Halifax

Monday, August 6th, 2007
Bus tour of Halifax and Peggy’s Cove

180.7 miles
Nice day, but a long one

Today held a guided tour of Halifax, it’s Citadel and Peggy’s Cove. All day in a bus – not a pleasant thought. I don’t think these guided tours are for me. Very interesting day though! And thankfully, the folks at the RV park were happy to check on the numerous doggies in our caravan – twice a day walks!!

Our guide, Lois, was very good – not as much fun as Tammy in PEI, but very informative.

Nova Scotia is about 50% forest, like the rest of the Maritimes. Lovely palette of greens again due to the mix of trees.

Lois told us the average income in NS is about $40K, with a minimum wage of $8/hr. Poverty level is at $18,600.

One of the major exports is lobster, of course – 44,000 tons of the yummy creatures are shipped every year! Let's see - at an average of a pound and a half, which is what they generally serve, that's more than 58 million lobsters! And season is short, so the lobstermen are busy, and most have more than one job, so they have something to do the balance of the year. The 2nd export is gypsum of all things, on an island covered with trees and a sea full of yummy things to eat!

 
Summer is a great time to visit, averaging in the mid 80s in July and August!

Bedford, Dartsmouth and Halifax all sit on the Halifax Harbour – and there is a large contingent of Navy, Army and Air Force here. The port has some of the largest cranes in the world for military and shipping needs.

The Blue Nose, a racing schooner in the mid 1940s, docks here.

The Fairview Lawn Cemetery, dedicated to the Titanic victims, as some of the first rescue vessels sailed from Halifax, is a beautiful spot. It also serves as the resting place for the victims of a tragic explosion in Halifax on December 6th, 1917. The story is fascinating and can be found at http://www.halifax.ca/community/explode.html .  
The explosion caused the barrel of one ship’s cannon to land three and a half miles away; part of her anchor shank, weighing over half a ton, flew two miles in the opposite direction. Windows shattered 50 miles away, and the shock wave was even felt in Sydney, Cape Breton, 270 miles to the north-east.

We noticed lots of ice cream parlors, and Lois confirmed that Nova Scotians eat more ice cream per capita than anywhere else in Canada!

We were invited to stroll through the Public Gardens, which were varied, colorful and absolutely gorgeous! Perfect for flower lovers, as we both are! We saw St Mary’s University, 205 years old, one of five universities in the Halifax area.

We learned that one of the local farms grew the giant pumpkin of the year, 1100 kg (since there are about 2.2 lbs/ kg, that means the sucker weighed in at about 2,420 pounds! That’s a lot of pumpkin pies! But the number one produce export is blueberries, and Maggie and I did our best to eat every berry we could find! The wild blueberries are tiny, but oh so good! Tiny!!!

We made it to the Halifax Citadel, a National Historic Site of Canada, in time for the changing of the guard and the Noon Gun cannon firing! The Citadel was once the command post and landward bastion of Halifax’s defenses. Since it’s founding in 1749, Citadel Hill has served as the site of four different forts. Today there are live re-enactments offering living history by pipers, drummers and soldiers showing the pomp and ceremony of days past! http://pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/halifax/index_e.asp

We had a lovely buffet lunch at the Citadel Inn, then headed over to Peggy’s Cove, a picturesque fishing village on the south coast. The old lighthouse is still active, and you may recognize it, as it is considered one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. It also serves as the post office today. The entire area is, unfortunately, a tourist haven. It is lovely, with the huge granite boulders and breaking waves, but there are just too many people! Good ice cream there though too!

The community is named after the cove of the same name. Peggy is a nickname for Margaret, and the village may have taken its name from St. Margaret's Bay upon which it is situated. Local folklore has several alternative origins for the name. Some people claim Peggy was an early settler. Others say she was a young survivor from a shipwreck who remembered nothing of her life before her rescue; not even her name but was given the name Peggy by the family who adopted her. Last stop on the tour was Peggy’s “home”, a historic home done in period design, with the owners in costume too!

Long, long day – Penny was very happy to see us! Early to bed tonight for sure!