Day 6 - Leaving Tatamagouche, NS and heading to Halifax, NS - July 18th

above photo credit: Jane Kennedy

This day had mixed emotions for me. It was sad to say goodbye to all the new family that I finally got to get to meet and know better, and I knew our drive to Halifax would take us through the town where my mother-in-law was born and raised, Bible Hill near Truro, Nova Scotia.


For those of you who don't know, my mother-in-law Ruth, was my best friend since I moved to Canada 11 years ago. She was a remarkable woman, so sophistocated, yet so down to earth. Driving toward Truro from Tatamagouche, it reminded me so much of the back roads of the Pennsylvania Mountains where I lived for 22 years. I wondered if she saw the similarity when we took her to Pennsylvania. Two country girls at heart that still enjoyed city life.
The photo below is of Ruth on my Birthday outside of the Royal Alexandra Theater, Toronto. We would always go someplace special on our birthdays for lunch and it always consisted of Nova Scotia seafood.

As we approached Bible Hill, I said to my husband, there is Pictou Street where your Mum was raised. I am so glad that he immediately turned around, as I too wanted to feel the closeness. First thing he spotted was his Uncle Petes Subway Bottle Exchange. He didn't even have the recollection that it was on the same street where his Mom was raised, but he remembered being there as a child and visiting Uncle Petes wrecking yard out back.

The house next door was #24, but we were under the impression that her house was #13. I will have to verify this later.

If her house was #13, then they paved paradise and put up a parking lot:-(

This was a cute little McDonalds Express drive through (below photo) in a gas station in Truro, NS.

Well all the tears aside now, I had the city life to look forward to again, and some real pampering on my vacation. Halifax, yea! Room Service, housekeeping service, valet service, seafood, and just being a plain old pain in the ass tourist. hehehehe

The above was the view from our window at the Radisson Suites Halifax, just two blocks from the waterfront. Perfect Location

The two room suite was just fantastic!

The room was so clean! From valet service to front desk, everyone was so friendly.



The first thing we did was check out the waterfont and get a feel for the town.

Above, a view of Georges Island, Halifax Harbour.


The HMCS Sackville, the last of the Corvette class of Naval Ships. This was very interesting to John, as a Corvette was what his father was stationed on during the war years. HMCS is short for Her Majesty's Canadian Ship.





The HMCS Sackville (above photo)

Theodore Tugboat below is a popular attraction based on a Canadian childrens show.

The next thing that happend to me was really incredible. We were almost off the pier when I turned around for one last look toward the harbor and I spotted two boats approaching. I immediately said to my husband "Look, I think those are two Nordhavns coming in" To me that was special because I'm editorial assistant for Circumnavigator Magazine which is all about Nordhavn Yachts. I know these boats inside and out but have only been on one, which was Island Magic which came through our home area on the Trent Severn Waterway.

If you ever want to cross an ocean, these are the boats to do it!

Summer Skis, the boat on the left is a 43' and Beso is a 40'

If you want to read all the issues of Circumnavigator magazine, Click Here. There are four issues so far, with the fifth in the works.

Day 7 - Touring Halifax, Nova Scotia - July 19, 2010

Our day started off with a short walk to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and a tour of the Titanic Exhibit. We wondered what Halifax had to do with the Titanic and realized they were the closest Harbor for the rescue mission and that many of the people who perished on the Titanic are burried in Halifax.

Tour guide pictured above with a replica of a deck chair from the Titanic.

An actual chair that was on the Titanic. They had to put the chair in a glass enclosure as tourists were damaging it trying to scrape off pieces of it for souvenirs.



Part of the Museum exhibit included admission to the Acadia, just docked outside in the harbour. (photo below)

We received a special admission price to the HMCS Sackville, shown in the photos below.

My husband noticed conditions aboard the Corvette class that his father served on were not the most comfortable.


A tour boat shown below in Halifax Harbour.

Now it was time to walk the streets and look for a nice lunch spot. Below is the original Bank of Nova Scotia. Or Scotia Bank as we know it now.

I feel like I'm on the Streets of San Francisco. Halifax is hilly. We zig zagged the blocks so we wouldn't be walking straight up.

Tavern, after pub, after restaurant, we could not find one we both agreed upon. Most likely a good excuse to make it to the top of the hill on this very hot day:-) The Wooden Monkey was not open. Their website says they are open M-F at 11:30 but on their facebook page, it looks like they are closed on Mondays. I wish people would update their websites!

It was interesting watching either a politician or a news reporter doing a story. He even stopped to chat with us for a few minutes about the vacant properties in the city.

Finally, I secretly wanted to see this place. The building in the middle (below photo) was formerly Bubbles Mansion, a bar partly owned by non other than Michael Smith the actor who portrayed Bubbles in the showcase TV series, Trailer Park Boys. Unfortunately it closed a few months earlier. So we opted for the place next door which was the Halifax Ale House.

I knew this was the perfect place for our lunch and a well deserved COLD ONE after making it to the top of the hill, because of what I saw written on the chalk board when entering the establishment. It was one of Johns Mom's favorite lines. "I WOULD RATHER HAVE A BOTTLE IN FRONT OF ME, THAN A FRONTAL LABOTOMY" hehehehe It was truly another Nova Scotia omen:-) I should have taken a photo of it. The photo below is the beautiful stained glass windows in the pub. The pub had two floors and a really cool keg room where you could see the many barrels of beer they had on tap. Again, I should have taken another photo. DUH!!!

Finally we reached the Citadel. It was just across from the Ale House, but by this time we were too hot, too tired and didn't really care to walk up that huge hill just to see a fort. I've been to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland on a girl scout trip. I think to appreciate the Citadel, an aerial view would be best!

We had a little more walking to do. Thanks to our waitress in the Halifax Ale House, we received good directions to the nearest NSLC. This NSLC was located on Clyde Street and enabled us to see more of the city, closer to the University and a nice stroll down Spring Garden Road. Then it was back to the Radisson for the evening. Since we had a late lunch we decided to order a few snacks from Great Wall Restaurant just across the street, as we heard they had the best Chinese food in the area. We had some BBQ pork fried rice, eggrolls, springrolls and honey ribs. I only wish we would have went there on Sunday for the Dim Sum. They are voted for having the best Dim Sum and Chinese food in Halifax area for the past eight years and running. It was truly the best we ever had!