Halifax
We left Sydney early this morning for the 4.5 hour drive to Halifax- the longest we've done since first arriving in Canada. We stopped in Truro for lunch (the "Hub of Nova Scotia"), named for the town in Cornwall, England as is the Truro on Cape Cod. I did have to look that up, but it makes sense to me.
Major culture shock coming in to the urban jungle in Halifax! I didn't realize how isolated we've been for the past week and a half, spending all of our time in villages or very small towns. Driving into downtown Halifax felt like crossing the bridge into Manhattan.
This is a city of half a million people with a downtown and some skyscrapers- if you use that word loosely. We're staying at a hotel one block from the waterfront (thank you JenMac hotel points) where there is a totally built out boardwalk with a zillion shops, restaurants, bars, food stands, and outdoor activity areas.
It was mobbed this afternoon, I assumed because it was a beautiful sunny afternoon. We found out later that tonight there will be fireworks on the harbor advertised as the biggest display in Halifax in years (see below).
We stuck to the waterfront today but are planning to hike up the hill in the next day or two to see the historic center of town. Like just about everywhere else we've been in Canada, informational and historical signs all include indigenous place names and history. The Mi’kmaq knew "the biggest harbour" as Chebookt, which was anglicized to Chebucto. Halifax was not settled by Europeans until the 1750s when the British government planned out the city to try to gain a foothold in the cod fishery and as a strategic counter to the French settlements at Louisbourg (see August 20 post) and other Acadian settlements in Nova Scotia. Many of the early settlers came from Ireland and Scotland, some from New England. Halifax also became a refuge for Loyalists from Boston and other parts of Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War, many of whom abandoned their New England property and stayed in Canada. That point is pretty cool because I've read a lot about the resettlement to Halifax in the eighteenth century and now I'm seeing where these people I've researched ended up.
Halifax is also home to 15 breweries which is a good thing for a beer drinker, although I'm still happiest with a Miller Light. No shortage of local distilleries either: several rums and whiskeys and we discovered Blue Lobster vodka seltzer drinks made with fresh local blueberries. Jen has been researching customs alcohol limits for the trip home.
We did some sleuthing and figured out that the fireworks and several live music shows around town are all part of something called "Grand Reunion" that is maybe a post-worst of-covid-get-outside-in-large-groups-but-still-social-distance thing? We were able to just walk outside the hotel lobby and have a perfect view!
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