here once housed the gym and pool but it burnt down shortly after the base became an industrial park, community centers and Pearson Peacekeeping Center. Sea cadets still use the barracks for summer courses, pictured in the background.

In the vicinity of bases throughout Canada, there will be military vehicles for display; generally they will be near war memorials. Here is a British designed Centurion tank. It was originally designed to take a direct hit from an WW2 German 88mm gun but only entered the war just after it ended. It was widely popular and was used by many countries up until the 90's.

 The CF-100 Voodoo entered service in 1961, made by McDonnell aircraft corporation, and remained in service until 1987. Its primary weapons were two nuclear AIR2-A Genie unguided missiles. Political controversy led to the missiles being stored in Canada by US forces and only signed over to the Canadians in die emergency. This meant the Canadian Government could say that they owned no nuclear devices yet had them immediately available.

The Sherman tank was an American designed medium tank that was superior to many of the German light and medium tanks. There were more of these tanks built during WW2 than all other tanks by all sides combined. It was actually the British that named this tank first, due to the practice of Britain naming tanks after American Civil war Union generals that were sent to them under the lend-lease program. The name stuck and found its way back to the States. The British and Canadians also used a variant with a larger 76 mm, called the Firefly, in order to deal with heavier German tanks.

This is the Canadair CT-133 Silver Star, based off of the American T-33 Shooting Star, which entered Canadian Air Force service in 1951 as a training aircraft. It stopped being used as a trainer in 1976 but was still used for communications, simulating enemy aircraft and towing targets until 2005.

Whale Watching in the Bay of Fundy

The place where we went whale watching is located at East Ferry, Nova Scotia. It is 45 minutes West of Digby. Either before or after the trip, people can take the ferry across to Long island to Tiverton or enjoy cooked/uncooked lobster at the Petite Passage store (where you can get tickets but recommended to reserve here).

We took the afternoon trip, which was about three and a half hours round trip. This was the last landmark we saw on the way out before the fog closed in.

After an hour we saw some dolphins and then a mother and calf showed up. There were other tour boats around but they kept a respectful distance. The tour boats I mean.

That's my sister's head there. The hairy one I mean.

The humpback whales did not mind the boats and liked to cruise by.

The back...

...and the tail. That means its going deep.

Then it gave us a friendly wave. Actually it was probably getting rid of barnacles or signaling other whales.

In all we saw around seven whales mostly in groups of two. In the distance there was breaching (when the whales jump right out of the water to get rid of barnacles and such..or play...we still don't know a lot about them). They were doing it for several minutes but by the time we got to them they were just slapping the water with their fins.

All in all an enjoyable and unexpected afternoon.