Road Trip TwoGether: 10.7.13 Monday Parkers Cove to Brookfield

It was too windy to cookout this morning and we have already used up all the nuke-food. My-my-my. Looks like breakfast out this morning.

There is a causeway between Annapolis Royal and the peninsula. In the middle is a bridge with the only tidal power plant in North America. The tidal power plant came online in 1984. It has a capacity of 20 megawatts and a daily output of roughly 80-100 megawatt hours, depending on the tides. The rush of water at the changing tide is enough to turn the generators. Talk about renewable energy! Except for a short time at the tidal extremes there is always a flow.

Tidal Generating Station

"sea foam" created by the generating plant

We traveled up highway 102 about half an hour and realized there are no eateries out here, so we turned back to route 2 and found the Eggplant Café. A young lady has setup her bakery and café in one of the old brick service stations with the gable out over the island. Inside it is decorated in purple (eggplant, I’m sure) a medium blue and chartreuse for the table tops and chair rail. Believe it not it was…cute. She made a breakfast sandwich like none we ever had. A fresh made bread like a large English muffin but softer, with fried egg, bean sprouts, cheddar cheese, black olive, mushroom and just a taste of jalapeño. We might have to come back next year!

The Greewood Military Aviation Museum was our next stop. Just before we arrived Linda was reading the literature and saw that it is closed on Mondays this time of year. Bummer. Well, at least I can look at the static aircraft displays outside (in the rain). I went over to the one building to get a picture of the logo and noticed people inside. I tried the door and it was open. There is a restored Anson Mark II, which was used for maritime reconnaissance. There is also a restored RCAF Jeep and a ride-around airplane for a toddler. I asked it they had a donation box and Bob Johnson the Manager, said "No. We have a donation Bomb. Come along. We are going over to work, and we’ll open the museum for you.”

Bowing-Vertol CH 113 Labrador
Search and Rescue

Canadair CP-107 Mark II
sub-chaser

Canadair CT 133 Sliver Star
Jet Trainer

Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune
First aircraft designed specifically
For Submarine Reconnaissance

AVRO Lancaster
Carried the heaviest bombs in WWII

Inside the Restoration Center

Cut away of a Anson Mark II

High Flyer

This radio played recordings
of the WWII news reports.

Anson Mark II Reconnaissance Plane

Radio Operator Station

Anson Cock-pit

Restored Willys Military Jeep

Painting of an Argus on patrol

Linda and I spent two hours going through the exhibits. Col. Handley gave us the cook’s tour of the facility and then they gave us the run of the place. It is about the history of the aircraft and airmen and women who served at Greenwood Airbase since it opened in 1942. There is a lot of pride in their accomplishments and it shows in the excellent way the museum is arranged and presented to the public. It is top of the line.

The Argus would drop Sonobuoys
and then listen to detect submarines

In one room there is an actual fuselage section of an Argus with the crew stations

Reading information sent from
a sonobuoy

Sonobuoy graph.
An experienced reader could not only
tell if there was a sub below
but could even determine which sub it was

Sonobuoys

Col Handley and Major Johnson

You can try a flight simulator

C130 Hercules

F100

AVRO Lancaster

Next stop was tidal bore observation deck at South Maitland. It was not what we expected when we arrived. We had the wrong idea of what we would see. We missed the tidal bore and have to come back tomorrow at 1:30 PM to see the next one.

The young lady at the Observation Deck gave us directions to where we could see the tides in action. We drove to the town of Noel (pronounced Nole) and found the tidal observation walk at Burncoat Park. Here is what we saw…in less than a half hour.