Our coastline drive to Halifax was dotted with stops for scenery, small towns, and stops for beer! What ended up to be one of my top fave breweries on this trip was the Salt Box Brewery in Mahone Bay. Mahone Bay is a beautiful town that is likely very lively in the summer with sailers and beachgoers. There are large vacation homes and it is not a long drive to Halifax.
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| wood carved fishermen were everywhere - small ones in shops, large ones on doorsteps. Just like Gr Gus carved! |
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| tasting was fun |
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| becoming a pale ale fan |
It seemed that this set the stage for our Halifax activities. Beer, bread, donair. Donair is a made up item invented in Halifax at the King of Donair small restaurant. Think gyro with beef, sauce and tomato. Turk and I shared one and found it flavorful, messy (which it is supposed to be) and probably quite popular in a late night after the bars.
Our AirBnB was a very old building with very thick stone walls. Since we were in the top floor where the 'help' would have stayed, the windows and the stairway were small.
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| Anthony Bordain included Donairs in his show on Halifax - and loved them |
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| demoing how to eat donair |
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| AirBnB - tiny windows at top are ours |
One of the things I started to notice in Nova Scotia when I went into a restroom was a used needle receptacle. Once I identified what it was, I noticed them in every restroom, no matter if it was a restaurant, a gas station, a park. And I was surprised to see that each one was very full. I don't have any idea of how often these are emptied, but the volume of needles I saw on this trip was stunning.
We explored the port where two ships were docked that day. The hoards of cruise people would appear in all ports that we visited. We figured out a plan to navigate to what we wanted to see and do while avoiding the masses.
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| One of the cruise ships at port in Halifax |
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| drunken light post - really! |
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| hurricane repairs |
When at the port, we noticed the pavers were piled up in odd places. We found out that the hurricane had created waves that displaced the paver walkways. So we had some interesting walking routes along the way.
My favorite port art was the Drunken Lampposts. This was an art installation that was so popular, it stayed!
The hurricane did create some odd conditions. Some businesses were not open due to electrical or water issues. Army was everywhere to fill in as resources to clear trees from roads and power lines. Power trucks traveled in groups all hours to get to a next location.
The storm's most publicized impact was a building crane in downtown Halifax that crashed into the highrise it was being used for. The condo structure was situated in between other condos and businesses. As a result, people had to move out of their condos and the businesses in one city block had to stay closed while engineers, and probably attorneys, evaluated what to do next.
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| making rum cake - it smelled so good! |
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| Army was everywhere |
We visited four breweries and two bakeries! One of the breweries, Tidehouse, had only 9 stools around a small bar that circled the brewmaster. Every once in a while, he'd reach behind him to a storeroom and pour a new brew for us to try. We enjoyed this intimate setting so much as it threw together anyone visiting and you immediately started talking.
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| seemed very popular. We saw their beers everywhere |
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| another of my favorites. Great NE IPA! |
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| several waterfalls to hike to |
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| hiking down to the gorge |
Our bakery selection came from the recommendations of the chocolatier we visited - Rousseau Chocolates. Turk was very impressed with their hot sipping chocolate and he is very picky. We visited and ate at both bakeries. We decided one was better for croissants, the other for baguettes. Yes, we are getting that picky!
The next day, we headed for Cape Breton Island, a place described by Nova Scotians as 'weird', 'beautiful', 'different'. We made our way via Truro, considered the capital of the Acadian community and not far from where we weathered the hurricane in Grand Pre. The centerpiece of this town is their 3000 acre woodsy Victoria Park. It is over 130 years old and is much loved and cared for by this community. There is a creek, are waterfalls, many well marked and cleared trails, wooden stairs and decks, benches, picnic areas, swimming holes. What else could you ask for! We explored and enjoyed both the hike and our lunch of delicious baguette sandwiches. And then we continued to CBI for another adventure.
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