Day 53- The Bluenose 11 and Jim and Adrienne

Day 53 Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Distance 29.53 km. Time 1 hr. 38 min. Total so far 3735.65 km. I decided this morning that I still wanted to visit the Lunenburg Fisheries Museum so off I went on foot to be there right at 9 :30 am. When I got there the fire bells were ringing and it was a fire drill so everyone was lining up outside. Finally, we were all allowed back in. It is an interesting place and I scolded myself for not bringing my extra camera battery because my red light kept going on. I kept taking photos anyway and I think they all turned out. I saw the different kinds of fish in aquariums, boat building tools and equipment and a dorry being made, whale items, fishing and boating life, trophies that the Bluenose had won, art work and we could also go on the dock to see several boats. The highlight of my morning was when the young man said I could go on the Bluenose 11 which is really closed to the public now as she will soon be completely overhauled. On the way to the campground, I bought a bottle of blueberry brandy at the distillery for our hosts down the road. It only took us a little over an hour as we passed through many small places and pretty Malone Bay which has a beautiful yellow church. We counted down the house numbers to reach Chester Bay and the home of Jim and Adrienne. They are the parents of Bridget, the babysitter for Melissa's twins. We got a warm welcome, visited for a while, did some laundry and had showers and went for a tour of Chester Basin, Chester and Marvin's Island. Over a steak, baked potato, green beans and stir fry supper, we acquainted ourselves. I could write a book about them. Jim only works half a year for a year's pay. He was in the American military for 9 years and fought in Vietnam and later joined the Canadian Coast Guard where he has been for 33 years and works 28 days on and then gets 28 days off. He is a logistics officer and does the ordering for everything on the ship. He has been everywhere from the Panama Canal to the North Pole. Up north, the coast guard is sending down ultrasound waves to the shelf to see how much land belongs to Canada. He has seen many of the memorials to the original arctic explorers and their ships. He has been through many hazards such as fierce storms and fires on board the ship. Fires can start easily since the power they start with is 660 watts and produces many dangerous arcs. In years past, they would have about 90 on staff on the Louis S. St. Laurent and now it is down to the 40s with only a couple of women as they always seem to leave to raise children. Both Jim and Adrienne's fathers were in the navy so it is a way of life they understand. Adrienne , according to Jim is a self sufficient wife who handles all the situations well while he is gone. In her past, she was also a steward on the coast guard ship and after their marriage, she also went on a few of Jim's trips. She is a seamstress and loves to make baby quilts and clothes, dog coats, lampshade covers, men's shirts, ladies jackets and pretty well anything. She sells some at various stores around the area. She is also an avid reader and has many books. She has the company of Opposite, the cat, and Dube, the dog. They have one daughter, Bridget and a grandson, Seamus who they would like to see more of. Their house is for sale and when it sells they would like to move to the Belleville, Ontario area to be closer to them. Later, I talked to my daughter, Melissa on the phone and we made it to bed at 11 pm.