Friday, August 31, 2018 (Part 1) (Woodhaven RV Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Today was another big sightseeing day, so again we have divided our blog into 2 separate posts. Here is part 1...

Our plan for today is to drive into Halifax and explore the downtown waterfront area. It was much cooler but still a nice day with plenty of blue sky and sunshine...but the humidity was gone which made a huge difference! It was just before 9:30 when we headed off into the city. I took a few pictures along the way. The Citadel on top of the hill is on tomorrows agenda...

Old Town Clock below the Citadel is getting a facelift...
We ended up going down some very narrow streets and construction zones...
We managed to find a temporary parking spot along the side of the road close to the visitor centre so that we could go in and find out where the RV parking was. He told us that there was a big lot down near the Farmers Market area...so off we went. Unfortunately, before finding the lot he was talking about, we turned into another parking lot that was full...and had fun turning around. But Steve did it!

We found the lot which is also near Pier 21 and where the cruise ships come in. The lot was pretty much empty, so we had no problem...we paid our $10 for the day and we were off!
The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Canada's national museum of immigration. The museum occupies part of Pier 21, the former ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971. Pier 21 is Canada's last remaining ocean immigration shed. The facility is often compared to Ellis Island (1892-1954), in terms of its importance to mid-20th century immigration to Canada an association it shares with 19th century immigration history at Grosse Isle, Quebec (1832-1932) and Partridge Island in Saint John, New Brunswick (1785-1941). The Museum began as an independent institution run by the Pier 21 Society in 1999. It became a national museum run by the Canadian federal government in 2011.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to go in...


Statue of Samuel Cunard... (More on him at the Maritime Museum)

Memorial to the thousands of women and children who volunteered during the Second World War...




Entrance to the boardwalk that goes all along the downtown waterfront....
(Click on photos to enlarge)

Georges Island is home to Fort Charlotte...
Dartmouth across the harbour...

Harbour Ferry to Dartmouth...


...three sculptures take the form of functioning street lamps doing some particularly "human" things. The diptych "Got Drunk, Fell Down" features a fallen light standard, while a second lamp seems to look on with concern. "Fountain" illustrates a biological need not frequently associated with keeping our streets illuminated after dark. This playful installation points to mischievous behaviours often witnessed in our cities and waterfronts...


France and Canada share a long history. Theirs is a story of enduring friendship. It began 400 years ago, in Nova Scotia, the birthplace of Acadie, with the arrival of the first French settlers and of Samuel de Champlain at Port-Royal in 1605. Halifax had its first contact with France at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1711, the French engineer Delabat drew fortification plans for Chebucto Bay (present day Halifax harbour).....
A placard talking about Pier 21, Canada's National Immigration Museum. It's down near where we parked the truck...

Now, those look comfy...


This looks like a good stop for lunch...we had to wait a bit for it to open at 11:30...



I had a delicious salad and Steve had Seafood Chowder...


The visitors centre...there is a sign advising parents it's dangerous for children to climb on it...doesn't look like they think so...
A replica of the HMCS Sackville...it is in refit in the Naval Dockyard nearby and will return to the Halifax waterfront for summer 2019...
One of the old ships you can explore...
The Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917...



We all know that cute little puppies work on picking up girls, but...
Off to war...

There was a temporary walkway that goes around some construction...
The construction...















Canadian Forces Base Halifax...
The waterfront walk ended at the Casino...where we went in, used their facilities, and then headed back...
Taking the street for part of the way...



We went back to the waterfront and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic...stay tuned for Part 2...

8 comments:

  1. Love all the sea going history. Such a pretty city. I’ll bet you could walk around for days and barely see it all. How’s the food? Lots of sea food? Any weird stuff?

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    1. Food we've had has been really good. No, no weird stuff...that I can remember!

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  2. Looks like a neat city. Glad you found a good place to park Buster. lol

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    1. Yes, we were a little worried to start with but when we found the right parking lot, and it was pretty empty...life was good!

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  3. Barb and I could walk ports all day looking at all the boats (and visiting the breweries).

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    1. Yes, we could too! No wonder we get along so well!

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  4. Great tour of Halifax! Had a chuckle that you had to wait for 11:30 for lunch and a beer. Looks like a really nice city. Wonder what the fella used for an opening line with that bird on his arm??

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    1. HAHA, that does sound bad...it was just that that is where we wanted to have lunch so we didn't want to continue on when it was so close to opening time!

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