Maritimes - Day 22

After a long night's sleep (for me), we set off to explore Halifax.  There is a ferry that crosses the harbour and this summer it is free on Saturdays, so it was a super easy way for us to get to Halifax for what we want to see.  We also got there early enough that we got a spot in the parking lot.  After crossing the harbour, we headed towards the Citadel first, as it was supposed to be very hot today, and we figured we should do the outside stuff in the morning.

The Citadel is at the top of a very large hill, and it took a few rest breaks before we got to the top.  Luckily, while in downtown Halifax, there are enough tall buildings that the sidewalks are in the shade.  I will take some time to say that National Historic Sites have been awesome for the budget, as all four kids are free at every one, so only Sandra and I have to pay.  The Citadel, being of British construction, is full of soldiers in kilts and playing bagpipes, unlike Louisbourg, which had flutes and drums and pants.

We explored for the morning, melting in the sun, with me fighting heartburn because I forgot to take my pill when we got off the ferry, and then left shortly after watching them fire the noon cannon. They had a fairly nice and busy museum in the main building that we spent some time exploring, and while it didn't have a gift shop, they were selling regiment patches for a donation, so I grabbed a Regina Rifle Regiment one before we left.

We walked down to the park by city hall and stopped for our lunch.  The park is all setup for music and fireworks, which is occurring every weekend during the summer.  Then it was down to the harbour and over to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.  This museum has a big display on the Halifax explosion in 1917, a display on the Titanic and then lots of other stuff related to ships.  Fun to explore and nice to get out of the sun.

Just outside the museum, there is a docked WWII corvette turned into a museum - the HMCS Sackville.  It was fun showing the kids an actual ship that fought in combat.  The last time we were on a ship was the USS Missouri in Hawai'i, and only the older kids really remember that.  As we left, I wished they had a gift shop, as I definitely would've picked something up there.

For the last part of the afternoon, we walked along the harbour, looking at stuff in shops, learning about the leatherhead turtles that come up from Trinidad to eat jellyfish in the North Atlantic, and seeing tons of people (including two girls from SK who commented on my hat).  Halifax definitely seems to be a younger crowd.  Also, the hot temperatures never really arrived by the water - it got cooler in the afternoon, and by 3:30pm the entire harbour was covered in fog.

We left near suppertime, took the ferry back to Dartmouth and drove back to the house for supper.  After that and a bit of rest, we walked back into downtown Dartmouth to a creperie so that Evan could have his dessert crepe.  Then the day was done.  Tomorrow is another day in Halifax.