Ship Shape

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Geo: 46.0884, -64.7783

Day 3

Halifax: City Tour, Harbor Boat Ride, Wharf Lunch

Another gorgeous day. How blessed we are.

This morning was devoted to a city tour of Halifax. First up was Fairview Lawn Cemetery where 150 victims of the Titanic are buried. There are three types of headstones:

1. Identified graves of unclaimed victims
2. Unidentified graves
3. Monuments paid for by family members of lost loved ones

Because the ship went down just off the coast of Newfoundland, four rescue and recovery ships from the Atlantic Provinces were hired to search for the dead. Of 328 bodies found, some were buried at sea. Others were brought to Halifax, but only 40 bodies were actually claimed by family members. Of the remaining unidentified or unclaimed bodies, 121 were buried in a special plot at Fairview.

Two of the most decorated plots are one labeled "Unknown Child", who was later identified. And one labeled “J. Dawson”, which some folks would like to believe is the resting place of Leonardo DiCaprio's fictional character Jack Dawson. Of course, Jack had nothing to do with the real life person, Joseph Dawson, who was a Titanic crew member and lies in this marked grave. My heart will go on.

Five years after the Titanic tragedy, Halifax had a tragedy of its own. Two ships, one carrying 2500 tons of explosives, collided in the Halifax harbor. This, despite the fact that Halifax has the second biggest harbor in the world (after Sydney). The collision caused the one ship to catch fire; and sparks from the fire ignited the explosives on the other and there was a humongous explosion, the biggest in history (until the bombing of Hiroshima almost 40 years later).

Because of the noise of the collision and the fire on the first ship, many ran toward the fire or ran to windows to see the fire. When the explosion occurred, 2000 people were killed, and 6000 were injured (many blinded by flying glass shards in their eyes). Some 10,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

To make matters worse, a blizzard struck Halifax the day after the explosion, interfering with rescue efforts. Survivors had to deal with the cold; and others made homeless by the explosion died of exposure. The clock in the Halifax city hall stopped as a result of the explosion and it was never repaired in memory of those who died.

We drove by the shipyards. Saw Canada's Atlantic naval fleet. Passed the public gardens. Drove through Dalhousie University campus (20,000 students, 7th largest in Canada, only $4000 per year for Canadians). Visited Young Street and its elegant homes. And finally, drove the length of the wharf, with its large farmer's market and cruise ship docks.

FYI. Sir Samuel Cunard, British shipping magnate born in Halifax, founded the Cunard Line.

We then took a harbor cruise aboard the Harbour Queen. South to the smoke stacks near where the explosion occurred, and north to the lighthouse. It was a beautiful sunny day but a little “crisp” up top.

Lunch was on our own. We considered a quick lunch and a visit to the Maritime Museum on the wharf. I also really wanted to go to the Public Garden, but I found out it was too far and too uphill for the time allotted.

We ended up at The Bicycle Thief, a clever Italian bistro. We sat outside and dined on pasta. Lovely.

We then embarked on a long ride to Moncton, which we came through on our drive from New Brunswick to Halifax the day before the trip started. I knew it was a transfer and not a sightseeing gig, so I tackled my blog for the day. I might actually get to sleep before midnight tonight!

Along the way, Allison gave us some other anecdotal information. She talked some about Maud Lewis, well known Canadian folk artist who created all her paintings from her one-room home that she shared with her husband in Marshalltown, Digby County, Nova Scotia. Maud herself had physical deformities that kept her in and near her own little world.

Other “stuff” from Allison:

- Flag has crest of Scotland – Nova Scotia is New Scotland
- Provincial bird: osprey
- 50-150” annual snow
- Popular crop: potato
- Fishing and agriculture are biggest industries, followed by tourism
- Largest exports: lobster, blueberries, balsam, Christmas trees, gypsum

We arrived in Moncton, New Brunswick, about 5 pm. Allison suggested places for dining, which was on our own. She pointed them out on Main Street as we drove through town.

We checked into the Delta Beausejour, a nice enough hotel (best in Moncton); it boasts a 4-diamond restaurant where we will dine tomorrow night.

When it was time for dinner, we took Allison's list and wandered Main Street. We settled on Piatto, a flatbread restaurant. It was quite tasty and quite unusual. We liked it. Had a Starbucks latte for dessert!

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Comments

[Sandy Hughes]

Aren't you craving a nice, juicy hamburger?

[spoonball]

Nah, I am loving the seafood. I doubt I will cry "uncle" on lobster.