Sunday, July 31, 2016

Iona, Nova Scotia 7/29-8/2 2016


Ur beatha Am Baile (oor bay-ha am bal-uh) Welcome to the Village!  We are in Nova Scotia and we decided to visit the Highland Village located in Iona, Nova Scotia.  The Highland Village is a living museum with several authentic buildings used by the Scots from the late 1700's through the 1920's.
The costumed in period actors, the history and the incredible views made for a wonderful day.

The first Highlanders to arrive in Nova Scotia (New Scotland) arrived via ship in 1773.  Once the French and British settled who would control what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces, the British prevailed and their was a massive expulsion of the Acadians in this area. By the mid 1700's the British were inviting Scots to come to Nova Scotia, offering them land, left behind by the expelled Acadians.  We wrote some about this French expulsion in our summer of 2015 posts when we first visited this area.  

The Highlander Scots  first came to Nova Scotia in hopes of no longer being driven by the rules and financial chains imposed on them by the landowners they leased land from. In the late 1700's , however, Scotland landowners began to realize that sheep farming could be much more profitable than crop farming.   And sheep farming did not require near as many workers.  Many Scots were forced out of their homes and when they did not voluntarily leave, over 150,000 of their homes were burned by their landowners.  This historical event, for those that wish to research further, is known as the Highland Clearances.

This Living Museum is done incredibly well.  Each actor stays in character and also stays in time.  The stories they told us were filled with not only history but also personal conviction.  All characters were fluent in Gaelic and they would say many things to us in Gaelic and later follow by explaining in English.  There is a huge interest in this area of people learning Gaelic and several other visitors would chat in Gaelic and it was fun to listen to them talk.

Each building is from a different time period and so were the actors and the stories they told.  We learned about farming, raising sheep (that were not sheered, but the wool was pulled from them when they were molting), the carding of wool, the making of yarn, rugs and the weaving of their incredible fabrics as well as the 'fulling' of the fabric that often involved a town party to accomplish. 

We learned that for many years, children would be punished in the schools for speaking Gaelic. While it was still spoken in the home and in the church, the various discouraging of the Gaelic language, music and customs, has necessitated a resurgence of this beautiful culture.  It is quite impressive the success of this resurgence in this area,thanks to the  Gaelic College.http://www.gaeliccollege.edu/

For those recently joining us on our blog and still wish to know more about Nova Scotia, checkout our July 2015 blog entry.

July 2015


Northumberland Straight, Nova Scotia
Northumberland Straight, Nova Scotia
The Black House
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
Built with stacked stones, no mortar and a sod roof
1770-1830
Interior of The Black House
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
Built with stacked stones, no mortar and a sod roof
1770-1830
Got to love the view!
Bras De'Or Lake
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
Center Chimney House (1770-1850)
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
The School House (1880-1920) English only allowed
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
The School House (1880-1920) English only allowed
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
Mal Agawatch Church 1874
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
Animal Powered.  Interesting
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
How can one not love  this guy?
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
Beautiful View of the Bras D'Or Lake
Highland Village, Iona, Nova Scotia
Ship Coming Through on the Bras D'Or Lake
Note the roadway in the back, and the swivel  bridge for the railroad


North Sydney, Nova Scotia-Taking out the Trash


We are in Nova Scotia on our way to Newfoundland.  We realize this is a strange post, but we just had to share.  North Sydney, NS - where taking out your garbage is no simple chore.  Seriously, this would get all kids to offer to empty that dishwasher instead. Hope you laughed.




Thursday, July 21, 2016

Boston, MA 7/17-20/2016


The city of Boston is full of such history. As we walked the streets we could almost hear the bustle of years past.  We stayed in an RV Park located on Winter Island which enabled us to take the ferry almost directly over to Boston.  That left us on foot for the day.  But downtown Boston is a City that a car would be of little use anyway.

The ferry ride gave us a good view of the Boston skyline and also of Boston Light that is located on Little Brewster Island.  Built in 1716, Boston Light is the first lighthouse built in the United States. During the American Revolution that light house, however, was blown up in 1776.  The British had occupied the lighthouse and as they withdrew, they blew up the lighthouse.  The present reconstructed lighthouse (the first 75 foot) was completed in 1783 and this lighthouse was raised higher in 1856 to 98 feet.  This lighthouse is the second oldest, continuous operating lighthouse in the United States today.

Departing at the ferry terminal we began our day walking the Freedom Trail.  The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile brick lined route that takes one through 16 different historical sites in the city.  We began our journey on this trail  at Paul Revere's House where we also toured within his house.  This house is the oldest standing structure remaining in Boston.  The house was built around 1680 and was purchased by Paul Revere in 1770.  This is the house that Paul Revere lived in the night he made his famous midnight ride (April 18-19, 1775). 

The Old North Church is the oldest church building in the city of Boston.  The church was constructed in 1723.  Its 8 story high steeple is the location that the lanterns where hung to shine (one if by land and two if by sea).  The two lanterns were hung on that famous night for just under a minute.  Besides the historical significance of this church, we also found the interior to be quite interesting.

Inside the old church, the congregation would sit within box pews.  Box pews were common during colonial times and those that sat in these had to purchase them for their families.  More on who those families were can be found here Pew Families  We also found it interesting that the 4 cherubim figures that are prominent in the church  were essentially stolen from a French Ship in 1746.

Copp's Hill burying ground dates back to 1659.  It is a shame that the headstones are deteriorating so badly. Robert Newman (the man that hung the lamps in the Old Church that famous night) is buried here.  We found the gravestone art to be interesting, that which we could still make out through the deterioration.

We ventured on, across the Bunker Hill bridge to visit the U.S.S. Constitution, known as 'Old Ironsides'.  This ship was first launched in 1797 and earned her nickname in the war of 1812 when she held herself up against the British 'HMS Guerriere'. Today, 219 years later, she is still a commissioned US Navy ship.  We were not able to go on the ship to tour as she is in dry dock at the moment, undergoing a huge renovation. 

The Old State House was constructed in 1713.  As we stood and looked at this beautiful structure, we could not help but realize how many of the freedoms we have today originated within the walls of this building.  Our Declaration Of Independence was first read to the people from this Old State House balcony in 1776 and the building served as the center of the Massachusetts State Government until moved to the present State House in 1798.

The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770.  While the revolution would not occur for six more years, this event prompted the removal of many British troops within the city and is signified as a founding demonstration of the tensions that were growing between the new Colonists and British. As we stood at the location of this event, we found it a bit moving to realize that 6 years later the reading of the Declaration of Independence could be heard and seen from this same location.

The King's Chapel was founded in 1686.  Like the Old North Church, pews had to be purchased to attend. The King's Chapel is the oldest continuous attended American Pulpit.  The existing building was completed in 1754.  The existing building was built around the original wooden structure from 1686, before the wooden structure was removed to enable the continuous holding of services.  The Bell in the church was forged in England and hung in the church in 1772.  When this bell cracked in 1814, it was recast  by Paul Revere.  This same bell calls people to service to this day.  In the King's Chapel, in the picture below,  note the center spindle in the picture of the hand carved rails below. Following the Puritan tradition, there is one spindle that  rotates the wrong way, which is intentional to represent the imperfection in all of us.

Our day in downtown Boston was moving and informative but hiking the Freedom Trail in the over 100 degree heat, we were pretty spent by the time we returned in the evening on the Ferry.

Our second and last day in Boston we debated if we would see Salem or head out to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum.   We choose the Presidential Museum and it did not disappoint.  This museum has many original and informative videos to watch.  The museum begins at young John's life and explains how in his youth he was an under achiever and a rebel.  As a high school student struggling with Latin, he named his racing 25 foot Sloop, 'Victura', which means about to be victorious in Latin. His father was frustrated with him and believed that he would never amount to much.  

He was originally rejected for military service due to back and intestinal problems. Later as a World War II Navel officer he is credited with saving 10 of his crew members when their PT 109 was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer.  Surprisingly, things would come full circle when eventually he was honorably discharged from the Navy for those same back and intestinal challenges.

The museum does a good job of covering his life and career.  One surprise for us was the video of Jacklyn Kennedy.  Jacklyn seems to always be held in the highest esteem in this country for her poise, fashion and elegance.  We were surprised by her presentation, however, when viewing the video where she gives a tour of the White House.  Despite the fact that she was fluent in multiple languages, to us when she spoke in this video, she came across to viewers as both simple in thought and simple in sentence structure.

Included in this museum is a room dedicated to Hemingway.  At first this seemed odd to us.  Then we learned that when Hemingway died in 1961, a good portion of his estate and writings remained in Cuba.  Kennedy approved a visit by his widow, during the U.S. travel ban to Cuba, to retrieve all his belongs. In appreciation, she would eventually offer all of these writings to the Kennedy Presidential Library.

 
Boston Skyline
Boston Light on Brewster Island
Paul Revere House
Boston
Sacred Heart Church
Boston
Present Building (1833), Original (1649)
Old North Church (The White Steeple)
Boston
Old North Church
Boston
Interior
Old North Church
Boston
Interior
Old North Church
Boston
Interior

Copp's Hill Burying Ground
Boston
U.S.S. Constitution (1797)
Boston
Old State House
Boston
Site of the Boston Massacre
Boston
King's Chapel
Boston
King's Chapel
Boston
King's Chapel
Boston
King's Chapel
Boston
King's Chapel
Boston
King's Chapel
Boston
John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum
Boston
John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum
Boston
John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum
Boston
John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum
Boston
John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum
Boston
John's favorite 25 foot racing Sloop the Victura
John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum
Boston


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Hyde Park, New York 7/9/2016 Post Two


Going to the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, NY is a bit like visiting the gilded age in a time capsule, most especially because it appears that the park service is still working on ways to preserve the house.  We felt fortunate to still be ale to tour during this renovation process.  This is the second Vanderbilt house we have visited, the first being the Biltmore in Ashville, NC.   The Hyde Park Mansion was owned by Fredrick and Louise Vanderbilt.  This 54 room mansion was completed in 1899 and was one of 5 homes owned by Fredrick and Louise.

Commodore Vanderbilt had 13 children.  On his death he left 95% of his estate to William  yet Fredrick still got 2 million from the estate.  Surprisingly, Fredrick is one of the few that did not lose his inheritance (to poor choices) and was actually quite  well off when he died, unlike several of the other siblings.  In a previous blog we talked about George Vanderbilt , and the Biltmore in Ashville, NC  that he built and how on his death he was in major debt.  Se our prior post:asheville-north-carolina-9302015-1052015.html

The Hyde Park Mansion we found to be unusual.  While the home appears rectangular from the outside, it feels unusually circular when touring the interior.  This can be better understood, for those interested by looking at the floor plan of the mansion.Floor Plan of floors one and two  The third floor was the servant's floor and was not included on out tour.  

The house is built using expensive construction materials, including Russian Walnut, Santo Domingo Mahogany and Italian marble.  The mansion also included the latest in innovations, including electricity that was produce by a hydro electric plant that was built on the property, as well as flush toilets and running water in all of its 14 bathrooms.

Visitors arrived at the mansion by yacht to the estate's own river dock, or by rail to the estate's own rail station or by automobile.

When we visited we could see that renovations are on-going, and we felt fortunate to still be able to tour this beautiful and unusual house.  Our visit was a great way to finish a tour day with our daughter Suzy. 

Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY
Vanderbilt Mansion
Hyde Park, NY