Day 21: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Day 21: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 3, 2016

Miles: 71 driving

Wolfville to Halifax




Leaving the Blomidon Inn was hard to do this morning.  We found ourselves just relaxing this morning; we ate complimentary fruits and assorted breads and drank coffee and orange juice - Steve, Jen and me.  The guys slept in, but not too much later they joined us - unfortunately they did missed breakfast.  It was after 12:30p when we checked out.  At this point, we wanted to visit the town of Wolfville before heading out to Halifax.  So we packed the car and set off to explore the pennisula.  So here I am correcting my mistake calling Nova Scotia an island in my previous blog entry. A mistake I paid dearly for the past two days ;)

 

Our first stop was to get second breakfast (first breakfast for the guys) at a place that offered 20+ crepe assorted recipes.  This place Andy recommended based on his research from the previous night.  It was a place we had past on the road that peaked all of our interest, and was the recommendation from the hotel as well. 

Steve ordered a crepe from the sweet category, and the rest of us ordered from the savory category.  Jen a salmon and poached egg crepe, Ben smoked salmon and cream cheese, Andy a roast beef, onion and cheese, and me thai spicy-chicken with cheddar.  Both Jen's crepe and mine were made with buckwheat (GF).

Steve's sweet breakfast dessert

After breakfast we walked down Main Street before deciding on a cafe to get another coffee; the kids said they would meet up with us in a few minutes, but first they wanted to check out the place just next to the cafe.   

Main Street

So Steve and I went into the cafe and ordered a coffee.

Then after about 20 minutes, the kids hadn't should up so we decided to go looking for them.  Well, this is how we found them (below).  Sitting at a bar enjoying a cider tasting - four different brews.  They had forgotten all about us; no wait, not really, they just had priorities!  They're on vacation afterall.

Three big smiles :)))

Ben bought this baseball cap that he liked and wore all day.  He had been looking for a cap and here in Wolfville he stumbed upon the perfect choice.

We decided to head to our next location, the Look Out.  A place with the most spectacular views of Nova Scotia.  It was about 15 minutes from downtown Wolfville. Steve checked and secured the bikes, and we were again on the move.

Here is a panoramic that Andy took on his cell phone from the Look Out.  A spectacular view of Nova Scotia.

Now below a series of shots of all of us.

The three musketeers

Brother and sister

Di and Steve in the middle

Just the two of us

A's selfie

It took us about an hour to get to Halifax.  It was about 60 miles from Wolfville. We arrived in Halifax at about 4:00p.  We checked into the hotel and decided to bring our bikes to our room and get situated; we even had time to see a wimbledon match and the highlights of the Tour de France.  The kids didn't want to waste anytime, so they set out right away to explore the city. Their first stop - to get poutine (taking Brian's advice), then to a candy store (taking Nannie's advice)!  No pics of their candy selections, sorry, but it involved canadian smarties, caramel and hazel nut, coffee crisp and one other that I cannot remember. 

An hour later, we were all back together on the wharf roaming about and taking in the sights. It was a beautiful night.  The weather was just perfect!  

Father and daughter

Andy found himself in need to help a small yacht dock.  It had twin motors, and one motor had died.  The captain of the yacht was having a hard time docking with just a single motor, and the slight wind made it difficult for him to control the boat.  Andy help the captain navigate the boat to the dock and then tied down one of the lines.

Ben decided to climb the giant Wave sitting in the middle of the square. Here is Ben on top celebrating.  Some might think that this doesn't look like a giant Wave, but looks like something else; trust me it is the back side of a giant Wave with the wave break is on the opposite side.   I know ... just imagine it.

So at this point, we had worked up an appetite.  We searched for a place, but we didn't have to look to far.  We found the perfect place close by that served seafood and beer.

Here is Steve with three beer samples.

Here we are eating fresh local oysters.

We forgot to take a picture of dinner.  Between all of us our selections were - grouper, haddock, fish and chips, mussels, and lobster.  Tonight we decided to get dessert - ice cream.  We found an ice cream parlor 15 blocks from the restaurant.  I ordered coffee ice cream with chocolate chips (my favorite), and Jen coffee ice cream and pistachios ice cream mixed.

Yummy!

A cool cubby

So now it is late and Steve and I said goodnight to the kids.  They decided to make one more stop - to a beer garden not far from the hotel. They wanted a final night cap before leaving Halifax and ending their vacation (its good to be young).  We headed back to the hotel.  We had our priorities.  We had a blog to publish!

We had a wonderful day exploring Nova Scotia with Andy, Jen and Ben. We covered a lot of ground, seeing and experiencing so much.  This place is a real gem - quiet, clean and naturally beautiful.  It is the first time visiting Nova Scotia for all of us making the past few days very special.  Tomorrow the kids are leaving sometime before noon, but we really don't want to think about that right now, so more to come tomorrow!