Shubenacadie river bridge

When the tide comes into the Bay of Fundy the tide raises the river heights too. The Shubenacadie river rose so high that it lifted the bridge off the piers at East Hants.

--Gannon with a Canon

Bay of Fundy cliff

The Bay of Fundy has some of the largest tidal surges in the world. At this point in time the tide is just starting to come back. At high tide the water will cover all the green mossy rocks and one third of the way up the cliff.

--Gannon with a Canon

Cape D'Or lighthouse

Sunset at the Cape D'Or lighthouse

--Gannon with a Canon

Cape D'Or lighthouse

Sunrise at the Cape D'Or lighthouse

--Gannon with a Canon

Cape D'Or Lighthouse

This is a view of the Cape D'Or lighthouse in Nova Scotia, Canada. Just to the right of the lighthouse is the fog horn. The building on the right is the keepers residence and restaurant, the bottom building is the assistant keepers house which is used as the B&B housing. They have four rooms available and I suggest you book a room well in advance.

The lighthouse is reached via a 6 mile drive on an unpaved road which takes you to a parking lot on top of the cliffs. Then you have a 500 yard hike down a deeply rutted road to get to the lighthouse. But the trip was worth it, the sunset and sunrise were spectacular.

--Gannon with a Canon

Barge

Loading the barge at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

--Gannon with a Canon

Warning

I saw this sign at a lighthouse on my last day in Nova Scotia, maybe the provincial government should post the message at the airport. For two weeks I was on rocks, cliffs, unpaved roads and unguarded beaches and on the last day of my trip the provincial government says "warning!"

--Gannon with a Canon

Yellow hats

You are tourist in a foreign country and it's raining, so what do you do? These ladies got off the bus and went straight to the gift shop for yellow hats. Personally, I would have bought an umbrella.

--Gannon with a Canon

Ship Hector

A replica of the Ship Hector on display in the harbor of Pictou, Nova Scotia. This ship brought Scottish Highlanders from Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1773. I have not determined what ship brought my ancestors to Nova Scotia but they may have married a descendant of a settler on the Ship Hector. Carol and I located the deed at the courthouse but we could not locate the farm by just driving around on the mountain. Our search for the farm had us traveling on unpaved roads and walking through a cemetery in the rain, it doesn't get any better than this!

--Gannon with a Canon

Sign post

I'm not sure what the provincial government has in mind but the sign post has been erected along the Bay of Fundy, please wait for further instructions.

--Gannon with a Canon

Did you say moose?

We were told if cars were pulled off the road there was a moose near by and this is the second of two bull moose Carol and I saw in Cape Breton. This moose was about 20 yards off the side of the road, it looks very large in this picture and even larger in person.

--Gannon with a Canon

Canada's first lighthouse, Louisbourg Cape Breton

The first Canadian lighthouse was built at Louisbourg, Cape Breton. The first lighthouse was built in 1734 but severely burned two years later. The next lighthouse was built with brick walls and a lead sheathed roof.

It rained at the Fortress of Louisbourg but the sun broke through the clouds by the time we drove over to the lighthouse.

--Gannon with a Canon

Kids dinner

Dinner for kids at the Fortress of Louisbourg.

--Gannon with a Canon

Three kids

Three kids hamming it up for the camera at Fortress of Louisbourg.

--Gannon with a Canon

Sea Kindly

The morning view from the breakfast table at the Sea Kindly B&B. The B&B is easily reached via car or boat.

--Gannon with a Canon

Ship shape

Old sailing ships had rope everywhere but it was never acceptable to just toss the rope around helter skelter. The rope was always coiled, always.

--Gannon with a Canon

Wishing well

There is something about water that compels people to throw money.

--Gannon with a Canon

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

A night time photograph of New Glasgow, NS. The town was settled in the 1700's and named after Glasgow, Scotland.

--Gannon with a Canon

Silo

--Gannon with a Canon

Lobster everywhere

Lobster is so abundant in Nova Scotia that it's sold at fast food restaurants.



--Gannon with a Canon

Cars in ... cars out

A couple of pictures Carol took while the cars loaded and unloaded from the Northunberland Ferry.

--Gannon with a Canon

Looking back

We left Prince Edward Island on one of the Northumberland Ferries sailing from Wood Islands, PEI to Pictou, NS. My ancestors left the Scottish highlands and landed in Pictou, NS. My trip from PEI took 70 minutes ... their trip took 11 weeks! Sadness must have overwhelmed those Scottish highlanders looking back as their homeland faded out of sight and they sailed to an uncertain future.

--Gannon with a Canon

Barn web

--Gannon with a Canon

Farms

A large wind farm on PEI next to the North Cape lighthouse. Along the coast you will see lighthouses and wind mills; inland you'll see fields of potatoes.



--Gannon with a Canon

Pavement not included

We laughed when the GPS unit told us to "turn right on unpaved road." We didn't make that turn but two days of driving on PEI meant we had no choice but to drive on dirt. This sign welcoming people to PEI looks like an unpaved bike trail but it's a provincial road, and there are provincial signs posted along the roads that show where the pavement ends and the adventure begins.



--Gannon with a Canon

Seating for four

This three wheel car has seating for four. The car is barely larger than a motorcycle so I doubt you could have 4 adults sit comfortably for any length of time. It looks like the passengers stay cool via the roof flap and driving with the windows down.

--Gannon with a Canon

Fresnel lens

It's unusual to find a lighthouse with the Fresnel lens still in use but this lens is in the West Point lighthouse. The Fresnel lens was invented by Augustine Fresnel in 1822 and most of these lenses have been removed from lighthouses and placed in museums. The Fresnel lenses were hand made and shipped to lighthouses around the world. The largest lenses were called first order and placed in the largest coastal lights with the smaller lenses placed in harbor lighthouses.

--Gannon with a Canon

West Point Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island

I didn't know Carol booked us a room in a lighthouse until our plane landed in Nova Scotia. A very nice surprise Carol! The West Point lighthouse was a long way from the Halifax airport but it was worth the trip. We arrived at 5 PM and ate dinner in the lighthouse restaurant. We went for a walk on the beach but it was starting to rain so we went back to the restaurant for dessert. The wind blew hard all night and whistled through the cracks of the double hung window in our room. I can only imagine what the keepers must have thought when a nor'easter blew over the island. It was a beautiful morning, just look at that blue sky, where are the clouds?

Detail of the light house history can be found on this web site.


--Gannon with a Canon