What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Part 2

On June 21st, the summer solstice, we spent the day in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Halifax is a beautiful town (perhaps the size of Redlands) where no resident is more than 20 miles from the sea. They are a fishing and lobster-trapping town. The people cook their lobster in sea water and then dip the meat in vinegar rather than butter. They grow a lot of blueberries, as well. Our tour guide gave us a blueberry dessert recipe that is wonderful - email me if you want a copy!

First, we headed to Peggy's Cove, which is a lot like Cape Cod and is now a national heritage site. The view was amazing. Walt and I laugh every time we see a lighthouse (an inside joke), but this one was amazing! About a year ago, a rogue wave covered the houses before washing back out to sea. The damage was minimal and no lives were lost. Also, Peggy's Cove was the home of an artist named DeGarthe, who carved a mural of fishermen into the ubiquitous rock.

Our afternoon was spent at the Fairview Cemetery which has 330 bodies of people who died on Titanic and were buried in Halifax, either because they were unidentified or because their families couldn't afford to ship their bodies home. The grave markers are laid out in the shape of a ship's bow. Walt made several grave rubbings, with the permission of our tour guide.

The next day, June 22, we went into St. John, New Brunswick in search of seafood. First, we enjoyed their huge town market and then went to Billy's Seafood Company for a long lunch of fish and chips and Atlantic salmon with maple glaze. Billy's food put any local SoCal restaurants to shame (including Market Broiler and Fisherman's Grill).

New Brunswick neighbors Quebec, so everything is bilingual. We found the people of Eastern Canada to be kind and helpful and the views to be astoundingly beautiful.