Day 151 - Tue 25 Aug 2015
Docked - Halifax, NS

[photo: firing of the cannon (powder only, of course) at the Citadel]

It was a repeat of the previous night with me getting too warm in the berth and moving to the main cabin to keep cool, but it was otherwise a great sleep. After Diane did her thing, I got into the galley and started making the creamy fish chowder we would have for supper. It was a bit of a rush because we needed to be cleaned up and ready for our day's excursion by 0915.

That timing was set by Diane's haircut appointment, but we got there easily only to find the Halifax Centre to be undergoing massive (I could use all caps and it would not be an exaggeration) renovations. The parking lots and thoroughfares and inside are torn up like we have never seen before. At least they are fixing it rather than letting it further decay.

I dropped Diane off with hopes she could find the shop, and drove a short bit to the Wal-Mart to get the diesel engine oil they didn't sell at the marine supply store. While there, I got a top-up card for our Canadian prepaid phone plan. Unfortunately, I will have to spend $50 to keep the plan active even though we will only get about 7 days use from it in the next billing cycle. As expensive as it is, it is worth it to me to have the connectivity.

I needed to make one last stop at a liquor store while we are in Canada, and then picked up Diane. She looked great, of course. We had no trouble navigating to the Citadel but parked in a bad spot and wound up walking a lot more than needed. We only gave ourselves 1.5 hours there and wished we could have done a bit more. The tour had way too many people in it and the guide did not project his voice, so most of what was said was lost on us. We left the tour after 10 minutes and walked around ourselves.

We had some engaging chats with various uniformed actors about the period and their duties back in the day. It is a very nice, well preserved fortress, and the view from the top is pretty. One can only imagine how wonderful it must have been before the modern building and shipping industry changed the landscape. We knew we were rushing our visit to this great city, but we had to disengage and move on.

We drove to the waterfront and parked near the Maritime Museum, and then walked to the N to find a restaurant for lunch. I felt really bad that our friend, Suzanne, had sent some suggestions for good places to eat and when I went to look for that email moments before leaving, I couldn't find it. We had a pretty nice lunch at Murphy's on Cable Wharf. All around the wharf were informational signs describing the design and laying of the trans-Atlantic cables to finally get overseas communications established. It was fascinating stuff.

Right after lunch we toured the museum for several hours, which we found to be extremely well done and worth the cost and the time. They have ship models on display that are simply amazing, in addition to artifacts and history about so much of what went on in and around Halifax and Nova Scotia. We had not known before that Halifax and Bedford Basin were used for staging pretty much all of the Atlantic convoys during WWII. Included with the price was the ability to tour the Acadia, a floating museum right there at the wharf. She was used for various non-fighting purposes over many decades.

Following that, we walked in the hot sun along the waterfront to the S, not getting quite as far as we might have if it had been cooler. There were many shops to check out and lots of activity on the water. We found the South Battery marina where visiting boats can pay to tie up overnight, but saw just how much they were rocking with all the waves and wakes and were glad we were not there.

Once our feet hurt enough and we were hot and tired, I suggested that we might as well return the rental car then and have more options for our departure time with the boat in the morning. It was already rush hour and as the rental rep drove us, it took over twice as long to get back to the yacht club, but make it we did, with all our heavy purchases.

We enjoyed a small amount of the chowder for supper, rested a while, and then trudged up the hill to grab a shower. On the way back I paid our bill at the dockmaster's office and had a chat with the Vice Commodore explaining how much we enjoyed our stay and all the people, but I had to point out the unacceptable situation with the electrical power and mentioned the really shabby bathrooms and showers. I believe people can't fix a problem unless they know they have one, so I try to politely let them know. She was well aware of the electrical problem and apologized for it.

Clyde got another walk ashore and enjoyed nibbling the grass. Diane and I were both really tired and read ourselves to sleep by 2100. We plan to see if conditions will let us make a 51nm run to Lunenburg to enjoy the pretty bay and the town tomorrow. After that, weather permitting, it will be 1 or 2 days more to Shelburne where we will meet up with cruising friends, Mike and Barb.