A Life, Lived

Happy Thanksgiving

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Travel Tuesdays - Teacup Rock

A bit of a sad travel Tuesday post.

When we were on PEI last month we wanted to see a rock formation known as teacup rock. It was located at the north end of Thunder Cove beach. It was a challenge to get to it (Paul slipped on a slimy rock and went for an unplanned swim in the ocean. Nonetheless, we manged to find it.

Stunning.

Unfortunately hurricane Fiona did a number on teh rock and this is all that is left.

Travel Tuesday - Eglise Notre Dame du Mont Carmel

The large imposing Roman Catholic church of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel is a late Victorian Gothic brick structure situated by the sea in Mont Carmel, PEI. It is built in the classic "T" formation with two bell towers at the corners of the front of the building.

As the third Roman Catholic church constructed on this site since 1812, Notre Dame du Mont Carmel is significant as the spiritual home of many Acadian families in the Mont Carmel area of PEI.

It was built in 1898 from funds raised by the parishoners and the work was completed by many local artisans, including Anglophones who were not members of the parish. All of the estimated 450,000 bricks were made nearby at Frederick Strong's brickyard in Lower Bedeque.

The architect for the design was Rene P. Lemay, the son of Pamphile Lemay, who had translated Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's influential 1847 poem, "Evangeline", in 1865. The centennary of the building was celebrated in 1998.

West Point Lighthouse

The West Point Lighthouse is a 67' tall square tapered tower with distinctive black and white bands, or day marks, located on the south west tip of Prince Edward Island in the community of West Point overlooking the Northumberland Strait.

The West Point Lighthouse is valued for its age, construction method and for its associations with the marine history of the area, its importance to its community and its role as a tourist destination.

Construction of the West Point Lighthouse began in 1875 by contractors Mugridge and Company of Shediac, New Brunswick very likely to federal Department of Marine plans. This was the first lighthouse built in Prince Edward Island by the federal government following Confederation in 1873 and is therefore associated with the transfer of responsibility of navigational aids from colonial government to the federal Department of Marine. The lighthouse became operational in May 1876 with William "Lighthouse Willie" MacDonald as first keeper. MacDonald held the post until 1925 when he was succeeded by the only other person to serve as lighthouse keeper, Bennie MacIsaac, until the light's automation in 1963. West Point Lighthouse is the tallest square tapered tower on PEI and stands 67' 8" tall. The square tapered design is a departure from earlier lighthouses which were largely octagonal in design. Originally painted white with red bands, the red was changed to black in 1915 for greater visibility.

Travel Tuesdays - the Bottle Houses

Over 25 000 recycled bottles ingeniously cemented together to create the Bottle Houses, a must-see tourist attraction situated in Cap-Egmont, Prince Edward Island, Canada. They were built by Édouard T. Arsenault. He gave birth to these houses after having received a postcard of a glass castle from his daughter in 1979, an attraction she had visited on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

That same summer, he started collecting bottles from his community, mostly from a local restaurant, community dance halls, friends, relatives and neighbours.

He spent the winter in the basement of his home, cleaning bottles, removing labels and dreaming of his project. In the spring of 1980, at the age of 66, he began his construction, a mere hobby yet.

As his six-gabled structure was taking form, visitors started coming in. Impressed by his work, they encouraged him to continue and to advertise it as a tourist attraction. And so, in 1981, the first Bottle House was open to the public.

From 1980 to the spring of 1984, he cleverly cemented over 25,000 bottles of various shapes, sizes and colours, into three fantasy-like buildings.

The site offers a multitude of angles for the photographer to capture the wonder of what an individual built out of recycled bottles. It is also truly an inspirational spot for anyone who cares for the environment.

Welcome to PEI

We recently spent a week on PEI. Because of the car rental shortage we flew to Moncton, New Brunswick (where we could obtain a rental car) and made the two hour drive to PEI. After we had crossed the Confederation bridge we pulled over in Bordern-Carleton to take some pictures.

On the Road . . .

We are out of town for a week and a bit enjoying Canada's only island province. There will be plenty of PEI pics over the coming months.

Travel Tuesdays - LaSalle Park

One of the things that COVID has forced upon me is related to travel. Paul and I haven't done much international (heck or national) travel at all. Instead we have been exploring our own area more. Recently I did some exploring along the Burlington waterfront in Hamilton harbour. This used to be one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. over the past 40 years significant efforts have been made to clean up the waters and provide an environment to reintroduce natural species.

This pics show the success of these efforts.

Travel Tuesdays - Dotty Lake

A year ago we enjoyed a week at a cottage we rented on Dotty Lake in Muskoka. We spent most of our time hanging out by the lake . . . . any wonder why?