We left Sydney and drove a few hours south to one of the most popular tourist attraction in Nova Scotia - Fort Louisbourg. The fort was begun in 1719 by France on the southeast tip of Nova Scotia. It was the first line of defense for the French against the British for Canadian control, much to the annoyance of the US Colonists. Damned French.
It was only really in functioning use for about 15 years and is remarkably restored to reveal a peek into 18th century colonial history. Just the thing Little Truckers love! Dozens of costumed animators become the town's residents of the summer of 1744 and you're free to roam around the entire town, go through all the buildings and the gardens. Tristan's favorite part was the VERY VERY VERY large monk (think Friar Tuck) seated in the front entry way of the Governor's home. We also ate at their 'pub' where they served food made in the exact same way it was in 1744 (ie. NASTY). I couldn't even eat the bread and cheese. I wasn't able to eat BREAD AND CHEESE! How bad is that?!
Surrounded by ramparts, the King's Bastion is a fort within a fortress. The King's Bastion Barracks is the largest building on site and in its day was one of the largest buildings in North America. Inside the bastion was an amazing little chapel, which was so vastly different from the rest of the dirty life that the people must have been living that it took us all by surprise. It was a beautiful little place. ALL of the 'soldiers' were very informative (some were pretty hot - Tristy found herself a boyfriend) and were happy to tell us about guard duty, living conditions, armaments, security, food and a soldier's life in general. It was the typical LT tourist visit!
Following Ft. Louisbourg, we headed to Halifax for the last leg of our trip. It had started raining when we left Louisbourg and the 6 hour drive to Halifax was insane with the rain. Court was driving, but I was so nervous for her! I had never seen it come down so hard and for so long. Plus, we weren't entirely sure where we were going. THANK GOODNESS for our trusty GPS with the Australian accent, "Lee Marvin." Once we got to Halifax, we took a deep breath and then went to eat something called poutine...um, yes, poutine. It's a food, not a dirty word there in Canada.
Hayley, Tristy and Courtney all lived upstairs from me with a good friend of ours - Laura, a Canadian. As such, they've all eaten some sort of weird concoction called poutine. It's french fries, brown gravy and cheese curd...uhhhhh...I love french fries, love brown gravy and love squeeky cheese. But poutine? EWWWIE. We had been driving all day and it was exhausting, but it was all the other LTs they had been talking about. So, after the nasty 18th century lunch, I decided to plug my nose and try it. And it's not half bad! It's like eating mashed potatoes with cheese. Awesome! I would eat it again - but with a higher grade of squeeky cheese...if there is such a thing...(hint, hint)
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