Travels with haRVy

We began our first full day in Nova Scotia with no plans, but it didn’t take long to fill it up with activity. Melanie informed us that a nearby town was hosting the annual Pugwash HarbourFest 2012 featuring Tall Ships (2), Theodore Tugboat (wicked cute), canoe jousting, soap box derby racing, helicopter rides, boat races, live musical entertainment and much more. We got there fairly early to buy some veggies at the Farmers Market. It’s a good thing we did because by noontime the little village was quickly filling up with cars looking for parking spaces. We walked around enjoying the festivities and consumed a delightful lunch at the local café.

While in Pugwash we also toured the Thinkers’ Lodge, a national historic site not often open to the public. From the brochure: “For more than half a century Thinkers’ Lodge has been a gathering place for serious thinkers with ambitious goals…renowned for engaging great minds of many nations in the exchange of ideas.” In 1957 a groundbreaking meeting of 20 scientists from around the world with no political was instrumental in the formation of an international movement for nuclear disarmament and world peace. We were fascinated to learn about Cyrus Eaton who established the Thinkers’ Lodge and the meetings that occurred (and continue) here. If you would like to know more about the Pugwash conferences or the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which shone a global spotlight on the deadly consequences of war in the nuclear age, visit http://www.thinkerslodge.com.

Just as we arrived back at the farm, Charlie was rushing off to help friends with a boat rigging problem. Al jumped in the truck with him and an unexpected adventure ensued. I wasn’t there so I can’t tell the entire story, but apparently they took down and re-hoisted the mast unnecessarily. Luckily there were five of them to do it. When Melanie and I arrived about an hour later, Al was standing in ankle deep mud directing the tightening of the rig. The good news is that a lively happy hour followed with lots of jovial story telling about the joys and sorrows of sailboat ownership. Our hosts, Bev and Jean, sailed many of the same areas we have aboard their Beneteau 38. Now we all own RVs!

It is extremely unlikely that any of the above described experiences would have occurred if we had not looked up our Escapee hosts and stayed here. There is really nothing like staying with convivial locals. We are grateful for all the sources now available to find such folks. And, of course, for people like Melanie and Charlie who welcome us.

Smallest Lighthouse in Nova Scotia at 1.5 feet?

Cool to warm, mostly cloudy. 32 miles