Life Without Poutine: Road Trip: Halifax

I've been wanting to visit Halifax for ages now. Still, though I knew I'd like it, I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. It's the perfect combination of hip city, scenic country, and beautiful water.

The Citadel

Noobs

KABLAMO!

Long story short, this place was impregnable. When it was active, people were actually encouraged to visit the fort, just so that spies could see just what they were up against. That's ballsy.

Sneak attacks ;)

Peek-a-boo!

Groundskeeper Uri

Our new friend at Fisherman's Cove

"The fisherman's memorial monument is dedicated to those people who sail from the community of Eastern Passage to make their livelihood from sea and who also enrich our culture and heritage.

To all those who have sailed from our port and lost their lives to the power of the sea, you will always be in our thoughts and prayers. 'Let this memorial stand forever for those brave souls lost at sea we will remember and always cherish the life you shared. It was meant to be.'"

"The shoreline symbolizes community tradition,
A dedication for generations to come.
The crash of the waves is a subtle reminder of our fishermen,
Soldiers of the ocean,
Fighting each battle
With a pride that is reflected each day in our community"
- Krista Wheeler

The Wave. This structure was found on the boardwalk. People take turns trying to run up to the top. Those who fail are mocked until they break down into tears. Well, not really, but it looks pretty funny when they fall.

Clearly, people didn't listen.

She loves lemons.

Like, a lot.

At least, I think she does. Can't tell by that face.

Mmmm...you know how I like it, Moosey.

Random goomba on the boardwalk!

Here's to you, Mr. Keiths! God bless you. He should be on one of our currency bills.

Just look at it all...just beautiful.

These lovely ladies did a great job of getting into character and talking about Mr. Alexander Keiths in the 1800s. Wonderful song and dance routines. Highly recommend the tour if you ever get a chance. You don't really learn much about the brewing process, but it's a lot of fun.

Bluenose II in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. (Home of Joel Plaskett!)

We decided to visit Lunenberg after it was recommended to us by a store owner in Charlottetown, as well as a friend we made in Halifax. It was a simple, quaint little town. Don't know if I'd recommend it to those travelling east, though. Just another town. (Sorry, Mr. Plaskett.)

My beloved Peggy's Cove. There are a very few places that have brought me near tears, and this was certainly one of them. I don't think I've ever felt so proud to be Canadian. She just stands so goddamn majestically, and the view is stunning. And with the dude playing the bagpipes! Aaah! As my good friend, Mr. Buttazzoni likes to say, it hit me where I live. *points to heart*

In 1977, a local artist didn't know what to do with this gigantic chunk of granite on his property, so he decided to chisel a piece of artwork out of it. Six years later, this amazing piece, with the themes of work, bounty, and grace, was complete.

We found this place called Clay Cafe in Halifax. You go in, and choose from a wide array of pieces, from piggy banks, cars, flowers, coffee mugs, drinking cups, etc. and you paint them any way you wish. You can take all the time in the world to paint. It's a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon. And it turns out Toronto has a similar place. This is our before shot

Artiste at work.

You have to put three coats on before they go into the kiln. I think this was after the first coat.

Meet Larry and Barry.

You should be able to tell who painted each one based on the writing. I should've gone into medicine with my penmanship.

Our final Urban Quest! (Thank God.)

The second clue on our quest had something to do with this statue. It's located on the grounds of the Legislative building...

...but...

...we couldn't find the answer to the question anywhere...

...so we asked a nearby security guard, who happened to be talking to a fellow who had just walked out of the building. He was dressed in sandals and shorts, so he was clearly heading home. Once he saw us, though, he immediately introduced himself as an MP, and offered to take us on a tour of the building! Lovely chap.

We were able to solve the Urban Quest! The final part, which focused on an area that looked like an anchor graveyard, with various types of anchors strewn about, proved to be a bit of a challenge, and truth be told, we sort of guessed at the answer...BUT we were able to solve the riddle in the end. The answer was Sidney Crosby! Huzzah! 2/4 ain't bad! Honestly, though, the people at Urban Quest need to step up their game. Often times, the instructions weren't clear enough, or the information was just plain wrong. Oh well...it was frustratingly fun.

Doris and I made two final stops before heading out for the Cabot Trail. Again, both were recommended to us by locals. The first proved to be a bit of a flop. It was called Sand Dollar Beach. It's named so because, obviously, one can find sand dollars there. Now I didn't know what a sand dollar was before this, but they're basically little creatures that get washed ashore, dry up, and their remains end up looking rather pretty. I know it sounds super gross, but it's actually pretty neat. Google it. Right now. I'll wait.

Cool, right?

The tide at the beach is super low in the morning, so people often get there early in hopes of picking up a couple sand dollars for themselves. Unfortunately, the reason the visit was a flop for us, was because there were these two old ladies who must've shown up to the beach at sunrise or something, because they had picked the beach completely clean! They were both carrying out a bucket full of the damn things!

After an hour of scouring, Doris finally gave up. (I gave up much quicker, and just waited by the car for her.) Eventually, one of the old ladies felt sorry for her and gave her three from her bucket. Her house is apparently full of them! Three sand dollars...quite the generous offer.

Our second stop before heading towards Cabot Trail was a natural park called The Ovens, which were the site of a massive gold rush 1801. Now it's just a real purty park with a great view. (Also seems like it would make a great place to camp for future reference!)