DAY TEN
Lots of rain overnight but by the time I had finished breakfast the rain had stopped and it was looking a bit brighter. I certainly didn't want to spend the day in the trailer. I came here to check this place out so I unhooked the trailer and drove the truck into downtown Halifax.
Bob had suggested three places I should see, The Citadel, The Maritime Museum and Pier 21.
The Citadel is the city fortress that all port cities built back in the day to protect themselves from attacks so it lots of big guns trained on the harbour.
These shots are of the interior yard. The large building is where the soldiers lived and worked. Those arched black doors would be ammunitions storage for rifles and canons.
Here is their dining hall in the big building.
Here are the drummer and bagpipers that were used to communicate between the officers and his army during battle. The drummer had certain beats that meant things to the infantrymen and they could hear the drums over the sounds of gunfire. Drummers had to play the bugle as well because if it was raining during a battle the drum heads would be ruined by the rain.
Here is that bad ass canon I mentioned earlier. I'd love to see them fire one.
Next stop, The Maritime Museum. I totally lucked out and found a two hour free parking spot on the street a half block from the museum. I know.....it's a miracle.
The Museum entrance was kind of "underwhelming" but very well presented inside.
While purchasing my ticket I noticed this grim creature hanging off the wall.
Here are a few pics that give you an idea what it was like inside. There were a lot of large models of famous ships. I particularly enjoyed the sailing section.
After leaving the museum I decided to stroll around the boardwalk. The were all kinds of food vendors, tourist gift shops, boat rides and bus tours. It was very busy considering it was a cool overcast Wednesday. I had to try a "famous" Cow's brand all-natural ice cream cone.
Here's a couple of funny T-shirts with a certain maritime theme.
My father, Lt. Robert Brown Telford, was a ship's engineer in the Canadian Navy during WWII and he served on a ship that routinely crossed the North Atlantic to protect the supply ships from German submarines. Halifax was where he was based out of. I remember the ship's name.......H.M.S. Achanault. I have the ships' wood carved coat of arms plaque sitting on my fireplace mantel at home.
Bob had told me about the Corvette class ship that was moored at the town wharf. This may have been the kind of ship that Dad served on so I naturally had to see it. During wartime, it would have been grey in colour. These boats were fast and had guns galore and depth charges for the subs.
Next stop was Pier 21 which turns out to be the former immigration checkpoint for people entering Canada by ship back in the day. It is now the Canadian Museum of Immigration.
They have all historical entry papers for any immigrant who entered North America on it's eastern shores. They can trace your relatives who may have immigrated here and for $50 they will provide you written copies of all the documents. If you look above the building you will notice the top decks of a giant cruise ship that's docked here for the passengers to disembark and spend a day in Halifax.
I saw this building in the city centre and thought it was a damn fine looking structure having been built in 1820. That makes next year it's 200th birthday. Clearly, someone's been taking very good care of it.
Rush hour had descended on the city and I was in gridlock for a short while. I wasn't going anywhere fast so I stopped for a couple of pics at the Halifax Shipyard where they've been building ships for hundreds of years. Here's one up on dry docks getting a retrofit.
I made it back to Bob's place just after six. After a long day as a tourist, I needed a drink.
Bob had suggested three places I should see, The Citadel, The Maritime Museum and Pier 21.
The Citadel is the city fortress that all port cities built back in the day to protect themselves from attacks so it lots of big guns trained on the harbour.
These shots are of the interior yard. The large building is where the soldiers lived and worked. Those arched black doors would be ammunitions storage for rifles and canons.
Here is their dining hall in the big building.
Here are the drummer and bagpipers that were used to communicate between the officers and his army during battle. The drummer had certain beats that meant things to the infantrymen and they could hear the drums over the sounds of gunfire. Drummers had to play the bugle as well because if it was raining during a battle the drum heads would be ruined by the rain.
Next stop, The Maritime Museum. I totally lucked out and found a two hour free parking spot on the street a half block from the museum. I know.....it's a miracle.
The Museum entrance was kind of "underwhelming" but very well presented inside.
While purchasing my ticket I noticed this grim creature hanging off the wall.
Here are a few pics that give you an idea what it was like inside. There were a lot of large models of famous ships. I particularly enjoyed the sailing section.
After leaving the museum I decided to stroll around the boardwalk. The were all kinds of food vendors, tourist gift shops, boat rides and bus tours. It was very busy considering it was a cool overcast Wednesday. I had to try a "famous" Cow's brand all-natural ice cream cone.
Here's a couple of funny T-shirts with a certain maritime theme.
My father, Lt. Robert Brown Telford, was a ship's engineer in the Canadian Navy during WWII and he served on a ship that routinely crossed the North Atlantic to protect the supply ships from German submarines. Halifax was where he was based out of. I remember the ship's name.......H.M.S. Achanault. I have the ships' wood carved coat of arms plaque sitting on my fireplace mantel at home.
Bob had told me about the Corvette class ship that was moored at the town wharf. This may have been the kind of ship that Dad served on so I naturally had to see it. During wartime, it would have been grey in colour. These boats were fast and had guns galore and depth charges for the subs.
Next stop was Pier 21 which turns out to be the former immigration checkpoint for people entering Canada by ship back in the day. It is now the Canadian Museum of Immigration.
They have all historical entry papers for any immigrant who entered North America on it's eastern shores. They can trace your relatives who may have immigrated here and for $50 they will provide you written copies of all the documents. If you look above the building you will notice the top decks of a giant cruise ship that's docked here for the passengers to disembark and spend a day in Halifax.
I saw this building in the city centre and thought it was a damn fine looking structure having been built in 1820. That makes next year it's 200th birthday. Clearly, someone's been taking very good care of it.
Rush hour had descended on the city and I was in gridlock for a short while. I wasn't going anywhere fast so I stopped for a couple of pics at the Halifax Shipyard where they've been building ships for hundreds of years. Here's one up on dry docks getting a retrofit.
I made it back to Bob's place just after six. After a long day as a tourist, I needed a drink.
That's pretty cool that you got to see a ship like the one your dad would have been on. I didn't know you had his ship's coat of arms by the fireplace!
ReplyDeleteThe Coat of Arms was on the living room wall at the cottage for decades. It's one of those things that you have seen but didn't really digest it into your brain.
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