Things That Have Happened Since the Last Post

After Alma, we began our trip to Halifax, stopping first at Hopewell Rocks in The Rocks Provincial Park. So cool. We hiked down to the beach and wandered around during low, low tide. I spent the whole time staring at the rocks, trying to figure out the patterns of weathering and how high the tide goes without consulting any of the signs in the visitors center.

I'm a nerd.

We drove into Nova Scotia and made it to Halifax by late afternoon. Our hostel was an old building, conveniently located across the street from another old building that housed a restaurant and bar. We had some really great food and Amanda and I had some really great beer from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec.

Meanwhile, Mike had an interview for a teaching job in Arizona.

After dinner we decided to walk around the city, which really resulted in us wandering down the waterfront, taking pictures and acting ridiculous (surprise, surprise). There were a few large sculptures and anchors that we thought it was necessary to climb on, and the sunset was gorgeous. We went back to the same place for dessert and beer before unloading the car and turning in. We had left our wet shoes on the hood of the car to dry a little more (and stop making the car smell awful) as a social experiment, figuring if someone stole our worn out, soaking wet, nasty smelling shoes, they really, REALLY needed them more than we did. Well, apparently no one in Halifax was that desperate for shoes.

Around midnight Mari-time (11PM Eastern time, 8PM Pacific time), we received word: Mike got the job. Yay! Except that means he has to leave on Friday, at least two and a half days before I get home from Canada. While that is excessively unfortunate, let's focus on the yay job part! Congratulations, Mike.

This morning, we visited the Citadel in Halifax, a historic naval base. It was interesting to read a bit about the War of 1812 from another perspective... beautiful structure, interesting to wander through some of the creepy passages and look over the ramparts.

We took a creative route to Prince Edward Island, stopping in Stewiacke for a picnic lunch and a picture with a huge statue of a mastadon. The ferry was huuuuuuuuge. Thankfully, despite 50% of us being the carsickest people I've ever met, we didn't have too much trouble on the boat. It was a gorgeous day for a ride across the Northumberland Strait.

The drive into Prince Edward Island was interesting. Guess I should have review my Eastern North America notes, because somehow I was surprised by the myriad of agriculture happening around us. It may also just have been seeing things that I just associate with much different scenery-- corn, soy, wheat, other things that I see growing at home, or associate with the midwest, where the windbreaks are not spruce trees and they don't grow right next to the beach. Very pretty and peaceful here though, and I always enjoy a nice drive through farm country.

We watched the sun set on Brackley Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park, where I would learn what sand fleas are.

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We are now settled into our enormous lighthouse suite. Seriously, there are multiple rooms and floors. If you are logged into facebook, and friends with me, you should be able to view our tour video:



And, in case you were wondering what the dancing was about, we did seriously spend our evening learning this (although we improvised some of the crazy foot work, especially at the end).

Tree of the day: Red Oak, the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island, as well as the state tree of New Jersey (more specifically the Northern Red Oak, one of many red oak varieties in NJ but the only one that grows this far north, according to my tree book and eyes)

Next up: Fredericton, New Brunswick, via Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and the Confederation Bridge, and giant lobster, rooster and magnet statues