Fortress of Louisburg National Historical Site

Disembarking from our ferry at North Sydney, we then headed east to Louisburg, so we could visit the Fortress of Louisburg. The fortress is an 18^th century (large) French fortress, built back when the French and British were fighting for possession of eastern Canada. These two countries battled incessantly back and forth, and the fort changed hands twice before the French finally lost for good and the fortress was destroyed. The Fortress is an important part of Canadian history (or technically, pre-Canadian), and has been partially restored. It is now a National Historic Site, complete with costumed actors portraying both English and French soldiers and townsfolk, activities (both free and paid) for the kids, dancing, theatre, food, and interpretive information.  

We've been to quite a few Historic Sites, but this one is larger and definitely more entertaining than the rest. The employees here take their work both very seriously (stay in character) and also light heartedly, bringing a humour to the place that I haven’t encountered anywhere else.

Lily joined in the children’s dance.

We tried our hand at the geocaching, but just ended up turning in circles (is this a bad sign?).  That was okay, as it also allowed us to see more of the site that we might otherwise have.

Lily also signed up for the “Playing Hooky” kids tour, and learned about being a soldier (and muskets), gardening (and edible plants), got to feed the sheep, learned how to process cod (This was hilarious – there were stuffed cod (think soft plush toy) that came apart (head, spine, guts, and liver) and the kids practiced the steps in a production line (Why, oh why didn't I get a picture of this! Oh, right. I was too busy laughing.)) and heard some silly town gossip (did you hear the one about the lady who fell in the well? She got clean! The horror!).

Lily also played dress up. She made a cute little scullery maid! (are you noticing that this really seemed to be Lily’s day?)

We all watched a public disciplining (My bloodthirsty miss was yanking me down the hill to watch this!). The maid stole socks from her employer and was sentenced to stay in the neck iron for two hours and then be banished from the town. She explained that she only took them to give to the people who had no socks and would surely freeze come winter! (it was a hot day, and most of the tourists were wearing shorts and sandals). In light of this the mob (us) decided banishment was too harsh (although there was a portion that voted for hanging!) and she was then told she would have to work in the children’s theatre reading fairy tales. She begged for banishment, instead.

So off to the theatre she went, a crowd following behind. She and two others – a British captain, and a French merchant acted out two stories. The first was a Mi’kmaq legend, and the second, a unique telling of Little Red Riding Hood. They were hilarious!! I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in ages. The fellow playing the British officer took the part of Little Red, and he was so over the top I’m not sure how he managed it with a straight face (He named the wolf Cutie Frank, on the suggestions of the children in the audience, and then proclaimed him “The cutest doggie ever!”). It wasn't just his acting of the stories, but his acting of his British character that made him so fun to watch. (All the kids had so much fun trying to explain modern things, like the light bulbs in the ceiling, and he pretended to be baffled.)

View of the town from the walls

We didn't spend as much time around the Fortresses defensive walls, as we've seen A Lot of battlements lately and didn't really feel any need to examine more in detail. (On the flip side, my children now are extremely familiar with things like mortars, cannons, bastion designs, and many other 18^th and 19^th century military structures.) These are worthy of exploration though, if you are visiting the Fortress.

It was a great visit and everyone enjoyed themselves here. We easily spent the whole day, and then headed to our next destination, Baddeck. (There is ample RV parking near the Visitor Center, so we brought the trailer along, and then traveled on after we were finished sightseeing. This is a pattern that has worked well for us.)

Baddeck is home to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Alec (and family) built themselves a house (mansion more like!) on the shores of Bras d’Or Lakes, and Alec did much of his experimentation here. This lake is where the Silver Dart made history, becoming the first airplane to fly in Canada. The museum has timelines of his life and information about his experiments, and family life. We learned about the telephone (which most everyone should know Alec invented), hydrofoils, his experiments with kites (and tetrahedrons) and flight, and teaching the deaf to speak (which he described as his life’s work). It was quite interesting to get a more complete picture of the life of a man who is so much more than the inventions I know him best for.