Moncton NB to Halifax, NS - A foggy day in [Halifax] town - Day 17

This morning we checked out of the gorgeous Residence Inn in Moncton and were “on the road again” to Halifax. It was pretty cloudy in Moncton and I remember saying that it was nice that we seemed (apart from one incredible storm that made the windshield wipers more or less a fashion accessory on the way to Moncton) to drive out of the rotten weather into nice weather this whole trip! (actually, we did drive out of the crazy storm, even, and managed to stay ahead of it the rest of the way, so the rule still stands) And it did seem to be a beautiful sunny day when we arrived at the hotel we are staying at as I write this. (The Halifax airport is about a half hour outside of the city, so we got there before actually arriving in Halifax proper) We were a bit early, but our room was ready so we checked in and put our bags inside before carrying on to town.

We noticed the encroaching fog as soon as we crossed the Angus L
MacDonald Bridge into Halifax from Dartmouth – it was difficult to see the top of the bridge, and virtually impossible to see the end from where we started. But we seemed to be driving away from it when we arrived at the Halifax Citadel, so we slathered Adam up in sunscreen and headed in for our first Canadian history lesson!

Ok. So the Halifax Citadel (Fort George, after George II) was established in 1749, but the version we saw has been restored to the Victorian period (around 1850) and re-enactors of the 78^th Highlanders’ Regiment of Foot and Pipe Band are there demonstrating gun and canon firing and the pipe band marches and plays. We suspect that we didn’t actually get the “a” team today (it being a Wednesday and all, but still… it was loud and pretty cool!)

The first fort was built in 1749, and marked the beginning of Father Le Loutre’s war against Acadian militia and the Mi’kmaq Indians, and continued to be important during the French and Indian wars.

The most interesting thing I learned about this fortification was that Nova Scotia was actually the 14^th British Colony. (You know, how the US started as the 13 colonies?) So the second fort was built in 1776 to make sure that Nova Scotia remained in British hands. During the American Revolution, American privateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding villages around the province, although none actually attacked the garrison (and a good thing too, because they’d have pretty much got their butts kicked, based on the maze-like fortifications, lined with guns.)

The third fortress was built (they levelled and lowered the top of the hill to allow a larger fortress) during the French Revolutionary Wars, and remained during the War of 1812, and the Fourth was built during the Victorian Era.  It has never actually been attacked.

I wondered, after wandering around the park for an hour or so through the labyrinthine outer barricades, what their protocol was for making sure that no one gets locked in there at night time. It seems like a pretty huge task – I’m sure without Adam’s good sense of direction, I’d still be there right now!

After we’d had enough of a history lesson, we went into the rest of the town, the fog hot on our trail. We were struck by the similarities to Boston – from the architecture to the town’s layout. Even the “Burying Ground” in the center of town was pretty similar – just that there were fewer famous revolutionaries and their families there!

We went for a pint at “Your Father’s Moustache” – a pub directly above another pub (the “Rock Bottom Bar”) If you go by the photos on the way up the stairs, they have some kind of ongoing “best moustache” contest going on. The guy who managed to grow and style a moustache into the wings of a biplane was my personal favourite!

By the time we made it down to the waterfront, the fog had really come in, and we weren’t really able to see anything past the piers. But we did see a really funny large scale sculpture in which it appears that a lamppost has gotten drunk and fallen down.

The last stop before returning to the hotel was the official Halifax Donair. We opted for the place who claims to have invented the Donair, King of Donairs. For those unaware of the donair phenomenon, it’s pretty much equivalent to a Gyro, doner kebab or shawarma – mysterious spiced meat made into a dense loaf and cut off an upright rotisserie. It is placed in a pita with onions and tomatoes. The difference, as far as I can tell, is the sauce. Even places in Western Canada that offer “Halifax donairs” seem to use something really close to tzatziki for the sauce. But a true Halifax donair uses a sweet sauce that substitutes sweetened condensed milk for the yogourt or sour cream of tzatziki. This creates a really different taste combination with the spiced meat, and I really liked it. Adam seemed to me to be less sold, although he admitted the wisdom of inventing this kind of street food in a college town (where the legal drinking age is 19). Also, it’s unbelievably messy. I was very glad we’d invested in Wet Ones!

Back to the hotel and relaxing before our ridiculously early flight tomorrow, and staying in a residence at Memorial University in St. John’s! We’re going to let someone else do the driving for a few days!

PS - sorry I've been remiss in updating the photos... they're ready to go, just haven't had enough time. Probably will have some time free this weekend to get caught up!