Still hadn't mastered the art of sleeping in by Thursday, so we were up again around 5 AM. It was VERY foggy outside. Couldn't see much past the railing on this balcony when we opened the curtains. Cool outside, around 60 or so when we got up. I went to get coffee and bring it back to the room. The Lido deck was empty except for a ship's officer having a cigarette and a couple of crew cleaning up to prepare for the breakfast onslaught. About halfway across the deck and the foghorn sounded. I knew it would - it had been sounding all night probably and certainly since we woke up - but I still jumped when I heard it from right under it on deck. Got the coffee and managed not to spill too much of it when the horn sounded again as I walked back to the room.
Breakfast was at the buffet again. This time we had the french toast (yum!).
We were scheduled to disembark at 9:00 but there was an announcement about 8 or so that because of the fog, our arrival would be delayed about 30 minutes and our departure that evening would be pushed back 30 minutes as well. So Jeff went out on the balcony to watch (or try to watch) as we entered Halifax harbor. The fog was so thick that condensation was forming on the railings above our deck and dripping in like rain. Had to put slickers on and hoods up just to stand on the balcony. (Probably should have gone up to the Lido or the "secret" forward deck where there's nothing overhead, but it was too early to think of that.)
We passed McNab Island and could barely see the lighthouse. George's Island isn't too much further into the harbor, but by the time we got to it, the fog had cleared greatly. The pier was on the port side of the ship in Halifax, so we didn't know we were docked at first and thought we had just stopped across from the island. Figured it out fairly quickly and headed down to the gangway to disembark, taking our rain slickers with us since it looked like it might shower.
No excursions planned. We had read that the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic was a short walk up the waterfront and that the Citadel was a short walk from there along with the Historic Properties shopping area. These were the three main things we wanted to see in Halifax. So we walked through the terminal and outside to all the buses waiting to take the excursion people to their destinations. The Halifax terminal is in a very industrial section of the waterfront, near the rail yards and commercial container docks. There are a couple of old industrial buildings being gut rehabbed and construction everywhere. The two or so blocks to the entrance to Harbor Walk (the boardwalk along the harbor) were pretty desolate, but you could see the entrance to Harbor Walk so it wasn't bad.
Halifax from the docked ship
Russ in front of statue of Samuel Cunard (shipbuilder and famous Haligonian)
The distance to the museum seemed much longer than the 1/2 mile we had heard. Perhaps as the crow flies it's a half mile, but the Walk isn't exactly a straight line and follows the various piers. But we got there without any problem and it was a pleasant walk, even if a bit long. Jeff is a big ship/sailing/maritime history buff, so this was a highlight of his trip. It costs about $7.50 or so (US$) for an adult, so the Carnival excursion is really overpriced (although it does get you a bus ride there). The museum has a lot of exhibits about different kinds of ships, but the parts that I remember were the exhibits on the great Halifax explosion (two war ships - one carrying explosives - colliding in the harbor and setting a good portion of the town on fire), an exhibit on Sable Island (of The Perfect Storm fame) and the Titanic exhibit. Even if you're not a maritime junkie, it's an interesting museum. We spent a bit more time there than I would have on my own, but that's what we do for the ones we love :)
Part of the museum is the CSS Acadia, a 1913 steam ship used to chart the Canadian Atlantic coast. It's docked directly outside the museum and you can tour it as part of your museum admission. Only the main deck was open and it was a self-guided tour, but it was interesting to see the wireless operator's cabin, the chart room and the other open parts of the ship.
By this time it was time for lunch and there was a little "shack" along the pier selling lobster rolls. We do love a little lobster with lettuce and tomato on a hot dog bun. This was acutally a really good one too (and it ought to be for $9 including fries). Instead of the lobster/mayo salad you get in most New England lobster rolls, this was a lightly mayo'd bun, lettuce, tomato and lots of fresh lobster meat. Hit the spot just right.
SeaTiger - tour boat near the lobster roll shack
After the LONG hike to the museum and spending 2+ hours walking around the museum and the Acadia, we decided to forego the Citadel because we were lazy and didn't want to walk the mile or so up the steep hill to get to it. We opted instead to head directly to the Historic Properties to do a little shopping. Found a little drawing of Halifax, some dog toys, a Christmas gift for a family member (can't tell you who - it's a secret) and a Christmas ornament for ourselves. The retailers in Halifax were very happy to accept US dollars on an even trade basis, just like Saint John. Probably had something to do with the fact that they made out a few cents ahead that way. Unlike Saint John, they gave change in Canadian money.
It was around 2:00 when we started heading back to the ship and had a $5 Canadian bill and a "toonie" ($2 Canadian coin). We passed an older man on a scooter with an easel propped in front of him with colored pencil drawings of various Halifax area scenes and a big sign saying they were $5 each. We found one that we liked and spent our $5 bill. Gave the toonie to a street musician playing bagpipes near the Acadia.
The Halifax cruise ship terminal also had a large section of craft vendors and we browsed for quite a while, but didn't purchase anything. Back onboard, we watched tall ships sailing past George's Island outside our room then collapsed and had a little nap before dinner.
We decided on our way to dinner to skip desert in the main dining room that evening and try the rather tasty looking cakes at the Coffee Shop on the Promenade deck.
DINNER:
Appetizers - all very good
Asparagus Vichyssoise
Wild Mushroom Soup
Fried Shrimp
Sliced Tomatoes & Mozzarella - tomatoes were hot house, not vine-ripened as "advertised"
Main Courses
Veal Parm - OK, but first mouthful was a large piece of gristle which kinda ruined the rest of it for me
Red Snapper - Jeff enjoyed and fish isn't my thing, so I'll take his word for it
Desert (from coffee shop)
Carrot Cake
Chocolate Cake
notice the size of these things. At $2.25 per slice they could feed a family of four for a whole winter. Those are dinner plates they're sitting on! And of course, we decided we needed a drink to wash them down and the coffee shop didn't sell glasses of milk, so we got hot chocolate - gourmet hot chocolate that was Ghiradelli syrup and steamed milk. We're probably diabetic now, but it was worth it!
Towel animal that evening was a bat hanging from the ceiling. I found it a bit disturbing when I turned on the light and saw it hanging in front of me and made Jeff take it down :)
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