Canadian Maritimes August 2-4, 2019

Day 55       August 3, 2019 We departed about 8:45AM. We thought we could leave and not have to unhook the toad since we were in a pull through site but we could not make a sharp enough turn out of our site because the RV in front of us was too close to the street so we had to unhook, make the turn and then hook up again but that only took 10 minutes or so.

Nice barn at the campground we are leaving today. Note the large chair. There are red chairs (not this large) all over the place in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia at picturesque locations for people to sit and enjoy the view.

We traveled over several miles of roads we traveled 3 weeks or so ago when we were making our way toward the first ferry. At that time we passed a business named Farmers Daughter but did not stop. My niece also has a home based business by the same name. Today there was room for us to pull off and stop so we did. When we went inside we discovered it was a bakery, plus they sold a few fruits and vegetables, jams, chips, etc. We got a loaf of bread and some fresh made cinnamon rolls and a cup of coffee, went back to the motorhome and ate one of the rolls. Yummy.

Later in the day we were on a four lane divided highway (not many of those around these parts) and saw a large cloud of brown dust that covered the median and all of our two lanes, so I had to slow down to almost a stop because we couldn't see very good and there were cars in front of us with brake lights on and they were pulling off the road. As we slowly moved up we realized there was a car that had crashed in the median from the other two lanes. The windshield was smashed in and the roof was severely damaged. Several of the people that had stopped on the shoulder were rushing over to the car so rather than pull off to help and cause a traffic hazard with our big rig we went on since there were lots of people already running over to the car to help. We soon saw the police and an ambulance headed to the scene.

We arrived at Woodhaven RV Park outside of Halifax about 2PM and set up in site 22. It took a few minutes to get the motorhome level since the site sloped down in the front. I just don't understand why people that build campgrounds can't get the sites level or at least close to level. I had to add 4.5” of boards under one of the front wheels to get it close to level and still keep the wheel from being suspended in the air.

After lunch and some rest we drove to Peggy's Cove Lighthouse, in you guessed it Peggy's Cove. This is the most photographed lighthouse in Canada and there are over 160 historic lighthouses just in Nova Scotia alone. The current lighthouse was built in 1915. The lighthouse itself is nothing special but the location is just amazing with all the massive granite rocks and boulders surrounding it and all along the picturesque village of Peggy's Cove. We have seen some amazing places on this trip and Peggy's Cove is right up there on top of the list. The cold wind was really whipping so we didn't stay very long at the lighthouse.

The windblown look

Back up the street across from the visitor's center we spotted some figures carved in a large mass of granite. They were carved by Artist William de Garthe in 1977 when he was 70 years old.

A short distance back up the road we stopped at the memorial for the people that died when Swissair Flight 111 crashed on September 2, 1998 just off shore. The site is just down the coast from Peggy's Cove.

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse in background

On the way back to the campground we stopped for supper at Vernon's Thunderbird Dinner. The Wagonmasters had recommended it. I had a bowl of seafood chowder and Lena had some corn chowder, both very good. There is a Thunderbird mounted up on the roof and also a restored 1955 Thunderbird setting inside the restaurant. The one inside has been appraised at $70,000 and is owned by Vernon.

Day 56 Sunday August 4, 2019 We had a full day today. Our tour bus picked us up at 8AM. Neil was our driver and Thelma was out local guide. They took us to Fairview Lawn Cemetery to see some of the graves of the victims of the Titanic. There are three cemeteries here in Halifax that have graves of 150 of the Titanic victims. One grave was of a 2 year old boy that for years was unidentified. It was first thought he was the son of a women that had four children, one being about the age of this little boy, so they buried him close to her. Years later after two DNA tests were run they identified him. About the only thing the company that owned the Titanic did that was good was pay for the headstones for these victims.

Maybe a long lost cousin. He was John Brown and was a crew member.

Each grave marker had a number. This number was assigned as the bodies were recovered and recorded.

We toured through town and out to the harbor before stopping at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. On December 6, 1917 the largest man made explosion in history occurred in the Halifax Harbor when a ship carrying a huge amount of explosives and another ship collided in the harbor. As a result 2,000 people were killed an another 9,000 were injured plus the enter section of town around the harbor was totally destroyed.

Shoes of the little boy that was unknown for many years

Replica of Titanic Lifeboat

The museum had lots of information and some artifacts from the Titanic and the history of ships. There were lots of pieces of the ships that blew up in the explosion. Some pieces were found several kilometers from the harbor. There was a story of one lady that was blow over a half of kilometer away and survived. After we toured the museum Lena and I walked out to the waterfront to get sometime to eat before we met the group for a two hour tour of the harbor in a tall ship.

Sailing on a tall ship was definitely a new experience. It had four large canvas sails but also had an engine. One of the crew told us they are required to have an engine because a large sailing ship using only sails for power would be a problem in the harbor with all the other ships. When they backed away from the dock they hoisted the sails with the help of some of the passengers. We had a nice cruise up the harbor and back. It was hot today so the breeze coming across the water was nice. Ever boat ride we have done has been kind of cold except this one.

The Silva

Our very own Emma hauling sail 

Go Emma

Halifax

Halifax Cargo Cranes

Our final stop was the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. It sits high up on a hill overlooking the harbor and the town. The Citadel has been active for 200 years and the current buildings were built starting in 1828. They are built out of granite blocks, rather than wood as the prior three were. Just as we got inside they did the changing of the guards. The Citadel guide did a one hour tour of the building, etc, Everyone there were dressed in period clothing which is wool and other thick material and it was hot today so they were sweating.

Looking down from Citadel

Signal Towers

Our Citadel tour guide

We returned to the campground about 5:30PM and then at 7PM gathered for a supper of Gumbo that a couple of the men in the group fixed while we were touring around today.