7/4/16, “The
Fourth of July”
Luneburg,
Nova Scotia
The Fourth of
July has become a special day for me in terms of my travels. It was on this day, four years ago, when I
set out to see the world, sitting with my family outside my cabin at Mammoth
Caves National Park in Kentucky. I
decided I was going to see the world, and I would start with the United States
and Canada. Every US State and Canadian
province, I promised myself, by the time I turned 30, which was a little over
five years away. I was 24 at the
time. I had been to exactly 2 Canadian
Provinces at that point, and Kentucky had marked my 40th state. I am now one state and one province away from
those goals.
I would also see every US
and Canadian World Heritage Site, two more goals. On that account, I was even further
away. My 30th birthday is 14
months away, and I am well on track to visit all the remaining ones in that
time period. Over the next few months, I
would add more goals that would relate to my travel goals around the world. In the end, I would add thirteen more goals
to the list, a total of seventeen goals.
Reader, if you have ever wondered the reasoning behind the URL of my
blog, you now have your answer.
While
my trips would take me all around the world, in honor of that night, I have
always reserved the Fourth of July for a US or Canadian World Heritage
Site. “The Fourth is for Plaques!” I
have said more times than once, both to myself and out loud.
In 2013, I went to Wood Buffalo National Park
in the Northwest Territories. I flew to
Edmonton the night before and woke up early on the Fourth to drive 16 hours to
the site, listening to Taylor Swift’s new album (Red) nonstop. I learned almost every song by heart. The sun would not set until 11:30 PM that night
that far north, and I made it to the Plaque around 11 PM. I was not the only one there. I took my ceremonial pictures and then
wandered down the trail, in my shorts and flips, and was rewarded with purple
arms and legs from the swarm of mosquitos that followed me.
The next year, 2014, my best friend and I
went to Alaska. We didn’t find a Plaque
that day, only a hanging certificate, but we spent the day cruising Glacier Bay
before flying back to Juneau. Last year,
2015, my mother and I were on our last great summer road trip adventure. We spent the Fourth in Yellowstone, driving
from one end of the park to the other.
We found the Plaque, outside a restroom, the worst possible place for
it, but we found it. That was where I
got the shirt I’m now wearing.
This
year, it is back to Canada for the Fourth, and, once more, I have been
listening to Red the entire trip. I have
found two Plaques today, and I have done everything I wanted to do in the
Maritimes. I got my flag pins. I saw all three World Heritage Sites. I got my souvenirs (though not the ones from
here yet). I have said, “Maritimes
Complete.” In spite of the additional
hiccups, the trip has worked out rather well.
I saw Plaques on the Fourth. That’s
what mattered most. I will see Miguasha
another time. As soon as I finish this
entry, I will make my way back to Halifax, and I will be flying home first
thing tomorrow morning, then straight to the office. This site has represented my last activity of
the trip, other than possibly dinner tonight, and the trip now draws to a
close.
After I closed last night, I went
back to the hotel, and they had a nice patio with a bonfire, and couches. I wondered if I would sleep outside on one of
the couches. The weather was perfect for
it. I lit up an Ardor and published my
entry, while I had some tea from inside.
After that, I changed into my pajamas and grabbed a coffee to bring back
outside. I lit up a Joya de
Nicaragua. It was past midnight, but
people kept coming by around the hotel.
After the cigar, I still had been seeing people, so I decided against
sleeping outside.
I went back inside and
fell asleep, waking up shortly before 7 AM.
I had calculated that I had needed a hard 7 AM departure (as in, on the
road at 7 AM, not out of the hotel at 7 AM) if I wanted to do the coast
drive. I had a coffee and muffin before
I left, and I was already 20 minutes behind schedule, but I made up some time
on the road, all of which I lost at the Welcome to Nova Scotia VC.
I lit up a Fuente for the drive to the Nova
Scotia border, but the Welcome sign was only accessible by going into the
VC. Somehow, that cost me 20
minutes. I then lit up a Tatuaje TAA
Exclusive, and I stopped for gas after that cigar. I looked at the peninsula drive and wondered
if it was worth it. The person at the
gas station confirmed that that drive was too far inland to see the coast. I would skip, and I’m glad I did. It gave me far more time than I had budgeted
for the two WHS, and I needed those extra hours. I lit up a La Aroma de Cuba Jefe, and that
brought me to Grand Pre.
I had budgeted
15 minutes for the site. In the end, I
used up well over and hour more than my budget.
It was fine, though, since my new schedule allowed me to spend as much
time as I wanted at these two WHS. Grand
Pre was not, as I had thought, just a church.
It was a landscape that was a great example of Acadian culture.
The church was just the most prominent
building. I went to the VC and found out
that the Plaque was at the top of the hill.
That was also where the inscription photo was taken. I walked up the hill and found someone to
take my picture at the Plaque. Figuring
out the spot of the inscription photo was slightly more challenging, but I had
some clues from the angles, and I soon found the exact spot. I had lit up a Montecristo after I took the
pictures at the Plaque, and the wind was brutal. I had a lot of trouble holding my printout
for the ceremonial picture, but, in the end, I did.
I then walked back down to the hill and took
some ceremonial pictures there, too.
Then, into the VC to get my souvenirs, and straight to Lunenburg. I stopped for some coffee and a cake, but the
cake was too sweet, so I only had three bites.
I lit up a San Cristobal to pair with the coffee, both of which nearly
lasted until I arrived at Lunenburg.
I
easily found the building that was in the foreground of the inscription photo
and parked nearby. Like with Grand Pre,
I was confused about Lunenburg. It was
not inscribed for the waterfront.
Instead, it was inscribed because it was the best surviving example of a
planned British Colonial town with a grid layout. The charming waterfront had nothing to do
with the inscription. When my parents
were here, they bought me a paperweight with the town’s logo on it that said it
was a WHS. I tried in vain to find
another one, but I failed. I then headed
to the town hall, which was next to the Plaque.
The setup for the Plaque was beautiful, and it gave Old Quebec a run for
its money. One problem, there was no one
to take the picture. There were two
women around my age with a bunch of children (doubtful all theirs), and I could
not ask them to take their eyes off the children to take my picture. I kept waiting for someone, but no one showed
up. Eventually, the father came, and I
walked over to him and asked him to take my picture. He did.
That was it. All the World
Heritage Site Plaques in the Maritimes.
I
headed back down the hill to the waterfront and found a place in view of the
iconic red building from the inscription photo and got some battered scallops
and beer from Halifax. It was all really
good. I then headed to the docks. I realized that the inscription photo was
actually taken from a boat, not from the docks.
I lit up a Trinidad and did the best that I could to recreate the
picture from the docks. After I took my ceremonial
pictures, I made my proclamation with no pomp or circumstance. “Nova Scotia Complete. Maritimes Complete.”
A year from today I will be able to proclaim,
“Eastern Canada Complete.” I walked back
up the hill to take more ceremonial pictures around town and then back down the
hill to find a nice spot in view of the iconic red building. I found a spot that had a good view, where I
sat down and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I
can get my souvenirs and head back to Halifax for my last night in the
Maritimes (possibly ever).
Halifax,
Nova Scotia
The sun has set on my last day in the Maritimes, and I will be leaving for the airport to fly home in less than six hours. This is my last night in the Maritimes. Writing this entry is how I will forever remember the Maritimes. It is twilight’s last gleam, but there are no rockets’ red glare. To see those, we would need to look in the opposite direction, back towards New York and Philadelphia. If I have my geography correct, I am facing the whole of the Maritimes. Parts of New Brunswick, PEI, and, of course, Nova Scotia, are all within my line of sight. Obviously I can’t see it, but that is the direction I am facing as I sit on this rocky shore.
I will properly
reflect on the Maritimes as a whole tomorrow, but, for now, it is sufficient to
say that the Canadian Maritime provinces are one of my favorite parts of the
world, but then, so, too, is almost all of Canada. This is a beautiful vista, and I will be
loath to leave it once I finish my entry.
Actually, the cigar is my limiting reactant, as I will need to wait
until I finish my cigar before I get my ice cream, and I want to get my ice
cream before I go back to the hotel.
That means, reader, you will have the pleasure of my company for some
more time. There really is not much to
write. Other than dinner, almost nothing
happened between the time I closed in Lunenburg and the time I sat down to
write this entry here in Halifax.
Actually, I do need to draw some power to my phone from my laptop.
After I closed in Lunenburg, I went in search
of souvenirs and a club soda. I found
both. I could not find the paperweight,
but I did find a pin with the same logo and verbiage. That was good. After I got my club soda, which I downed
while I was paying for it, I headed back to the car. It was slightly over an hour to my hotel in
Halfiax, and I was spent. The car was
blazing hot, so I blasted the AC. I then
lit up a very special edition Davidoff to celebrate my last drive and having
said “Maritimes Complete.”
Before I knew
it, I was at the hotel. I checked in and
brought all my stuff out of the car. I
was ready to pass out and relaxed for a bit before I headed out to dinner. I had chosen a very-well reviewed restaurant
called The Five Fisherman. It was a very
disappointing experience. I was ready
for an epic evening, and it was all going to start with that dinner. I saw they had outdoor seat, so I asked for a
table outside. They told me it would be
10-15 minutes.
I walked up to the
citadel and took some pictures there of the view from the top of the city
before walking back. It was 30 minutes
before they were ready to seat me. I
also learned that the outdoor menu was a pared down version of the highly rated
upstairs menu. If I had sat upstairs, I
probably would have already been seated and had my appetizer by then. I was very frustrated, but I wanted to sit
outside. If I had known all of this
information from the beginning, my calculus would have changed. That was what upset me most, not just that I
had lost a precious half an hour, when I was fighting time already to make sure
I could get three full REM cycles in before I left for the airport. I sat outside, and the service was bad.
I ordered the local whiskey, called Glen
Breton, and the pour was stingy and overpriced.
I was now on the verge of anger.
Fortunately, the food was good enough to make up for it. The waitress promised me that everything I
ordered was from Nova Scotia, and I wasn’t entirely sure to believe her, since
I hadn’t heard of fresh salmon coming from Nova Scotia before, but I suppose it
was possible. My appetizer was baked
oysters, and the salmon dish was really good.
Disappointed with the service, I undertipped, something I almost never
do.
It was 9:30 PM at this point, and I
wanted to be in bed by 10:30 PM. That
won’t happen. 11 PM is looking a
challenge. I lit up my VSG and walked to
the waterfront, the opposite end from where I was last time. I was glad it was still the blue hour, which
provided for a great establishing photo for this entry. I climbed down the rocks to find a great spot
to sit along the water, and I faced the direction of the rest of the Maritimes,
where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close, as my cigar is
almost done, and I want to get that ice cream for my walk back to the hotel,
where I will publish and then pass out for, hopefully, enough time that,
combined with an extra REM cycle on the plane (and maybe some more sleep on the
bus from the airport), will allow me to properly function at work tomorrow.
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