As you read this portion of Nova Scotia, we are in fact we have almost returned home.
We will eventually complete our blog.
On Aug 29th we left Newfoundland by ferry from Argentia to North Sydney NS -a 17 hour ride and the boat was only about a 1/3 full. I mentioned this to one of the other passengers and he said it was because this was the first sailing after the previous captain had run it onto the rocks 3 weeks ago. Many of the Island locals were going to see if the ferry made it back to the Island before taking it. That made a lot of sense to Keith. Unfortunately we were now under way and too late to change our mind.
It’s August 29th, our ten year anniversary of our 1st date, we celebrated it in the ferry’s theatre by watching 2 movies. When the movies ended we spent the night with Sharen sleeping upright in a chair and me curled up on the floor. You can’t say I don’t know how to show a girl a good time!
We arrived in Sydney at 10am and the plan was to drive the Cabot Trail. However, the weather was cloudy & raining so we stayed in Sydney overnight. The next day was nice and sunny. We drove to Cape Smokey where we stopped and did a few hikes and had lunch. The drive around Cape Breton was gorgeous. We thought the West Coast had far prettier scenery than the East Coast but both were lovely.
We stopped for a hike at Freshwater Lake. The scenery is gorgeous and Sharen took a short walk into the very cold water of the Atlantic Ocean!! Enjoyed a picnic while watching people have fun jumping the ocean waves as they came crashing in against the shore.
As we continued along Cabot Trail, we were in awe of the scenery on many occasions.
Pleasant Bay is just spectacular! This view has been the project of many a painter. Incredible!
We drove on down the West Coast to Mabou here we camped and headed off to the Red Shoe pub owned by the Rankin sisters of the Rankin Family fame. Although we had arrived early, it was packed, lots of energy. One could barely hear the singer… what a good atmosphere! We scored a table, had supper and a few pints. We figured this would be a good place to spend the evening and we did in fact we were the last people to leave. Of course this was about 9:30pm. I guess the Easterners can’t hack it and need their beauty rest.
We left Mabou in the morning, packing our tenting gear up in the pouring rain. We had to drag everything into a gazebo to give us some cover while packing. Yup everything was wet but “Hey” its holidays and you’re in the Maritimes. We’re just going to have to get tough like the locals. At least we can stay up longer then they can.
At the end of Cape Breton we we took a short detour to Dingwall to visit Canada's first and only federally designated "heritage"lighthouse on any of Canada's three oceans. It was built in 1915 and relocated to Dingwall in 2010. This lighthouse is also the first cast iron lighthouse constructed in Canada.
Cape Breton is a National Park and the park passes we bought at Fort Langley in BC have certainly paid for themselves on this trip.
On the way to Halifax just outside Truro it started to rain and blow. It was so bad we could only see about 100 ft. so we had to drive with our 4way flashers on. Thanks to GPS it showed there was an approach coming up and even though we could barely see, we managed to get off the road and right to a Tim Horton’s where we sat inside for the rest of the storm. After the rain slowed down we made our way to Truro, booked the Rainbow Motel and stayed there 2 nights. Now we can dry out our camping gear and take a day off. Drying your camping gear out in a motel room is not a neat and tidy affair.
Truro is kinda a cool place. In 1982 the beautiful elm trees that adorn the streets became infested with Dutch Elm Disease. To deal with this, a Truro Tree Committee made the decision to launch the Truro Tree Sculpture Project. Today, there are 20 sculptures throughout the town. They have become an attraction to visitors and a celebration of Truro’s rich heritage. Each of the sculptures honours a person who has contributed to the history of Truro. They are really cool!
This one represents an organist who played for the First Baptist Church for 71 years!
The one below represents the person who introduced mail service into Truro.
We walked around Victoria Park. In the bandstand there were two different bands singing folk songs. When one group was entertaining, it was raining. Most people were listening in their cars and at the end of each song you could hear the honking of horns. It was fun. We enjoyed Truro and are glad we were sidelined here.
Halifax is a great city. We lucked out with a guesthouse within walking distance to everything. It was raining quite hard when we arrived so the first day was low key.
We visited with Sharen’s cousin Lillian and met her grown children Leah and Josh. It was a real nice evening.
The next day we put on our walking shoes and away we went. We spent quite a bit of time in the Citadel. It was very interesting and also has an interesting shape.
From here we could see the Old Town Clock, one of the most recognizable landmarks of historic Halifax. Constructed as a garrison clock on the orders of Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, who was Commander-in-Chief of British forces in the North America from 1799 to 1802, the clock began keeping time in October 20, 1801.
We then walked to and along the lively Halifax boardwalk.
One of our last stops on the boardwalk was Pier 21 where all the immigration records for Canada are stored. If you landed in Canada in the winter months this is where you entered Canada. Both Sharen and I spent time researching our families. Sharen found some info on the Rowlandson’s. I was not so lucky. I searched all Pier 21's data bases and could find no entry or exit records for my grandfather Albert Clay for the years 1895 to 1919. Grandpa wrote on his 1920 immigration record that he entered Canada in 1901 and left 1912. There is also no British emigration or ship passenger’s records for Grandpa for this time period. It’s like he disappeared for a decade.
Halifax City Hall is an old beautiful building built in 1890!
Downtown Halifax was cool. Streets were filled with old buildings....
We also enjoyed an evening of food and music in "Durty Nelly's". In 2010 we loved the original one in Limerick, Ireland. This one was apparently built in Ireland and put together in Halifax on arrival. As far as ambiance goes, the original wins... hand down!!
We enjoyed walking around The Victoria Public Gardens, designed in 1874.
Peggy’s Cove, supposedly named after the only survivor of a schooner that sank here in 1800 was lovely. Its primary industry is now tourism and some lobster fishing. It’s all a protected area with most property development being prohibited. Similarly there are restrictions on who can live in the community to prevent inflation of property values for year-round residents.
It’s a lovely area with an iconic lighthouse of old fishing village charm accompanied by the sound of huge waves crashing on the rocks. “Wonderful”.
Peggy’s Cove most famous resident, William E. deGarthe, was 70 when he began chiselling a bas-relief sculpture from the wave-washed granite of a 30 metre rock face depicting the lives and legends of local fishermen. Very Interesting!
As we left Peggy's Cove we came upon the Swissair Memorial dedicated to the 229 people who lost their lives in the tragic crash in 1998.
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