Thursday, September 7
The Louisbourg Harbor Inn is a lovely Victorian bed and breakfast in downtown Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. It had wonderful views of the harbor from my room and from the shared decks at the rear of the house.
People who were staying in the other bed and breakfast owned by Parker in Louisbourg came to our dining room every morning for breakfast, so it was a lively crowd both mornings, and I had a good time talking with them. The breakfasts were amazing.
Fortress at Louisbourg
About 25% restored from the original fortress, which was all but destroyed by the British in 1758, this Parks Canada National Historic site is open nearly every day of the year. The three-hour tour was really good – and worth the price – otherwise the site would have been a little overwhelming and less understandable.
The French system of “no manufacturing allowed” in their colonies kept them dependent on the French. So, for example, the blacksmith could repair iron works, but not make them, and the wool spinners used drop spindles, not spinning wheels.
Costumed guides have era-appropriate conversations, whether about the challenges of shipping and pirates or providing food for the military commander. Very interesting, sometimes really funny, informative. Girls were educated because they were expected to read and write and do math to run a home, but boys were not. There was a working bakery, gardens, a few farm animals, battlements and the military buildings, residences and commercial establishments.
Most Parks Canada sites had information on the Mi’kmaq First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada’s Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as Native Americans in the northeastern region of Maine. (from Wikipedia)
Louisbourg Harbor Boardwalk
The boardwalk was just a short walk from my lodgings. It was nice to watch the few boats and the tide coming in. I talked to Bobby, who puts up and takes down the flags every day with his companion, Harley, a Nova Scotia Duck Trolling Retriever. If I had known it when he was talking to me, I would have taken a photo of Harley, but I didn’t hear him say it until he was walking away. Bobby moved back to Louisbourg shortly before he inherited Harley, a cat and the 150-year-old family home from his uncle, who died in June.
