Category: Life and Living

Running Toward Life

Posted on by Pete Schloss

July 6, 2022.

We broke camp in the rain, we drove in the rain, we set up camp in the rain. Driving rain that all but defeated our windshield wipers. Fog at times so disorienting that it made me feel as if I was inside of a ping-pong ball. Over three hours of this on two lane roads and an hour after our arrival at camp my knuckles were still white. A damp relentless cold (thankfully!) made the mosquitos take cover, I care not where because it wasn’t around me.

Thinking about those little bastards I wondered how fast their wings must beat to make that infernal hum. The answer: 300 to 600 beats per SECOND! To put that into perspective, hummingbird wings clock at about 80 per second. Supposedly a mosquito can only fly about 1.5 miles per hour. They must set up a relay once they’ve set their sights on me.

Skies intermittently cleared of rain not long after we made camp at Blomidon Provincial Park located high on cliffs overlooking the Bay of Fundy.

However, temps continued to fall to just over 50 degrees. The winds picked up into the 30’s.

Blomidon PP is a pleasant surprise. Very basic campsites, but such a variety of settings. We are near the cliffside, somewhat sheltered by trees and scrub.

A short walk from us the campsites are in a broad open pasture.

There we spoke with Barb and Paul, campers from Vermont. We plan on sharing a campfire tomorrow provided that the winds subside.

On the way to Blomidon we stopped in the charming community of Kentville to do laundry. We plan on a longer visit when we again drive through on Friday as we head to Halifax.

Braving the elements this evening I pulled out the smaller of two Dutch Ovens to bake, or should I say over-bake, cornbread as a compliment to Christine’s split pea and ham soup.

We were able to enjoy both outside during a lull in the climatic action. Tomorrow is forecast to be pleasantly sunny with a high in the mid-60’s, mid-50’s at night.

In a moment of clarity at dinner “my muse” spoke to Christine. “I love what we are doing. It helps me to appreciate but not miss Kansas City. I love our life in Kansas City, yet while we are there I find gratitude for our life on the road. I look forward to our “next thing”, but not at the expense of embracing the moment.”

Earlier in the day at the laundromat I read an essay shared by a friend. The essay was written by a woman facing terminal brain cancer. In the “prime of her life” she was struggling to understand and accept her lot. During counseling she was presented with the question, “Are you running from death, or are you running toward life?” The question gives me pause, just as it did her.

Death is a destination we all will share. At 70 I see more and more acquaintances, friends, and relatives “exit”. Running from death is not only folly but the energy thus spent could be directed toward embracing the experience of life.

What is running toward life? One man’s answer:

“Sing like no one is listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like no one is watching and live like it’s heaven on earth.” -Mark Twain

To this I will add: Don’t put off until tomorrow the things that you may find you are then unable to do.

Peace Everyone. Have Fun, Do Good, and for the sake of those who love you Be Safe. Pete

A Mystery, a Light, and The Fuller Brush Man

Posted on by Pete Schloss

July 5, 2022.

It’s a little after 5 a.m. which is my typical waking hour. Here the sky begins to grow light about 4:30 a.m.. This works well for us as it gives me a few hours time to write before Christine wakes. However, it’s tough to not disturb her with the random noises I can’t avoid within the tiny space of our trailer.

I received a “dangerous heat” warning for Kansas City on my weather app. Here in Nova Scotia we won’t see 80 degrees for at least the next 10 days. Overnight it got down to 52. I’ll happily take this summer climate, mosquitoes and all.

We arrived yesterday afternoon at Thomas Raddall Provincial Park, located about 100 miles up the Atlantic Coast from Yarmouth.

It is remote, but there is a small seaside community not far away that we may visit later today.

The campsites offer a combination of open sky and shade, a picnic table, and a fire ring.

There is central water, however in the campground it is subject to a contamination “boil order”. Fortunately the water tap at the park office is potable. There is a central bathhouse that serves the 82 campsites. A nice network of trails are promising for the day, some leading to the seashore.

We left Yarmouth yesterday, but not before stopping in town to walk near the downtown and see some of its “painted ladies”. The streets abound with 19th Century mansions, many beautifully restored. Here are images of just a few.

A second reason for returning to town before continuing on our journey was the Yarmouth County Museum.

Opened in 1935, contemporaneously with the founding of the Yarmouth Historical Society, it houses a well curated collection of nautical art (the 3rd largest in Canada), Victorian period furniture and costumes, and a wide array of interesting artifacts. What originally drew me to visit were signs at Cape Forschu indicating that the mysterious Runic Stone and 19th Century lighthouse Fresnel lens were kept there.

We were greeted by Nadine Gates, the museum’s Director and Curator. She explained the 12,000 square foot layout of the museum which has been housed since 1969 in the former Tabernacle Congregational Church, an 1892 granite church listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Nadine encouraged us to also visit the Fuller Mansion located next door and managed by the Historical Society.

We are glad we did, but more on that in a moment. Admission to both was only $5.00 and worth every penny!

The Museum was beautifully presented.

Here are just a few images, but more can be seen on its website:

The Yarmouth County Museum

Victorian costumes and furnishings:

The mysterious Runic Stone:

The huge second order Fresnel Lens, as seen from the side and looking up through it.

This French invention had the ability to concentrate and thus magnify the light of a single kerosene flame into a beam of over 600,000 candlepower visible for over 20 miles. This pristine relic had been used in the 1840 Forchu Point lighthouse until that structure was replaced in the 1960’s.

There was a transportation exhibit that included a horse drawn hearse, a locally manufactured stagecoach, and a 1921 Automatic Electric Car, manufactured in Buffalo, New York. Ahead of its time, this small vehicle sat 2, had a range of 60 miles, and a top speed of nearly 20 mph. For more details on this fascinating little vehicle:

Yarmouth ‘s Electric Car

It would take nearly a century for “electrics” to finally catch on, yet another example, the Standard Electric manufactured between 1912 and 1915 in Jackson Michigan, sat 4, had a top speed of over 20 mph, a range of 110 miles, and a guarantee that the battery was good for 20,000 miles!

From the Museum we were escorted next door to the Fuller Summer Mansion by delightful and capable Madeline.

This was the summer home of Alfred and Susan Primrose (“Prim”) Fuller. Alfred, a native of Nova Scotia, was the founder of the multi-million dollar Fuller Brush Company.

The home, originally built in 1892, was donated to the Historical Society by Prim Fuller in 1997. It has been beautifully restored and houses period furnishings, many originally owned by the Fullers.

It did not take long for my age to show to the youthful Madeline. I noticed a small picture of the Fullers in company with the actor James Cagney. “That’s Jimmy Cagney.” I remarked, to which Madeline responded, “Wow, you are the first person I know of who recognized him!”

Seeing many of the old appliances, furnishings, and crochet work I often remarked of fond recollections from my youth. I recounted a visit to my childhood home by the “Fuller Brush Man”, and the products that my mother bought. At one point I mentioned that my grandfather was born the same year as Alfred Fuller, 1885. With big eyes Madeline then added, “Wow. My GREAT-grandmother wasn’t born until 1931.”

Madeline was charming, and no doubt found me entertaining.

Then we came to the kitchen. On the counter sat a standard mid-20th Century dial telephone. In jest I asked Madeline if she had ever used one. “No”, came her reply. Still somewhat in jest I then asked if she knew HOW to use one. “No” came the nonchalant response. I was flummoxed! I have seen videos of young people befuddled by dial telephones, but until that moment I did not fully comprehend that a child of the 21st Century would no more know how to “dial” a telephone, than I would know how to perform many common tasks from the 19th Century.

Christine gave a quick lesson in “dialing”. As Chris lifted the receiver she remarked, “Hey! There’s a dial tone! It still works!!”

Madeline “dialing” a telephone for the first time in her life.

Our intention had been to spend an hour or so in town. Instead, we were not back on the road until nearly 1 p.m.. The Yarmouth County Museum and Fuller Home are among the finest community museums that we have encountered in our travels across North America. Moreover, we thoroughly enjoyed meeting more friendly Canadians.

It’s time to wake Christine. Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. The couple from Quebec in the next campsite just stopped by to say that a bear visited their site this morning.

The “Black Loyalists”

Posted on by Pete Schloss

Some interesting and appropriate reading on this American Independence Day, not taught in my American History classes:

Black Loyalists arrived in Nova Scotia between 1783 and 1785, as a result of the American Revolution. They were the largest group of people of African birth and of African descent to come to Nova Scotia at any one time.

In 1775, some people in the British North American colonies were arguing with the British government about how much control Great Britain should have over taxes and life in the colonies. The colonists wanted to influence decisions about laws and taxes but had no representation in the British Parliament. They declared themselves independent of Britain when they weren’t able to come to an agreement. The American Revolution, also called the American War of Independence, was the result.

People of African birth, who were brought forcibly to the colonies to provide slave labour, and their descendants, were caught in this war. In the late 1600s and 1700s, the British had established rice, indigo, and tobacco plantations in the southern part of North America. Plantation owners required lots of labourers to do field work and other jobs. To reduce costs, they used slaves. At first they enslaved the native Indians but then used mostly African slaves.

In the northern colonies, slaves worked as farm hands or at various jobs as domestic workers or at semi-specialized trades, such as lumbering, mining, road-making, black smithing, shoemaking, weaving and spinning.

When Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, lost control of that colony to the rebels in the summer of 1775, the economy of Virginia was based on slave labor. Lord Dunmore issued a proclamation that any slave or indentured person would be given their freedom if they took up arms with the British against the rebels. As a result, 2,000 slaves and indentured persons joined his forces. Later, other British supporters in the colonies issued similar proclamations.

Then the British Commander-in-chief at New York, Sir Henry Clinton, issued the Philipsburg proclamation when the British realized they were losing the war. It stated that any Negro to desert the rebel cause would receive full protection, freedom, and land. It is estimated that many thousands of people of African descent joined the British and became British supporters.

When the Americans won the war and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, British forces and their supporters had to leave the new United States. They gathered at New York, waiting to be evacuated. In the meantime, the Americans wanted their lost property returned. Sir Guy Carleton, the new British Commander- in-chief, refused General George Washington’s demand for the return of those slaves who had joined the British before November 30, 1782. The two men agreed that the Americans would receive money instead.

The British-American Commission identified the Black people in New York who had joined the British before the surrender, and issued “certificates of freedom” signed by General Birch or General Musgrave. Those who chose to emigrate were evacuated by ship. To make sure no one attempted to leave who did not have a certificate of freedom, the name of any Black person on board a vessel, whether slave, indentured servant, or free, was recorded, along with the details of enslavement, escape, and military service, in a document called the Book of Negroes.

Between April and November, 1783, 114 ships were inspected in New York harbour. An unknown number of ships left New York and other ports before and after these dates. Over 3,000 Black Loyalists were enrolled in the Book of Negroes, but perhaps as many as 5,000 Black people left New York for Nova Scotia, the West Indies, Quebec, England, Germany, and Belgium.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Taken from: https://novascotia.ca/museum/blackloyalists/who.htm

Yarmouth Nova Scotia!

Posted on by Pete Schloss

July 4, 2022. Happy Independence Day America!

Our ferry landed in Yarmouth Nova Scotia the evening of July 2nd. It was past 9 pm by the time that we reached camp at Ellenwood Lake Provincial Park. We had just enough light, and energy, to set up camp, make a snack, and hit the bed. Although we reserved two nights here, the late arrival made it feel like a single day’s stay. It is a beautiful setting, deserving of a longer visit.

The order of business for the morning of July 3rd was to drive into Yarmouth, find an ATM to secure some Canadian currency, find breakfast, and then a grocery store to replenish foods that we had unfortunately and erroneously discarded back in Maine.

Information we received the day we boarded the ferry counseled us to discard all fresh vegetables, dairy, and meat. We complied, keeping our three eggs which were not prohibited. We learned during the crossing that “new limits apply”!

Canadian Border security was sympathetic as we handed over our “no vegetables, dairy, and meat” entry declaration, the pleasant representative pausing to ask where the 3 eggs came from. “Maine”, Christine replied. “Eggs from Maine are prohibited, but only recently… Avian Bird flu.” We surrendered our 3 eggs for which we received an official receipt not good for Canadian replacement eggs.

$65 Canadian dollars (about $52 US) spent at a huge, clean, and well stocked grocery store and our larder was replenished. We were then off to check out Yarmouth by day and on a recommendation nearby Cape Forchu. I took lots of pictures, but honoring my pledge I have severely limited the number I’m posting.

Yarmouth is a delightful “working” seaside community with an active maritime industry that dates back to at least the 17th Century.

Cape Forchu (“forked tongue of land”), so named by the explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1604, is located near the entry to the Bay of Fundy and is a prominence with safe harbor at Yarmouth on the left and a dangerous “false harbor” on the right. Many ships met their end on the rocky Cape and false harbor, victims of the frequent fog and deceptive coastline.

The Bay of Fundy is known for having the highest tidal range in the world, rising and then falling over 50 feet every 6 hours. On a visit there a few years ago we walked the bare sea-floor at low tide, having been given a caution and timetable that unless we returned to “shore” by a certain time we would die. Here on the Cape the tide range is “only” 15 feet.

In 1839 the first Cape Forchu Lighthouse was installed. We visited the mid-20th Century version, affectionately known as the “apple core” lighthouse. I climbed to the top and was rewarded with stunning views of… fog.

This area knows fog! So much so that Hollywood used Cape Forchu as its set for the filming of the strange 2019 movie, “Lighthouse”, starring William Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. The rugged coast and climatic conditions were perfect for the movie, the lighthouse not so much. So, Hollywood constructed a huge period appropriate lighthouse (out of wood) and light keepers cottage on the Cape. When filming was concluded the producers offered to gift the set to the community, but unfortunately it was too large and the upkeep would have been too costly. Down they came.

Yarmouth was unable to set off its Canada Day (July 1st) fireworks display because of fog. ironically, they’re looking at setting them off on July 4th.

Today we make our way up the Atlantic coast a two hour drive to Thomas Raddall Provincial Park, but not before again stopping in Yarmouth to visit its well regarded County Museum and view some of the amazing 19th Century mansions located in the neighborhood.

Peace Everyone . Pete

PS. Are Canadians happier than Americans? Its a question for which I have no current answer. I know that there are studies that have sought to rank the happiness of various populations. I recall that the people of Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden rank near the top for “happiness”. Often this is attributed to a well funded social safety net and universal health care (which Canada has). I also recall that the United States does not fare well on the “happiness scale”. I don’t recall Canada’s ranking.

However, what we have experienced in just two days are smiles, helpfulness and “happiness” in everyone we have met from Tom our waiter at Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant (we highly recommend it!) to a lady stocking shelves at the grocery store who went out of her way to find us a dollar off coupon for some cheese we were buying, to Candice who checked us into the Park and gave us recommendations for area attractions, to the young lady who escorted me to the top of the lighthouse.

There was even the gentleman who retired from 40+ years as a lobsterman and sets up his tent to explain the industry to those like us willing to listen…

…and Barry, who when we asked yesterday about available parking for a car towing a trailer near the County Museum, directed us to his driveway and insisted that we pull in for our visit today.

Perhaps they are merely reflecting the happiness of two retired travelers.

We have often remarked that so many shoppers we see at Walmarts in the States appear “unhappy”. I will make it a point to visit a Walmart in Canada to further my investigation of “national happiness”.

One more time. Peace Everyone (and be happy). Pete

Discussions and Decisions

Posted on by Pete Schloss

July 2, 2022. Bar Harbor, Maine.

Yesterday and the day before we wandered, first day Bar Harbor’s tourist district, and yesterday Acadia National Park.

When we haven’t been out and about or managing camping “stuff” I have found myself writing content for these posts and struggling against poor connectivity to upload the pictures and content. My “reality check”, Christine, and I talked. More on that in a minute.

Since we learned a few years ago that a part of France is located a short 1 hour ferry ride off the coast of Newfoundland it has been our intention to make a visit to these Miquelon Islands. Somehow the thought of France being located in and just off the coast of North America feels “foreign” (pun intended). However, when one considers that Hawaii, a group of islands thousands of miles from the mainland United States, is part of the USA, then not so strange.

We have been evaluating our Canada itinerary which begins today with a 3 hour ferry crossing to Nova Scotia. We will be 8 days in Nova Scotia, followed by 19 days in Newfoundland. With only two exceptions we are camping in two day increments.

Newfoundland is not small. Our plan included 3-5 hour drive times between each planned camping location, EXCEPT from Gros Morne National Park to the town of Fortune where we would cross to Isle St. Pierre, France, in the Miquelon Islands. That day promised to present at least 10 hours behind the wheel. We paid for the ferry crossing, a tour, and campsite.

Yesterday, we talked more. Decisions followed:

Those who follow my “Thoughts” know that my preference is to post a lot of pictures and to “go deep” into the backstories of places we visit. I want to “bring you along”. What I want, and what I deliver may have to be two different things on this trip.

I am reminded that when Christine and I shop at Christmas for the “grands” there are many things that we want to buy, feeling some sense of disappointment that we can’t buy it all. However, what the grandchildren see with gratitude is what they actually receive, not our “wants” for them. So it will be with you on this journey. Fewer pictures and shorter narrative. That was decision number one for the day.

As much as it pained us, practicality and sanity won out regarding Isle St. Pierre. We have canceled the ferry, tour, and altered the camping location for those 2 days, saving hundreds of miles of driving and not a little stress. That was decision number two for the day.

By the way, while fuel costs are not significant to our planning, a Canadian couple we met at camp last week shared that they smile every time they gas up in the US at “only” $5 a gallon. It seems that the Canadian average for regular gas, converted to gallons and in US dollars, is over $6.50.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. I am typing this post-script aboard the CAT Ferry bound for Yarmouth Nova Scotia, saving about 700 miles of driving. There is conflicting information about what foods we can travel with into Canada. One source says virtually nothing and another indicates not more than a lot (in kilograms).

Loading for ordinary automobiles is straightforward drive-on. However since I’m towing a trailer I had to back up a 500+ foot dock and loading ramp into the ship. Fortunately, been there, done that. For the uninitiated the ship crew will do it for you.

Conditions are a bit rocky, and definitely not to Christine’s liking.

We lose an hour, making landfall at 7:30 pm local time.