Thursday, September 10, 2015
Sept 9, Coming Home in Style
Hard to believe but its the last day of our great adventure. We got up and loaded the car and then headed out to find breakfast, the first few places recommended to us were not actually open for breakfast we then found two places side by side, first one we went into was The Yolk, which I'm sure was good but they only had turkey bacon so we decided no, then we went to Casa Mia Cafe'. Had the Egg's Benny and this place puts them on some kind of a roll and give the added bonus of spinach on them, delish and the potato hash with it was also delish. My only complain was to much, couldn't eat again before we left, well I did make the ultimate sacrifice and had some "Cows" ice cream. After breakfast we split up to make sure well all seen what we wanted to see in Charlottetown. I was actually shopped out so crabbed a tea and went back and sat in the hotel lobby and read for a while. The others joined me, then it was farewell to PEI, farewell to our car...the Chevy Cruz served us well, was a nice car to drive. We had to check one bag so we could get all our booze back. As I mentioned I was still full when we left Charlotte town which was too bad, since they had some nice salads and decent sammiches, arriving in Toronto which you would think would have lots to choose from we found a Timmies that only had donuts...no sammiches, and another place that had wraps, being that we had just a little over an hour we really didn't have an opportuntiy to go in search of real food. I opted for some yoghurt, OJ and a chocolate bar....almost healthy. We then boarded our plane and were off, now here's where the fun starts, about 20 min into the flight I was overheating ...yea menopause, and wasn't to worried as W2 was thinking it was really hot to, then I started getting a pain in my chest (this happened in Calgary a few months ago and I was in the hospital for 8 hrs) I knew this was not going to be fun so told W2 I felt like crap and was heading for the bathroom, I got to the flight attendants station, and the lady asked if I was ok, I said no not really, buy this time the pain was spreading, and I was having problems breathing....this is what happened before, so she phoned the help line or whatever they call it by this time the other two attendants and a parimedic who happened to be on the flight where there. They are asking me all sorts of questions but I can't breath well enough to answer so I get a paper and pen and explain whats going on and that its happened before, they asked if there was anything they could get me, I suggested a bullet. When this happens not only can I not breath but its a nasty pain and I can't find a comfortable position, keep in mind this is by the bathroom near the cockpit. there is a fold down shelf, I lean on this, then I stand up then I sit on the floor, stand up again, lay down on the floor, and all the time this nice young man who was a paramedic was following me up and down and telling me to remain calm and try to breath deep. The pain and pressure continued to build and then I started puking....they just kept taking the bag and giving me a new one with lots of napkins. The puking definitely helped things and was feeling much better, meanwhile one of the attendants had rearranged some seating and I was moved to a row of 3 seats to lay down, when I finished puking they brought me some water and an aspirin(just in case it was a heart attack) gave me some blankets, a hot water bottle, and some oxygen and told me there would be paramedics waiting for me when we landed....good grief. I then dozed off and on till we landed, they then announce that everyone had to remain seated till I got off, by this time I was feeling ok, a little sore and tired but whatever this was (some think gall bladder) had passed. I had paramedics, firemen and even the pilot came out to see if I was ok.....felt so special. they walked me off to a waiting gurney and as we were walking the one guy said something about me being 61...WHAT, I told him that hurt more than the not breathing, I informed him I"m only 56, from there on we got along great, they checked me over and said it was up to me if i wanted to go home or the hospital, I said home, and if I was still feeling crappy by the time we got to Moose Jaw I'd go to the hospital, so then I signed forms for everyone, releasing them of responsibility if I keeled over, by this time W2 and E came out with all the bags, mine and there's, managing to get all my stuff. The good thing about all this was our bag was already out so we didn't have to wait for baggage. It was about 15 minutes for me to find the parking ticket and my keys and then we were off. It really a good thing this passed quickly because they didn't know where the keys or the parking stub where, plus E just got her license and doesn't know how to drive stick and W2 hasn't drove one for years so they needed me lol. I have unpacked and am ready for bed, poor W2 and E still have a couple hrs of driving before they arrive home, safe travels friends its been fun. Thanks to the Westjet crew, they were totally amazing and very professional, and I really really appreciate all they did, and thanks to the nice paremedic who just happend to be on the flight. So next time your flying Westjet, be sure to tell them what a great job they do.......and that's all till next time the travel bug hits
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Sept 8, Light houses and beaches
Good day I started the day with a nice continental breaky then a quick trip to the post office to send the last of the post cards, back to the hotel to pick up the others and we are off in search of light houses and beaches. We make a stop in Murray's River to check out a couple stores, first the general store which is filled beautiful quilts, then next door to the Magik Dragon, W2 looks in the window and says you go first you will like this, so I open the door and there is this giant dog coming my way, which scared the crap outta me as I wasn't expecting it, turns out to be a beautiful Irish Wolf Hound only 18 months old named Fergus.
I could have stayed and hung out with him all day....the store was good to I did manage to buy a few things, definitely worth the stop check it out if your ever in the area. Down the road we went the first light house being a little way down and being a cool misty day we drove on to the next one which were were able to go into and look around, much smaller than I expected but very cool all the same.
From there we went in search of a beach, I stopped and asked a nice man tending his garden who was nice enough to show us the way, the beach turned out to be where we stopped to see the first light house. We spent a good hour there looking for shells and walking along the sand. A local came buy with his golden retriever who took a liking to W2 and insisted she throw rocks for him to chase, E eventually got it to come play with her a while. As we were getting ready to leave another lady came along with her dog for a walk along the beach, another friendly dog, ran around for a while then decided he should jump into our car, much to the dismay of his owner and something I found very funny. From there we headed to York, to pick up some seed, then off to Charlottetown for our last night, our first stop was a quilt shop which I had been hoping to find more of, it wasn't a great quilt store but I did find a few fat quarters of Ann material but no lobster material, so we headed to fabricville which is equivalent to fabricland in the west. They had some nice east coast stuff so I feel I have got my material quota for this trip, it was then off to our hotel, the Charlottetown Rodd, which is similar style to the Bess. in Saskatoon. We unloaded the car and then went in search of supper at a lovely little tavern called "The Old Triangle" I had the moonshine burger which they lit on fire for me, very tastee and went very well with the Keith's. After all that food it was time for me to go for a walk while the others went back for a swim. I came across a couple stores still open... bought a book on facts from the maritime, then headed home to try and figure out how to get all my goodies into my suitcases......and yes I bought another bag just for that but still .....
Say Hi to Fergus.... at Magik Dragon
top of the light house
From there we went in search of a beach, I stopped and asked a nice man tending his garden who was nice enough to show us the way, the beach turned out to be where we stopped to see the first light house. We spent a good hour there looking for shells and walking along the sand. A local came buy with his golden retriever who took a liking to W2 and insisted she throw rocks for him to chase, E eventually got it to come play with her a while. As we were getting ready to leave another lady came along with her dog for a walk along the beach, another friendly dog, ran around for a while then decided he should jump into our car, much to the dismay of his owner and something I found very funny. From there we headed to York, to pick up some seed, then off to Charlottetown for our last night, our first stop was a quilt shop which I had been hoping to find more of, it wasn't a great quilt store but I did find a few fat quarters of Ann material but no lobster material, so we headed to fabricville which is equivalent to fabricland in the west. They had some nice east coast stuff so I feel I have got my material quota for this trip, it was then off to our hotel, the Charlottetown Rodd, which is similar style to the Bess. in Saskatoon. We unloaded the car and then went in search of supper at a lovely little tavern called "The Old Triangle" I had the moonshine burger which they lit on fire for me, very tastee and went very well with the Keith's. After all that food it was time for me to go for a walk while the others went back for a swim. I came across a couple stores still open... bought a book on facts from the maritime, then headed home to try and figure out how to get all my goodies into my suitcases......and yes I bought another bag just for that but still .....
Monday, September 7, 2015
Sept 7, Help I can't get out of Ann's Haunted Forest
Another lovely day for a drive and we are off to see Ann of Green Gables. After a short drive we arrived in Cavendish and the hunt for Green Gables begins, after passing several end of the season sales we find the the site where Lucy Maude Montgomery grew up, there is no house here but there is a little book store and a nice lady who gave us the history and told us it was a short walk to Green Gables, so off we went past the cellar of the original homestead, thru the haunted forest and ending up at Ann's house. We took a tour thru the house, then off to the gift store, and a stop for ice cream and raspberry cordial. Then it was time for a picture with Ann, she couldn't be found, turns out she was on her lunch break...what the heck Ann eats lunch, time was off the essence as a zip line with our name on was waiting, not to mention a sale or two. We decided to head back to the car and drive back to Green Gables get a quick pic and be on our way. So off we went, I was on a mission so with my head down I was off, I thought if I was a little quicker than the other two I could get the car cooled off, only one problem I missed a turn and ended back at Green Gables, so back into the forest again this time paying attention, shortly before arriving at the car I got a text from my traveling partners asking where was I ....have I mentioned I"m having a few problems with my directions on this trip. I finally got back and off we went with a quick trip to buy a "PEI dirt dyed dirt shirt" then a quick pic with Ann and an even quicker stop to check out the sale and we were off to Rise and Climb in Cornwall. What a cool place, there was all these amazing climbing things but most important was a zip line...it was only about 30 feet up and 600 ft long. W2 bowed out on this one, so E and I got our instructions then up the stairs, so far not to bad, oh did I mention we were going tandem, so we could jump to our death together. anyway up we went and got all hooked up and 1 2 3 and were off....what a hoot, it was great landing the first time was a little rough I somehow managed to smack myself in the face. Back up the hill and 3 more jumps for me, E did a couple more zips than me, being less than half my age she had more energy, by the last couple times she was flipping around upside down, too much fun.
After this we headed to New Glasgow for our lobster supper that I've been hearing so much about. Ya gotta like seafood to go there the smell of seafood hits you when you walk in. We ordered our lobster and we led to our table. Our waitress informed us it was a 5 course meal. First it was soup...seafood chowder (nope) and a tomato basil bisque (yum) then mussels ok I'll try one, not my fav but ok, then salad, we got tossed, potato and coleslaw, then the lobster arrived it was ok but really all I really tasted was butter. You get the full lobster sliced in half, which is ok except for the liver which is supposedly a favorite of some peoples but me it was nasty green stuff, I actually gaged looking at it , I know don't be so stupid, but it just bothered me. We got thru it, with E having fun playing with the poor lobsters claws and legs ..what a kid
Then it was desert awesome lemon meringue pie for desert and we headed for Montague for our second last night in the maritime. The drive was fine but no idea what we passed as it was dark, must be cloudy cause you couldn't even see stars. Our hotel tonight, Lanes River House is very nice, with a view of the river.....I think, did I mention it was really dark out there , that's all folks
Zip lining....naa its the other fun stuff at the zip lining that we didn't get to do,
After this we headed to New Glasgow for our lobster supper that I've been hearing so much about. Ya gotta like seafood to go there the smell of seafood hits you when you walk in. We ordered our lobster and we led to our table. Our waitress informed us it was a 5 course meal. First it was soup...seafood chowder (nope) and a tomato basil bisque (yum) then mussels ok I'll try one, not my fav but ok, then salad, we got tossed, potato and coleslaw, then the lobster arrived it was ok but really all I really tasted was butter. You get the full lobster sliced in half, which is ok except for the liver which is supposedly a favorite of some peoples but me it was nasty green stuff, I actually gaged looking at it , I know don't be so stupid, but it just bothered me. We got thru it, with E having fun playing with the poor lobsters claws and legs ..what a kid
Then it was desert awesome lemon meringue pie for desert and we headed for Montague for our second last night in the maritime. The drive was fine but no idea what we passed as it was dark, must be cloudy cause you couldn't even see stars. Our hotel tonight, Lanes River House is very nice, with a view of the river.....I think, did I mention it was really dark out there , that's all folks
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Sept 6, Flower Pot Rocks you say?
Up and down for breakfast(as in got up and walked down the stairs), there was a trio who were from the Netherlands, one of them having immigrated to PEI very friendly. My little buddy (the grandson...did I mention he was 4) eventually came for his breakfast so we had a nice little chat with him, buy the time we left he was trying to talk his granny into spending the day at Hopewell Rocks and hanging out with us. The rocks is where we spent a few hours of today, in low tide the place looks so different and you can tell how really high the tide does get. Climbing down about 6 flights of stairs we reached the beech along with several hundred other people. I have no idea how far I walked but it was great, looking at the cliffs, the rocks, the ocean, trying not to get stuck in the red mud, great work out.
I headed back before the other two, stopping for my daily fix of ice cream (today's flavour was grizzly tracks, white choc swirl with choc cover caramel chunks...mmmm) then the 15 minute walk back to the gift shop where they had tons of great stuff much of which I bought or so it seemed. Tons of lobster humor stuff...love it. I then settled in on the deck with NB fries. I have noticed on this trip there are lots of people with dogs and today was no exception one of each color of lab, husky, bull dog, collie, and grey hound....I have noticed a fair amount of grey hounds since arriving here, which I mentioned to the mom of this greyhound, she told me there has been 800 grey hounds rescued in the area....retired racers. I was talking dogs to one guy when E and W2 got back, so after a quick snack and trip to the shopping area for them and a quick trip to the info center we were off. About an hr later we arrived at the Confederation Bridge and I must say I have never had so much fun crossing a bridge before. Poor W2 is afraid of heights and this was rather terrifying for her, much to the amusement of myself and E who was taping the whole trip. Again I was laughing so hard I was crying, today it might have been more due to fatigue than fear. I can also now get an idea why dad use to love scaring the crap out of me doing such things when I was little. We finally got across the bridge and stopped at the visitors center where Emily was so nice and helped us book our remaining 3 nights even thought it was closing time.....3 stars to here for being so helpful. About half hour later we arrived in Summerside and booked into the Loyalist hotel, a short stroll across the street for supper, tonight W2 and I shared a fish taco and a burger, with a couple Keith's.... now a relaxing couple hrs and I'm ready for bed. I think we did more walking today than any other day since leaving Halifax and poor E is looking a bit like a lobster....did I mention its been around 30 since we got here.
Hopewell Rocks High and Low tide
I headed back before the other two, stopping for my daily fix of ice cream (today's flavour was grizzly tracks, white choc swirl with choc cover caramel chunks...mmmm) then the 15 minute walk back to the gift shop where they had tons of great stuff much of which I bought or so it seemed. Tons of lobster humor stuff...love it. I then settled in on the deck with NB fries. I have noticed on this trip there are lots of people with dogs and today was no exception one of each color of lab, husky, bull dog, collie, and grey hound....I have noticed a fair amount of grey hounds since arriving here, which I mentioned to the mom of this greyhound, she told me there has been 800 grey hounds rescued in the area....retired racers. I was talking dogs to one guy when E and W2 got back, so after a quick snack and trip to the shopping area for them and a quick trip to the info center we were off. About an hr later we arrived at the Confederation Bridge and I must say I have never had so much fun crossing a bridge before. Poor W2 is afraid of heights and this was rather terrifying for her, much to the amusement of myself and E who was taping the whole trip. Again I was laughing so hard I was crying, today it might have been more due to fatigue than fear. I can also now get an idea why dad use to love scaring the crap out of me doing such things when I was little. We finally got across the bridge and stopped at the visitors center where Emily was so nice and helped us book our remaining 3 nights even thought it was closing time.....3 stars to here for being so helpful. About half hour later we arrived in Summerside and booked into the Loyalist hotel, a short stroll across the street for supper, tonight W2 and I shared a fish taco and a burger, with a couple Keith's.... now a relaxing couple hrs and I'm ready for bed. I think we did more walking today than any other day since leaving Halifax and poor E is looking a bit like a lobster....did I mention its been around 30 since we got here.
todays sign
Sept 5 Fare thee well to Nova Scotia, Hello New Brunswick
So today was more of a leisurely day slept in a bit, had a lovely breakfast chatted with some people from BC and from England. Chatted with our host about her quilts She didn't make them but they were hand made on the east coast beautiful work. We then hoped in the car and headed to Hopewell Cape in New Brunswick with their famous flower pot rocks. The drive was pretty uneventful, which was good, we arrived in Shepody in the early afternoon and got checked into the Shepoday Inn, nice little place and wonderful people running it. I even had time for a quick game of eye spy with the owners grandson, cute sociable little fellow with eye lashes most women would pay good money for lol.
our Inn for the night
me and Frankie waiting outside
W2 had kinda checked out the zip lining and so E and I were suppose to try this out at Cape Enrage.....you'd think the title would have been a clue. We couldn't get in till tomorrow but it was on the way to Alma where we were headed to do a little shopping and have supper so we figured we'd check it out. I turned off the main highway and followed the signs, the first was bad enough with lots of hills and curves and trees surrounding so you couldn't tell what was around the next corner....oh yea the moose signs, good grief that's a lot to think about while driving. The closer we got the steeper the hills and more curves, the power lines kept getting closer to the road edge too.....no place to put them farther out ?? So were driving along and W2 and I are getting more and more nervous which started the giggles. We came around one corner and there was the ocean and it looked like we would drive right into it, which was bad enough but the road went way up on this bloody curvy road (I learned about white knuckling it while trying not to throw up) up up up we climbed and finally got to the top. There was gale force winds blowing and these not so sturdy looking (I'm sure they were fine to other people but to middle age panic stricken women...not so much) stairs to the top of the zip which went over the cliff edge to another spot with the water and rocks below.....NOPE not happening, the lady at the gate was good didn't bat an eye when we said we changed our minds. E was very disappointed but W2 and I were never so relieved to leave a place, I think we were on the verge of hysteria, we were laughing so hard I had tears running down my face....maybe not the best thing when driving down a scary road to freedom. We got back on the main highway and headed to Alma which had a pretty good gift shop where I was able to buy a few things then W2 and E made a quick stop at the bakery next door for cinnamon buns for later, then across the street for supper at the Boathouse, fish and chips and a Keith's to calm our nerves after that harrowing experience. The staff there were awesome, very friendly and helpful in our supper decisions. We then headed back to go check out the Hopewell rocks at high tide. long walk to see them but it was well worth it, looking forward to tomorrow when its low tide. I noticed we were getting low on gas so a 15-20 minute trip down the road we finally found a service station, then back to the Inn and to bed. Tonight's bed was the cutest sofa bed, single bed size. nite nite
Frankies gets into shopping
one of the covered bridges we seen in NB
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Sept 3 - Rum before 11 am
so the lovely Bluenose Inn gives you a basket filled with fruit, cinnamon knots, crosants along with a kureg in each room breakfast was served. We then headed over to the local farmers market, where I compared to ours at home, it was kinda fun a few artisans, lots of fresh veggies, a big long line up at one table selling breads of all sizes and shapes, mushrooms, and wine and spirits. hence the start of our drinking before 11. It was probably about 9:45 at this time. The Ironworks distillery had liquors and rum, gin and vodka. we tasted a few liquors then headed out to look thru a few of the stores in the area killing time until 11. W2 directed us to the Ironworks Distillery as she wanted to buy some dark rum for her men folks. After a little tasting I found myself buying some gin....Gin and tonics all round when I get home, (combining two of my trips, England where l learned to like G&T and NS where I found some incredible gin). E and I then went to Magnolia while W2 went next door to the Salt Shaker for clam chowder. I tried a Lobster Roll which was pretty good, at least I can now say I tried one. We then hit the road first stopping in New Minas to check out the Walmart....I needed a gym back to get my extra stuff home and W2 &E find something inexpensive and white to wear Tidal Bore Rafting tomorrow, we then headed toward Wolfville and Grand Pre were we found our next home for the evening. A lovely little place called "The Old Lantern Inn" surrounded by vineyards, with the exception of the spiders it was great...I don't notice them much but my travel buddies can spot them miles away, its so bad W2 had me come rid one from the roof of the bathroom while she was in the shower...the lengths I go to for a friend lol. We traveled back into Wolfville for supper at a little pub called Paddy's, shout out to the waitress who was really good and entertaining. A quick stop at the nsls (LBS to those of us in SK)and back to our home. Before settling in for the night
our B&B and the vineyards behind
todays sign
Sept 4....Tidal Bore Rafting day....I'm the photographer
Up and off to breakfast at the Old Lantern Inn. The breakfast was unbelievable. I had french toast which was served with bacon, and a lovely array of fresh fruit, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, orange and grapefruit....W2 had eggs benny and E had a ham and cheese omelet, all incredibly good. We then drove down the road to the Tangled Garden , W2 had read about the beautiful garden with various jelly's and liqueurs infused with various herbs. We spent about 3/4 hr there wandering around.
It was then off to New Mina's for a towel and possible shoes for the rafting. The "hour" drive took us closer to 2 which made it a scramble to get to the river running. When we started our adventure W2 said were were going white water rafting and zip lining so I explained the white water rafting was not going to happen. I would be happy to stay on land and take pictures, and that zip lining might happen. The white water rafting is actually Tidal Bore Rafting which I recommend you google...be sure to include Maitland NS which is where we were. They got them all geared up and then off they went down the long trail of reddish mud out to catch the waves in the Kodiak's. Although I was pretty happy I was on shore (only a slight ever so slight wish I'd joined them) I started off on one pier watching the boats go by, once they were buy everyone jumped in their cars and headed over to a viewing bridge down river. It had kind of a party atmosphere, had a great time chatting with all the people. then finally off in the distance we seen the Kodiak's coming. I was surprised at how well you could see and hear, W2 &E waved ...W2 looked much happier than I expected with being unnerved by the ocean and her sore back and legs, meanwhile E was grinning from ear to ear.
I took pics of them then while they continued down the muddy red water. on the way back I stopped and checked out a wood working studio, work was beautiful and the artist was a nice fellow to chat with. I then stopped in the local store for the days ice cream (Mariners sea salt Carmel mmmmmmm) Then stopped by Foley House where we were staying for the evening....when I asked about a key the landlady said no one locks their doors but she'd see if she could find me a key. Our room was the whole 3rd floor, we all got actual beds to ourselves...W2 and E didn't have to share and mine wasn't a cot or hide a bed, nice little sitting area and a deck overlooking the neighbourhood. I then headed back to the River Runners to wait for W2 and E, arriving just as they were getting out of the boat. both soaked and looking frozen but very happy. They went to shower and I waited upstairs to wait in the office area. A tastee steak supper was provided with the rafting and for a nominal fee I was able to join them. I would seriously consider doing this if I get back this way and W2and E I'm sure would recommend it to anyone. We then headed back to our B&B meet some of the other guests and then off to bed....Another day done
It was then off to New Mina's for a towel and possible shoes for the rafting. The "hour" drive took us closer to 2 which made it a scramble to get to the river running. When we started our adventure W2 said were were going white water rafting and zip lining so I explained the white water rafting was not going to happen. I would be happy to stay on land and take pictures, and that zip lining might happen. The white water rafting is actually Tidal Bore Rafting which I recommend you google...be sure to include Maitland NS which is where we were. They got them all geared up and then off they went down the long trail of reddish mud out to catch the waves in the Kodiak's. Although I was pretty happy I was on shore (only a slight ever so slight wish I'd joined them) I started off on one pier watching the boats go by, once they were buy everyone jumped in their cars and headed over to a viewing bridge down river. It had kind of a party atmosphere, had a great time chatting with all the people. then finally off in the distance we seen the Kodiak's coming. I was surprised at how well you could see and hear, W2 &E waved ...W2 looked much happier than I expected with being unnerved by the ocean and her sore back and legs, meanwhile E was grinning from ear to ear.
I took pics of them then while they continued down the muddy red water. on the way back I stopped and checked out a wood working studio, work was beautiful and the artist was a nice fellow to chat with. I then stopped in the local store for the days ice cream (Mariners sea salt Carmel mmmmmmm) Then stopped by Foley House where we were staying for the evening....when I asked about a key the landlady said no one locks their doors but she'd see if she could find me a key. Our room was the whole 3rd floor, we all got actual beds to ourselves...W2 and E didn't have to share and mine wasn't a cot or hide a bed, nice little sitting area and a deck overlooking the neighbourhood. I then headed back to the River Runners to wait for W2 and E, arriving just as they were getting out of the boat. both soaked and looking frozen but very happy. They went to shower and I waited upstairs to wait in the office area. A tastee steak supper was provided with the rafting and for a nominal fee I was able to join them. I would seriously consider doing this if I get back this way and W2and E I'm sure would recommend it to anyone. We then headed back to our B&B meet some of the other guests and then off to bed....Another day done
Friday, September 4, 2015
Sept 2 Down the road we go
So our last morning in Halifax, farewell to a wonderful city. We called our cab driver, Phil, the awesome guy who brought us from the airport to our hotel, who was happy to take us back to the airport, no not to get us out of his city, but to see how we liked things, we are a likable little group why the airport your wondering, to get our rental car....it was just easier to get it there. After some confusion about the size of car we wanted we were off in a Chevy Cruse with me behind the wheel, yes me, you see family members who shall remain nameless some people don't think my driving is all that bad. Back to the story, we headed down the road with E in the back googling our route, we do make a good team. When we get directions from others I have a tendency to go the opposite way I'm suppose to, but that's a totally different story. We arrived at the information center at Peggy's Cove and after an hr our so talking to a wonderful lady name Joann we had our route for the next 4 days figured out complete with routes places to stay and the ocean rafting thing that I'll explain later, well worth the time for example we discovered that Digby's balancing rock was farther than we anticipated and the town of Digby was holding a biker rally and that there was no hope of a place to stay unless it had been booked last year...OK Digby and the balancing rock is now crossed off the itinerary. We then move on to actually go check out Peggy's Rock...very cool place, tiny lighthouse but the giant rocks were pretty darn cool and watching out the ocean was amazing. They also had a neat little gift store which of course I gave a thorough look thru.
Peggy's Cove
After a quick stop for Dee Dee's homemade ice cream (supposedly better than COWS and I gotta admit it was amazing) we were off. Our plans to look around Chester and Melony Bay were cut short as it was getting late, the stores were closing and we had to get to Lunenburg. Lovely little coastal towns and I may have to find a way to get back to check them out. Arriving in The Bluenose Inn, Andrea the owner was great, made us feel very comfortable and was a great source of information for the evening both places to eat and things to do, she even stopped on her way home and came back when she noticed we'd missed the turn to go to the walking path to get to the restaurants ( I think I mentioned not taking directions well ) We proceed on and it was just like I had thought the towns would be like, old well kept brightly painted buildings. amazing architecture. After checking the menus which were hanging outside the restaurants we decided on the Bay Leaf, a little fancier than I usually go to but the halibut that I had for supper was probably the best I've had, possibly because it was probably caught within 24 hrs before I ate it, mmmmmm. After supper we decided to take the haunted walking tour, which we almost couldn't find, not sure how we missed it I'm sure we had to have walk right passed them , they had begun when we got there but just so it was no problem joining them. I would definitely recommend doing this tour if your ever in town. Its lots of fun and you pick up some of the history and local folk lorn. One of the best parts was going to St John's Anglican Church one of the oldest in the country. They had a fire in 2000 or 2001 in which a large portion of it burnt to the ground. The people of Lunenburg got together and raised 6.8 million (not bad for a town of 2500 people) and rebuilt which took till 2005, we were allowed to go into it and not only is it stunning but you can't tell the old from the new parts of it. Incredible. They were fortunate that it was designated a Heritage Site so it had been well documented helping in the reconstruction. The roof over the pulpit is painted dark blue with stars painted on it. When they rebuilt they had hire an artist who decided that there was some sort of pattern in the stars so after extensive research discovered that it was how the stars would have been over Lunenburg on the night when Jesus was born.....hows that for bizarre, just one of the things we learnt on our tour. After our hr and half walk around town (btw there is a lot of steep hills to climb in this place) we said a fond farewell to Ashley, our great tour guide and worked our way back to the Knot, a pub across from the Bluenose, a place some of the locals who were on our walking tour also went to for a nice end of the day beverage....gotta love Alexander Keith. E got to play her first game of darts in a pub. A good night for all. Back to the Inn and off to bed.
Inside St. Johm's Anglican Church
the old school which happens to be by a graveyard....one way to keep kids in line
The Bluenose in at night
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Sept 1, Day 2 in Halifax
After a lovely sleep (thank you ear plugs) we were off to find breakfast, W2 (my traveling buddies prefer not to have names or faces mentioned so will be W2 and E) anyway W2 stopped someone on the street who was happy to recommend the Bluenose for breakfast it was a fair hike but well worth it, Eggs Benny are served with hash browns (expected) and salad (what??) turns out it was delish. After it was time to wear off the breakfast so we headed up many many hills or so it seemed thru a shopping district to the public gardens. I think all cities should have a place like this so people would have a nice peaceful pretty place for lunch or just to hang out. The place is full of trees, a little pond and flowers so many flowers (sorry I have to come back and add the pictures after I get home can't figure out who to download them off my camera...new camera plus new note book equals much confusion on my part) Nancy I was sure to snap a few pics of the roses just for you. After our tour thru the gardens E and I decided to check out the Citadel, W2 has having feet problems so stayed in the gardens to rest.
The Citadel was great, lots of walking to the top of the hill, but the view was beautiful, and there was lots to see, cannons, the Highlanders in their kilts, and full regalia, trails thru the hills, the rooms built into the hills and of course the gift shop. We figured it would take us maybe an hr to run up the do a quick look around and get back to the gardens to meet up with W2 , we did a rush thru and still is was at least an hour and a half, poor W2 was just about ready to give up on us and head back to the hotel. we did get back in time to grab a quick ice cream (another great feature of the gardens ) and started working our way back to the hotel.
E wanted to check out the memorial for the Halifax Explosion,(she had done a report on it in high school) W2 was more interested in going to Point Pleasant Park, so we split up and E and I hit the information center to find out where we were going , hoped the bus and as we were asking the driver if he knew the street we had to get off on to find the memorial and this other passenger answered, we ended up sitting across from him and he told us where to go when we got off the bus, then he filled us in on some of the history, very nice guy, turns out he's an artist from England and works part time as a tour guide. He got off on his stop we continued on and of course I couldn't remember which way he said to go so we poped into a store to check and there was the most beautiful Bernese Mountain dog, just lying there happy to let anyone who happened in the store give him a belly rub. The store owner set us off in the right direction and we found the memorial checked out the view, tried to imagine all that happened how far the water had come, all the people who were wiped out, etc and then headed back to find a bus stop so we could meet up with W2 , as we are standing waiting for the bus we texted W2 to find out where she was, got a reply saying we just passed you don't get on the bus, what the heck?? As a friendly sort that talks to pretty much anyone W2 had met some local ladies at the park who were more than happy to zip her across town and take her to the monument| (may have even beat us there as she arrived in time to hear the bells on the monument which ring every day at 5) anyway a few moments after the text a car pulled up and there was W2 and her two new friends who gave us a ride to the Maritime Museum, supper nice ladies who also filled us in on her family history about the Halifax Explosion, turns out her grandfather worked on the tram taking tickets or money and his was hit with shrapnel which hit him was such force they found him 2 blocks away from where he was suppose to be. She said she didn't learn about the history from history book but from her granny and her granny's friends. Supper nice ladies. So we toodled around the museum, then back along the board walk to find supper, ended up at Salty's for supper, I had a wonderful Atlantic Salmon with some maple ginger sauce, we then strolled back to the hotel and another day has been stored in our memory bank. good night
Frankie makes an appearance, if you look up near the top of the picture you can see a wrench that some worker had left outside our window at the Westin
the Bluenose restaurant, an awesome place for breakfast
is it me or does this look like a pub that was made for me....unfortunately never got to check it out
pictures from the public garden in Halifax, pictures don't do it justice but I tried
Citital
trying out the canons
a view from the top of the wall
Memorial for the Halifax explosion
Lighthouse light and me at the Maritime Museum
My traveling companions got in a little trouble outside the museum
Ahoy
Todays signs
I think its a woman's book store
| what can I say |
Alexander Keith's
birthday countdown...they take this seriously
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