CROSS CANADA MOTORHOME TRIP 2019 – NOVA SCOTIA

Our campsite is at a KOA just outside West Halifax. Beautiful campground that we were fortunate to get into with the long weekend as it is a large campground but totally booked.

They rent canoes here and so we thought about doing that sometime tomorrow if not raining. Mrs. Hawes says she is not going near the water now.

Our repairs today did not go well as we started with our levellers alarming to our levellers not working at all and that took eight hours. It was a gong show. No wrist slitting and we move on. Halifax weather has not been good, lots of rain so hopefully it improves.

Our 7 year old grandson Riley, when shown on Google Maps where we are, told his mother that we are near Meteghan, NS. He learned in grade one about the cultures in three communities, Meteghan, Saskatoon and Iqaluit. So, we are going to be within 45 minutes of Meteghan and are going to stop and take some pics and we are passing thru Saskatoon on the way back, but told him that we are not going to Iqaluit. He said oh, too bad, cause they have polar bears there but also have buffalo that trample people, so we better not go. Well, that decided that for sure.

Nope! Another rainy, cloudy day, but it is what it is. Therese, our niece, put us in contact with a friend of hers here, Jeff and he let us know that there is an empty commercial lot a block from his place in Dartmouth and a two block walk to the ferry to Halifax. Perfect! We drove down to the waterfront and parked the motorhome and as there was a ton of fog, we decided to go to a nearby farmer’s market until the fog lifted.

We had a good chat with the couple that make the jewellery as they motorhomed across North America for a solid 2 years, so lots of stories to share. They also gave us a few tips for Halifax stuff. This guy buys glass from Italy, cuts it on a bandsaw, grinds and polishes it and his wife paints it and it is full time for them for the summer months. Nice stuff!

So we took the short ferry ride across the bay at the enormous cost of $2.50. Cheapest activity on the entire trip.

After docking, we decided to check out a pub on the waterfront that was recommended.

Next, we have a Halifax Harbour Hopper tour that takes in some of the sites of downtown Halifax along with a brief harbour tour in the same vehicle.

This is our amphibious vehicle that drives right down the boat launch into the water. They were bought from the US military who paid a million dollars each initially for them. Secret weapon.

A few of the sites:

St. Mary’s Basilica with the tallest granite spire in North America. Original wood version built in 1784.This one was consecrated in 1899.

Jeff told us a legend about the McDonald bridge that links Halifax to Dartmouth. Apparently the new bridge is the 3rd such bridge linking the two areas. This area was Mi’kmaq territory and did not want a bridge linking the two areas. They cursed the first bridge and said that there would be 3 bridges but none would survive. The First two were destroyed and now they make people pay to go on it. No chancy! That native stuff is kind of powerful. Besides I am too cheap and will drive miles to get around it.

It was raining after the Harbour Hopper so we stopped at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on the walk back as we had heard that it was quite good. Lots of info and a very good stop.

Halifax is the largest naval base in Canada and many of the ships are stationed in the harbour. The MV Asterix, a naval supply ship docks here, and is the ship that was recently buzzed by two Chinese jets in the South China Sea.

We took the ferry back to Dartmouth and visited Jeff for a drink in his condo. Some views from his condo.Early morning tour tomorrow so we will drive down to the empty lot tomorrow morning and leave the motorhome there and return to it later to camp the night. Here is hoping we do not get a knock on the door at two in the morning. Praying for sunshine as it has been a while since we have seen it.

No sunshine again. Maritime weather is not good and talking to locals, they take it in stride, like it is typical. I guess it is more important as a tourist and camper.

We met our tour guides and a brief city tour and then off to Peggy’s Cove, which is 40 km away but part of Halifax. And, there are only 30 permanent residents. It was and still is, a fishing village but tourism reigns supreme here. Swissair flight 111 crashed here in 1998, 5 km east, with a loss of life of 229 or all aboard. The residents of Peggy’s Cove were the first responders to the crash. A small memorial outside the town is there in rememberance.

Back to actual Halifax and to Citadel Hill

After this tour, we had them drop us off at Alexander Keith’s Brewery for lunch and a brewery tour.

We tried to get to Pier 21, which is the Immigration terminal in Halifax and operated from 1928 to 1971 and houses the Immigration Museum. We got there 45 minutes before closing, so only had an opportunity to visit the Homecomings Lab. I wanted to check out the arrival of my grandparents from Iceland and the lady there was unable to trace the arrival but gave me the service records for my grandfather in WW1 and info to follow up online. Very worthwhile stop.

Wore out, so back to Dartmouth by fairy to rest in our deluxe campground before going out for supper.

You can rent this guy or simply buy it for 59,500,000 euros, as it is for sale.

Off to Lunenburg tomorrow. The Bluenose 2 is in Toronto, so bummer.

We were going to go to Africville to the museum but it did not open until 10:00, so we are off before 8:00. Africville, is the memorial to the black community in Halifax. The reason for the memorial is the atrocities inflicted on them by Halifax. Very sad. A narrative is available online with Canadian Encyclopedia

We took the country route and stopped in Mahone Bay which was founded in 1754. Now it is a tourist destination but boat building still goes on.

This town has a legend about Oak Island, where treasure was buried in the series of underground passages on the island. Captain Kidd was one potential source of the treasure but no one knows. Many thousands of dollars have been spent to unearth it but the mystery remains. There is a real narrow causeway leading to it that I chickened out on at the last minute. It was narrow, made of dirt and the wind was blowing hard. Besides, the rumour is that the place is haunted!

We went to Lunenburg and checked into our campground and took a walk around the town.

Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and big tourist destination now. It is a port town on the south shore of Nova Scotia and dates back to 1753. The population is only 2500 or so and have moved on from the Cod moratorium of 1962 to tourism and other activities.

On the waterfront, they have the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. Wow, tons of info and exhibits and spent over three hours there

The real pride of this town is the Bluenose, which, as I mentioned is in Toronto at the Tall Ship show. There was an entire section of the museum dedicated to her. The original Bluenose was built in 1921 and was a celebrated fishing and racing schooner that was a great source of pride for all Nova Scotians. She never lost a race! The name Bluenose was taken from the name given Nova Scotians as they grew a potato that had a blue interior that was slender and long like a nose.

The original was wrecked in 1946 and the one we have now is the Bluenose II, a replica

Lots of choices for dinner tonight with many receiving 4 and 5 stars, particularly for seafood. We are in seafood country for sure.

So excited tonight for tomorrow to be playing the premier course in Canada, the Paragon Golf and Country Club. It does not get any better. The Maritimes have been extremely wet, so praying for sunshine. We met an interesting couple at supper tonight and had fun with them. This lady had a jewellery firm that was national, Kamelia, with some interesting stuff. Good dinner conversation, as he was a golfer.

What we have found, is that Maritimers are extremely friendly and very courteous.