October 18 - Halifax

Adirondack chairs are a Nova Scotia icon. They seem to be placed in inviting spots just waiting for Haligonians or their guests to sit down and admire the view.

The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia houses the Maud Lewis exhibit. I fell in love. Maud, (1903-1970) was a Nova Scotian from Yarmouth. She suffered from juvenile arthritis. It seemed her family treated her as an outcast. Her eventual marriage to Everett Lewis came about because he needed a housekeeper but evolved into a loving relationship. Everett was a fishmonger and lived in a tiny, tiny house with no electricity or running water. Maud painted nearly every surface in the house and the objects within it with her primitive folk art. She never had art lessons and used empty sardine tins to mix her paints. Everett sold her note cards from his fish wagon and people driving by their little home saw her sign advertising her paintings and stopped to shop. She is a testament to an indomitable spirit.

In 1984 her house was rescued, conserved and is now preserved and on display in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

We wander the Halifax waterfront in the rain.

The glassblowers at Novascotian Crystal work while we watch through a viewing window. The workers patiently blow, cut and polish. The adjoining shop features their mouth blown crystal and their hand cut crystal. Gorgeous, traditional, beauty.

The Historic Properties are Napoleon Era stone warehouses that have been converted to shops and restaurants. The courtyard has its own pillory and a walkway to the sea. the shops are nothing great, but it’s fun to take a peek.

Overlooking the city, and actually in the midst of the city is the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site.

British troops lived here in 1869 when Canada was just two years old and Queen Victoria was on the throne. They stayed in residence until 1906. The Canadian military took over and occupied the fort until 1951. At that time it was transferred to Parks Canada. This fort was never attacked. One could infer it was a powerful strategic deterrent.

Performers re-enact history in the changing of the guard ceremony and pipers in kilts play in the central courtyard of the star fort. We explore the ramparts and the tunnels and wander through the exhibits. The WWI trench exhibit is particularly interesting. The feeling of being “in the trenches” is all too realistic.

The changing of the guard is performed in all seriousness. Nary a smile or a side-long glance from the soldiers.

In April of 1912 four ships were dispatched from Canada to aid in the collection of bodies from the Titanic disaster. Many of those recovered were buried at sea, and a few were shipped to relatives. Those remaining unclaimed were buried in 3 Halifax cemeteries. They were given coffins, a religious service and bouquets of lilies.  At Fairview Lawn Cemetery visitors can see the rows of granite block headstones donated by the White Star Line. Among the rows we find the stone naming “Jack”, the young man depicted by Leonardo DiCaprio in the blockbuster movie.

Next time in Halifax we'll visit the Shore Club in Hubbards for a lobster dinner. It's open May through mid-October. We just missed it. Arrived too late in the season.

www.ShoreClub.ca

Peggy’s Cove

We drive southwest along the rocky tree-lined coastline to the picturesque and iconic community (not a town), of Peggy’s Cove. It is probably the most famous of the tiny settlements perched along the coastline of St Margaret’s and Prospect bays.  It’s tiny but tour buses find it, nonetheless.

At the end of a winding lane, (we are sidetracked by the lobster rolls), towers the world’s most photographed, (and still active), lighthouse. It sits amid huge granite boulders left behind 10,000 years ago by receding glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. We have a blue-sky, but windy, day to watch the waves crash and pound and continue to smooth the rock.

So who was Peggy? A couple of theories exist. One says she was the lone survivor of a shipwreck here in the 1800’s, another that Peggy is just short for St. Margaret.

A memorial to Swissair flight 111 is situated at the end of a short trail a few miles beyond Peggy’s Cove.

On September 2, 1998 all 229 people on board died when their plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 5 miles from shore. The flight had left New York on its way to Geneva. The cause of the accident was said to be a fire in the cockpit that spread throughout the plane.

The memorial is located in a silent space overlooking St Margaret’s Bay. Peggy’s Cove lighthouse stands watch in the distance.