The Twisty Tree

Must start writing… I’m falling behind!  Brace yourselves – it’s going to be another long post!

I believe I left off at the end of the garden tour. It had become a gorgeous sunny day, and so we went in search of the LYS (that means the Local Yarn Store – no, that was not the name of it, just the level of importance that yarn stores have on trips). The actual name is The Loop. It was a very pleasing yarn store/coffee shop, and Bo found some lovely local hand-dyed yarn. Then the search for somewhere to lunch, which was also sightseeing. We found a basement pub (no, not in someone’s basement, just the basement of a building) called Rock Bottom. We had a waiter named Buck who made us laugh, and Bo had lobster (which also made us laugh… a lot). After a very late lunch, we went to pick up our laundry which we had left at the laundromat, and went back to the Inn.

“The Inn?” you say “You never finished telling us about the Inn!” Well, we were booked in at the Halliburton Inn – a heritage building that used to be townhouses. We were in the attic, and it was charming. One of the beds was upstairs, so we each had our own space – luxury – especially after train travel. There was a well-equipped kitchen and seating area. The beds were like a drug… neither of us ever wanted to get up. The staff was really pleasant and helpful. I’d stay there again in a heartbeat!

Various sites we saw:

After we dropped off the laundry, off we went for the next part of our day… We wandered down to the waterfront and saw the Harbour Hopper – an amphibious vehicle. We have wanted to go on one for years – Mazatlan… Victoria… it never happened. Now it has! The Hopper was a military vehicle in it’s former life, and is worth about $1,000,000. We trucked around town, listening to the patter, and got to see a lot of stuff we hadn’t seen… also learned a fair amount. Then came the fun part… into the water!

It was a gorgeous day, perfect for being out on the water. We went past the Navy shipyard:

We also went past a floating one-hole “golf course” – I’m a little baffled by that one:

Then it was back to dry land. We were dropped off next to the Maritime Museum, and as it was free on Tuesday nights, and it was Tuesday night, in we went. It was quite interesting. They have a parrot named Merlin (you can follow him on a live feed), and a variety of items they have salvaged from shipwrecks, including from the Titanic. I quite enjoyed that museum, and took so very many pictures of different style anchors as inspiration for jewellery.

After the museum we started getting chilly, so we went back to the Inn. We lazed about for awhile, then out to the restaurant next door for Thai food. SO tasty!

The next day was a wet and windy one. I had grown annoyed with my hair (not an unusual state for me) and decided a lot of the weight around the back of my hair had to go. I had made an appointment the night before (that was what got us motivated to leave the Inn the second time) for an early (to me – 9:45 am) appointment. That went well, and I determined that I’ll need to go to Halifax whenever I need a trim.

After that, the rain was coming down so hard that I went to a coffee shop and started editing pictures. I went through several beverages waiting for the rain to lighten up. Bo was still at the Inn (also editing pictures – someone really needs to take our cameras away!), so once the rain stopped, I wandered off to another shop to visit the daughter of one of the people I work for – I found her and chatted a bit, both of us amazed that we recognized each other.

Then I heard a call… it was a lobster, and it knew my name. Off I went to one of the shops on the boardwalk for my first lobster roll from Dave’s Lobster booth. Wow. It was so very good that I don’t have words.

Bo was done editing by that point, so we met at The Stubborn Goat – a pub that really needs to have souvenirs…not that I know any stubborn goats or anything…heehee!

After food we decided it was time for culture, and we went to Pier 21. I was very uneducated prior to this trip about many aspects of the history of Halifax, part of which was Pier 21. We went through the museum, and I found myself almost in tears over some of the details about the immigration process and the emotions that people coming into a strange land must have had. It was very educational and definitely eye-opening.

After Pier 21 we walked along the boardwalk and decided to stay in that evening – we were both pretty tired and needed to pack.

Alas, the time came for us to leave Halifax. We taxied to the car rental place and rented a white Volkswagen (of some variety) that we named Gertrude (Gertie for short). Then came the fun times… trying to learn how to start the car (you have to press the brake to start it). Then came more fun – trying to get out of the garage while the car rental guy was chasing us trying to help us get out. I’m sure he went back up to the office rolling his eyes and shaking his head. But we did get on the road!

Unfortunately I was the one navigating, and we didn’t seem to have a map (it was found later in Bo’s purse). Honestly, having the map didn’t really help that much… I am many things, but one of those things is not an effective map reader/navigator. We did eventually get to Pictou, after driving on what Bo believes is the worst stretch of regional highway in Nova Scotia. The road had cavernous valleys with lovely green grass growing in them. Fortunately it wasn’t a busy (or particularly long) stretch of road, so she drove in the middle a lot.

Once we got to Pictou and settled in the hotel, we went looking for somewhere to have dinner. You’d think that would be an easy task, but it was not! We did, however, find a place where we could adopt lobster. Unfortunately (?) it was closed. Fortunately we then found a lobster bar and each had a lobster roll. The lobster was great, the bun a little less so.

The next day (it’s Friday now, for those whose minds have wandered in my rather long post) we found ourselves at a little artists collective, where we were able to meet the woman who created a whole lot of hand-dyed yarn from her own sheep. We had a good chat with her, and found lots of little treasures.

At this point it would have been wise to check on the schedule for the ferry to PEI, but no one ever said we were wise. We had just missed the ferry – I think it was shortly after 11, and the next one wasn’t until 2:45. We decided to wait, as the terminal was likely going to get quite full. We tried to hand the woman at the ferry booth some money, but…insert drumroll here…there was no charge!! Maybe there will be to get off the island (once we’re trapped at the mercy of the ferry boat), but it was quite exciting not to pay.

I felt extremely Canadian… I was sitting on the purple/pink/grey rocks next to the ocean, looking out over land that was tinged with terracotta coloured soil, reading (for the kajillionth time), Anne of Green Gables. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the book, and it is definitely getting me into a PEI state of mind.

The ferry ride (when it finally happened… we were really early) was lovely, and we’re hearing more accents now. PEI is spectacular… the pictures of the red earth surrounded by green growth are not lies. It is absolutely breathtaking.

On the way to the B&B Bo saw a sign for a local mill. We wandered through Belfast and found the Belfast Mini Mills. Apparently they are well known for making the milling equipment, but they also had a shop of yarn and roving…it was lovely. On the way back to the car we were treated to the sight of a pure white peacock with its tail feathers fanned out. Not sure who he was trying to impress, but so glad he was making the effort! There were also pregnant goats to pet, sheep, and some odd little birds – I think they were Guinea Fowl – they were not part of the petting portion of this stop…they were the squealing and running away part!

I was navigating again (when will Bo learn??), but we still managed to find our way to the B&B. It is owned by two sisters of one of Bo’s students. The place is gorgeous, and after dinner at the next door pub, we came back to find fresh lemon loaf with blackberries waiting for us. We are so spoiled!! Tomorrow will be a full day, trying to cram a whole island visit into not enough hours. We’ll do our best, though!