OMG - What a place!!

Well!  The time has come to turn around and head west.  As Magic left Cape Breton and headed to Halifax, the realization hit that we had just left the most eastern (and we believe northern) point of our journey.  Which means - we are now headed home after 4 months on the road;-)

When we began planning this trip - to ultimately arrive in Nova Scotia - everyone we talked to said to be sure to go to Peggy's Cove just west of Halifax.  G did a great job of vetting a camping spot at Peggy's Cove and the below is the result - - 

Magic's Parking spot at Peggy's Cove - WHAT A VIEW!!

The view from our 'living room' window.

Just around the corner from our parking spot - perched atop massive granite worn smooth by the pounding waves below - is the world famous and picturesque lighthouse beacon at Peggy's Cove, which has been guiding sailors and fishermen home since 1868!!

The famous Peggy's Cove light house.  It must be famous as there was tour bus after tour bus
dropping of passengers to take a look.

The view from the lighthouse in the direction of our campground at the end of the point.

The little village around the lighthouse was so very picturesque - the pictures speak for themselves --

Gary really did a good job on those - don't you think?!?!?

The South Shore (the coastal area extending west from Halifax) is one quaint village after another.  Perhaps the most well known (or celebrated) is that of Lunenburg, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Established in 1753, Old Town Lunenburg is the best surviving example of a British planned colonial settlement in North America.  Its colorful waterfront, narrow streets, captivating architecture and seafaring history make it a real adventure not to be missed.  Again - the pictures tell the story -

The colorful architecture on its narrow streets.

Views of the Lunenberg Harbor.

And then there is the center piece - Halifax.  Full of history and connections to many events we have all learned about but may not know the Halifax connection.  The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a good place to start to (re)learn history.  As those rebels in the colonies broke ties from the mother country England, both England and France tried to advance or protect interests via the Maritimes/Nova Scotia - and Halifax was the hub of this activity.  First it was the French in the late 1600's to the mid-1700's.  Then the British came in to take over until the mid-1800's (when Canada became its own 'country').  There is much sea-faring history from this port that took place through all those years.

Then - in 1912 Halifax played a major role at the time of the sinking of the Titanic.  The maiden voyage of RMS Titanic began in Southampton, England on April 10, 1912 - made several stops - and was to arrive in New York on the 17th with 2,200 passengers.  On Sunday, April 14 at 11:40pm, the Titanic struck an iceberg and by 2:20am on April 15, the "unsinkable ship" was gone.  The grim task of recovering victims was given to four Canadian vessels, which originated from Halifax as it was the closest city to the tragedy.  The bodies that were found were either buried at sea, shipped by train to their families or buried in three Halifax cemeteries.

A short five years later, Halifax endured the largest man-made explosion before the atomic age with the 1917 Halifax Explosion.  A French freighter packed to the gills with explosives entered the harbor to join a convoy to cross the Atlantic.  On its way in, it 'clipped' another ship and caught fire.  Within a short period of time it exploded - eliminating the shoreside villages killing over 2,000 people.

All of this and much more is to be learned at the Maritime Museum.  And - this is just the beginning as there is also the Halifax Citadel, The Public Gardens, Art Galleries and many other historic spots that we could not get to in the allotted time.  HOWEVER - the spots we did see were made possible because of the Segway Tour we did!!  What FUN - -- -

Touring Halifax via Segway.  First - a QUICK training course.

The city below from the Citadel

The harbor.

There is a story here - Can you get it??

More harbor.

As always - the time goes MUCH too fast and we are on our way again.  And so - the sun sets on our little spot here in Peggy's Cove --

The sunsets from our spot were beautiful.  The lens doesn't do them justice.

Once again we are on our way.  Next stop is the Bay of Fundy and those amazing tides;-)

Our next posting will be from Hopewell Rocks if we don't get washed away with the sea -

Elizabeth and Gary - newly trained Segway aficionados;-)