In which museums predominate
Jill and Henry arrived from their red eye, and unfortunately weren’t able to get into their room right away so the super helpful bellhop brought their stuff to my room. I left them there to become human again after the inhumane flight and start their bike assembly while I went off to see the Maritime Museum. Traffic was building already due to the detours around the parade route (pride parade today and apparently a big event) so walking up Lower Water St. was faster than driving 😊 The museum was quiet to begin with but gained people as the morning progressed and was humming by the time I left. Interesting displays of all things maritime, an exhibit on the Titanic, of solo sailors around the world from these parts, and a ship chandlery selling all things marine from way back when… interesting smell of linseed oil, creosote and rope. The display on the evolution of ship building was fascinating. Good displays geared to kids, and a play area for them with a maritime theme. Well done.
Boardwalk from the museum terrace. You can tell it’s early as it’s sparsely populated!
Part of the working dock with St. George’s Island to the right
Coffee needed after that, so back to Bishop’s Landing to the “Daily Grind” – meh coffee but a lovely place to sit and plan the next move. I had checked out a bakery nearby but nothing passed standards and was looking for a bun (or croissant) for a lunch sandwich so decided to try – for a third time – a bakery that had been recommended – third try lucky?? They’d closed early the first time I tried, and I was just after closing the second time. The route there took me past Govt. House where I discovered an open gate and a sign that they were offering free tours that day. So I had a seat in the entrance and an interesting chat with the security guard while waiting for the next tour.
A delightful tour guide (summer jobber) took us around the house doing a great job of spewing facts and history, and clearly loving her job. Nice house, not too ostentatious.
Drawing room, with dining in the background
Meet and greet room, photography area
formal dining for 20 – the stack of dishes in the pantry was to die for!
original mahogany table from 1805
This silver salt tureen was fascinating and gives new meaning to “pass the salt” – just wheel it down the table!
Heading uphill again after the tour I twisted my way through the Dalhousie campus buildings to find I was only a block away from the parade route, and the bakery was closed that day (I guess no traffic could get down their street..). Strike three. Back to the hotel to get the needed wrench from Henry only to find they’d gotten in to their rooms, moved all their stuff and had texted to say they were taking a nap….
So I put on as much of the fenders as I could, and headed out to the Museum of Immigration which was quite close by, on Pier 21 near where immigrants used to dock after arrival for processing. The area has been redeveloped and is now upmarket with a large brewery, restaurants and farmer’s market which I didn’t have time to troll through, unfortunately. The museum had good exhibits and interesting stories, but not as good as the one in Antwerp! It was good learning though about the different waves of immigrants to Canada, and our apalling discrimination at times. There was a very busy office near the entrance of “trace your ancestors” amongst available immigration materials, with every station bustling. Clearly a hot topic.
Back to the hotel to pick up the wrench, and then a spanner, to affix the final bolt onto the fender and then it was time for the group pizza meet. It was moved to the park across from the hotel as the lobby was noisy, with a big influx of people for the parade and two weddings going on. The usual round of introductions, then pizza (only one vegetarian pizza which non-vegetarians dove into as it looked better than the multitude of pepperoni ones..) before a briefing from the tour leaders. I was again told sternly by Danielle, the co-leader, that if I didn’t download whatsapp I would be responsible for finding out myself what the day’s instructions and changes were… It appears that Jill, Henry and I are the only ones to bring our own bikes. There is one electric bike rider in the group, which totals 14. We are told we are each responsible, in turn, for providing one days’ worth of report and pictures to be sent by whatsapp which will be compiled into a final trip report that goes to CCCTS (Cross Canada Cycling Tour Society) so I’m interested to see if an exception is made for communication that day (which would be very hypocritical). Danielle seems very organized but a bit autocratic, so here’s hoping it’s just start of the tour jitters and that she relaxes a bit. Most of the other riders have done one or more of these tours before – there are participants from Washington State, Edmonton, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Newfoundland and Vancouver. It’ll take me until the end of the trip to remember people’s names. Most are older folk like us, but most look pretty fit and seem to have impressive trip resumes.
Back to the hotel to pack and organize – there’s a 4 hour drive to our next stop in PEI tomorrow, Mill River, and rain is apparently in the forecast though there’s some debate if it’s really rain, or just showers… that brought out all kinds of stories of “real rain” on other trips and Jill, Henry and I thought (internally and simulataneously!!) of our cycling trip in Scotland and smiled… it’s an easy ride tomorrow, good to get any kinks in the bikes worked out and bike fitting to be done so I suspect the three of us will be able to take off quite quickly after arrival having already invested our time in assembly.
And so we begin! Today’s highlight – the Maritime Museum