A busy weekend in Halifax

Saturday, September 15
Our campground is about 45 minutes east of the City of Halifax so we wanted to get an early start and beat the crowds. Saturday is Farmer's Market Day on the warf beside the harbour. We were downtown and parked by right around 9AM. We bought a few veggies, but nothing that required refrigeration as we wouldn't be back to the trailer until later.

Halifax Farmer's Market

A busy place. Lots of vendors selling clothing, jewelry, baked goods, meats, and of course local produce.

The Harbour Hopper. Amphibious tours. Lots of cities have these and are very popular.

The street outside the Farmer's Market. Lots of shops and museum's along this stretch.

Our next stop was the Pier 21 Immigration Museum. This place tells the stories of immigrants coming to Canada. Most arrived by ship to one of the major seaports in Canada. One of those was Halifax. Thousands of immigrants made their way through the processing steps. They disembarked from the ships and then were processed through medical checks, Customs and baggage inspection, and obtained any other services they required. Finally, most boarded trains for other parts of Canada.

The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. This is the actual building that was used to process immigrants arriving by ship at Halifax.

A huge variety of ships carried passengers here, some very famous such as the Mesopotamia a sister ship to the Titanic.

A cutaway of the building. Passengers arrived on the right side of the building and gradually made their way from room to room and finally across the tracks where they boarded trains for elsewhere in Canada.

Immigrants awaiting processing. Some happy, some apprehensive, some scared to death. It must have been a very emotional time. Most left Europe with only what they could carry to start a new life in a strange country.

The processing room where your fate was determined. Allowed to stay or sent back.

 A general store where they could purchase necessities for the long train ride, or other transportation from Halifax to their destination.

Inside of a train car where most spent long days and nights heading out across the country.

This is a beautifully restored building and a well done museum. Anyone whose families immigrated to Canada should really visit this centre regardless of whether their family arrived in Halifax, or Quebec City, Montreal or any port of entry by sea.
They even have a research centre where you can enter the name of the immigrant, or the ship they were on and view any documentation on record for that person. It was a busy place.

One of the old train cars used to transport immigrants from the ship to their destination.

What a beautiful spot to spend time. We wandered the boardwalk in the hot sun until we had had enough for one day. Lots more to see here and we'd be back another day.

Lots of these buses taking folks out to see the sights.

A few craft beer breweries in the downtown.

A popular spot for a beer on a hot day.

We chose to have a pizza here. Very good!

Samuel Cunard of the shipping line fame. He was a generous benefactor to the Halifax area. 

This scene depicts a common theme in the early days of immigration. Often the father would head over to Canada to find work and a home before sending for his wife and children that were still in Europe.

The light on Georges Island in the Halifax Harbour.

This research vessel is tagging sharks off the coast.

Interesting artwork that stands outside 'The Bicycle Thief' restaurant.

The Harbour Hopper in the water! Not sure I would go out on a windy day!

The 'Stubborn Goat' beer garden was very busy.

Tour boat heading out with a full load.

A popular beer in the Maritimes.

They offered tours of their brewery, which seemed like a good idea, until.......

......I saw the price! Yikes! For that price there better be a LOT of free samples. Last brewery tour I took it was free, including samples, in hopes you would buy their product on the way out.

Time to head back to the trailer for a rest. When we got back the neighbours asked if they could use our fire pit. Sure we said. Later once they got the fire going we sat in with them. Then more folks came, and then more. We had a big gathering from all over the park. We finally called it a night about 2 AM. A great time meeting new folks and shared lots of travel stories and tips.

Sunday, September 16
We started our day a bit later today. We had and early afternoon appointment to tour the Halifax harbour.....in a sailboat! A team mate from my ex-employer and her husband own a sailboat and graciously offered to take us out and explore the harbour in it. How nice of them! We had a great time catching up on old work stuff but mostly enjoyed the scenery and the outstanding weather. We had supper at the Club where they store their boat. What a great day!

This Mclaren car was sitting in the parking lot of the yacht club. Apparently lots of money in these parts.

Yep, lots of money around here.

The Memorial Tower Historic Site. This 34 meter (100 foot) tower was built in 1908-12 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of representative Government, the first in the British Empire. 

Really, do you need a house this big? Look at all the windows to clean!

Sail boats from all over. This one is from Victoria, BC. I assume they came through the Panama Canal to get over here. Full timers I guess!

This one was from Europe. Built for ocean travel.

One of the locals!

Sailing clubs are popular here. This is the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron where our hosts keep their sailboat. Who wouldn't want to have a sailboat in this beautiful area.

OK, just one more mansion.

All the pictures so far were taken in the 'Northwest Arm'. The pics below are from the Halifax Harbour.

The Bluenose II. Yep, we were sailing near this iconic boat! What a thrill. She wasn't at full sail here, but this was the harbour and she's a racing ship! And was full of tourists.

These little dinghy's are sailed by young kids. Their instructor was in the Zodiac on the right. They were out racing around buoys on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. What a great way to learn how to sail!

The Halifax Harbour container dock.

George's Island. Note the old gun emplacements buried in the bank. These protected the harbour in the early days of Halifax, and then again against U-boats in WW 2.

One of our new Cyclone helicopters that have replaced the aging Sea King.

The Macdonald Bridge. One of two that crosses the Harbour.

The Ocearch research ship you saw in a picture from yesterday. They are tagging sharks off shore.

You can sail right up to the bar. That's the Stubborn Goat Beer Garden  next to the dock.

One of our Navy frigates. There are seven of these assigned to the Atlantic fleet. This is the HMCS Halifax. I think there were four in port today.

Three of our Kingston-class coastal defence vessels. 

I believe this is the HMCS Windsor. One of four submarines in the Canadian Navy. There are three in the Pacific Fleet. Built by the British in the 1980's they are diesel electric.

The pride of our navy, this is our newest Arctic patrol vessel. The HMCS Harry deWolfe was launched September 15, the day before this picture was taken. The ship will have ice breaking capabilities. There are four or five more of these to come.

The Macdonald bridge. Opened in 1955.

Some info on the Macdonald Bridge:

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge Stats
Total Length:	1.3 km (0.84 mi.)
Suspension Bridge Suspended Spans:	762.1 m (2,500.4 ft.)
Length of Halifax Approach:	148.3 m (486.5 ft.)
Length of Dartmouth Approach:	436.9 m (1,433.5 ft.)
Width of Deck:	11.5 m (34.8 ft.)
Width of Bicycle Lane/Sidewalk:	2.6 m (8.5 ft.)
Height of Towers:	102.9 m (337.69 ft.)
Elevation of Road Deck (above water at centre span):	54 m (177.25 ft.)
Clearance Under Bridge (at centre span, high water level):	46.9 m (153.87 ft.)
Number of Traffic Lanes:	3
Restrictions: No trucks weighing over 3,200 kg (7,055 lb.), buses accepted-Vehicle clearance-4 meters

Nova Scotia Power coal fired power generating plant. Apparently much of the coal she burns is from South America. It has a low sulfur content which means less emissions.

The sail boat we cruised on.

Our gracious hosts, Heather and Mike. Thanks guys!!

Oh yes, thanks to their sailboat 'Persistence'. What a great name. Mike and Heather race her weekly and are consistently winning their class.

We had a nice dinner and a couple of drinks at the Yacht club. What a great day with great friends!
From left: Mike, Heather, me, Cheryl.
(Heather and I have worked together for at least four years)

....and that was Our View From Here!