Halifax, Nova Scotia

This may sound very "American" of me but I never knew/never stopped to figure out where Halifax, Nova Scotia is.  It always sounded like some far off and exotic place whenever I would read about it.  When I realized we were going there I was pleasantly surprised.  :)

Nova Scotia means New Scotland in Latin and it is indeed very influenced by Scotland.  It is one of the "Maritime Provinces" in Canada and I think it is the most beautiful.  It played a big part in both world wars because of its location,

Our first day we visited The Citadel which is an old fort built right on the water to protect Nova Scotia from France and later on, The United States.  It never was used as such but when you go today, you will find soldiers, still firing their guns, while dressed in their tartan plaid and once a day, at noon the canon is still fired.

Nova Scotia also plays home to a couple UNESCO World Heritage Sites and we had the pleasure of visiting both.  One of them is called Peggy's Cove.  It is a tiny fishing village located on the eastern shore of St. Magarets Bay and it is home to Peggy's Point Lighthouse.  It is stunning where the edge of land meets the ocean and the waves slam against the rocks, creating "water explosions".  :)  We walked around for a little bit but spent the majority of our time watching the waves since it was an overcast and windy day, thereby creating "angry waters".

The next day we drove out to another UNESCO World Heritage Site which is Lenenberg.  Another small town that is home to The Bluenose II.  The original Bluenose was a fishing and racing schooner that became an icon of Nova Scotia but it was wrecked in 1946.  She was so popular that she was replicated in 1963 and still sails today.  We just happened to be there while she was in port.  She was sailing to Boston a couple of days after we saw her.  Lenenberg was also a huge fishing port but is now a popular tourist area known for its colorful buildings and beautiful architecture.
After Lenenberg we drove out to one of Canada's National Parks called Kejimkujik.  It is a heavily forested area with some beautiful lakes and rivers to kayak in.  We just did a short little hike and then we were on our way.  A fun fact about Canada's National Parks is that they put up 2 red, adirondack chairs whenever they think there is a view worth seeing.

Our last day in Halifax we went down to the waterfront area.  It is a beautiful setting of restaurants and shops and fun touristy things like segway tours and duck boat tours.  We decided to do a duck boat (or what they call a Harbour Hopper) tour to learn some fun facts and history of Halifax.  One fun fact is people that live in Halifax are called Haligonians.  :)  It was a beautiful day so we walked up and down the waterfront, had a glass of wine and just took it easy.  I have now been to 5 Canadian provinces and Nova Scotia is my favorite so far.