Tuesday, July 7, 2009 – Day 33
With little time to see Halifax we decided that we would focus on the historic sites of The Citadel and Pier 21. Although our plan was also to drive the 45 minutes to see the fishing town of Peggy’s Cove, we ran out of time before the day was over due to a late start.
Incident at the Citadel – My Back!
The Citadel was a historic site I will not soon forget… not because of the tour or history of this landmark that has protected the port of Halifax for over 2 centuries (and was never attacked due to the stronghold that it was), but because this is where I pulled some muscles in my back as I leaned over to pick up my 2 year old.
I could tell as soon as I leaned over that this was not your typical back pain. It was a muscle in my back that had tensed up. I had done this once before and it took a chiropractor a few days to fix. The only problem is that when you are traveling, it is not easy to find the people you need. Lets just say, over a week later I still had a hard time moving after sitting down to drive for a few hours. I headed back to our RV and as I did so I felt like I was hobbling along like an old man with a cane. I shuffled my feet and felt a few sharp pains knife into my back as I went. While I went to lay down in the motorhome the rest of my family finished their tour of the Citadel.
At the citadel the kids enjoyed the firing of the noon cannon at the precise second, to mark the time for the citizens of Halifax. The cannon echoed off the buildings of Halifax it was so loud. Perhaps one of the kids’ favorite parts to the citadel was the schoolhouse that the children of the soldiers used to use. They enjoyed using slate boards (used instead personal chalkboards) to write on, using old pencils and then fountain pens to write with. They walked around for about an hour and a half checking out the various rooms in the citadel.
Pier 21 – A Historic Immigrant Pier
Following a short lunch in the parking area we continued on to Pier 21 which is where over 1 million immigrants came to Canada by ship between the early 1900’s and 1971.
There was an excellent 20 minute 3 dimensional film that depicted various time periods that the port was used such as early settlers from Europe, soldiers departing and returning, war brides who married soldiers, a Jewish girl coming to be adopted to a family and more.
Following the movie we wandered around the exhibits which contained stories and information on the circumstances of the people that came through this port for so many years.
By the time we were finished visiting Halifax we were already out of time and had to head towards Cape Breton. We had a CBC TV interview scheduled in French in Sydney, Nova Scotia and wanted to visit the historic village of Louisbourg. This meant that we needed to get closer to our destination for the following day. Next time I visit Nova Scotia, I will definitely visit Peggy’s Cove.