Crossing over NS we stopped at Kejimkujik National Park for a little picnic beside the lake. Our travels took us on a snaking road past lovely two-story homes with Victorian charm. We have noticed both in NS and NB that so many country homes are surrounded with gigantic manicured lawns which roll right down to the roadway. Very pretty.
Annapolis Royal was our destination. A small town with a lot of early Canadian history. The town folk are very proud in preserving this history and eager to share it to a listening ear. Port Royal was the first French settlement in 1605. The explorer Samuel Champlain was among them and sketched detailed drawings of the fort. He also started the social club, the Order of Good Cheer which is why the table is set for a feast.
Our B&B was the Sea Faring Maiden built in 1881 by Captain Hall, a boat builder and marine merchant. The house is currently owned by his great, great granddaughter Ann Marie who with her husband Bill are superb innkeepers.
Annapolis Royal as seen from the Sea Faring Maiden B&B
Fort Anne is a 17th century earthwork fortification fashioned in a star shape. The community clocked over 20 000 hours to create four beautiful tapestries that depict life in Annapolis Royal for four centuries. Even Queen Elizabeth II added a few silver stitches to Queen Victoria's blouse.
A highlight of our time in this town was the Candlelight Cemetery Walk. Along with about 80 other guests with candle lanterns in hand, we followed the story teller, a 10th generation Acadian over hill and dale to about 12 gravestones where he entertained us with great stories of each person as pertaining to the early history of Canada.
We had to revisit the cemetery in the morning to see in the daylight where we had stumbled through the darkness.
The North Hill Museum - this weathered 1800's house surprisingly was completely decorated in Georgian furnishings. Surprising because it was owned by a single, older gentleman who had a taste for very fine things and loved to entertain.
Enough of museums and forts, so we took a hike to Delaps Cove on the Bay of Fundy, our first view of this vast body of water and the black basalt cliffs in this area.
A fine way to end the day with a sunset over the Annapolis Basin and a dinner of Digby scallops.
No comments:
Post a Comment