Halifax Public Gardens

With all the planning I did for our trip, I never realized there was a Public Garden right in the middle of  Halifax!  We passed by it while driving back and forth between our hotel and the Waterfront.  So we decided to visit for an hour or so before we left Halifax.

No words needed....just pictures.

Halifax

It was quite a long drive from Mabou to Halfiax.  We stayed in a Best Western there because I had free points.   But it was nothing to write home about.  Clean, but institutional breakfast, very cold pool and very hot hot tub.

We truly enjoyed going to Harbourwalk.  This is a one-mile boardwalk all along the waterfront, with access to shops and restaurants.

We went there twice - the first time was very foggy.

There is a little island called George's Island in the middle of the inlet.  The city of Dartmouth is on the other side.

All the stores and restaurants were nicely decorated and some had amusing sculptures.

These crazy lamp posts are some kind of sculpture right in the middle of the wharf.

A bit of fog

The Theodore Two is a storybook character that they made into a real-life boat!

Too bad we had just finished eating....these look good!

A photo for our grandson

One of our dear, dear friends gave Hubby some addresses to some record stores. We found this one and I let Hubby loose inside.  He spent every penny in his pocket.

The Farmer's Market turned out to be kind of a bust.  

You can take a riverboat ride.

Instead, we took a "Froggy Boat" ride -  (or Duck Boats to us Boston folks).   Our guide was fabulous.  He was a college student and told us afterwards that it was only his third tour.

After driving all around the city, the Froggy Boat took us into the water.   

I'd always known that Boston got it's annual Christmas Tree from Halifax, and on this tour I found out why.   Right after WWI, a munitions boat and a barge crossed paths in the harbour and caused a huge explosion.  Boston sent every available doctor and all its medical students to aid in the catastrophe.   Ever since then, Halifax has shown its thanks with a Christmas Tree for Boston.

We didn't eat here, but loved the sign!

George's Island at night

We really liked Halifax.  And the next day we found the Public Gardens....which I didn't even know was there!

Cheticamp and Mabou

My first inclination was to make our next stop in Cheticamp, since it was the first major town on the other side of the National Park.   However, the best place I could find to stay was "Al's Motel" and, since it was the night of our 10th anniversary, I thought it would be good if I could find something a little nicer.

Cheticamp turned out to be as tacky as I suspected.  This is one of the restaurants

I did find a nice restaurant where I had my second outstanding bowl of fish chowder, and there was a nice view of the water.

We continued on to "Mabou".    The place I found was called the "Inn at Glendyer" and sounded as if it would be pretty spiffy.   Following the directions, we started down a dirt road with the biggest potholes I've ever seen.   As a matter of fact, partway down the road we decided that couldn't possibly be right.  So we went back to the main road, and followed the directions again, carefully watching the odometer, and it was definitely the right road.  

Thank goodness when we got there, the Inn at Glendyer turned out to be a very cute bed and breakfast.  We were the only ones there, and when we went into the sitting room, and Hubby spied a grand piano, he couldn't resist sitting down to play.   As soon as the innkeeper, Esther,  heard the music, she came in and sat right down and begged him to keep playing.

Esther and Allan were a very interesting couple.  She was very nicely dressed and slightly proper.  He was an old hippie who dressed in T-shirt and sweat pants.   For breakfast, she set the table with beautiful linens, china and silver, and Allan made us a lavish breakfast.   Allan couldn't resist bringing in a fresh duck egg for us to see, having gone outside and taken eggs from his roaming ducks and chickens.

Mabou is on the Ceilidh Trial.  A Ceilidh encompasses both the music and heritage of Scotland.  We were quite interested in hearing some Celtic Music.

Interestingly, my Dad's girlfriend, Emma,  has family from Nova Scotia.  She married into the Rankin family, and had told us that there were Rankins in Nova Scotia, and that they were musicians.   Imagine our surprise when we saw this sign:

And when we went out for supper at the Red Shoe Pub (because we had heard there would be music there)  the sign said, "The Rankin Sisters, Proprietors".

Sure enough, this was the Home of the Rankins.  (I don't know if they are the same Rankins, but it's quite coincidental)   We were able to buy a CD for Dad and Emma.  And Dad is talking about making a trip up to Mabou next summer.

Since the place was packed, we ended out sitting with three nice women from Canada.  And there was some Celtic music, being played by what appeared to be a father and son.

We only stayed one night in Mabou, and then headed out for the long drive to Halifax, the Capitol of Nova Scotia

The World Famous Cabot Trail

Luckily for us, the day we drove through Cape Breton Highlands National Park was the most spectacular day weather-wise - and our 10th wedding anniversary!

Of course, the pictures don't do it justice, but the coastline was just beautiful.

We watched several fishing boats pulling in their traps.

The strange thing about the Trail is that you'd be along the coastline and in the woods at the same time!

There were quite a few places to stop for scenic overlooks.

At Neil's Harbor there was an obligatory lighthouse.

and more ocean views

Along the way, here and there, were some shops to stop in.  This Scottish store had Tag's family tartan in a scarf but it was quite expensive so we didn't buy it.  But now we know what his tartan looks like!

MacTaggart Tartan

There was a point where we got out and hiked in the woods to find this waterfall

And then back to the seaside view!

There was a rocky beach where we collected some cool rocks

And made our own little rock tower in commemoration of our visit

I thought this was the best day of our trip.

Tomorrow......Cheticamp and Mabou