Day 05 (Aug. 6) - Annapolis Royal Day 2

No need for the car today as we planned to explore the town by foot. The house was quiet all night and morning, so we rested well. Our B&B is the second from the right in the photo, the darker red one. The colorful chairs facing the water are part of the owner's property where we plan to watch the fireworks tonight.

Breakfast was served at 8:30am, and the proprietor, Suzan, invited us into the dining room. There were six other guests, so we filled the 8-person table. Four of the guests were friends traveling together. Everyone was from Edmonton, Canada, and all were friendly and very funny. One lady was a recently retired school teacher for K-6 grades. Another man recently retired who worked on the TransCanadian oil line. He has descendents buried at Fort Anne in town, where we planned to visit today. Breakfast was: nectarines and blueberries, homemade coffee cake (she was baking it when we arrived last night), homemade croissants and jams, baked eggs in cute individual crocks with chickens on the lids, and ham. Suzan uses mostly locally-sourced food.

We headed out around 10:30am and walked along the boardwalk parallel to the main street in town. The weather today was sunny with blue skies, about 72 degrees for the high. It wasn't long before we arrived at Fort Anne. We walked around and read the signage talking about the history. 

It is Canada's first national historic site. Scottish, French and English settlers fought over the land for 400 years, which sits on indigenous Mi'kmaq land. Apparently it was the most hotly contested land in the country. The last time the fort was involved in a skirmish was in 1781. The town prospered in the 1800s in shipping and shipbuilding.

While there we learned that there were re-enactments yesterday, but they were mostly packing up. A few people were practicing in their uniforms while we walked around. A boy of about 10 had a pretend wooden musket and was sitting on top of the old gunpowder storage bunker. One of our breakfast friends told us about him. He had on a Star Wars t-shirt and travels with his Dad doing reenactments. The boy suggested that someone saw a mouse or maybe a rat down there yesterday. Perhaps he was telling stories, there was no evidence of one.

The "magazine" building where they kept the gunpowder and ammunition was a neat design, with walls thicker than the roof in case of an explosion. This was an improved design over the original storage bunker as it allows for plenty of air ventilation to better keep the gunpowder dry.

After that, we walked over to the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, a 17-acre garden on a tidal setting with 1,800 plant species. They organized the gardens into sections such as the innovative garden that featured organic and economical gardening methods that could be used in anyone's backyard. There were vegetables, herbs and flowers. The garden staff eat the produce from it. We saw zucchini, artichokes, fava beans, kale and tomatoes. The rose collection and rose maze was in bloom, although not at peak, but they had all types of varieties. Some cultivars were from the 1930s. 

Many of the perennials and annuals were the usual ones we can buy at the local big box stores back home, but were displayed in a creative way.

 

We enjoyed walking along the dyke marsh. Rob saw a bird that only tweeted when it was flapping its wings. When it soared on the wind, it was silent. 

An artist made and placed 42 ceramic birds in a little grove. We only found about 15. Another artist created this fun puffin party inspired by the puffins he could see on the island near his home here in Nova Scotia.

A few lily ponds were in bloom and surrounded by perennials and shrubs. After our visit we walked over to the Garrison House to make a dinner reservation for tonight. Michele got a hot dog from a street vendor truck for lunch, and ate at a picnic table overlooking the wharf while Rob walked along it to get pictures. 

An older gentleman came over to Michele with his walker and said he needed a break in the shade. He introduced himself as a retired local scallops fisherman who worked for 34 years. He was forced to retire because nearly everything needed surgery. He worked on a 100 foot steel boat. He was specific about the steel boat because in 1984 the wooden boat he worked on sank. They had to call in for help as the stern was going under, and after that he said no more wood boats. He worked 14 days at a time, 16-17 hours a day, then got a week off. All the men in his family were fisherman. During his career he saw whales, dolphins and swordfish, and would fish year round no matter the weather. His name was Ron and he was kind and friendly, even when Michele admitted she doesn't have a taste for fish or seafood.

We rested at our B&B for a few hours before dinner. Our dinner at the Garrison Inn was delicious, a salad and stuffed chicken. After, Michele stopped in the ice cream place to get a scoop of salty caramel. The owner is from Florida and runs the shop during the summer months, then goes back to Florida for the winter. We had just googled how much snow Nova Scotia gets per year (5 feet!) so it's no wonder he transitions to a warmer clime. He said he has family in Vienna and Aldie, Va. 

Back at our hotel, we rested in our room until the fireworks started at 9:30pm. We sat outside next to the wharf where the fireworks were staged. They were so close that we had to practically look straight up to see the bright displays and could feel ash particles fall on us! The explosions would echo off the hillside across the Annapolis River making a big sensory effect.

Afterwards, we chatted with two of the couples from Edmonton. The couple that includes the retired teacher also has a motorcycle (a V-Star with a Harley rear seat) and they both love riding. She studied music (piano and organ) and loves writing music. 

Tomorrow we plan to hike in the national park nearby.