Digby to Brookfield, Nova Scotia – 14 September 2023
With the tropical storm Lee threatening and Digby in the line of fire, we decided the safest course of action would be to move a day ahead of time to our next stop in Brookfield. We had no idea what to expect and stocked up on plenty of food (and alcohol), spare gas, water etc.
We wanted to get out for a walk before the storm hit so drove into the town of Annapolis Royal for a coffee and walk. Very artsy looking town on the water with a nice harbour. We walked around the town a bit and then grabbed a coffee before heading for Fort Anne a four bastion fort built in 1702 by the French and then later taken over by the British to repel the French attacks during the early stages of the St George’s war. Today it is a historic site. We walked around the outside of the Fort admiring the perfectly mowed, green surrounds. Before we had, had a chance to look inside the museum on the property, huge black clouds approached and the heavens opened. Frans, Derek and Jax made a run for the car and didn’t get wet but Lucy and I were trailing behind and got soaked. Apparently this was an expected shower as a result of warm tropical air ahead of the storm.
The campsite was fairly full but the sites were sheltered. As we settled down to wait for the storm we decided to play board games to keep ourselves occupied. As it turns out, the storm was not half as bad as we expected, though Digby did get hit pretty badly, so we escaped the bullet nicely there.
The following day we took Lucy to the airport. Luckily she was still able to make her flight in spite of some delays because of the storm. After dropping her off we stopped at Valley Variety one of our dog wash customers in Truro to check out his pet wash area. The business owner – Mike, was not there so I just took a video. After that Frans and I went to the M’ikmaq Cultural Heritage Centre and walked around admiring all their handy work. These were the first people in what is now called the Atlantic provinces and their presence here can be traced back 10,000 years. They were both great traders and great warriors. Today they remain the predominant First nations group within Nova Scotia.
At the back of the centre was a very large statue of an Indian. This was Kluskap who according to legend had arrived by sea in a great stone canoe, an island of granite covered in trees. He was a benevolent superhuman. He taught the people the names of the stars, how to build canoes, fish, hunt and cure what was harvested and also how to find medicines to heal sickness. It is believed he will return some day in their time of need.
