All of that sailing mostly occurred as we slept the night away. We woke up 7:00 a.m. which is 6:00 back in the Eastern Time Zone in the States as we changed time zones when we entered Canada on night before last. It was also 5:00 a.m. for our central-time-trailed bodies. After our blustery and raining day in Saint John (which you can read about in the article below), we have a gorgeous blue-sky-and-lots-of-sunshine day here in Halifax. We dropped by the laundry room on our way to breakfast and started a load of wash. It is now drying and will be done at 9:30 so right after that we will hit the streets of Halifax. We have a hop-on-hop-off trolley tour this morning and then a ride out to Peggy’s Cove this afternoon.
The Capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax is the largest city in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces. Once a military and naval base used to defend the British colonies, the historic properties in downtown Halifax boast beautifully restored buildings that recall the flourishing maritime history of centuries past. At Privateer’s Wharf, we may find Nova Scotia’s floating ambassador, the schooner Bluenose II, tied up just as old sailing ships were more than 200 years ago. Halifax is also the gateway to some of Nova Scotia’s best sight-seeing, including Peggy’s Cove where the rugged beauty of the surf-pounded granite cliffs and the solitary lighthouse is unsurpassed.
8:30 P.M. ~~ A SUMMARY OF OUR DAY’S DOINGS: We had a fabulous day. The Gray Line tour of Halifax was very good. We rode the entire route and then returned to the ship for lunch. Here are some of the places we saw: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax Citadel Fortress, Halifax Public Gardens, Halifax National Park, Halifax Citadel National Park, and more. At 1:20, we had to be back out at the Pier 21 to catch the bus for our ride out to Peggy’s Cove. It was a 35-mile ride out there with the foliage colors getting prettier and prettier the farther we went. We arrived at Peggy’s Cove and disembarked the bus. What a visual feast for our eyes and an audio feast for our ears to see and hear the waves crashing against the granite boulders. It was a gorgeous afternoon with bright blue skies and bright sunshine. From yesterday’s storm they still had a stiff wind out there but it just added to the mystique of the place. I can’t even begin to describe the beauty we witnessed out there. I hope that the 300+ photos we took will somehow represent all that we saw and experienced out there. For anyone interested, I found a "live" webcam that shows the Peggy Cove Lighthouse in real time. Here is the URL: http://www.peggyscovewebcam.ca/live/
We got back to the ship right at the 5:30 cut-off for returnees and came on up to our room and dressed for dinner. A couple of nights ago, we met a delightful couple from the Huntsville area and had met up with them again and so had made plans for dinner tonight. We met at a restaurant and enjoyed a 2-hour meal with Paul and Judy.
While eating, the ship set sail for our return trip to NY. Here is our sailing itinerary: Since departure, Caribbean Princess traveled on a South Westerly and will pass through the Lehave Basin late on this Friday evening. We will clear the Nova Scotia coastline in the early hours of Saturday morning. Caribbean Princess will continue on her South bound course transiting the Fundin Channel, crossing over St. George’s Bank at noon on Saturday. Once clear of the Nantucket Shoals in the every evening, a Westerly heading will be set for Ambrose Light Tower. Caribbean Princess will begin her approach to New York from the Ambrose Light Tower and Sandy Hook Pilot Station in the early hours of Sunday morning. With the Pilot onboard, Caribbean Princess will approach the Channel, passing under the Verrazano Bridge and then on final approach, will pass the Statue of Liberty on our Port Side. Caribbean Princess will swing off Governor’s Island and proceed astern onto our designated berth at Brooklyn’s Red Hook Terminal. We expect to be "All Fast" by early Sunday morning.
The following are some of the 300+ pics we made during our day in Halifax and Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. It and Bar Harbor, Maine tied as the best of the scenic views of the entire trip. Here are our Halifax pics:
Getting off the ship at Pier 21 to catch our tour excursions ~~ 2 planned for today.
Our morning excursion was a hop-on-and-off trolley tour around Halifax. It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of interesting sites/sights:
The stone-faced guard at the Citidel:
The sign at the entrance of the Citadel:
The clock tower at the foot of the Citadel:
A lovely old home and pretty foliage in Halifax:
The Titanic Sunk about 700 miles off the Halifax coast. One of Halifax's major ships went out and made a lot of rescues as well as recoved a lot of bodies ~~ many of which were buried in this cemetery:
Pretty scenery:
Another lovely scene:
I love to see churches and always pray that they are truly Bible-Preaching and Soul-Winning Stations in the community where they are planted:
For our afternoon tour, we boarded a big bus for our 35-mile ride out to Peggy's Cove. Rick in a Scottish Kilt was our tour guide and did an excellent job all afternoon long.
As we travel through Halifax leaving town, here was a statute/monument and a young man talking on his cell phone. Some things are universal!
We arrive at Peggy's Cove and this is one of the first sights we view: The Fishermen's Monument. The sculptor's ashes and his wife's ashes are buried in this granite wall.
A lovely scene as we view this part of the Cove; like a calendar page come to life:
The blue sky and abundant sunshine were such a blessing after all of the rain we had endured the day before:
Another gorgeous scene ~~ like a Rockwell painting -- only it's the real thing. Peggy's Cove official population is like 120 people. Unbelievable!
Just to prove it's real, here I am standing on the dock in frontof that scene:
Another view:
I'm dazzled by the scenery all around me as I try to concentrate on what our tour guide Rick is telling us about this granite sculpture:
Richard standing in front of this old boat and the idyllic scene behind it:
We finally walk around the corner and see the famous Peggy's Cove Lighthouse. That is Richard way up there waving at me:
Oh.... Rick the tour guide gave a talk about the world-famous Peggy's Cove lobsters. At the end, he wanted someone to volunteer to hold that live lobster. Look who volunteered and even kissed it:
That gorgeous lighthouse ~~ the crowning touch of this gorgeous cove, granite cliffs, and pounding Atlantic surf:
Here we are out past the lighthouse and nearer to the water ~~ standing on the cliffs.
Here we are out past the lighthouse and nearer to the water ~~ standing on the cliffs.
Every turn and twist of the cliffs gives a different view of the beauty out here:
That's me up there touching the lighthouse:
As we are preparing to leave the lower part of the cliffs, we look back for one last view of her beacon:
As we are preparing to leave the lower part of the cliffs, we look back for one last view of her beacon:
This was an interesting carved out granite configuration:
Richard standing by one of the boulders that make up the cliffs:
This was a shot I made by standing at the base of the lighthouse and looking up. It was really tall:
The sun shining across the water as we prepare to leave. What a wonderful afternoon we enjoyed at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia!
