2017 September 26 - Tuesday
Our first stop this morning was a
whale watching tour in the small community of East Ferry, which is not far from
Digby.
Our group boarded the 45-foot Passage Provider 04 which was provided with
bench seating in the back and also seating closer to the cabin that was
shielded from the wind. The boat was very well equipped, including a complete
first aid kit and an AED (Defibrillator). There was a small bench inside the
driver’s cabin which had a heater underneath it, and that was a great place to
spend a few minutes to warm up, especially as I hadn’t brought a coat. A number of blankets were provided by
the crew, and several members of our group took advantage of those.
The weather this morning was very
foggy so we weren’t able to see much, but the fog gradually burned off. The Captain took the boat to a couple
of places where whales are commonly seen, but unfortunately we didn’t see a
single one on the tour. Not seeing
any
whales on these cruises is apparently unusual, but I guess that’s just the luck
of the draw.
After the whale watching trip, we
docked at the Ferry dock, and then walked across the street to a small cafe,
which I believe is owned by the same family as the Captain and woman working on
the boat.
We had pre-ordered lunch
items yesterday, and I had ordered the Turkey soup and half Turkey
sandwich. It was a busy place as
the people behind the counter were booking passengers on the whale watching
trips as well as running the restaurant.
As I was returning to the bus after
lunch, I stopped to chat with a young couple visiting from the Black Forest
region of Germany. I suspect they were waiting for the next departure of the
whale watching boat. Hopefully
their luck is better than our group had.
Our next stop was the small town of
Annapolis Royal where we visited the star-shaped Fort Anne, which is a National
Historic Site of Canada. This year marks the 100th anniversary of
Fort Anne as Canada’s first National Historic Site. The site has been fortified since 1629, after the Scottish
came to colonize the area.
Construction of the fort was first started by the French in 1702, but
the fort fell to the British in 1710 after a week-long siege. A number of battles have been fought on
the site, from about 1710 – 1812.
Our tour started in the large building which
used to be the Officer’s Quarters and now houses the Museum. There was a brief tour by a guide to
explain the large needlepoint tapestries, which describe the history of the
site, which was occupied by both the British and French. The town was incredibly scenic, perhaps
more so because it was a beautiful fall afternoon and the sun was shining. I was amazed to see that this small
town had their own police department, which consists of three officers and a
chief.
We then returned to the hotel and
had a short time to rest before the Scallop presentation and our Signature
Farewell dinner. We were placed in
a large banquet room at the back of the hotel, which was exclusively for our
group. The local fisherman
presenting the Scallop demonstration was very entertaining and he explained the
whole process of how they are harvested, etc. Before leaving he gave a short performance of two classic
Nova Scotia songs (guitar and vocals), including Farewell to Nova Scotia (perhaps an appropriate
choice since this was the last night of the tour).
The dinner was a wonderful gourmet
meal, complete with wine or beer.
I had the pork tenderloin, salad and dessert. After dinner our tour director and driver both made nice speeches about how much they had enjoyed the
tour and how much they enjoyed our group. A few of the other tour members also said a few words. Before everyone disbanded for the night, we were presented
with a Certificate for coming to Nova Scotia, our group photo that had been taken in Lunenburg and the list of E-mails
that we had agreed to exchange.
After that it was back to the room
to get ready for departure on the last day. A few of us will be spending one more night in Halifax,
while the others will be heading straight to the airport for the return home or
to the next part of their trips.
One of the Australian couples will be travelling for another six weeks!
2017 September 27 - Wednesday
I had to wake up a bit earlier
today, as we had a “bag pull” at 07:15 and had to be on the bus at 08:15. It’s hard to believe that the tour is
just about over.
My impression was
that the mood seemed to be a bit more subdued in the breakfast room today, so
perhaps everyone is feeling the same way I am.
We left Digby and after about two
hours, Karen made an announcement that it was the birthday for one of our group today. Everyone sang “Happy Birthday”, led by
Jim.
We made a washroom and coffee stop
at a large Tim Hortons about half way to Halifax. I suggested to some of the others that they try a “fat pill”
(TimBits, as Jim the driver calls them), and several of them took the
suggestion and quite enjoyed them.
During the trip the tour director played a video on the Bluenose which is a Canadian
icon, and a few more minutes of a comedy show.
As we approached the airport, the mood seemed very quiet, perhaps exacerbated by the gloomy, rainy day. On arrival at the airport, the driver
unloaded the luggage for those who were departing today and the departing group members got off the bus and
disappeared into the airport. One notable point is that when the tour director stepped off the coach, she was officially retired.
This was the last tour of her career. The
last 11 of us continued back to the Hotel Prince George. It was a comfortable feeling to be
coming back to the familiar setting of the Prince George, and it kind of felt
like “home”.
I was given Room 505 this time and
fortunately the room was ready so I could check-in right away. I had a rest for a few minutes and then
had the desk call a cab and I went down to see Pier 21. That provides an excellent look at the
history of immigration to Canada and I spent a few hours wandering through all
the display areas. It occurred to
me that both my grandfathers may have arrived in Canada via Pier 21.
I tried to check-in for my flights
tomorrow, but had to wait a few minutes as check-in isn’t allowed until exactly
24 hours before flight time (what a stupid rule!). I had hoped to get Plus seating for both flights, but
unfortunately it was sold out for the Toronto-Kelowna segment.
I then took a cab back to the hotel
and stopped for a coffee at the restaurant.
I spent some time re-packing my carry-on and putting the DSLR
back in the camera insert, and then went down for dinner at about 17:00. I had been looking forward to the
Fettucine Carbonara, but it turned out that was only offered on the lunch
menu. The dinner menu had mostly
seafood (shellfish) items which was absolutely no use to me, so I got up and
walked out. I had spotted Al
Mano
Italian restaurant on the trip back from Pier 21 so had the front desk call a
cab to take me there. I checked
the menu online first, and it looked good.
The restaurant had a great Italian ambience and I was glad that I was dining here on my last night in Halifax. I ordered a starter salad with lime
vinaigrette and Linguine Carbonara, along with a glass of Valpolicella
Superiore. It was a very good meal and
the portion sizes were about right.
I decided to walk back to the hotel as it wasn’t
that far. I knew that I only had
to walk uphill as far as the Five Fishermen Restaurant, and then I could use the
tunnels and the elevator back to the hotel.
That strategy worked perfectly!
It’s normally a bit lonely on the
first morning after a tour, as I look for familiar faces that aren’t going to
appear. However in this case, I’ll
probably see some of the group at breakfast, although the atmosphere may be a
bit different.
2017 September 28 - Thursday
It felt a bit odd to sleep in this
morning and not have to worry about a “bag pull” or being on the coach at a set
time. I went down for breakfast
about 08:30 and just ordered a menu item rather than the buffet. At first I didn’t see any familiar
faces but eventually Karl & Goretti arrived, Wayne just stopped by to tell
me that I haven’t heard the last of him as he’s impressed with my memory, and lastly
the Australian Pharmacist and his wife arrived. We all sat separately but I had a visit with each one of
them.
After breakfast I went up to the
room to make sure my bags were properly packed for air travel. Checkout time isn’t until
13:00 so I was able to wait in my room.
I took my bags down to the lobby at about 12:45 but there was no sign of
the limo driver so I had a short visit with the very helpful desk staff.
The limo driver (Paul) showed up
just before 13:00 in a Lincoln Town Car.
It had been raining heavily all morning, so I took the shortest route to
the car, which was parked out in the street. The drive to the airport this time was much more pleasant
than the one on my arrival.
Check-in and bag drop went very
well, but there was a long line for security, which took a good 25 minutes to
get through. I didn’t have long to
wait until boarding and I was glad that I had upgraded to a Plus seat (3F) as
that meant boarding first and more leg room. The flight was only about 2.5 hours and I was hoping that I
could buy a sandwich as I hadn’t had lunch. Unfortunately, WestJet only supplies sandwiches on flights
longer than four hours, so I had to settle for a box of Pringle’s Chips and a coffee, which
wasn’t much of a lunch. I was
thinking that I should have booked with Air Canada, although I haven’t
checked their meal options on domestic flights.
After arrival in Toronto I found
that I was in the same terminal as the trip going to Halifax, and there was a
Timmy’s, as well as the previously mentioned gag & puke joints.
I ordered a Turkey Bacon Club, milk and coffee which certainly helped.
As it turned out, I didn’t need to
eat in a hurry as the Kelowna flight was delayed by at least an hour and that
turned out to be more like two hours.
They didn’t explain the reason for the delay, but I should have expected
a right cock-up at Pearson, as that seems to happen on a regular basis. I wasn’t able to get a Plus seat on this
flight as they were all sold out, so I ended up in 21A towards the back of the
plane (at least it was a window seat).
It was cramped and a bit unpleasant, but it got me home. Unfortunately the Wi-Fi in-flight
entertainment system wasn’t working, so I had to suffer with just music and
looking out the window. The
location displays weren’t working either, but I found that Google Maps on my iPhone was providing
reasonably accurate information,
even with the phone in airplane mode.
My Altimeter app was also providing accurate information (using GPS?).
When the plane arrived in Kelowna, I
found that the luggage carousel wasn’t running when I got to the terminal, so I
walked quickly to the Valet parking office to retrieve my car.
Since my flight was late, I was worried
that the Valet office might be closed and I’d be stranded at the airport. After paying the bill, I parked across
from arrivals and went to check the carousel. I found my bag immediately and was on the way home.
I arrived home at about 22:00 and it felt good to walk through the
front door into my familiar surroundings (such as they are). I was looking foward to a good sleep in my own bed after a very tiring travel day. The fact that it takes all day to travel from one side of the country to the other, was a good reminder of how large Canada is!
It will take me a couple of days to get back into my normal
routine, and the first order of
business tomorrow will be grocery shopping.
And so ends my 2017 Maritimes holiday
adventure.
2025-02-08