This summer, we spent two and a half weeks visiting Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and it was the most delightful trip! When we were brainstorming trip ideas, Gene wanted to visit museums, I wanted to spend time in nature, Will voted for a road trip and Henry just wanted to get out of the heat of Texas -- Canada met all our requirements!
The cats are always curious whenever we get out our suitcases.
We had an easy travel day but got in to Halifax very late on June 28. Fortunately, our first stop of the trip was the Halifax Citadel, located across the street from our hotel.
Halifax was founded in 1749 and the current citadel was completed in 1856.
Bagpipes!
Old Town Clock
After visiting the Citadel, we had lunch and headed down to the water. We found this beautiful mural on the side of a building.
We visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
and then toured the Sackville.
Our final stop of the day was the beautiful Central Library.
Check out the Escher-like staircases! It was stunning.
Our second day in Canada was Canada Day, and we visited the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.
The museum was fascinating and we learned so much -- and the boys played a rousing game of chess!
After lunch, we visited the Government House, which is the official residence of the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia.
Next, we visited the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
The highlight was the Maud Lewis folk art display. This is the tiny house she and her husband lived in!
After a rest at the hotel, we got ice cream and then visited the public gardens.
It was a gorgeous day and the park was full of Canadians celebrating the holiday.
Gene walked down to the waterfront to see the fireworks display, but it wasn't very impressive. He did snap a phot of the Canadian flag against the night sky, though!
On day three, we woke up early because we had to swap out our rental car -- the original one had a slowly leaking tire. We turned in the original car, and then headed to the waterfront to take the ferry to Georges Island.
While we waited for the ferry, Gene found a boat called the "Silva."
Reading and waiting.
Georges Island is in the middle of Halifax Harbor and was part of the Halifax Defence Complex for years. Parts of the fort remain and it is now just a tourist spot during the summer months.
Just as we were leaving the island, clouds started rolling in. Once the ferry docked, we dashed up the hill to grab our new rental car and then we were heading out of Halifax, on our way to Lunenburg. We stopped at Peggy's Cove, a charming village with the most-photographed lighthouse in all of Nova Scotia.
It was drizzling while we were there, which meant the crowds weren't too bad at the lighthouse.
Peggy's Cove Lighthouse
Henry really wanted to visit a Tim Horton's on our trip, so we found one (of many) as we left Peggy's Cove and got coffee and doughnuts for an afternoon snack.
We settled in to our Airbnb and walked around Lunenburg. View of the Bluenose from at dinner.
We didn't take many photos of food, but we had some really incredible seafood on this trip! Gene's first lobster of the vacation.
Up next: more adventures in Lunenburg!
