Friends come to visit us! And - fall is on the way!

For some time, we have been anticipating the arrival of our friends Dave and Carol, who are on a cruise from Iceland to Greenland to Newfoundland, and then to Halifax and on to Boston.  We drove down to Halifax to meet them and welcome them off the boat for a day of adventure.

 

The first stop is the Maritime Museum in Halifax, which also houses the Titanic Exhibit.  When the Titanic sank in April 1912, Halifax was the closest port, and the survivors were brought here first.  Rescue vessels were also sent out from Halifax.



The Port of Halifax also berths a decommissioned Canadian warship, the Corvette HMCS Sackville.  It was used as a convey escort an U-boat hunter during WW2.  Carol and Sis J get a briefing before stepping on board.



About 150 of the nearly 1500 Titanic victims were buried at the Fairlawn Cemetery in Halifax.  These included about 50 "unknown" persons.  Several of those have subsequently been identified through DNA and other research, but there are still some unidentified.  All those who died on the Titanic have a death date of 15 April 1912.
 


Well, our big adventure with Dave and Carol turned into a long tour of the Museum and Cemetery, a long enjoyable lunch at an outdoor case on the pier, and a walk down the cruise ship pavilion.  We say goodbye at 4pm so they can get back on board.  We are so happy we got to see friends from home, and will see them again in a couple of months when we return.


There were a couple of places on our tour agenda with Dave and Carol that we didn't have time to safely drive to and return them in time to board.  So after we dropped them off, we made the run ourselves:  To Mahone Bay, about 30 miles south of Halifax, which is known for its picturesque harbor and 3 churches on the same street.



Just a little further down is Lunenburg, which is also known for its nice harbor, and is home to a full size replica of the famous schooner Bluenose.  If you time it right (which we didn't), you can get a cruise around the harbor on Bluenose II.



Well, here it is, the first fall leaf.  This is just a precursor of the beautiful fall colors for which Cape Breton is known.  We'll be taking a "color tour" when they are at their height.



On the way back from Halifax, we stopped in to visit our friends and Branch members George and Anne in Stewartdale.  They have a couple of Adirondack-style lawn chairs, and Sister Johnson was able to catch a little sun while resting, before we made the last 1.5 hour drive back to our apartment in Dominion.



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