This past summer, my oldest daughter took part in what is
becoming a family tradition: she spent a week as a Time Traveler.
No, not that kind of time travel. This is a camp run through
Upper Canada Village, a recreated historic village located on the banks of the
St. Lawrence River in eastern Ontario. My family has made many a visit to the
Village over the years. All three of my sons were Time Travelers, and now my
daughters are following in their footsteps.
The camp is amazing. Very few kids in our
neighborhood have had the chance to work with a tinsmith or slop pigs or help
on a tow scow, but Time Travelers do that and more. They dress in period
clothes, attend the village schoolhouse, work on farms or with the village
shopkeepers, and learn the history of the area. They sing Temperance songs and
eat vegetables from the gardens they've weeded and pose for photos taken by the
folks touring the site.
The Village itself is a treat to visit, a place to step back
in time and catch a glimpse of life in a bygone era. It was born out of a
combination of progress and sorrow – many of the buildings were from areas
flooded in the creation of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Today, it's a bustling
tourist destination, a vibrant and exciting place to visit.
And in my November Superromance, NOW YOU SEE ME, I burned it to
the ground.
Oh, not in the pages of the book, and not by name. My
imaginary fire that destroyed the Old Village, as I called it, took place 25
years ago. Not surprisingly, the loss of the main tourist attraction dealt a
serious blow to my make-believe community of Comeback Cove. And J.T. Delaney,
the local bad boy who was spotted running from the fire, became seriously persona
non grata in his hometown.
But as is so often the case, there's a lot more to this
story than many folks in town would want to be know. They've sat on the truth
for a quarter of a century. But when J.T. comes back and starts to show an
interest in Lyddie Brewster, widow of the town's sainted hero, a lot of folks
aren't very happy to think that the past might be catching up to them …
Now tell me, readers - if you were able to travel through time, where and when would you choose to go?
18 comments:
So long as I knew I was safe, I'd love to ride with Genghis Khan or visit the court of Elizabeth I or sail with Vikings.... - I am out of chronological order, but it would be fun to jump around at will.
Oh, Mary, I like that idea of jumping around! Especially if you could visit events that were connected to see how they unfolded, sigh ....
But I hear you on needing to be safe!
I would travel back to Jane Austen's time and I would want to hang with Elizabeth Bennett once she was married living in Pemberly!
You village sounds like a wonderful experience for your children!
Dyan, excellent choice. Weren't there a few novels a couple of years ago about folks traveling to Austen's world?
And yes, the village experience has been fabulous for my kids. They always list that as one of their favorite camps. Number 2 is usually space camp. Talk about both ends of the spectrum!
I couldn't think of just one place to visit!
We have a few places like that in Australia, but not as many as in the past. We visited 'Old Sydney Town' a few decades ago, which was a reconstructed colonial town. They let you 'drive' the horses and carts around the town. :)
Oh Sonya, you got to drive the animals? How COOL!!!
I love to go to England in the 1700 to early 1800's, I love the Historical romances on them. Also would like to go to the 1800's on the old wagon train trails.
Penney
Haha, Kris. I've thought of that a lot. I'm a nurse and the dirt in the past would torture me. Can I go forward to the "bread basket" of the USA, in 250 years?
Penney, ooh, the wagon trains sound like SUCH an adventure!
Mary, LOL, we will send you wherever your little heart desires!
I agree with Mary--jumping around would be great! For a start...hmmm...I would love to see ancient Greece in its heyday. Hang with Aristotle, meet Alexander the Great.
Cathryn, ooh, to walk the Acropolis when it was in full glory - wow!
I think I'll stick to the present. I'm not too fond of outhouses or chamber pots. I am very fond of my indoor heating although a big roaring fire in a fireplace is quite wonderful if you are sitting close enough.
I do enjoy visiting historical sites though and I love to see how things were in the olden days.
Kaelee, yes, modern plumbing and heating DO have an attraction, don't they?
That's a good question, Kris. I'm not sure I know the answer to it. If it were just visiting--maybe the 1920s, because I'd be so curious to see how wild the 1920s were. I wonder if I could go to a Gatsby party?
I choose the future because everything just keeps getting better and better.
Jennifer, I say of COURSE you can do a Gatsby party!
Linda, it would be kind of fun to spy what's coming up, wouldn't it?
I think I would like to go to a time that was pre-western contact in Hawai'i.
I went to Sturbridge (sp?) Village in MA back in 1984. It sounds similar to your village. It was pretty cool. Wouldn't have wanted to live there though. I live in shorts, t-shirts and slippers all year round. It's my uniform for work, play, whatever :)
Snookie, yes, Sturbridge is very much like Upper Canada Village. Also a really fun place to visit. And wow, what a great place you chose to visit! It would be fascinating to see how Hawai'i has changed.
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