Tim & Denise Tiner Travels: July 2017

July 24, 2017 - Day 5 - Halifax, NS and surrounding area

After a good nights sleep, we all got up and got ready and headed out the door by 9:30 AM. We only knew that we wanted to go downtown and check out some of the areas down there and then head out to Peggy's Cove, an area that people have said that they enjoyed visiting.

First, let me say our home here is really nice. Nice rooms and very clean. But, after having traveled this week with mostly one bathroom for all of us for most nights, I don't think I would do that again. Two couples need two bathrooms...especially in this case. But live and learn.

We started by visiting the Citadel, a fort like structure that sits on a hill overlooking the Harbour. Denise could give a lecture on the history of it all. But for now, I'll say it is only a ceremonial site and nothing associated with the military today. Nonetheless, it was fun to see them shoot guns, change the guard and so on.

After leaving the fort, we headed a few blocks down towards the water. We were looking for the 'boardwalk' that people spoke of. We found it. But honestly, it did not seem like much. But then, it was Monday morning and few people there. After walking around a bit, Denise and I decided to go into the Maritime Museum on the boardwalk. It cost $9.50 CAN which was too much for the in-laws to pay since they don't enjoy museums much. So they just waited outside while we spent an your in the museum. It was neat to hear some historical stories about things that had occurred in the Halifax Harbor. Halifax also sent folks out to the Titanic, some 700 miles away, to retrieve as many bodies that they could recover. Some 350 bodies were brought back and many were not claimed. So there are ceremonies here where many Titanic victims are buried.

After the museum tour, we headed back to the car to drive out to Peggy's cove. It was about a 45 minute drive going through country inland. However, once you get back on the coast, it is quite the scenic drive. Peggy's Cove was highly involved in the recovery of the Swiss Air Flight that crashed some 5 miles out in the sea there. Nobody survived that flight but 98% of the airplane was recovered and reassembled to try and figure out what happened. There is a memorial there in regards to those that perished in that flight. On the way, we saw a food truck. So I pulled over hoping to get some good seafood (Lobster) for lunch. We got some. But it was not as good as what we had on the beach on Sunday.

After leaving Peggy's Cove, we headed out looking for a sandy beach. We drove a good 30 minutes and then finally came upon a bit of sand that rolled up to the water. I wheeled over and sent Julee out to find shells and sea glass. I think she would spend all day hunched over searching the sand for something sacred and special. Pretty funny to watch. But it was nice to sit back and enjoy the sea air.

Well...our trip is basically done. We will be getting up at 4 AM trying to get out the door at 4:30 AM to get to the airport and catch and early flight. That is our best option to getting out of this town via standby seats!

Pictures...

Our AIRBNB house in Halifax and rooms inside....

The Citadel fort in Halifax....

The boardwalk down on the harbor. It is rich in maritime history...

The Maritme museum has a ton of large vessel models. I mean a lot of them. They are pretty cool...

One stop in the museum was to learn how to do morse code. I became an 'expert'!

We saw this sign...

So we stopped at Mabel's Farmer's Store to get food at....

Andrew's Food Truck that was along the roadway.

Map of Peggy's Cove. We actually drove out towards Hubbards to find a sandy beach for Julee to comb through...

The lighthouse at Peggy's Cove...

Peggy's Cove....

The Swiss Air flight memorial...

Queensland beach!!!!

This was on one side of the road...fresh water flowing into the sea.

Julee taking search position....

And then the final resting place for searching. She was bent over like this for 30 minutes.

We passed by so many fishing ports that looked like this. Really reminded me of Alaska. Very picturesque....

July 23, 2017 - Day 4 Prince Edward Island (PEI), Nova Scotia (Halifax)

Although Denise and I had a very nice king sized bed, I slept quite badly. I'm not sure why. I had a hard time falling asleep and then woke up many times during the night. Maybe it was the sea calling my name. I don't know. I was up by 6 AM, showered and ready to go.

Robert greeted us with a yummy breakfast. It was a frittata with lots of nice vegetables in it. We also had bacon and toast to go along with it. We also had milk and juice. Dale wanted hot chocolate. But Robert said that he did not have any. Before leaving the final time, he told Dale he had found a packet and that Dale needs to come back to get it.

At about 9:30 AM, we set out for church. It started at 10 AM in Montague which was about a 30 minute drive. The 'church' looked more like a seminary building. Sacrament Meeting was held in a room the size of a Relief Society room with about 40 people in attendance. It turned out to be Branch conference and the whole Stake Presidency was there. As part of stake business they released the Branch President who had been serving in that calling for about 8 years. The fellow they sustained to replace him served as Branch President some 30 years ago when he was really young. Apparently he had joined the church 36 years prior. But what a humble men these two were as they bore their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a nice spirit that I really enjoyed. It is nice to know that I can travel just about any where in the world and find a group of saints that feel like I've known them all my life. That is pretty cool!

After church, we headed to Panmure Island Lighthouse. Robert had given us some free passes to get into the Lighthouse and go up to the top. It was fun to go there and go up top and look around the area. It is so beautiful and cool. It is breezy and a nice break from the heat back home.

After visiting the Lighthouse, we stopped at a little shack on the beach by there for some 'chowder'. Denise and I ordered a lobster roll and a bowl of chowder to share. The chowder was expensive as the roll. But it soon became apparent why. It had more seafood in it than the sea we were by. It was so good. And the lobster roll tasted so nice too. Lobsters and seafood in general is just a way of life here. I could enjoy that way of life.

After enjoying lunch, we headed back to the Cliffside Inn to collect our belongings and change our clothes. Robert whispered to me as we walked in that he was missing a pillow and jokingly wondered if Dale and Julee had stole it and took it to church because the pews would be 'too hard'. We both laughed. And then I remembered that I saw a pillow behind the door and told him that was where it probably was. And it was there. But we had a good laugh.

I am now writing this from the 'D' deck of the Nova Scotia to PEI ferry. I'm listening to guy play the guitar and sing while we travel. Dale, Julee and Denise are off somewhere reading their books and people watching. I won't tell you who is reading and watching people...you'll have to guess that one! It is a 75 minute journey. Then once we arrive, it will be a 2.5 hour drive to Halifax.

One more day of touring and then we get to head home. I hit the wall about now and I'm ready to go home. But I'm working my way through it. Our visit to PEI has been wonderful. So green, cool and 'Atlantic' beautiful!

Upon landing on Nova Scotia soil, we were greeted with a nice surprise. We were told the drive to Halifax was 2.5 hours. However, the GPS was telling us it was going to be 1.5 hours. And it was. But, that meant we had to tell our AIRBNB hosts that we were going to be an hour earlier. They emailed us back saying that they would hurry but they might be 30 minutes later. Se said OK and then decided to go find the Halifax LDS temple. We found the temple quite easily. It sits next to a Stake Center and it was all locked up. Nobody was at the church either. So we took a few pictures and then left quickly. After a few wrong turns, we found our way to our BNB. Our hosts are from South Korea and live in the basement. The home is a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom place. It is pristine clean. The mother and the daughter gave us a nice tour. Once we got our gear inside, we headed to find a store and some dinner. We ended up eating at a Tim Horton's...a very common fast food place in Canada. But the funny story of the day came right after we ate dinner. Next to us was a McDonald's. Of course Julee and Dale wanted an Ice Cream cone. So Julee went by herself to get two of them. She comes out with two large cones...even Dale commented how big they were. She gets in and we asked how much they were and how she paid for them. She said she asked the guy if they took US dollars. At first they said No. But then a manager said they did. Now these cones cost 3.30 Canadian. Julee whips out a $20 US bill! We about fell out of the car laughing. I'm sure the clerk just looked at her. Anyway, they gave her $24 CAN for it. But now she has been ripped off for the last two hours cause she paid....possibly...$1 Canadian more than needed for the two cones and that was if she had gotten the BEST exchange rate...which we never do. Anyway...it was funny.

Well...we are about to go to bed. One more day touring around. I sure hope we get home come Tuesday! I'm starting to think about that already. I'm tired and ready to go.

Pictures...

Views out of our room....