JournalChendra’s

By Deb Loughead

illustrated by Carly J. Stein

© 2008 Scholastic Canada Ltd. V001

July 1st — Newfoundland to Nova Scotia

We’re on our way to the Maritimes ! This morning, Auntie drove Dad, Vini, and me to the ferry docks in Argentia, Newfoundland, about 100 kilometres south of St. John’s. The ferry ride takes 14 hours to get to North Sydney, on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

I’m writing this from a high-up deck on the M.V. Caribou, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. This ship is like a floating hotel ! There’s a dining

room and a games arcade and even a room for watching movies. Poor Vini feels a bit seasick because of the ship’s rolling on the waves.

Dad told us that, back in the late 1500s, there used to be pirates in these waters ! He should know. He’s a high school Geography teacher !

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July 2nd — Fort Louisbourg

We were up late last night, watching the Canada Day fireworks in North Sydney, and left the motel early this morning with the rental car. It didn’t take long to drive to Fort Louisbourg, but when we got there, it felt like we had stepped back in time  ! Actors were dressed like people from 1744, and acted out scenes from the past. We even saw someone put into the stocks  ! It looked so real that I hid behind Dad so they wouldn’t put me in the stocks. (That would be a way worse punishment than being sent to your room for “time out” !)

Life at the fort would have been hard, but when Vini saw the soldiers in their blue-and-grey uniforms, he didn’t care. He wanted to be a soldier anyway.

The hilly drive around Bras d’Or Lake felt like a roller coaster ride some of the time ! We stopped at a lookout to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. Dad spotted a pair of bald eagles over the lake, and we all had a look at them through his binoculars.

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We took a slight detour on the drive so we could stop for a while at the Wagmatcook Culture and Heritage Centre. It’s run by the Mi’kmaq First Nations community. We went to a demonstration of traditional drumming and a sweetgrass ceremony performed by an elder. The sweetgrass really does smell sweet when it’s burning ! We also saw an interesting video about the history of the Mi’kmaq.

And now we’re spending the night at a motel in a little town called Port Hawkesbury.

July 3rd — Port Hawkesbury to Halifax

Now we’re heading for Halifax on a winding route along the coast, called the Marine Drive. It’s taking forever to get there ! We’ve passed some towns with funny names like Drum Head, Ecum Secum, and Mushaboom ! Dad says he took the “scenic route.” (I think that means he got lost !)

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To help pass the time, I’m reading some scary Maritime ghost stories from a book Dad bought me on Cape Breton Island. Later, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Clam Harbour Beach. Vini and I waded in the freezing water and collected some shells, then we buried Dad in the sand !

July 4th — Hal ifax !

We started exploring the city as soon as we got up today. We went to the Halifax Citadel—a fort shaped like a star—and guards shot the cannons at noon. Vini loved it, but I plugged my ears because they’re SO loud !

I’m saving every ticket stub from every place we visit for my scrapbook.

After a city bus tour, we wandered all over the Harbourside Market. Dad said some of the buildings there are 200 years old !

For dinner, we had a Halifax specialty, a “donair”—spiced beef sliced off a vertical spit and wrapped in a pita. It tasted a lot like a shawarma, only with a yummy sweet sauce ! Boy, it was sloppy to eat, though. Vini was wearing his !

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ADMIT ONE

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July 5th — Halifax to Lunenburg

We spent another night in Halifax, then we took a winding drive along the Lighthouse Route. We were trying to read licence plates. Here’s one that we saw:

On the way to Lunenburg, we stopped at Peggy’s Cove and took pictures of the famous lighthouse there. Then we went into the gift shop, and I bought some saltwater taffy for the car ride. Vini and I climbed on the rocks and got soaked by the splashing waves.

Dad wouldn’t let us back into the car until we dried off !

July 6th — Lunenburg and Hirtle’s Beach

We’re in Lunenburg now—the home of the tall ship Bluenose, the schooner that’s on our dime ! We’re staying with our two cousins, Auntie, and Uncle at their big, old, clapboard house for a few nights !

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Our cousins took us to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic today, and we learned so much about fish and the people who catch them. There were all kinds of fish, crabs, eels, and lobsters in huge tanks. And we even got to touch a live starfish ! We learned how boats are made in the boat shop and toured a schooner that was docked by the wharf. Vini bought a tiny ship in a bottle as a souvenir. Now he wants to be a pirate !

The best part was going to Hirtle’s Beach with our cousins. We saw two seals playing in the waves so close by ! They looked like shiny dogs with tiny ears—I wished I could pat one. We saw some tiny crabs and a sea urchin in a tide pool. And I found a dried-out sand dollar that Dad said I could keep… as long as it doesn’t get stinky !

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July 8th — Kejimkujik National Park

After another beach day, we said bye to our cousins in Lunenburg and started our long car ride across the middle of Nova Scotia. We spotted a lot of cars carrying canoes, then saw the signs for Kejimkujik National Park. (I’d love to try canoeing and camping there sometime.) We passed thick forests and sparkly lakes along this route.

I’ve started a novel and Vini is reading his comic books. Dad just sings along with the radio as he drives ! (Vini keeps plugging his ears !) Soon we’ll leave our rental car behind in Digby and take a three-hour ferry boat ride across the Bay of Fundy to Saint John, New Brunswick.

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Later July 8th — Digby to Saint John

I can’t believe it ! We saw a HUGE finback whale from the deck of the ferry boat today ! The whale tail made a gigantic splash when it hit the water. Vini was taking pictures, and Dad watched the whale with his binoculars; then we all took turns having a look through them. (I’m going to try drawing a picture of the whale’s tail sticking out of the water.)

I spotted a school of porpoises, shining silver as they jumped the waves. Vini tried to scare me and told me they were sharks ! Oh sure—I know sharks don’t jump !

We’re staying at a bed & breakfast in Saint John tonight and picking up another car. (I wonder if the people who own the b & b will know if sharks can really jump like Vini said on the ferry boat !)

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July 9th — Saint John to Moncton

We visited the New Brunswick Museum in Market Square after breakfast this morning. There was a great hall with marine mammals, including an enormous right whale named Delilah hanging from the ceiling. In the lobby, there was this cool “tidal tube.” It’s connected to the harbour, so the water in the tube rises and falls with the tides !

After that, Dad drove from Saint John to Moncton. We stopped at

Hopewell Rocks, an amazing place with rocks shaped like flowerpots growing funny evergreen hair. The rock shapes were carved by the Bay of Fundy tides—the highest ones in the world ! Since the tide was out, Vini and I could go rock hunting on the beach around those gigantic flowerpot rocks.

Tonight we’re staying in Moncton at the home of Dad’s old university friend, Jean-Guy, and his wife Micheline.

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July 10th — Moncton to P.E.I.

This morning, we drove to Magnetic Hill. At the bottom of the hill, you put your car in “neutral”—then the car rolls backwards UP the hill. Dad says that it’s an optical illusion that makes it look like going uphill when it’s actually downhill, but it sure felt real to me !

Right after lunch, we headed for P.E.I. Dad kept telling silly fish jokes !

- What’s the difference between a fish and a piano? You can’t tuna fish ! GROAN !

- Where does a fish keep his money? In the river bank ! DOUBLE GROAN !

The drive to Cape Tormentine went quickly; then we crossed the Confederation Bridge to the island in just 10 minutes. We passed a funny roadside attraction—a giant potato in a town called O’Leary. (How many french fries could that potato make?) And now, we’re staying in a beach cabin in Cavendish for a few days.

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July 1 1th — Green Gables !

It’s our second sunny day on Prince Edward Island. Last night in our cozy little beach cabin, we could hear the surf crashing on the shore.

Cavendish Beach is amazing ! To get there, we walked along the boardwalks through these beautiful, red sand dunes. We found out that red foxes make their dens in the dunes ! Vini and I saw one running away.

We’ve had so much fun exploring the beach ! We even dug for clams.

Sometimes, when you dig one up, it shoots a squirt of water into the air. One sprayed me right in the face !

In the afternoon, we rented bikes and rode over to Green Gables. It’s the house that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery to write her famous story about a girl named Anne Shirley. I took photos and bought some postcards there. It’s so beautiful !

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July 12th — to Charlottetown and Home

I can’t believe our trip is almost over ! This morning, we packed up and left the cabin in Cavendish, then drove to Charlottetown. But before we leave P.E.I., we will see a play at the Charlottetown Festival. I can’t wait to see Anne of Green Gables:—The Musical ! After that, we have to return the rental car and fly back home to Newfoundland.

Once we get home, I’m going to fill up my scrapbook with all the maps, tickets, postcards, and brochures that we collected along the way.

What an amazing trip !