It’s the end of the week, which also marks the end of my time in the Halifax/Dartmouth area. Given that, I thought some reflections on my time over the past week would be fitting. Overall, I really enjoyed the past couple of days here, although to be honest it feels like I spent more time outside of Halifax and Dartmouth than in them. Not that I necessarily regret that…both cities are nice, but they’re just that: cities. If you like the “big-city” sort of feel, than Halifax would be perfect for you. There are of course plenty of shops and restaurants to check out, as well as that staple of any large city, construction (which I found especially annoying today as I was looking for a relatively quiet place to eat).
For me though, I’ve always felt some aversion to big cities. Growing up in a place like Waterloo probably had some role in that – so getting the chance to leave Halifax/Dartmouth was something that I eagerly took up. And, no surprises here, those other, smaller, and quieter places were the highlights of the week. Peggy’s Cove is sort of an obvious one…but believe me, even if you feel you already know what to expect (I certainly did: a famous lighthouse), don’t rule out being surprised. There’s actually much more than just the lighthouse (which I may have been a little ignorant in assuming), but the real draw is the surrounding scenery, which really is pretty stunning – and with the sight of the waves crashing against the rocks, you can’t help but imagine what it might’ve been like for a ship that was sailing those waters.
Besides Peggy’s Cove, two places stand out, both of which I’d never heard of before – and both of which I’d revisit in a heartbeat if I could. The first was the small town of Lunenburg, which at one point (and maybe still is?) was a very active fishing town, but now looks to be more reliant on tourists. Even with the tourists though, Lunenburg still seems to have a special character. I overheard multiple times throughout the day I was there how laidback Lunenburg is. And I’d have to agree. While there, I got to take a sailboat cruise, and while I did the same thing in Halifax, this one was a million times better…if not also a little scarier, given that the boat was listing onto its side for most of the way out of the harbour (see pics below!
Highlight #2 had much of the same. Not a town this time though, but a beach. Just like Lunenburg, Hirtle Beach had the same sense of calm. Overall, not too many people were there, which was a pleasant surprise (the fact that it’s late August no doubt helped). But the best part of it was the roughly three kilometres of beach and sand to walk along, without any distractions – that, and the chance to actually put my feet in the Atlantic 🙂
And then there was today, my final today. Pretty much a laidback day, killing time and doing the things that weren’t particularly high on my list, like the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (hey, I couldn’t leave here without checking at least one museum, could I?). On the whole, there were a couple of interesting things around, but then again, I’m not big on naval history, so someone who is would probably enjoy it much more. The one area that I thought was great was the one on the 1917 Halifax explosion. Granted, it was a small section, but still a pretty evocative one, because of the emphasis and focus on some of the actual people who were affected by the explosion (through personal effects, photographs, etc.) It might be an obvious statement, but that’s the sort of thing that makes history more real – those personal stories that a photo, or broken watch, or letter can tell about a person. And they did it really well here.
From here, it’s a move away from the bigger cities, and onto Cape Breton, which I’m really looking forward to, and where I think the real fun can begin.
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Musings of a Grad Student 