Halifax

We packed a lot into our day and a half in Halifax. We started by getting up early to catch the ferry from St. John to Digby. It goes directly across the Bay of Fundy and is supposed to be a beautiful trip. Unfortunately, it was rainy and foggy and instead of beautiful cliffs we saw 

Oh well. 

Once we got off the ferry we had about a two and a half hour drive to Halifax. We decided to make the drive a little longer though so we could stop along the coast for some lunch & to stretch our legs. We ended up in Chester, where we ate at a totally adequate diner and then walked around Graves Island Provincial Park just as the fog was beginning to break, which was a nice way to split up the journey. 

We then drove on to Halifax proper and found our airb&b with no problem. After a quick trip to the grocery store and a homemade dinner (with vegetables- hallelujah!) we walked to the Halifax public gardens. They are small, but really lovely. 

Pete, pretending to break the bench. 

See the adorable little elf house? 

Ah yes, the native Halifax cactus. 

Ironically, not a Canadian goose. 

Today was a much slower paced morning than the past couple of days, which we all appreciated. I even got in a run! I feel so virtuous. 

We then went to the Citadel, which was really cool. It looked a lot like George's island in the Boston Harbor Islands, but kept up much better and with lots of people answering questions in historical dress. They also had this really neat program for kids where the kid had to use a spy kid to break a code using clues given in a comic book. Jax was totally into it and we used it to guide us around the Citadel. 

JUST like our annual George's Island Picture. 

The changing of the guard ceremony. The oncoming sentry is being inspected. I think he passed when he got hat feathers up his nose and didn't snort. 

Inprisoned in the Citadel. 

Lea is tolerating me with all her heart right here. 

Codebreaking! He had to measure the mouth of the cannon. 

There was also a super cool exhibit about a Canadian WWI trench. They were short staffed today and the children were remarkably good natured about my being the one to explain different things about the trench and the war to them. 

The trench and what it would have looked like staring into No Man's Land. 

Very cool view through a peephole. 

Back home for a little break, some lunch and a re supply trip to the grocery store, and then on to Fisherman's cove, which is a recreated fishing village about 25 minutes from here. Except I was unaware that old timey fishermen survived on totchkies and homemade fudge. Boring, and not really what we were looking for. 

However, there was a really nice little inlet with a boardwalk and it was a gorgeous day. So we took a stroll, put our feet in the water, built a couple of cairns, pet a bunch of happily frolicking dogs, and generally had a good low-key time. 

Family selfie! 

My cairn

We treated ourselves to a really delicious (and healthyish) dinner at the Wooden Money tonight, and got ready to move on to Cape Breton tomorrow. 

A longish drive is ahead of us, and I'm not sure what the Internet situation is in the national parks here, so it might be a few days. I'm confident they'll be good ones, if Halifax was any indication. 

Downtown Halifax with a little open-air dessert. 

If you're interested in more photos, you can go 

here to see the google album. Click the info button for more info (if there is any!)