So Long, Halifax

So Long Halifax….

We departed from Halifax (2.0) this morning at 0600 and it was with mixed emotions that we said goodbye to this wonderful city. Some of you will recall that we only re-visited Halifax due to the necessity of acquiring legal paperwork necessary for the sale of a piece of property. This second visit; however, proved to be even nicer than the first and the reasons for this are many. First, our friends whom we met in Baddeck live in Halifax and in addition to sharing with us “local info” on places to go/eat etc, they visited and played with us. Truth be told, there is nothing that brings a city to life faster than spending “real” time with the people who live and work and thrive there. The Langleys truly thrive in this lovely city and they shared with us the many reasons why.

This second “go round” included amazing trips to several fantastic “world class” dining establishments. On the first trip we sort of meandered around near the waterfront and found places to eat – never really disappointed but certainly not raving days later about the experience. Funny how I forgot one of my rules of travel which is to, whenever possible, get as far from the hotel (or tourist attractions) as possible to find the best food. Following Amanda’s advice on restaurants took us (except for one notable exception – AMano Italian on the waterfront in Bishops landing) much further away than the waterfront but not further than a walk or bike ride. We also found our way into several shops, the library, Canada’s oldest children’s bookstore, another bookstore and the most amazing charcuterie shop there ever was. The Langley’s came over for dinner one night and they spent the day with Jack yesterday afternoon so that Alec and I could enjoy an afternoon together finishing our sentences and focusing on each other while we were still awake enough to do so:-)

All in all, there is little that could have made this week any more enjoyable – whats more- we spent more time waiting for the weather to depart than we did waiting for the paperwork to arrive. This has also been Jack’s first week of school and while we are definitely working through some growing pains with all of us learning new skills, it looks promising.

So whats next…

We departed 8 hours ago and we are following the beautiful Nova Scotia coastline dotted with the most fantastic rock formations and picture post card lighthouses one has ever seen.

Jack and I have taken our medicine to combat our recent onset of mal de mar – which even despite the larger swells from fairly consistent and organized seas on the bow, we are doing very well. It is my hope that we can continue until we arrive in Southwest Harbor, Maine tomorrow afternoon around 1400. We left it as a possibility that we could “duck in” if the seas were too uncomfortable but with a forecast of improving conditions through Sunday am – we will likely just continue on our present path. I took a photo of the route this morning before departure. It is pictured below.

We aren’t certain for how long we will stay in SW Harbor but the next reservation we have set is in Martha’s Vineyard for September 10th. We have 2 friends scheduled to come visit us and Alec’s brother and SIL may be able to join as well. This together with a possible stop to visit them should ensure lots of fun family and friend time.

Thats all for now – Thanks for reading