Post 8 of 17
Day 17: Bangor to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - 303 Miles + Ferry
Halifax Day - Wow
A lot of new stuff today. Two new Canadian provinces: New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. And, of course, Halifax - a small dot in a distant land for so many years. Giddy up.
The ferry at Saint John leaves at 2:15, line up at 1:15. It is only 3 hours away on Hwy 9, which is mostly uneventful Maine countryside. We leave before 9:00.
We get to no more Maine at the border crossing of Calais. One car ahead of us and we are in
New Brunswick - Province #5.
Saint John is only an hour away and we explore the city a bit
I see that my phone clock and the car clock are off an hour. Holy crap, the
Maritime Provinces are another time zone further east - called
Atlantic Daylight Time. It's actually an hour later than we think it is. We grab lunch at a drive-thru window and race to the dock. Made it.
The ferry for
Digby, Nova Scotia leaves exactly at 2:15 PM, about the time I would've been pulling up to get in line. Dodged that bullet. I've never been able to get a BMW clock to change time zones, even though it says it is set up to do so.
Saint John
The ferry was uneventful for the first two hours, until the rolling seas made the wife a little green just before entering
Digby Gut (the notch out the window) near the end of the journey. Bay of Fundy - check.
Province # 6
We take Hwy 8 directly over to the Atlantic side of Nova Scotia, crossing a lonely plateau of mostly uninhabited land - no towns, no gas, no food. Our target is
Lunenberg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded in 1753 by the British.
A very quaint and colorful place
It's already after 7 o'clock with an hour left to Halifax. Nothing grabs us as a place we might like to eat. So, we push on.
At 8:15, after 17 days and over 5,000 miles, THE THING IS DONE.
We have a lovely corner room at the Halifax Marriot Harbourfront Hotel and an excellent dinner in the hotel restaurant. 30 years of planning and wondering if it can be pulled off.......yes. Yes, it can.
Back in the room, my sister calls from Portland. My mom passed today. I was able to see her at the nursing home on Mother's Day before we left. She had been declining for years, but took a turn for the worse when we were about 3,000 miles out and was not expected to last more than a day or two - at least not long enough until we could get back, as we were seven days away at the time. So, we pushed on. She went a couple days longer than expected, but, it is what it was. She would have said, "You kids keep going! Don't fuss with me." She was a travel bug in her own right.
A day of highs and lows. I finally make to Halifax and suddenly I'm an orphan. Jeez.
Halifax, Nova Scotia Almost the same latitude as Portland.
Total Miles: 5,152
Daily Avg: 303 Miles
Day 18: Halifax Area - 64 Miles
The day dawns cold and windy - I think you're really supposed to visit Halifax in July.
Halifax is the largest city (440,000) and capital of Nova Scotia. It has one of the largest and deepest ice free harbors in the world. Founded in 1749, it became a strategic military and naval base, taking on important roles even through WWI and WWII.
We stroll along the waterfront and find the
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
The museum is chock full of maritime history, which is basically the history of Halifax. It also has a tremendous collection of model ships, both military and passenger.
Halifax was the jumping off point for convoys taking supplies to Europe during WWI and WWII
Plus, an extensive Titanic exhibit, as the city played a vital role in the recovery of the victims in April 1912.
Another disaster, a few years after the Titanic, had a more profound effect on the city of Halifax. In December of 1917, during WWI, the
SS Mont-Blanc was hit by the Norwegian ship
SS Imo in the harbor as the Imo had mistakenly navigated a shipping channel through a straight called the Narrows. The Mont-Blanc - fully loaded with TNT and highly flammable fuel - was to join a convoy scheduled to depart for Europe. In the Narrows, the Imo went for the wrong side and the ships collided at 8:45 AM. The damage wasn't catastrophic, but the fuel barrels on the Mont-Blanc tipped over and flooded into the hold.
When the Imo tried to disengage, it created sparks and set the fuel on fire. 20 minutes later, the Mont-Blanc was blown to smithereens. Nearly all structures within a half mile were obliterated, as the blast wave of 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit travelled at over 3,000 ft/second.
We finish up in the museum and explore the waterfront some more
The Queen's Marque
After a quick lunch we head up to the
Halifax Citadel National Historic Site.
The Citadel is the fortified summit of Citadel Hill, that overlooks Halifax and protects the harbor. It was never attacked. It dates back 275 years, with several modifications and rebuilds.
Halifax in the 1800's
The current star shaped fortress began construction in 1828 and was completed in 1856. The massive masonry fort was designed to repel both land and sea attacks. It has a large internal courtyard and a clear view of the harbor from armored ramparts.
The city of Halifax
We need to get out to one of the more scenic spots near Halifax while we still can. So we grab the car and head SW across the peninsula to Peggy's Cove, about an hour away.
Callaghans Cove on the way
Peggy's Cove is a small picturesque fishing village, known for it's dramatic granite coastline and the iconic Peggy's Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1915 and is one of the most photographed landmarks in Canada.
Hey, a car pic
Weather beaten
The granite coastline
Peggy's Point Lighthouse
Viewpoint
Hey, its dinner time, so we stop in at the
Sou' Wester for a nice seafood dinner overlooking the lighthouse. Pretty nice view.
We drive back to Halifax and look around a bit and head for the room to watch the ships come and go.
Tomorrow we reach the farthest point from home. And then, turn around and head for home.
Total Miles: 5,216
Daily Avg: 290 Miles
Day 19: Halifax to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada - 288 Miles
This morning dawns windy and gray again. We go out in search of breakfast and a few last pictures on the waterfront.
I think this is
City Hall
We say our goodbyes to Halifax and head for the open road - Hwy 107 along the coast up to
Sheet Harbor. The weather is nasty.
We stop for lunch at the only restaurant in town and grab some fish and chips. Our original idea was to catch the ferry at Caribou, up on the Northumberland Straight and cross over to Prince Edward Island. Again, we call an audible, cancelled the ferry and decided to add many more miles to the day by driving there. A longer drive versus stormy seas seemed like the better choice.
We drive through wind and rain for three hours without seeing much. As we near the bridge to Prince Edward Island, the skies open up and all hell breaks loose. We pull off, start up again, pull off and start up again.
This was the 3rd time we stopped. It was ureal - but the brave plowed on. Might be the most violent rain storm we've ever experienced.
We are about 5 miles from the
Confederation Bridge - and it's 8 miles of exposure over the Northumberland Straight. The wind is still strong, but the rain has subsided. We quickly scurry across in 12 minutes.
Made it to Province #7
We reach the outskirts of
Charlottetown, drop our bags at the hotel and go downtown for dinner and a look see. Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island and might have been fun to walk around - in July. But, it's cold and windy and a bit rainy. We grab dinner, take a few pics of the colorful town and call it a day. We make it back to the hotel after 8 o'clock.
The
May Driving Performance on MyBMW app is out. 138 hours is a lot of time in a car.
All the miles came in the back half
This is the one that cracked me up
Damn straight!
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Total Miles: 5,504
Daily Avg: 290 Miles
We are now at our maximum distance from home. Tomorrow starts the return journey. The map below shows the direct route (which we are not taking) showing we could do it in only 3,663 miles.
My route will have us travelling 5,388 miles.
And, just like that, we're going home.
By the way, the return trip might actually have better stuff.