Fog

Evangeline and
Memorial Church

Friday, June 30

Off reasonably early, arriving at Walmart (near Halifax) where we’ll leave the MH temporarily and drive toward the coast to check out Grand Pré, where the British deported over 11,000 French Acadians in 1755. From our time in Louisiana, we know about the massive deportation itself, but what I’ve been wondering all along is why they were called Acadians in the first place. After a little research, I learned the derivation of Acadie (French version) is uncertain. It might hark back to the Greek arkadia (a place of rural peace) or possibly come from the indigenous Mi’kmaq akadie, meaning fertile land. (I'm sure you feel better knowing this.😃)

Acadian family in happier times.

The first French immigrants arrived in 1604 and, with hard work and ingenuity, the community flourished over the next 150 years. The visitor center at Grand Pré had a wonderful multi-media presentation of the ongoing struggle between France and England for control of this area. The Acadians refused to take sides, so the British eventually, and brutally, forced them out. However, the innovative dike system they developed to make farming possible is still maintained today. Longfellow’s Evangeline is based on this heartbreaking event. In 8th grade, I refused to read Evangeline (for a number of adolescent reasons), but I have vowed to give it another try now that I know the history (and b/c I’m not 13 anymore)

Leaving GrandPré, we began a grand search for other tidal bore viewing spots and/or views of the Bay of Fundy. Mostly what we saw was mud and/or fog. First stop was a little harborside park in Wolfville. It's obviously low tide, but I thought the mud "waves" were interesting. I snapped the pic below (left, prof one to the right) w/o knowing anything about it. After days w/ very spotty Internet, I've finally gotten the backstory. The gentleman is T. T. Vernon Smith, an engineer who not only brought the railroad to the Annapolis Valley (thereby enabling transport of local produce & livestock to global markets), but also directed the rebuilding of the GrandPré Dyke section of the railway after the 1869 Saxby Gale. Titled Work at the Trestle, the sculpture was commissioned by one of Smith's great-grandsons and unveiled in Sept of 2013. 

My hasty shot.

Up close & personal.

 Low Tide "Mud Waves"
(harbor behind statue in pic above)

From Wolfville we headed straight north to Scots Bay and Cape Split. More fog. More Mud. Some pretty countryside as well, but I admit to becoming a bit weary.

Plenty of space for everyone.

Low Tide at the end of Cape Split, overlooking the Bay of Fundy (in the fog).

By now we're hungry (one of us has been hungry for awhile), so we stop at the first small town cafe we see. Greg tries a calzone filled with donair, a pressed meat served w/  vinegar/milke/garlic/sugar sauce that's a Halifax favorite. I scanned a local paper and found a section called "Eats with Beats" - a listing of dates & times for all musicians performing at local restaurants during the week. Fun reading, even tho we need to get back to Halifax and move our rig into the campground. Quiet evening, rain moving in. No Internet.
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We found this remembrance when we stopped at Cape Split.
I find Canadians very respectful of their heritage.