Louisbourg, Day By Day (Day 0)

While I was away in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia, I kept myself a little journal so I could bring the experience back home with me and share. I have finally gotten around to writing itall up. In the future, I am creating a scrapbook as well, as this trip has really touched me.

Sunday, August 22, 2010: Day 0 (Program has not started yet)

4:30 AM
The previous night we discussed that leaving around 5 AM for a 7:20 AM flight from Toronto would probably be okay. The airline suggested being an hour there before take off, and since Toronto Airport was a little more than an hour for us, it was thought that getting there around 6:30 would be okay. I had gone to early flights before within 40 minutes of a departure, so I wasn't too worried. I also thought that Sunday at that time in the morning wouldn't be that busy. I got up at 4:30 to finish packing the things I neeed to use in the morning (like my toothbrush). Even though I wanted to leave at 5, I felt bad for my mom having to drive me, so I woke her up at 5. We ended up leaving 10 minutes, after and stopped to get some coffee on the way.

6:30 AM
Arrived at the airport to see that it was rather busy. I hugged my mom goodbye and darted inside. I had checked in the night before and already had my boarding pass, so I could go into the express line to check my bags. After I checked my one bag, I headed to security and saw it was rather long. There was an estimated 20 minute wait for security. Lucky for me, my gate was just outside security so I relaxed a bit. By the time I got out of security, it was 6:50 and they were calling to board my flight!

6:50 AM
I lined up right after security to get on my plane. The flight was for 7:20 but they always make you board ten minutes before. I got on my seat 6A, a window seat. I decided already that I liked West Jet because they had little tvs. I did not bring my headphones, nor did I want to pay $3.00 for them, so I just watched the news channel that had updates in texts. I also also brought with me my corchet hooks, some yarn, and the book Congo by Michael Crichton so I was set for entertainment. This plane had 3 seats across, and no one sat between me and the other person in my aisle. The airline also gave me a free newspaper.

7:20 AM
Take off!

10:30 AM (Halifax Time which is an hour ahead)
Landed safely in Halifax. Went to go get my baggage and had a slight melt down when I thought it wasn't there. Went down to the car rental place in the garage to go pick up my car for the week. The computer was really really slow so it took me forever to get my car. I was also charged additional taxes, and I had to buy an insurance package. I opted for the safe trip one, which was about 33 bucks a day... but knowing my luck something would have happened to the damn car if I got the cheaper one. They never asked me to inspect the car, probably becaus they felt so bad keeping me so long. I ended up noticing two stone chips in the window half an hour into the drive,, which I hope they don't charge me for. They shouldn't since I got such a great package, I think. They gave me a silver Ford Focus, which was slightly bigger than what I had ordered.

11:00 AM
Finally got on the road. Put in the audio book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

11:30 AM
Realized I was driving the wrong way once my GPS woke up. It never loads in underground parking.

1:00 PM
Stopped into a Dairy Queen for lunch and bathroom break. Ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger which came with no cheese. Decided not to press it. Got back in the car and realized my GPS was on back at home time. Changed the time. Was sad to see that instead of 3:30 PM, I was arriving at 4:30 PM.

3:00 PM
Started to rain.

4:30 PM
Finally arrived in Louisbourg but realized I forgot to write down where the Bed and Breakfast was. I had printed out the reservation, and I thought that the address would have been on it. I was wrong. I kept driving down the main road, and when the road branched off, I could see the brighly painted pinkish red building that was the Bed and Breakfast. I checked in, and went up to my room where I unpacked and sorted things out. I called my parents to let them know I had safetly arrived at my destination.

5:00 PM
Went for a nice little walk around the town of Louisbourg, and tried to walk to the Visitor Centre at the Fortress of Louisbourg. We were to meet up at 8:30 and take the bus at 9:00. I should had read the entire primer because it told you to walk through Parking Lot 5 to a trail. Instead I kept walking to Parking Lot 4, and realized I should just drive in the morning. I turned around and went to the Grubsteake for dinner. I wasn't too hungry so I ordered one of the cheapest things on the menu; the club sandwich with a salad. It was very good. I had some apple crumble pie for dessert but probably shouldn't have had. I felt a little gross afterwards. I went back to the bed and breakfast.


7:00 PM
Once I arrived to the B&B, I talked to the Innkeepers. They knew I was there for the archaeology program, and explained the weather of the area, and where I was going to be working. I thanked them and told them I was going to have a nice hot bath and hit the hay. My room had a jacuzzi tub, so I had a nice relaxing bath, showered off and watched tv for a bit.

9:00-10:00 PM
Between 9 and 10 I went to bed. I had set my alarm for 7:15, hoping that would give me enough time to get ready. Breakfast was served at 8, so I had to make sure I got out of there in enough time. The drive was only about 5 minutes, so I didn't have to rush too much but I didn't want to miss that bus!

Louisbourg Photos

While I was away, I took almost 500 pictures of the town, the Fortress and other such things. I have sorted them into the most interesting photos, and uploaded them onto FlickR, as well as organized them into sets. Originally made to send to the people in my group, I figured this would be the best way of showing my photos without a) inviting everyone to follow me on Facebook or b) uploading photos on Blogger. So, while I prepare to write about 7 days on the Eastern Coast, here are the photos from my trip.

Buildings of The Fortress of Louisbourg
Buildings around the reconstructed town.

Exhibits and Historical Interpreters of Louisbourg
All around the town there were costumed staff that were interpreters of the town. The Fortress is set in 1744. In some of the buildings there were exhibits, replicas and artifacts.

The Marine Museum of Louisbourg
A small, non profit museum that houses some marine artifacts.



Archaeological Sites and Other Areas Outside of Louisbourg
There were sites outside of the Fortified Town, and even historical sites that exist outside the Parks Canada site, like the lighthouse.

Back From The Coast.

I am finally back from my working vacation. I had a wonderful time but I am beat! I made a journal of all the exciting things that happened while I was out in Cape Breton, so expect a fairly long post detailing that!

Cyborg Pony on Leave... Sorta!

Hey gang,

My cousin came over Friday and we did a last minute trip to the Zoo in Toronto. It was a great time. It was warm, muggy and overcast so there wasn't many people out. The animals were pretty sleepy but I ended up taking 203 photos!

We were there from 10 AM to 3:30 PM, then we came home to celebrate my brother's birthday. He turns 24 on the Tuesday but he was visiting this weekend for a race car event down the road from us.

I will probably talk more about my zoo experience, but I am in the middle of packing for Nova Scotia! I fly out at 7:20 AM! We're leaving here at 5 am. Blah. I am taking old lappy with me to post pictures and to write about my experience. I have never ever taken a computer on a trip with me - or on an airplane so I'm a little nervous.

When I get back I am probably going to Fan Expo on the Saturday. Hurray for summer!

Field School Update

I'm going to have to start brushing up on my archaeology real soon, as I just got confirmation today from Louisbourg about my field school.

I'm a little sad though because I am flying out Sunday to Halifax and driving to Louisbourg and I just found out that we are all entitled to a free pass on Sunday to explore the site. The site closes at 5 p.m. and I won't get there until 4 p.m. so I won't have enough time. The letter does say that there will be other opportunities to explore to site during the week we are there.

Originally, our team was going to excavate in the De la Valliere yard but this year we are going to be helping out on a two month rescue excavation project. The sites are threatened by coastal erosion due to the rising sea levels. The sites have never been studied before, and are facing the Atlantic Ocean.

This is going to be one crazy adventure for me. I have travelled to parts of the US and a couple of times to Quebec, but I have never been too far out of my own province, and I have never been out East before. I'll be flying to Halifax on August Sunday 22nd and driving the rest of the way, approximately 4 hours to Cape Breton Island, where Louisbourg is. I'll be staying at a Bed and Breakfast called Cranberry Cove. I originally wanted to stay in The Captain's Den but I'm going to be in a suite called Isle Royal that faces the harbor. I plan on trying to get some time to swim in the Atlantic Ocean while I am there, and maybe catch a couple of events in the town. Hopefully I make some new friends while I'm there, though I can be quite shy, haha. On Friday, the team will have dinner together and I'll leave for Halifax that night, and sleep in the airport. I'll be back in Toronto early Saturday morning, where I'll try to figure out if I want to go to Fan Expo that day, or on Sunday.

Visual Proof of Nerd Status

This weekend I was bored and decided to take a couple of pictures that demonstrate how proud I am to be a nerd. I wish I had my own house where I could dedicate a room to my collection. A lot of my action figures, tiys and books are packed away in a small closet, and this is only the tip of the iceburg. It also only showcases books that I dug out recently because I think that they'll be needed in the up coming future, or I feel that they are closest to my heart. I do have boxes and boxes of books and wish they could be showcased.

I also have a couple of pictures of my DVD collection. A lot of movies I own are actually still on VHS, including my all night favourite "The Flight of Dragons" that hasn't gotten DVD release yet. I'm also missing a couple since they're on loan, or they're my CSI collection which got packed away.



Top of my book shelf, from Left to Right: Pictorial History of Horror Films, Star Watch, Evolution text book, Primate Behavior text book, Introduction to Anthropology, Standards for measuring bones, William Bass's Field Guide to Osteology, The Growth of Humanity, The Archaeology of Disease, Forensic Anthropology, Concepts in Anthropological Thinking, Here There Be Dragons, The Princess Bride, Whale Music, The Three Musketeers, Articles for Medieval Military Technology, Medieval Warfare, The Royal Book of Horsemanship, Jousting and Knightly Combat, Under The Black Flag, How the Horse Shaped Civilization, An Anthropologist on Mars, Horse Treats and The Ultimate Guide to Pampering Your Horse.


Second row on the bookshelf, from Left to Right: The Archaeologist's Laboratory, The Archaological Workbook, Pottery in Archaeology, The Archaeology of Aninal Bones, Understanding Stone Tools and Archaeological Sites, A Brief History of Archaeology, Archaeology and Anthropology, Archaeology, The Peopling of Bandelier, North American Archaeology, Archaeology of South America, Death by Theory, World Politics in a New Era, Microbiology, Clear, Correct and Creative, Echoes of the Past, The Art of Ancient Egypt, General Chemistry, Embalming, Human Anatomy, The Cell, and the Flight of Dragons. Also, my sad collection of McDonald's Happy Meal Toys of The Last Airbender.



Top Shelf - various horse figurines and a Captain Morgan glass, books from Left and Right: Le Morte D'Arthur, yearbooks, Dungeons and Dragons books in Second, Third and Fourth edition, Encylopedia of Mythology, Body Worlds, Mutter Museum, The Beatles Anthology, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, A Hard Day's Write, Last Mysteries of the World, Mysteries of the Unexplained.

Another top shelf with Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles (I was young and vampire were kinda cool unlike today), Celtic Mythology, Lord Byron, A vampire book, Dune
Second shelf: Le Morte D'Arthur, Mists of Avalon, Canterbury Tales, The Myst Series, Body of Evidence, Uther, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Sleepy Hollow, Macbeth, The Dragon and the George, Frankenstein, Peter Pan and A Streetcare called Desire.




My Dune books, not in order at all. I know someone reading this will appreciate this photo haha.

My comic shelf with the entire Sandman series, Endless Nights, The Watchman, Batman: Red Rain, The Dark Knight Returns, The Long Halloween and the first three issues of The Return of Bruce Wayne.

Bottom shelf: Tarot books, The Penalty Killing, American Gods, The Tick: The Complete Edlund, July previews, Fragile Things, Domiknitrix, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Big Book of Canadian Ghost Stories, The Very Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction 60, The Last Unicorn, St John's First Aid (Haha) and The Life of Pi... oh and some previews.


My DVDs, with some interesting titles.


A close up so you can see my hidden Batman collection!

Indiana Jones is hiding in there too.

Jurassic Park, Dune, Star Wars, Willow, Van Helsing, Young Frankenstien, Krull, Stargate... jsut to name a few....

Summer Plans

Everyone knows that the best things always happen in summer. There's always so much I want to do, but I never seem to have the time. This summer, I will attempt to accomplish most of my plans!

1. Go the Toronto Zoo
I haven't been to the zoo in three years, and before that, I can't even remember. The Polar Bears are back, and going to the zoo is such a summer event. I hope to accomplish this sometime in August, or even in the first two weeks of September when the weather is still warm.

2. Go to Fan Expo (August 27th to 29th)
Being a nerd, I have always wanted to go. But Barrie Fair has ALWAYS fallen on the Saturday of the expo and I have never been able to go. There wasn't any reason for me not to go on the Sunday other than the Sunday has never been the best day. Barrie Fair was cancelled last year, but I was out of the country so I couldn't go. Barrie Fair is still cancelled this year, but I will be in Nova Scotia until August 28th. I am going to try to get to Expo the Saturday or the Sunday. I booked my flight back from Nova Scotia really early on Saturday so I have the option of going on the 28th. More on that...

3. Go to Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia for an Archaeological Field School at the Louisbourg Fortress. I would like to get some experience in archaeology to help me get a job in the anthropology field. I didn't go to field school when I was in University, but I was suggested to go to this week long field school. I am very excited about it. I am staying at a bed and breakfast that has a room looking out at the harbor. I'll be digging at an old french fortress part of Canada's history. And I'll be travelling out east - something I have never done before! I am going to trya nd catch a few events in the evenings. I'm renting a car to get around, as my plan is to fly to Halifax, drive to Louisborg and then drive back to Halifax Friday night, sleep in the airport and take an early morning flight back to Toronto where I will either take the TTC downtown to the expo or the Go Train to Oshawa. This is going to be a crazy week.

4. Go to the Royal Ontario Museum and see the Terra Cotta Army
I've been to the ROM many times, but they were redoing the dinosaur exhibit the last time. I really would like to see the Terra Cotta Army but they're going to be there until January so there's no rush yet!