Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Today we went to Fort Louisbourg which is the largest reconstructed 18th century historic sight in North America. It was rebuilt to look exactly as it would have in 1744. The site is huge, and yet it only represents 20% of what was here in 1744. The people that work at the fort are referred to as costumed interpreters and talk and act as they would have back in the day.

One of the first pictures is of Connie being challenged at the gate. Before that we were told of the value of the Fort to the French. The cod fish that were caught here in the 18th century were more valuable than the fur trading business from around the Hudson Bay and West.

The two gals that worked in the bakery were kind enough to show us their knitted socks and period shoes. We also visited their garden and got some advice.

The buildings were beautiful and the reproduction furniture was impressive. Even though all the buildings were destroyed and pilfhered over the years, there were still blueprints and old bills that covered everything that had been built.

We were also able to watch the cannon being fired. The soldiers that are marching are the ones that fired the cannon.

Everything about the fort was done in period. Even lunch was served in period. We had vegetable soup, broiled fish, and potatoes and carrots. The only utensil you were given was a spoon. I'm guessing the food was the same today as in 1744- expensive and small portions.

The church was very nice and we felt fortunate that we were the only people in the church at the time. One of the pictures is of one of the friars sitting next to a large buffet. He could very easily have been 200 years old.

Everything was done beautifully.! It was a great stop! Maybe too many pictures, but I thought they needed to be shown to get an idea of the size of the site.

Also, the photo and plaque about the "loophole" are interesting. Is that where the phrase "looking for a loophole" came from?

The photo of the picture is what the harbor looked like back in 1744.

When we first arrived, we were shown how they caught the cod back in the 18th century. They had a board that the line was wrapped around, a sinker, and a hook just above the sinker. Maybe I'm a little slow, but don't you think that is where the phase 'hook, line and sinker' came from?

I forgot to mention that it was a nasty day. It rained occassionally, the temperature was about 12 C, and the winds gusted to 60 km+. But it still was a fun, fun day!