We stayed the night at Graves Island Provincial Park in Chester Nova Scotia. What a very pretty place. A beautiful place to start a beautiful day.
On down the road to Halifax there would be a few stops along the way. We came across this view point with plaques. You know I had to stop. It had been a whaling community back in the day and gave a beautiful view of Shoal Cove, Big Tancook and little Tancook Islands.
The Swiss Air Memorial in Hubbards Nova Scotia is a moving tribute to the 229 people who perished on Swiss Air Flight 111 on September 2, 1998.
The Communities of Peggy’s Cove and Blandford were instrumental in the recovery effort at the time of the crash. This memorial erected is in a triangle shape. With the base being Bayswater and one arm pointing to Whaleback and the other pointing to the crash site. Whaleback and Bayswater were was chosen because of the closeness to the crash site.
A wonderful tribute in a beautiful setting to those that lost their lives on these shores that day!
On down the road a stop for gas led us to Tantallon and this little restaurant. Delish Fine Foods is a small British cafe. I am delighted to say it was delish as the name says and British. A good breakfast, some home made shortbread cookies and some Toast and Jam tea and we were off to continue our adventure.
On down the road into Halifax. By this time it was late afternoon, there was so much to see and so little time. Our first stop would be the graveside of the Titanic victims in Fairview Cemetary. Kim had never seen it and we both have a fascination with cemetaries.
The Titanic sank off the Newfoundland coast April 15, 1912 with a loss of over 1500 passenger and crew. In Fairview Cemetary 119 of those lost are buried. The headstones make the shape of the ship.
Some of the gravestones have names and some just a date and a number. I think of these lost souls, their lives ending in such a tragic way and no one knowing their names. May they have found peace.
The tombstone on the left was erected for the youngest of the Titanics victims. When his remains were found there was no identification, a tombstone to the Unknown child was erected. In 2007 testing revealed the child was Sydney Leslie Goodwin. A third class passenger with his family, they all perished that day.
The cemetary also holds the memories of the victims of the Halifax fire in 1917 many who were never identified or ever found.
Going into Halifax we made a left instead of a right and ended up at the Halifax Citadel. When we got there it was closed so we decided to find a place close to park for the night and go back the next day.
Grab a coffee because this was a huge very interesting place.
When we pulled up to the ticket booth the young boy told me I could park in the ditch. In the ditch?? Oh she is not good with ditches. Lol! He told me not to worry I would fit fine.
The first part of this magnificent structure was built in 1749. With three more forts added and completed in 1855. When you enter the tunnel through the thick walls you are at once brought back in time. Halifax Citadel was used to defend our east side and is shaped like a giant star. As you can see in the photo above the all are high and thick. Walking out into the main area there are garrison houses, army barracks and even a powder house.
Guides that take you back to a time of war in the early 19th century. It was a sight to behold. The guides were very knowledgeable and even fired a musket while we were there.
The Fort was more than just a place for soldiers. It was a small city inside these walls with entire families living here. A school house was constructed to ensure the children were well educated living this army lifestyle.
You can walk everywhere, even between the walls. Believe it or not we got a little lost in there and actually came out a different exit than we went in. In small and dark walking through and many of the doorways were barred. At some points we had to use the flash light on our phones to make sure we did not trip on anything while finding our way out.
The officers quarters, sewing room where the uniforms were put together for the soldiers have all been restored to original. It was interesting to see how the uniforms were made. The sleeves, front, back and pant legs all different sizes, came to the citadel shipped from England. Measurements were then taken of the soldiers and the pieces sewed together to fit.
There was a special exhibit on while we were there. A recreation of the summer of 1944 when Canadian, British and American forces landed on the beach of Normandy.
156,000 troops landed that day. My Dad being one of them. He never talked about the war much but every once in awhile he would tell a few stories. The landing and subsequent fight for freedom, he would only say it was something he would never forget. I will always remember the look in his eyes when he spoke of that time. A quiet sadness over took him. As I walked down the recreation of the taking of Juno Beach my heart swells. For all of those that endured what must have been horrific moments to keep our country free I hang my head and whisper Thank you! Stand for your rights! Never let the sacrifice of those be undone!
Thank you Dad! 💜
The museum housed in what would have been the barracks area was large and interesting. With artifacts and information about not only life at the citadel but also the history of Halifax.
Remember when a stamp was 2 cents? Nah me either but that’s how much it costs to mail a letter in 1898.
Every day for the past 200 years (except Christmas Day) at noon is the firing of the noon day gun. Not just a musket gun but a full blown 12 gauge cannon. When they say it is going to be loud they mean it! It is said that when the clouds are low the sound is so loud it will rattle windows and set off car alarms in Halifax’s downtown. It is all done exactly as it would have been done 200 years ago and exactly at noon. It is done to celebrate the city of Halifax and to commorate the forces that kept it standing!
Fire in the hole!!!
Such an interesting place and a wonderful walk back through time.
On our way into the city we noticed what looked like a battleship. We drove around after coming out of the citadel to try to get closer. As it turns out it was a battleship. Halifax is home to Canada’s East Coast Naval Base and is Port to the Royal Canadian Navy Atlantic Fleet. We could not get close on their side of the river but got a good look at the ships from the other side. Pretty impressive ships.
Heading out of Halifax north towards New Brunswick we had one more stop before leaving this beautiful province. But that’s for next week.
Stay tuned there is more Chipmunk Adventure to come.
See you you soon!
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Really enjoy your posts!💕
Thanks for coming along Bert! 💜