We opted for breakfast at the inn that morning, thinking it would be quick. How wrong we were! The food was good, but it took an hour for us to complete the meal and pay to get on our way! I was nervous about the 45 minute drive to the ferry, since it was a first-come, first-served situation! Turns out we had nothing to worry about, though!
We got to the ferry with plenty of time, and we even got a great spot on the ferry! PEI was beautiful, and thus very difficult to leave! But we knew we had great things ahead of us!
Goodbye, PEI!
We arrived at the Caribou ferry terminal and found our way back to cute little Pictou for a midday excursion. To the Hector! We found out why this ship is so important to them. It's like our Mayflower! This lovely little tall ship left the Highlands of Scotland with 189 hopeful settlers bound for Nova Scotia. Some people had already arrived and begun working to settle Pictou some time earlier, but this would be the first big wave to come in.
However, the trip didn't go exactly as planned:
They were so close to the shores of Newfoundland, but gale force winds knocked them back really far! The trip took an extra two weeks. Several people died from disease, and rations had to be cut way back. But they made it in mid-September. Still it was two weeks later than scheduled. And two weeks in late Canadian summer can be crucial. They missed the planting season, and they were late trying to build log cabins--which they'd never built before!
But, their legacy lived on in the tiny town of Pictou! We explored the ship and went over to a nearby lobster restaurant (aptly named the Lobster Restaurant and Bar!) on the waterfront. It was ok. Mom's seafood chowder was excellent, but Joel's and my lobster rolls were a little light on the lobster, heavy on the roll. Oh well. It was filling enough! Plus we stopped at Mrs. MacGregor's for dessert. =) Sorry, it didn't last long enough for a picture!
And then we were off to Halifax! It was about a two hour dive, maybe a little less. The only difficult part was navigating some of the older roads in Halifax. It's mostly set up on a grid system like other towns of the time, but not all their roads are consistent with the grid pattern! Plus there was construction--not the best combo for visitors, but we made it to the hotel without incident! We stayed at The Prince George Hotel--so fancy! It was a little too modernized for our tastes, but it was right downtown, up on a hill, between the citadel and the water! We tossed our stuff in the room and set out for... the Public Gardens!
Just a small sampling of the beautiful flowers there!
Public Gardens were all the rage in the mid- to late-1800s. They were place place to see and be seen! Previously the preferred hangout had been cemeteries. (No lie!) The gardens are on 18 acres in the middle of downtown. There's a little coffee shop there, and they've really done a beautiful job of making the gardens beautiful. We really lucked out apparently, too. They had a late winter, so we not only saw all the things that are supposed to bloom in summer but also the things that should have bloomed in spring! It was fragrant, breath-taking, and generally spectacular!
After that we walked down to the waterfront so Joel could see what he thought was the Queen Mary 2! He is so into ships--floating, sunken, old, new, steam (mostly), sail, etc. We couldn't be so close to a grand and famous ship like the Queen Mary 2 and not see it! It's so big--seriously, folks, like four times the size of Titanic big! Joel is the one who spotted it from far away because of its smoke stack--red and black, the signature colors of Cunard's ships. Cunard was a ship building mogul. I had no idea until I saw his statue in Halifax harbor. =)
Anyway, we told Joel to go on down, since he was excited and walking fast, and we'd catch up. We had no idea how far away it was! We finally caught up with Joel and the ship a mile down the boardwalk! On the way, Mr. Peabody Pembroke made a friend!
Anyway, that was exciting! We looked around for a good place to eat after that. We were hungry! The restaurant we wanted to go to was booked up, so we kept looking. I stopped into Starbucks to add a Canada mug to Steve's and my collection. They didn't have a Halifax mug, which is a bummer. The girl working there said people come in and ask for one all the time!
We ended up at a bar nearby our hotel. It was early enough in the evening that it wasn't too crowded, but the barmaids--oh my stars! Our poor waitress was about to pop right out at any moment. How embarrassing to be there with my mom and little brother! AH! The burger I got was decent. Dessert was good (brownie sundae!). But by the time we got done, we were ready to head to bed! There would still be a lot to do the next day!
Please join us for my next post: our last day in Halifax and the layover that wouldn't stop!
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