Central RV in Bedford had told us they could repair our failed refrigerator that had not worked in two weeks. When we arrived a technician looked at the refrigerator, made two phone calls and announced he could not fix it. (We finally got the refrigerator repaired in Elkhart, Indiana 33 days after it failed. Story under September travels.) Central RV told us we could boondock in their parking lot and since Labor Day weekend was approaching we decided to stay there six nights. We used their lot as a base to tour Halifax and the beautiful fishing villages of Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and Peggy's Cove.

Our first stop in Halifax was the Citadel, a most interesting fort that took half a day to tour. Since 1749 Citadel Hill has served as the site of four different forts. The Citadel of today took 28 years to complete and was finished in 1856. It was intended to deter an overland assault on the city in the event of war with the United States. After serving two World Wars the fort was declared a National Historic Site signaling the end of its career.

Every day at noon (except Christmas) a cannon is fired, a local tradition for the last 144 years. We arrived early and stood as close to the cannon as we were allowed. From the top of the fort we could see all of downtown Halifax and the harbour. Then we took a one hour guided tour of the barracks, guard room, school, gunpowder magazine, jail and the dark innards of the fort. A drum and fife corp entertained us in the courtyard. Exhibits explain the story of the Halifax Defense Complex, detailed models of forts built on Citadel Hill, the years of toil in building the Citadel and Canada's role in World War II. We learned two most interesting things. Officers were allowed to marry and their wives and children lived with them in the barracks and slept on the floor. But each small barracks room also housed up to twenty single soldiers. At night the door was locked so no one could leave and one chamber pot served the entire room. When the door was unlocked at morning a low ranking soldier would empty the chamber pot and fill it with fresh water which everyone in the barracks used to bathe. The other interesting thing was studying the American Revolutionary War from the British viewpoint.

On a beautiful sunny afternoon we walked along the crowded Halifax Harbour and looked at several tall ships. We boarded and toured The Blue Nose II, owned by Nova Scotia, and another old ship and watched sail, fishing and tour boats navigate the harbour. We ate seafood at McKelvies Restaurant and finished the night with cappuccino, coffee and tea in an outdoor cafe.

Lunenburg is a beautiful and interesting fishing village inset from the Atlantic Ocean. We have visited many museums in our travels and the Fisheries Museum in Lunenburg is one of the best. It explains the fishing and whaling industry in the Maritimes, boat making, has aquariums with local fish, hands-on exhibits and some old fishing boats in the harbour to tour. Plan on at least two hours in the museum. The harbour and town's buildings are a delight for photographers and we took many pictures. High on the edge of town we found an information center and campground. After looking at the town and campground we decided we need to return and stay one month in campground site # 13.

Just down the road Mahone Bay is noted for the scenic view of Three Churches. After checking out the downtown shopping area we decided to eat at Saltspray Cafe & Coffee House, a wise decision. We had delicious seafood on the patio overlooking the bay and Three Churches.

Peggy's Cove has to be the most scenic fishing village in the Maritimes. The lighthouse is the most photographed lighthouse in Canada and is the only lighthouse to house a post office in the summer. We ate lunch (not very good) in the lighthouse gift shop and restaurant and then walked around town and made dozens of pictures. No matter where one stands in Peggy's Cove the view is perfect for pictures.On the west side of town we visited the Swissair Flight 111 Memorial. On September 2, 1998, the flight crashed in the Atlantic Ocean just off the shore of Peggy's Cove killing all 299 men, women and children aboard. Parts of the plane, baggage and body parts washed ashore near the town and a simple memorial was placed nearest to the spot of the crash. We were there on September 1, one day before the fifth anniversary of the tragedy and families of those killed had already arrived for a memorial service.

The southern coast and small towns along the Atlantic coast are so beautiful we have decided we must return some year and spend at least a month there. We want to take in the beauty, visit the towns and get to know the people. But there are so many other places we want to visit we might not return to Nova Scotia for a few years.

On the drive from Bedford, Nova Scotia to Saint John, New Brunswick we picked up a nasty chip in the driver's windshield of the Dutch Star. After getting settled in the campground Norm called Advantage Auto Glass & Trim to see if they could repair the chip before it spread across the windshield. Within two hours the owner arrived and verified it was a nasty chip, but he thought he could save the windshield. He cleaned out the chip and applied epoxy forcing it into the spiderweb cracks. After working 40 minutes he asked if we though $20 was too much. That included driving his van to the campground, using his tools and material and working 40 minutes. Twenty dollars Canadian worked out to $14.50 U.S. money. Back in the States the charge would have been over $100.

In Saint John we stayed at Rockwood Park Campgrounds, a most beautiful and unique park on 2,200 acres within the city. The park has fishing ponds with swimming areas, nature and hiking trails, a children's play park, an 18 hole golf course, an interpretive center and a zoo. The camping area has partial and full hookup sites, a laundry and a modem hookup with local ISP numbers. A tour bus stops twice a day in the campground and we took a narrated tour of the city stopping at Reversing Falls, Martello Tower and the City Market. After getting the layout and history of the city we returned in the Honda and visited many sites. Irving Oil Company is headquartered in Saint John and about 70% of the working force works directly for the company. Everywhere we went we saw Irving signs - at the Oil Company Headquarters, office buildings, the Pulp Mill, Oil Refineries, Parks, Streets, etc. It appears Irving practically owns the city.

Reversing Falls is a unique phenomenon caused by the tremendous tide in the Bay of Fundy - the highest tides in the world. At low tide the St. John River empties into the bay through a narrow rocky gorge and at high tide the flow reverses and fills the river. There is a rest period of 20 minutes between tides called slack tide which allows boats to navigate the river. Each day more water moves through Reversing Falls than all of the other rivers in Canada combined.

We toured Carleton Martello Tower, a circular stone fortification that has ties with both the War of 1812 and World War II. There is a spectacular view of Saint John from the tower. The old Court House downtown has 39 interlocking spiral stairs with no supports. When the stairs were complete the Judge's wife was afraid they would collapse from the weight of people walking on them so the Judge brought in 39 prisoners, placed one on each step and ordered them to jump up and down for several hours. The spiral stairs held firm and still stands today. The City Market in downtown Saint John is the oldest continuing farmers' market in Canada operating since 1876. It is all under one roof (a roof crafted to resemble the hull of a ship) and has restaurants, bakeries, fresh seafood and vegetables, pottery, jewelry and souvenirs.

Our final stop before leaving the Maritimes was the beautiful fishing village of St. Andrews on the Bay of Fundy. The town was settled by British Loyalists after the American Revolution in 1783. Some of the settlers had dismantled their homes in Castine, Maine and brought them to the new settlement by barge and reassembled them. Our campsites (Oceanfront Camping, run by Kiwanis Club) were facing the Bay where high tides slapped against rocks stacked by the road and low tides allowed people to walk a quarter mile to sea and collect clams. The campground was within walking distance to town for shopping and eating. At the campground we met André Paquette (also known as Jeff) from Montréal traveling in his 1965 Pontiac Convertible Camper. He converted the car into a unique camper that has a beautiful paint job.

In nearby St. George a paper and pulp mill was built in 1902 on the Magaguadavic River and in 1977 it was converted into an electric generating plant. We viewed the falls, gorge and river from below and above the falls. Our last three days in Canada we took advantage of fresh mussels and Norm, Linda and Rich devoured 15 1/2 pounds in three days. Diane was not a mussel eater so she ate shrimp. Life can't be better - camping on beautiful water, eating fresh seafood on a picnic table, drinking wine and being with friends. On our final night we collected all our Canadian money and went to a grocery store where we attempted to spend every penny, but back in the States we discovered we still had a roll of Canadian quarters so we'll have to return some time to spend that change. There is one more picture that must be included. Almost every night in the Maritimes Linda and Diane played intense games of Boggle, even when traveling on ferries, driving in the car and in the cottage we rented in Labrador. After the trip ended and we split ways they both had Boggle withdrawl.

From St. Andrews it was a 21 mile drive to the U.S. border and crossing back into the States. The border agents confiscated the Emonds beef and our fresh fruit so we figured they ate good that night. This completes Canada Maritimes - Part 6, but be sure to read the wrap-up article on the Maritimes.