Annapolis Royal, Hillsdale House

Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal is that kind of town that wreaks history. One need not be a historian to know that much has happened over the last four hundred years. The Town was first settled by Samuel de Champlain in 1605 and this started a series of back and forth ownerships by the French and British during their conflicts. Fort Anne is one of the remaining relics which still contains one of the original battlements.

Other interesting historical items are the many historic cemeteries which have many of the prominent citizens of Nova Scotia history as their guests. One thing that this writer noticed was that some of the cemeteries which featured grave sites from the 18th Century were in grave (no pun intended) disrepair. It is very sad to let this type of historical relic disintegrate as our future generations will not be able to get the "hands on" viewing of tangible history.


Better preserved were the many historic homes---many of which are serving as inns and Bed & Breakfasts. One of these was to become our home for the next two nights.


Hillsdale House

The Hillsdale House Inn was erected in 1859 and was originally owned by a Susan Forbes Foster who was among other things a very modern thinking person. One example of this is that when she married circa 1870, she insisted that her husband to be, Edwin Ryerson, sign a pre-nuptial agreement.


Hillsdale is a fine example of a Victorian Manor that has been renovated and restored to its former glory. The rooms are all done to perfection in period furniture and as much of the original material is included. In one instance, one of the rooms still being used as an office and storage room of sorts still has the original original hand painted decorative images on the plaster walls.


My room was a suite that is famous for having King George V as one of its guests. Other guests were: Lord Landsdowne, Governor General of Canada in 1880, Lord Tweedsmuir in 1937 and MacKenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada in the 1930's and 40's.


Amenities


Innkeepers Paul Stackhouse and Val Petersen could not have been more receptive to Christine, Greg and me! Two very welcome hosts were their dog, Hannah who is the most lovable pet I have encountered and their Siamese cat whose name I have forgotten but who certainly made the gang feel very welcome.


The establishment is fully licenced and provided some splendid hot breakfasts during our stay. The breakfasts included freshly baked muffins, toast, eggs and a choice of bacon or ham. Or, one could have pancakes with all the trimmings and there was always lots of coffee.

Forms Of Relaxation

Evenings were spent on the back porch drinking wine, listening to guitar playing and singer Matt, and discussing (sometimes solving) the problems of the world.

Paul and Val were the perfect hosts who treated Greg, Christine and I more like family than just guests. Val went out of her way to make sure that we were treated correctly not only at the inn but also while in Annapolis Royal. For example: I missed being charged twice for the same bill so Val contacted the place in question and had the charge credited. They gave us advice regarding things to do and when my shirt's zipper was damaged, she did the best she could to amend the problem. At other times, the group of us went down to the local sandwich shop and had sandwiches made and then took them with us to share a bottle of Nova Scotia Wine back at the Hillsdale House. On another occasion, we went to a restaurant called the Garrison House where we ate some fine food such as my Scallop dinner with the trimmings. This was the only time that I deviated from my wine and food matching. Greg and Christine ordered a glass of Garrison Ale with their meals---Greg needed this more than any of us since his "Shrimp Jambalaya" was indeed quite hot! I took the cue and had some of this refreshing ale.
However wine was not out of the equation entirely, a family from Tennessee were interested in Nova Scotia wine and asked us which wines would be best to be taken back to the Queen Anne (across the street from the Hillsdale House) for a tasting. Christine was quick to make several excellent suggestions and Nova Scotia Wine was taken and our mission to indoctrinate the world about the Wines Of Nova Scotia was redeemed!!!
As most who know me now realize, I am a coffee addict and always need my coffee. This evening was no different. After my beer came----several coffees!!!
We were sad to leave Hillsdale House, its owners and of course dear Hannah but we had to move on. So the next morning we were on our way once again.
Next: Oneil's at Digby's Wharf, Bear River, Petite Riviere.