Louisbourg Day 5 & 6

I decided to lump Friday and Saturday together since Saturday wasn't much about Louisbourg.

Friday, August 27th 2010 (Day 5)

7:10 AM
I woke up and started packing since I was going to be leaving for Halifax from the Fortress. I had already packed up most of my stuff the night before and all I had to do was the finishing touches (you know, the toothbrush and toothpaste deal). Once it was all packed up, I dragged my suitcase and two bags down three flights of stairs and popped them in the car.

8:00 AM
Went down for breakfast and asked how to check out. They told me we were having french toast and since I had already had it during my stay, I could choose something else if I wished. I told him it was fine and I'd jut have the french toast again. I like french toast, so it was no big deal. I was just glad it wasn't the Island Bake again.

8:30 AM
I agreed to drive Larry to the site, and drop him off as I was leaving town. Bruce Fry stopped into our B&B looking for a couple who had sneaked into the lecture we were having at the Chevlier House. We weren't quite sure how they got in there since we were pretty careful not to let the public visiting the fortress in. Bruce told us that we were going to look at some siege sites outside the Fortress area so we should all meet up at the Visitor Centre parking lot and inside of it. We were also leaving after hours so we had to make sure we got our cars down to the Fortress since they locked up place after hours.

8:45 AM
On the way to the Fortress, Larry told me that we should pull over and check out Wolfe's Ridout. A ridout is a camp they would have made to prepare their troops for the siege. It was about a 5 minute walk. We quickly checked it out. When we met up with the others, Bruce asked us what had taken since we left before him. I told him Larry wanted to take a side tour.

9:00 to 10:00 AM
Bruce drove us around, stopping the cars every once and awhile so we could go out and explore. Since it had rained all day Thursday, the area was marshy and wet. The natural environment had over taken the siege sites and it was very hard to see what was left. We went to a ridout called Green Hill which was a valuable camp for the British since you could get a clear view of the Fortress. Back in 1758, this area would have been totally cleared of the trees.

10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
The others were eager to get back to digging, but I wasn't. I had already found something better than iron nails and glass. The site was slightly flooded as well due to the rain. I decided to stay back with the collections manager and help label and catalogue the artifacts. Most of it was writing on pottery shards and glass bits, but I enjoyed it. We had some tea, and talked about this and that. We decided we'd go to the site around lunch to see what was going on with the others. I wanted to explore the rebuilt town a little bit more. We got a chance to see stuff during the week, but there were still some places not yet ventured. Since the program had a "Do What You Want" attitude, it wasn't a problem.

12:00 PM
We went out with the lunches to the site. I went over to the site to find out what had been found (nothing) and inform them that lunch had arrived. They grudgingly left their work for food.

1:00 PM
We all went back to the site. I hung out for a bit, but then left to go look for the blacksmith from the day before. Hubba hubba.


1:30 to 2:30 PM
For an hour I went about the site, snapping as many pictures as I could of buildings, exhibits and people. I cursed myself for not charging my camera like I should have, since it was dying quickly. I talked to a few of the interpreters and while I didn't see the whole site, I felt like I had seen enough to get a feel of the place. I also picked up some more souveniers for people because I didn't have too much success in town. I took my stuff back to my car so I wouldn't have to carry it around with me all day. I walked back to the Chevalier House because I was going to go deo some more catalouging when I ran into Bruce on the way back. He said that he was just getting Heidi the collections manager and they were driving up to the site and I could catch a ride with them if I wanted to.

2:30 PM to 3:10 PM
I went back to the site and helped people shift their their dirt, which was now mud. It was a lot harder to find artifacts this way since they were all covered in mud. There were about 2-3 of us working on a bucket at a time.

3:10 PM
We packed up everything and the archaeology crew began covering the sites. We took our equipment back to the Chevalier House. During the week it stayed in the equipment tent. Once we arrived back the the Chevalier House, we were told we were going to go to one of the exhibits about fortification and the military before we met up for dinner at the L'Epee Royal, the upper class restaurant, at 4:30.

4:00-4:30 PM
We explored this little house with some artifacts of the remaining walls, drums and military explanations. We then walked to the L'Epee Royal.


4:30 to 6:00 PM
The meal was on the Program, so we didn't have to pay for alcoholic drinks like we had to Wednesday. I had a glass of red wine with my meal. We had the same type of soup from Wednesday, and we were also served fresh baked buns. The choice was turkey or salmon and I wanted something diffeernt. We were given a big bowl of rice, and Paul and I were given a plate of turkey with a wild mushroom and carrot dressing. Dessert was the same little brownie, but it was good.

6:00 to 7:00 AM
We went back to Chevalier House to pick up the rest of our stuff. After we all went to our cars and drove out to an area called Black Rock. This was a huge rock that over looked the Atlantic Ocean. We stayer there for awhile, snapping photos. I agreed to drive a couple people back into town. Paul's ride showed up at 5:30 and likely left him, so I told him I'd drive him back to Sydney since it wasn't really out of my way too much. I was driving to Halifax airport that night, with the unhappy event of sleeping in the airport since I had a 6:45 AM flight back to Toronto.


7:00 PM
We all said our goodbyes. I dropped off people and said my goodbyes to them. We had all given each other our emails to keep in touch and share photos.

8:00 PM
By 8:00 PM I driven to Sydney. I dropped off Paul and gased up the car for the first time in Nova Scotia, which I was a little impressed by. I spent the entire time driving straight through to Saturday...

Saturday August 28th, 2010 (Day 6)

12:30 AM
I arrived at the airport but like an idiot I went in the wrong lane. I had to find the gas station too since I was required to leave the car with a full tank of gas. I ended up driving up to the commercial car lane and an airport worked helped me out. I found the gas station at the airport and it was CLOSED. Ugh. I popped in gas station in my GPS I had brought along and it directed me to a gas station 10 KM away. I drove out to this gas station to have my credit card denied at the pump. I went to another pump, gassed up and had to pay at the window.

1:00 AM
I finally got to the rental car drop off at the airport. I pulled everything out of the car and repacked some stuff. I had not packed my mugs yet so I wanted to wrap them up well. I checked the car over for anything else that belonged to me. I was scared that the airport may be closed since I didn't think there were many flights coming in this late. I dropped the keys off into the drop off box, and prayed that they wouldn't charge me for the stupid stone chips out the window that were already on the stupid car in the first place.

1:30 AM to 2:00 AM
I walked around the airport, looking for the places I had to be in the morning. Wet Jet would not allow me to check in at their kisosks so I had to wait until the morning. I wanted to check my bags so I wouldn't have to sleep with them but I lucked out. I found a spot by the security that was also near a bunch of shops and an indoor playground for kids. There was also a wifi table so I logged in to check some stuff. I curled up on a bench with my three bags positioned so if someone attempted to take my stuff, I would have been awoken. I woke up three times; once because I was cold so I had to fish a sweater out of my suitcase, and twice because that was the time people were polishing the floor. At one point I grabbed all my stuff and slept on the floor because I was tired of getting bench marks on my legs since I stupidly wore khakis that day.

4:15 AM
By this time, people were coming into the airport. I awoke to the security staff talking. Since I was scared of being asked to move, I decided to wake up and go check my bags. I checked in on my laptop at the airport with its wifi when the kisok wouldn't let me so I had to obtain a boarding pass while I was checking my bag. I got one and was told I should get through security now since it would probably get busy soon. Boarding was at 6:10 AM.

4:30 to 6:10 AM
I got through security like a zombie. I got a little nervous when they took awhile to scan my laptop. I went to my gate and hung out there for a bit. When other people started getting Tim Hortons, I decided to get up and also get some breakfast. I asked for a bacon breakfast sandwich but got a sausage one instead. I didn't really care. I got a small cappuchino to keep me up since I didn't want to fall asleep at the gate. We boarded at 6:10 AM. I was surprised that I got the same seat as my flight in; 6A. I was delighted that in a three seat aisle, I was the only one in it which was strange since it was a fairly crowded flight. As soon as I was sitting down, I put my pillow to the window. I had fallen fast asleep before the review of the safety features finished. I woke up on the flight and checked where we are. We were nearing Toronto and I couldn't really get back to sleep. I watched the tv without sound for a bit until we landed.

8:00 AM
We arrived in Toronto at 8 AM on the dot. I decided not to call Linds, who graciously was allowing me to drop my stuff there while I attempted to get into Fan Expo until I was actually ready to leave. It took me awhile to get my bags, and I got lost looking for the luggage pick up since nothing is labelled well in Terminal 3 of Pearson airport.

8:30 AM to 9:30 AM
With my bags in hand, I called Linds who told me to take the bus from the airport to the subway to the subway drop off near her place. It was wonderful to just sit down and go somewhere without having to think too hard about it, like driving haha. I had a neat little trip going from Bus to subway to car. They came and picked me up and we got breakfast (yay!)

10:00 AM to 4:00PM
We hung out for a bit, and then we decided to try to leave for Fan Expo around 1:50 PM. We took the subway to downtown and the line ups were huge. Crazy even. As much as I love Sci fi, Comic books, D&D, Gaming and Horror, I wasn't prepared to wait in line for 6 hours and pay $35 to get in, and likely only get to get an hour out of it. I knew quite a few people who were there, and I was sad I didn't get to see them but I suppose I should have planned better. I wasn't too upset about it. We went back to the house, and I called to find out when I was getting a ride back home.

5:20 PM
Linds and The Newf dropped me off at the Go Station to I could get picked up at Oshawa. I didn't want my ride to have to come get me in Toronto.

6:30 PM
Back in Oshawa, got picked up, finally arrived home! Gave people their gifts and went to bed at 9:30 PM like a wuss. Slept in until 11 AM Sunday, haha.

Louisbourg Day 4

August 26th, 2010 (Day 4)

7:10 AM
An early wake up

8:00 AM
Breakfast was a quiche, along with the usual sides.

8:45 AM to 9:30 AM
Headed for Visitor Centre, got on bus, went to Chevalier House


9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Since it was pouring outside, we were not allowed to excavate that day. Instead we had a tour of a building called the Carrerot House that was all about architecture of the time period. After we had finished touring that exhibit we then went to the forge to talk to the Black Smith about artillary. He gave us a tour of the artillary storage area, which was known as the The Royal Magazine. He knew a lot about weapons and that is what everyone kept asking questions about haha. I was quite smitten by the blacksmith.

11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
We had a lunch at the Chevalier House. I had a deli sub and my milk was bad haha.

1:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Since we didn't get a chance to get out to the site, we had all the presentations so we could spend more time on Friday at the site. The presentations were about the siege sites located outside the fortress, fortifications and the history of 1758.

4:00 PM
With the presentations over, we were given some time to do whatever we wanted. I decided I want to tour the little museum on the site that was built in the 1930s. Inside it had a complete model of the constructed town.


5:00 PM
By this time, we arrived back at the Visitor Centre. While there, I picked up some more stuff at the gift shop. We had agreed to meet up around 7 for dinner at the Grubsteake restaurant.

5:30 to 6:10 PM
A couple of us headed out to the 19th/20th century cemetery located along the coast. After looking through it, we went to the Royal Battery once again, but this time in the daylight. It was gloomy and rainy though.

6:20 PM
We stopped by the Louisbourg Marine Museum that was about boats and what not. It smelt really weird in there so I did not stay in for long.

6:30 PM
Went to a gift shop in Town to pick up some more things for my family.

7:00 PM
We all met up at the Grubsteake for dinner. I ordered the shrimp alfredo pasta with crab cakes as an appetizer. I had an alcoholic drink called a Louisbourg Fog Lift which was pretty much a Screwdriver. But it got me a good buzz. I then had Ameretto Cheesecake for dessert.

7:45 PM
We took a walk down Louisbourg so I could go to the Nova Scotia Liquor Board so I could pick up a bottle of red wine for my parents.


8:30 PM
I went back to the B&B for a nice hot bath in the jacuzzi tub. It was wonderful and so relaxing. I took a quick rinse off to wash my hair. I then watched the Simpsons. I then uploaded my pictures to let my family know I was still alive.

11:30 PM
A nice early bed time compared to the rest of the week after a nice bath.

Louisbourg Day 3 (The best day)

Wednesday August 25th, 2010 (Day 3)

Wednesday was the best day of the entire trip for me. Costumes, artifacts and more!

7:15 AM
Woke up to beat the alarm clock.

8:00 AM
Breakfast and it was my favourite; French Toast! This french toast was rolled in whole oats. It was absolutey fantasic.

8:30 AM to 9:00 AM
Drove down to the Visitor Centre, met up with group and bussed down to the Fort.

9:00 AM to 9:30
Had our morning coffee and tea and talked about what we were doing that day. We were going to go to the costume shop to talk to the costume curator and see the costumes.

10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
The curator, Elizabeth Tate, gave us a tour of the costume shop. She showed us the rooms where they kept both male and female costumes and explained some of the pieces such as the pannier which an upper class woman would wear under her dress to give her the belled hip look, and whale bone corests. We also were able to see the costumes for the men. I tried on the drummer's coat which was a justacourps, which I have always wanted. Maybe one day when I make more money I'll have one made. She took us down to a little room where they make prototypes of the costumes. They contract out the costume making but they research the design and find out what works. Once they have a prototype made, using the fabrics appropriate for the time period, they are sent off to be made. At the end of the tour, I asked if we could try on some tricorner hats. Larry joined me and we had many pictures taken.

11:00 AM
We went out to the excavation site as soon as we were finished with the costume tour. When we got there, I immediately found some iron nails. I found a piece of rock that had the tell tale sign of corroded iron on it, but I wasn't sure if tehre was anything inside. I got up to talk to the supervising archaeologist, and while I was other there, I was invited to dig in the interior area of the New England Powder Magazine. My group was digging in the exterior wall, looking for mainly glass and iron nails, but on the interior of the wall of the building they had found the floor boards, and had been finding things like buttons. The idea was that each one of us would come over while they removed the top soil and look for artifacts. Since I was already up, I was asked to participate first. At first all we found was iron and bottle glass which was different than the window glass I was previously finding. I asked if I should go get another one of the group since I had stayed for at least 3 or 4 topsoil removals. Blair, the guy I was working with who was a part of the archaeology crew told me to stay until we found something interesting.

11:30 AM
Around this time, we finally found something interesting. A tiny piece of yellow pottery could be seen in the dirt. Blair had to go into town and pick up the lunches, so he instructed another supervisor to come keep an eye on my excavation. He told her that he wanted me to excavate the piece of pottery by lunch. As he left, I began to excavate the item. The yellow glaze kept falling off, and I was instructed to keep it. I was told to put the artifacts in a dust pan as I went. I had many little pieces of chipped glaze wear covered in dirt. Finally, around 11:45 AM, I had excavated a piece of Staffordshire pottery. It was a little handle. Satisified, I asked if I should leave the site, or if I should clean up the corner of my area some more. The supervisor told me to clean it up a little, since lunch wasn't here yet.


12:10 PM
I glanced at my watch and saw it was past noon, but the lunch had not appeared yet, so I kept working. I noticed something sticking out of the ground where I was excavating. At first I thought it was a little nail. I pointed it out to my supervisor who exclaimed it was a buckle. I asked her if she wanted me to keep excavating it, or to leave it for someone else. She told me to continue. Once I got it out, I handed it to her. She told me it was near complete, then announced to the rest of the group that I had found a buckle. She then took my picture with it (the first picture in this blog). My little pottery piece was totally overshadowed by this find.

12:30 PM
Lunch had arrived and I was excited to tell everyone about my find. I didn't want to rub it in or anything, I was just excited. I had lunch, which was more exciting than the one I had yesterday (a ham sandwich). It was a chicken wrap and it was very good. I wish I had ordered another one in the week, but since we had to order before we had tasted the food, I decfided to play it safe and ordered a two ham sandwiches during the week.

1:00 PM to 3:15 PM
We went back to the site and had our group picture taken. Once our picture was taken, we went back to excavating. Everyone wanted to get into the 'prime' stuff as they were calling it amongst our group, so they could find something other than glass and iron. Unfortunately all was found was nails and glass. We were told we had to pack up early because the Fortress Association had bought us tickets to a dinner theatre event at the Fortress after dark. Since we had to meet up at 6:00, we all wanted some time to get dressed and freshened up before we went out. By the time we cleaned up, got back to the Chevalier House and sorted out rides, we all left for the bus around 4:30

5:00 PM
I went back to Cranberry Cove B&B to change my clothes, fix my make up and freshen up. Most of my pants were rather dirty by that time haha.

6:00 PM
Larry and I carpooled together back to the Fortress. All the cars had to meet up at another gate, and then we followed in a convoy back into the Fort. We were allowed to park our cars along the harbor street in the Fort, which was kind of cool.

6:30 to 9:00 PM
We had a 18th century style dinner in the Grandchamps restaurant, with an interactive play called For Love or Money going on as we ate. We had a beef stew with carrots, rice and turnips, freshly baked buns, and the entry was salmon with rice. For dessert it was a little chocolate brownie. The play was about a fisherman's daughter, Claudette, who wanted to make money so she could get married to someone with money. A guy by the name Laurent Chevalier who was a clerk but owed a Captain money for gambling debts. Chevalier bumped his debt over to the audience but said he was getting a new job with a rich family and he should be able to pay back his debt in time. Claudette meanwhile gets a job being a servant for a rich girl named Antionette. Laurent's job is to help the rich family's son get married to Antionette so they can use her money to pay off their own debts to the Captain. Augusta, the wife is horribly embarassed by her son Albert, and her husband George feels that the plan is rediculous as Albert has no interest in girls, only his books. Nerdish Albert just doesn't want to meet up with Antionette but they insist on having a party and inviting her. The night of the party Augusta hides Albert's glasses and he ends up embarassing himself and upsetting Antionette. Claudette goades Laurent for his stupid plan and refuses to help him. Antionette claims that she is going to leave for France, which would put Claudette out of her job. Claudette decides to help Laurent because Antionette would have to stay in Louisbourg if she was married to Albert, and she could keep her job. After numerous attempts to get them together, Albert and Ationette refuses to pair up. Laurent goes to the family's house, explaining he will try once again to get the two together. The Captain storms into the home of Augusta and George, demanding payment. The Captain realizes that Laurent's new job is working for a family that owes him debts. He laments that he needs the money so he can start his trading company when he returns to France the next day. Augusta and George reveal that they are banking on their son marrying Antionette and that will pay off their debts. Laurent had invited Antionette to the family's home, and she comes but says she is leaving for France and will not return because she cannot find a suitor who is romantic. The Captain woos her, and proposes to her on the spot, realizing that she has the money to finance his new company. Antionette accepts because he is so romantic to her. Augusta reveals to George that she really does love him, even after a small discussion in which she claims to not love him. Albert telsl Laurent and Claudette that books are absolutely wonderful. Laurent tells Claudette that now that his debts are paid, he does have a bit of money and a well paying job, and he would like to court her. Claudette accepts this and then the entire ensemble sings a finale song for the audience.

9:00 PM
I convinced some of our group to drive out to Kennington Cove. This cove is a beach, and also the area that James Wolfe landed with the British soldiers in order to take down Louisbourg in the Siege of 1758. I kicked off my socks and shoes and jumped into the Atlantic Ocean. It was my goal to swim in it, but I never had the time, nor the weather to. I tasted some sea water, and had a few pictures taken since the full moon was still out.

9:45 PM
Half of our group split off, and the rest of us went out to the Royal Battery. The Royal Battery was an area on the side of the fortress which would have had cannons alongside it to help protect the fort from an attack from the water front. There isn't much left of it now, but it would have been walled.

10:00 PM
Larry wanted to walk the lighthouse trail, but we ended up deciding once we got back to the lighthouse it was too dark, and way too narrow to drive the car through.

10:20 PM
We returned to the B&B and I uploaded the photos from that day as I got in the habit of doing.

12:00 AM
Once again, a late night for me! Finally went to bed at this point.

Louisbourg Day 2

Tuesday August 24th, 2010 (Day 2)

7:15 AM
Woke up just before the alarm went off, since I was scared of it.

8:00 AM
Went down for Breakfast. This was my least favourite of the bunch. It was called an Island Egg Bake and it was egg salad with onions and a dijon sauce ontop of a piece of flat bread, smothered in cheese and bacon. It came with the fruit salad and the toast. I didn't particular like the dijon sauce and it was way too onion-y for me. As mentioned before I don't like onions, but I didn't want to be rude and I champed up for it.

8:35 AM - 9:00 AM
Left for VC, got on bus, went to Fortress.

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
We ran out of time talking about the primer the day before, so we had to pick it up right after the first presentation. The first presentation was given by the Parks Historian and a student who was doing an internship in history. It was her job over the course of a few months to look through documentations to find any information that was written about the three sites that were currently being excavated. After their presentations, Becki explained the use of the tools, a little about stratiography and what sort of artifacts we would probably find.

12:00 Pm - 1:00 PM
We had lunch at the Chevalier House

1:00 PM
We walked to the three excavation sites, where we got a tour of each one. There was a house property called the De Mazie/Carrerot Property where they had found burials under the floor boards. We looked at the French Powder Magazine, which another crew of Archaeologists were working on. It was a significally bigger area. We then headed over to the New England Powder Shed, where we would be conducting our excavation.

2:00 PM
Around this time, we were given the go to go ahead and begin excavating. One of the crew members of the site gave us a quick demonstration. I found mostly glass that day.

3:30 PM
We packed up our equipment around 3:30 as this was about the time that the archaeology crew would be bused back for the day. Bruce took us back to the Fort for a moew indepth look at the King's Bastion Barracks and the Govenor's House. Inside the King's Bastion barrack was an exhibit about the excavation and rebuilding of the fortified town. Upstairs, they had several cases of artifacts like pottery and glazewear. In the Govenor's House, which was another area of the King;s Bastion Barracks, they had set up exhibits on how the rooms would look. I took a few pictures, but avoided the rooms with oil paintings. There was also a chapel inside the Barracks.

5:20 PM
We rushed back to bus. We agreed once more to meet up at 6:10, but this was so we could go to Light House Point and check out the site of the first light house in Canada.

6:10 PM
Met up with some members of the group and we headed out. On our way, our path was crossed by a red fox. We headed up to Light House Point, where there were three light houses; two of them just remains. The very first light house in Canada had been built on that spot. A second one was built in the 19th century. I am not really sure what happened to it, but there is a third light house there which is more modern looking and probably not run by light house keeper, but some sort of automatic machine.

7:20 PM
We went to the Lobster Kettle for dinner, for lobster specifically. It was alright for the most part. After dinner we decided to go look for ice cream in town, because I was sad they were out of cheesecake at the restaurant. We found ice cream at a little store. We drove around for a bit, too giddy to head back to our rooms.

9:00 PM
We decided to head back to one of the B&B where three of the 8 group members were staying. One of the members had just come home from somewhere else and mentioned that she would like to go out to Light House Point since the moon was full and it would look gorgeous reflecting off the ocean. We decided this was a great idea, and piled back into the car. Once we got to the point, we sat out watching the waves, listening to the buoys and enjoying the scenary.

10:30 PM
By this time, I finally made it back to my B&B. I decided to upload my photos from the day.

12:00 AM
I went to bed at midnight, which was probably not the greatest idea but I survived.

Louisbourg Day 1

Monday August 23, 2010 (Day 1)

7:15 AM
I woke up to a blaring alarm clock that scared me so much that I stumbled out of bed and raced to the thing as fast as I could, slamming myself into the desk. It was so loud that I was afraid I was going to wake up the other patrons of the B&B.

8:00 AM
Went down to the kitchen for breakfast. The innkepers served me first because they knew I had to get down to the Visitor Centre by 8:30. They served up a Fritatta which was like a baked omlette with peppers, onions and potatoes. It was probably the best breakfast of them all, but they were all pretty good. They brought me a tea, and each breakfast came with this beautiful fruit salad consisting of blue berries, bananas, apples, peaches, melon and watermelon. It also came witha side of toast.

8:20 AM
I scarfed down my breakfast and left for the Visitor Centre which was about a 3 minute drive. I waited out at the Centre and noticed a lot of children. I decided to ask an official person about where the archaeology program was meeting up. She pointed me out to a man in a beige hat. When I approached, I was introduced to Dr. Bruce Fry, one of the head Archaeologists of the Fortress. I also met up with three of my fellow program goers.

9:00 AM
We boarded the bus adn drove into the Fortress. It was gloomy, windy and spitting. We walked to a building called the Chevalier House where we got to know each other and the staff. We were each given a water bottle, a coffee mug with "Louisbourg Archaeology" on it, a folder full of papers to be filled out (Safety procedures, membership, lunch menu), a duo-tang filled with blanket papers and a pencil. We were told that the mugs were a souvenir to take home, and to write our names on the bottom of each one.

10:00 - 11:00 AM
Dr Bruce Fry gave us a run down of what was going to happen during the week and the history of the Fortress.

11:00 AM
Bruce took us on a short little tour of the site where we saw the King's Bastion Barracks and the cannon ramparts.

12:15 PM
We all went to Grandchamp House where the program was treating us to a 18th century style lunch. I had the beef stew (with carrots and turnips), a cup of tea and a dessert called bread pudding which was actually a cake with a pudding like topping on it, and not so much the bread pudding I was thinking of. It was still very good.

1:30 PM
We were bused to the Compound, where the consveration lab and archieves were. We had a tour with the conservationist. We then walked over and had a tour with Heidi, the collection manager who showed us an array of artifacts. They also showed us their computer system and how they kept track of all their items.

3:45 PM
We took the last bus from the COmpound back to the Chevalier House. We then had our Primer explained to us by Becki, the Archaologist in charge. She gave us more indepth information about the excavation site we were working on and why coastal erosion was becoming a huge problem for the area.

5:00 PM
We all started to head towards the bus pick up to take us back to the Vistior Centre. Bruce said we were okay, as they hadn't fired the last cannon yet. Then, a group of soldiers came by with a drummer and a flutist towards the harbor of the fort. We watched them and their demonstration. Once they fired off the cannon, we headed to the bus.

5:20 PM
We caught the bus back to the Visitor Centre. I arranged for the majority of the group to meet for dinner that night around 6:30. I bought the book Endgame 1758 at the gift shop, and made a mental note about what sort of things wer ein there for souvenirs. I drove back to the B&B and freshened up for dinner. Around 6:10 I started walking towards the restaurant we had agreed on.

6:30 PM
Dinner at the Station House. I picked the Station House since none of us had gone there yet. We got to know eahc other a little better, and we all ende dup having the fish and chips. The food was okay, but nothing spectacular. I rather was disappointed in my suggestion.

7:00 PM
We walked along the board walk for a very short while, talking about many things. We then decided to call it a night after it beame dark and colder.

7:50 PM
I returned to the B&B

11:30 PM
forced myself to bed even though I really wanted to continue to watch Top Chef.

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!

Short Break

Since I'm going to a two day show, and we're leaving at noon today, there won;t be any updates feom me until Wednesday. My apologies to the 6 of you that follow me.

Crazy Weekend

With the long weekend and annual Canadian National All Welsh show, it's been pretty hectic. Not only did I have to prepare for the show, but I had my cousin here on Saturday.

A little background on the show - we've been going to the show since 1993 and it's changed a lot of locations in the years. It used to be a double show, with the breeding classes on the Saturday and the Performance classes on the Sunday. It was always on the civic long weekend which is the first weekend in August. In 2000 the show changed from two days to one day and was held on a property of one of the members of the Ontario Welsh Pony and Cob Society. It was decided that this was a little too controversial, as she was also showing ponies and would be housing the judge. In 2006 it moved to a fairground not too far from our farm, and has been there ever since. There are some talks of moving it again because it's not fair to exhibitors in western Ontario to have to drive so far. It really should change locations every couple of years.

The show hosts one of the qualifing classes to show at The Royal Winter Agriculture Fair's Chmapion of Champtions class. The Royal is every November in downtown Toronto.

We were originally going to take two of our ponies, but one turned up lame a week before. The vet has her on rest for 3 weeks. We got a cal from a trainer we know and she said one of our other ponies who was there for 2 months training was ready to come back home and since we lived 10 mins from the show, asked if she could bring her along. We asked if she thought she'd be ready to go in a class or two, and she didn't think it would be a problem.

I got everything ready for the show prior to Saturday as my cousin was going to spend a day at the farm. We went riding on my old Arabian mare, Mira, who is now 19, and Pepper, our black Quarter Horse who is 17. I got Mira when she was 6, and we have had Pepper since she was 3. They are retired from shows and Pony Club now and live up at my neighbor's in a huge field. They only get ridden a handful of times in the year.

We went for a long trail ride along the Christmas Tree farm that is beside their property. The farm is so old that a lot of the trees are way too tall for their original intended purpose. My cousin has ridden before, but she was a bit nrevous because of the years out of the saddle. We did some trotting and some cantering. I love cantering. We even did two jumps, and sad to say, she fell off. You can read about it here, haha.

We went out to dinner and came home to go in the hot tub.

The next day I was up at 7 to go to the show.

Roxie, as I mentioned, is a bit of a brat. We bought her at 7 months old and started showing her as a yearling. At her first show as a baby, when we didn't own her, she reared up in the class and acted like a little brat, but she won her class.

Roxie at The Royal at 7 months old

The first show we took her to when she was just over a year, she was a terror. She reared, she kicked out and she bit. She also broke my mom's pinky finger. My mom told me that it was my job to show her for the rest of the year as she was too old to deal with bratty ponies, and she initially bought Roxie for me, because I have wanted a dun pony since I was 8.

At the 2009 All Welsh show, she was a nightmare. She continued to be a nightmare up until the Royal. At The Royal, she was kicking out at other ponies. I knew she was a baby and she'd eventually grow out of it, but I had a 14 year old mare who would act up at shows her entire career, and she was shown as a yearling.

We took her to Devon Country Fair and Horse Show in Devon, PA this year. We had to drive 13 hours to get there and 10 hours to get back. Even though I walked her the day before, and she was up all night getting her braids put in, she was a terror. She didn't want to leave the barn. She was okay in the show ring for her handler. She moved around a bit, but nothing like she had done before.

Roxie at Devon Fair, May 2010

We couldn't take her to out first show of the season because we had gone down to Devon with the judge. We started feeding her B1 supplement wich is supposed to help take the edge off of them.

On Friday we had to clip her ears out. She hates being clipped. We twitched her with a lipchain and she was fairly better. The next day she got a bath, and she's wonderful to bath... at home. At The Royal and at Devon, she would not take it.

Usually we take two ponies with us, and her real problem is that we seperate her from her friend. After she came home from Devon, we kept her seperated from the other ponies. She was kept seperate up until a week when we had to move some ponies around due to injury.

We loaded her onto the trailer by herself and she was pretty good. I tried to lounge her but she just wanted to eat the grass. I tied her to the trailer and she had a small fit over not being able to eat the grass. I got her groomed up, and then we brought Candy, our other mare over to be groomed. Once they were ready, Iw ent and walked Roxie for about 20-30 minutes before our class. We went for a little trot and she wasn't as strong and as pushy as she normally is, nor did she rear up or kick out.

I took her into her first class of the day with 7 or 8 other ponies. She stood in line for the most part. She did move around a little bit, but as a 2 year old, it is still acceptable. She stood for the judge and I ran her out. She was a bit pokey but she didn't break into a canter and I could keep up with her. She won her class and she won Champion Section B youngstock. I took her into the Champion B class, but she didn't place. I took her into the Champion of Champions qualifier and she won automatically because they did not split the classes into foals, yearlings and two year olds, and the other sections did not have two and unders in any of their classes.

I took her into the showmanship class, and she now had enough of it. We were working on her since 8 and it was now almost 1 p.m. It was very hot and there was no shade at the show. I can understand why she would get frustrated. Outside of the ring she had a few melt downs. She reared twice but not out of control. She was angry for not letting her eat. In the class she was pretty good. She didn't want to stand for too long, and she didn't want to stand infront of the judge. She also bit my thumb while I was showing her to the judge which I am sure cost me points. We didn't place in a calss of 11 but it was fine.

I took Candy in the mare class and she placed second, and Reserve Section B Mare. At the break I rode her, and then I took her in a class of 6. We didn't place as she didn't pick up her left canter lead, and she wouldn't stand in line but as with Roxie, she was young, anxious and it had been a long day. This was Candy's 4th show, and her first show being ridden so I thought she did well. It wouldn't be fair to place her over the others that did pick up their leads and stood. We decided tos cratch out of the second riding class because it was already 5:20 p.m. It was a dreadfully long show.

When I got home, I was sore all over. My boots had worn into my heels, my feet hurt, my shoulders hurt, my thighs hurt, my head ached. I got sunburnt on the nose and the middle of my chest. I had four bottles of water and a chocolate bar during the course of the day. My stomach felt queasy. I checked my email and got caught up before deciding to go to bed at 9:30. I woke up at 9. It was a great 11 and half hour of sleep. We didn't take any pictures of the show, but I do think I will get some of the professional photos depending on what they look like and when they are developed.

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.

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!