Blogs from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, North America - page 2

Well, we made it to Halifax. We did take a slow route. Sacramento to Denver. Then Denver to Chicago. We only had a 51 minute layover in Chicago and our plane from Denver was late. When we landed in Chicago, we had 15 minutes to get to our plane to Halifax. We landed on the farthest runway from the terminal and parked at the farthest gate from the runway. Then we had to run past 10 gates, go thru a long hallway to the next building and up to gate 6, where they told us we needed to go to the next building and gate 25. I ran ahead and everyone was already on the plane except us. We had to wait for Stacy. When we got to Halifax I got a text that one of ... read more

Dear Friends (and others!), This blog will be about our 2 month adventures traveling across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver – mostly by train, with lots of stops on the way. Some of you may have subscribed to our previous trips to follow along on our Caminos, and may not be interested. It’s okay if you unsubscribe – my feelings won’t be hurt. Maybe next year for our next Camino. I won’t be writing every day – maybe just every Provence. Halifax, Nova Scotia An uneventful flight from Austin to Halifax after 2 hours of sleep. The highlight was using one of our United lounge passes in Newark. Free buffet, good coffee and a relaxing place to wait until our connection. I could get used to that! We landed to find rain, cold and a strong ... read more

Our final port day before Boston on the Fantastic Voyage of the Vikings is upon us. It doesn’t seem like a journey that began for us about seven weeks ago; yet, here we are. Today we have a fairly early start and an even longer day planned, and our prospects for making it back for Team Trivia in the afternoon are not good. We head for the elevator which confirms for us that yes indeed, this is “Thursday”. /Sharon pushes “Deck 8” and we’re whisked off to the Lido Deck. These elevator buttons at time can be temperamental. Several times I’ve pushed a button, only to have the selection apparently de-selected, and had that repeated until someone would graciously press the button on the other side for me; or, I might try press and holding the ... read more

Two lighthouses today, this was the first. Chebucto Head is a Canadian headland on Nova Scotia's Chebucto Peninsula located within the community of Duncan's Cove. This area is just across the harbor from our next lighthouse (Terence Bay). The first lighthouse here was built in 1872. It was replaced by a second tower in 1928. That tower was demolished in 1940 and a new lighthouse and combined keeper's dwelling was built. The house remained the keeper's dwelling until the light was destaffed in the 1990s. The house fell prey to repeated vandalism after the Canadian Coast Guard cancelled the lease of the tenants who lived in and looked after the house. Eventually, a community group formed the Chebucto Head Lighthouse Society. One of their goals was to preserve the lighthouse and the keeper's house). Once they ... read more

I've been to Canada maybe as many as a half dozen times with my singing group. I remember the border crossing for Windsor was brutal only because it was in the small hours of the morning. Montreal was a breeze. It was neat to be able to trace my path coming across the St. Lawrence river. We took a bus to Montreal, flew to Halifax. You hope for uneventful travels and for the most part, it was. There was only one time we were pressed for time coming back to Montreal. I didn't realize how pressed we were til a flight attendant was motioning us to “come on!” and that everybody else had already boarded! We didn't let any dust settle getting the flight out to the runway and in the air. The ocean fascinates me ... read more