Close to seven hours in the car can be described as long periods of silence interrupted by random conversation. As more and more miles pass the conversations can get a little nuttier. Does anyone out there remember all the words to the theme song for Petticoat Junction? Beverly Hillbillies, easy! Gilligan's Island, simple! Green Acres, piece of cake! I just couldn't pull out the sheet music for all of Petticoat Junction. It was a long drive but we made it safely in spite of ourselves. One other thing, I may be getting old but the live version of Free Bird (recently added to my playlist) is still pretty dang good!
We are now in the port town of Lunenburg (pop. 2,500). After getting here and settled into the hotel we did a little walk around to get our bearings. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it's architecture and being the best example of a planned British colonial settlement in Canada. The 200+ year old colorful homes along the waterfront have been well maintained. The "old town" section is very hilly. We decided it is kind of mix of Polperro in the UK, Monterey, Calif and a little bit of San Francisco thrown in for good measure. It's going to be a fun couple of days here if the weather holds out for us.
As we were checking into our hotel we started talking to two ladies who were checking in at the same time. The clerk reached behind the counter and pulled out two pictures for one of the ladies to sign. Beth, never being one to miss an opportunity asked "what famous person are you"? She and her traveling partner were quite amused and shared with us that she was Canada's first female astronaut! Her name is Roberta Bondar and she flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-42 from January 22-30, 1992. In addition to being an astronaut, she is also a physician (Neurologist), a world class photographer and has been recognized as one of Canada's ten most influential women. She was in town with an exhibition of some of her photographs that she has done in celebration of Canada's 150th Birthday.
The exhibition was open to the public and she invited us to attend. Not being ones to turn down a personal invitation from a real life astronaut we joined about 150 others at the exhibition. Her photographs were amazing. It was very interesting to hear her describe how she took them and what they meant to her. We were very fortunate in our timing and Beth's curiosity! It was a brush with Canadian Greatness that we'll remember for a long time!
http://www.robertabondar.com/astronaut.php
http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/biobondar.asp
http://www.therobertabondarfoundation.org/roberta-bondar-photography/
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| Now we know what famous person you are! |
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| Dr. Bondar sharing stories about space and her photographs |
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| Near the waterfront in "Old Town Lunenburg" |
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| More examples of the architecture of Lunenburg |
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| She didn't realize the bell would actually ring............until just before the picture was taken |
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| One of several "Tall Ships" in the harbor. |
