I’m festooned in a scarlet doublet, gold buttons running up my chest, epaulettes on my shoulders and something akin to a tea cozy on my head. Oh, and I’m wearing a kilt. Who could pass up the chance to don the garb of the 78th Highlanders on the site of their lovingly restored 19th century fort?
The Halifax Citadel, completed in 1856, is the fourth in a line of British fortifications built to protect the city. The booming Noon Day Cannon is still fired at precisely high noon each day, just as it was over 150 years ago (though with blank ammunition and safety goggles and ear plugs for the grenadiers).
Just down the hill from the Citadel is the compact but impressive Museum of Natural History. That humming you can hear almost as soon as you enter the doors is the amplified sound of tens of thousands of bees with an established colony inside the museum (behind protective glass). We spent nearly an hour mesmerized by their quixotic dances as we strained to pick out the queen from the mass of wriggling legs and wings.
A jaunt down Halifax’s welcoming waterfront takes us to Pier 21, which marked the nautical entry point for over 1.5 million immigrants to Canada including my wife’s small family fleeing the devastation of post-war Europe. The original cavernous building has been transformed into a multi-media museum of immigration proudly highlighting the origin stories of many of Canada’s vibrant immigrant communities.
On the opposite end of the meandering waterfront path, just steps from our Halifax home base at the Radisson Suites Hotel, lies the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Home of an eclectic mix of nautical oddities, including a vast collection of hyper-detailed ship models, a massive recreation of a giant squid and in-depth analysis of two of the most devastating events in Halifax’s history: the sinking of the Titanic and the 1917 harbour explosion that ripped through the city killing nearly 2000 and leaving over 25,000 homeless.
But a visit to Halifax isn’t complete without drinking in some of the tremendous beauty beyond the city limits. Just a thirty-minute drive from downtown I’m negotiating a narrow two-lane roadway that winds between a smooth rocky shore and slate grey sea. Despite the early morning chill, our guide from East Coast Outfitters is irrepressibly cheerful as she slips our kayaks into the still water. We paddle along a series of channels, squealing with delight at the sea otters below us and the bald eagles above us, until a storm front makes itself known with a bolt of lightning and crack of thunder. Completely nonplussed, our guide turns adversity into a joyful learning experience. We beach our kayaks on a small rocky island where our girls are taught how to build a shelter from materials in the emergency kit. Within minutes, we’re snuggled under a tarp enjoying fruit, cookies, and trail mix while the cold rain pelts down.
Under clearing skies we paddle back to our base and make the short scenic drive to Canada’s most iconic lighthouse – Peggy’s Cove. Perched atop a craggy knoll of smooth rock, the simple red and white structure keeps a watchful eye on the violently churning sea.
Our stay in the Halifax area marks the turning point of our East of Eden adventure. Later this afternoon we will board the Princess of Acadia – the grand old dame of the Northumberland Ferries fleet. At 10,000 tonnes, its 35 crew care for over 600 passengers and up to 155 vehicles on the three-hour sailing from western Nova Scotia to St. John, New Brunswick. In preparation for our ferry departure, we drive into the picturesque village of Digby and watch sail boats and fishing trawlers blow lazily by over a heaping plate of crispy haddock and chips. Midway into our lunch, three men come ashore struggling under the weight of a massive fish. The waitress refills our water glasses and then saunters over to the chalkboard menu to scrawl in loud pink script: “Tomorrow: fresh tuna sashimi special!”
Fresh indeed.
Keep your browser pointed here next month as The Crime Traveller turns west and begins the long drive home to Toronto with a stop in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Edward Prutschi is a Toronto-based criminal defence lawyer. Follow Ed’s criminal law commentary (@prutschi) and The Crime Traveller’s adventures (@crimetraveller) on Twitter, read his Crime Traveller blog, or email ed@thecrimetraveller.com.
Travel support and assistance provided by Tourism Nova Scotia and Destination Halifax.