MONDAY

Today we drove to the north side of the peninsula to see the Bay of Fundy at high and low tides.  The Bay of Fundy is between the Province of Nova Scotia and the Province of New Brunswick.  The tides are controlled just like all tides—by the moon—but because of some unique features, the movement of the water sort of hits a natural frequency, and amplifies the highs and lows.  So, rather than having the typical swells of a few feet, certain parts of the Bay of Fundy have the largest tidal changes in the world of over 42 feet!  This day, the greatest swell was in Halls Harbor, and was to be about 39 feet.  So, we made the two hour drive to Halls Harbor to get there by Noon, at the high point of the tide.  We stayed on that side of the peninsula a few hours so we could return by 6:30 to see low tide.  It was really something to see the difference in just a few hours time.

Between tides, we went to Wolfville, the nearest attraction to Halls Harbor.   The area was settled by the Acadians, a French group, in the 1600’s.  The Acadians built dikes with timber and soil, and included log gates to control the flow.  But, in the late 1700’s, the British threw them out, and took over.  They went south to New Orleans, and the “Acadians” eventually became the “Cajuns”.  Around the American Revolution, many Loyalists moved up here.  Lots of little towns in Nova Scotia proudly proclaim their “loyalist” roots.

The mud of Mud Creek (or Wolfville)

Anyway, the dikes built by the Acadians in the first place still remain.  So, we took a walk on them.  The tide was well on its way out by then, so it left a mucky muddy mire behind.  (Sort of explains the town’s original name of Mud Creek, which was changed in about the 1830s, by a couple of girls in the 1830s convinced their grandfather, Mr. Wolf, that the town needed a better name.)

Fred makes a friend!

 I walked down to the mud to check it out with my brother Fred, and brought back samples for Dad and Mom, but they were not interested in taking home the slimy souvenirs.  As we headed back, we saw this dog prancing along down the dike, seemingly coming right to us.  He stopped by us for some attention, especially from Fred.

Also in Wolfville, we visited a bird display.  I sort of expected some birds in various displays.  Not so much.  It was a simple “chimney” with a roof around it, and a few pictures of a bird that nests in chimneys.  I think we spent almost more time in the closed museums yesterday than here! 

Blueberries?

At Acadia University (in Wolfville) we visited a botanical garden.  First, we had to find a place to park.  We didn’t find anything easily, but we did find a “security officer” and asked him where we could park to see the gardens.  His blank stare and subsequent, “Uhhh…” followed by silence told me this was not likely a star attraction!  But, they had a little garden and some plants in a green house, and we walked around looking at them all, and mocking more than a few things along the way.  It was fun enough.  I did get to see some unripened blueberries.




On way home, we finally found a place I could call "home"!