Day 4 - 227 -- Traveling through History

Yesterday (I'm officially a day behind here) involved touring in a corner of this province. A friend and I traveled about 550 km as we explored along the Northumberland Strait shoreline. The day was sunny with clear blue skies. Scenery along the way was stunning -- forests, fields, water, streams, and more. We checked out the harbour in a town I've driven past but never actually driven into. Many expensive looking boats and an historic masted ship were moored. Lunch was at an historic site in a dining car -- part of a former train station that is now a bed and breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant and gift shop.  The food was yummy and portions rather generous. We chose to have a cup of soup and split the seafood Caesar salad -- which turned out to be large enough for two -- not sure how one person could eat it all. Later we stopped to visit Thinkers' Lodge, a house that in 1957 hosted the first of the Pugwash conferences, which are still held annually at various places around the world. This meeting, the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs occurred in 1957 during the Cold War, and was attended by scientists from both sides of the Iron Curtain.The proceedings produced a statement about the need for nuclear disarmament. In 1995 the Pugwash conferences and Dr. Joseph Rotblat were jointly awarded the Noble Peace Prize. Rotblat, a physicist, had been part of the Manhattan Project, but left the work for ethical reasons. He was a signatory of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto on halting nuclear proliferation and served as the secretary-general of the Pugwash conferences for 16 years. His Nobel prize medal is on display in the Lodge. The Lodge sits on a point of land at the mouth of the Pugwash River on the Northumberland Strait. The site is imbued with a feeling of peace -- quiet, contemplative scenery of the water would be ideal for thinking and writing. The buildings and the point of land on which they stand have been named a National Historic Site for Canada.

Again, the day was calming,  filled with fun, newness and a sense of freedom. Near the end of the journey along the back roads, we encountered a tractor being driven at about 25 km/hr down the road in front of us. We had one stop left at a local market and it took a very long time to get there. We thought he'd be driving to the next field, but it was not the case. It did bring much laughter. Of the cars that chose to pass on a solid double yellow line, only one honked in what seemed to be an angry manner. Others understood that farming was key to the area and took it all in stride. We did pass him once a dotted line emerged with no oncoming traffic -- the two lane, no shoulder, windy, hilly road made passing a challenge.

Several songs came to mind today that fit with the various adventures of the day. The one shared here went through both my mind and my friend's thoughts. I've used it in the blog before due to its understanding of the agricultural lifestyle. Enjoy!

The Farmer's Song -- Murray McLauchlan