We left our coach for Halifax this morning. For Penny's quilting friends, it is now graced by this machined-pieced and partially hand-quilted wall hanging. Thanks to Eva for finding pattern while we were in Port Aransas. After meeting a quilter in Lancaster County, PA, she is now trying her had at hand-piecing and hand-quilting.
The drive to town is a fabulous one, primarily because of the great shoreline and beautiful little freshwater lakes like this one that appear around almost every bend.
Halifax has a beautiful public garden. Unfortunately, we arrived a little too late for the concert that had just concluded in this gazebo.
Almost everywhere you looked in the park, there was a wedding. We counted at least five of them.
At least one member of the wedding party was more interested in the local wildlife than all that boring mushy stuff.
This replica of the Titanic was floating in one of the ponds of the city garden. More on that later.
A notable feature of Halifax is its waterfront with many restored buildings now housing shops and tourist attractions.
Halifax has a long and proud seafaring tradition. This lighthouse on George's Island shows the way into Halifax Harbor.
It is very much a modern and thriving seaport as witnessed by this large container ship departing as we arrived. We saw other ships departing and still others tied up and in various stages of loading or unloading. In the foreground are some vessels of the Canadian Navy.
This building, now housing a variety of eating establishments and shops, was once a complex of maritime offices.
This marine clock was sited so that the time could be seen clearly by vessels in port.
This re-creation (not a true replica) of the Amistad was in port when we arrived. It has sailed over 18,000 miles since its construction. Its mission is to spread racial and cultural understanding around the world.
Also in the wharf area is this crystal manufacturer. All articles are hand blown, cut and polished. Here, a workman removes some goblets from a second firing.
The Buskerfest was in full swing and the wharves were filled with colorful tents and an equally colorful crowd. Buskers are street entertainers. At any given moment, at least three acts were in progress, some quite good, others less so, but all fun.
This stiltwalker was making balloon sculptures for the kids.
Here is a member of a breakdancing group. Note the little boy in the background clapping with his feet. One member, deprived of much of the use of his legs by a congenital defect did his routine on crutches. He periodically yelled "no excuses" to which the audience was coached to respond "no limits".
For a price, you could take a tour of the harbor on a schooner such as this one.
The younger set could go out on Theodore Too Tug. What a clever idea for extending the life of an undersized, obsolete tug.
This young man wasn't going to let anything that happened on board Theodore escape his attention.
On a more somber note, where there is a strong maritime tradition, there is inevitably tragedy. Halifax is where the maiden voyage of the Titanic really ended. Three ships based out of Halifax were chartered to help in the recovery operation. Many of the more badly mangled or deteriorated were buried at sea. Of the 209 brought back to Halifax, the remains of 150 were laid to rest here. Two months earlier, we visited Belfast, where the Titanic was constructed. We felt it only fitting that we come here to pay our respects to those who perished with her.
Nearly one third of the grave sites have headstones that mark the final resting place of an unidentified passenger. 
This self-explanatory stone was commissioned by J. Bruce Ismay, the controversial general manager of the White Star Lines, who traveled on the Titanic and boarded one of the lifeboats while many passengers went down with the ship.
This stone was the most poignant. It marks the grave of an unknown child whose remains were recovered. Note the toys, seashells, and a few pennies at the base of the stone.
Nor was the Titanic the only travel related disaster that occurred here. In 1998, Swissair flight 111 crashed 5 miles offshore equidistant from Peggy's Cove and Blandford, Nova Scotia. Fishermen from both towns aided in the recovery of artifacts and remains of that disaster. There were fresh flowers and a Teddy bear at the base of this memorial. We don't know whether they were placed there by relatives of the victims or by locals.
The boulders that litter the coastline near Peggy's Cove were left aeons earlier by retreating glaciers. As the last of the sun's rays lit their western faces and cast their long shadows against the shoreline, we once again turned home.
From the window of our coach, we have seen these beautiful sunsets almost daily. Today has been a study in contrasts; the sorrow of the Titanic and Swissair 111 tragedies, the joy of the weddings and Buskerfest, and the beauty that surrounds us here.
Halifax has a beautiful public garden. Unfortunately, we arrived a little too late for the concert that had just concluded in this gazebo.
Almost everywhere you looked in the park, there was a wedding. We counted at least five of them.
At least one member of the wedding party was more interested in the local wildlife than all that boring mushy stuff.
This replica of the Titanic was floating in one of the ponds of the city garden. More on that later.There are many beautiful buildings in Halifax. Perhaps the most striking was this church constructed of granite.
A notable feature of Halifax is its waterfront with many restored buildings now housing shops and tourist attractions.Halifax has a long and proud seafaring tradition. This lighthouse on George's Island shows the way into Halifax Harbor.
It is very much a modern and thriving seaport as witnessed by this large container ship departing as we arrived. We saw other ships departing and still others tied up and in various stages of loading or unloading. In the foreground are some vessels of the Canadian Navy.
This building, now housing a variety of eating establishments and shops, was once a complex of maritime offices.
This marine clock was sited so that the time could be seen clearly by vessels in port.
This re-creation (not a true replica) of the Amistad was in port when we arrived. It has sailed over 18,000 miles since its construction. Its mission is to spread racial and cultural understanding around the world.
Also in the wharf area is this crystal manufacturer. All articles are hand blown, cut and polished. Here, a workman removes some goblets from a second firing.
The Buskerfest was in full swing and the wharves were filled with colorful tents and an equally colorful crowd. Buskers are street entertainers. At any given moment, at least three acts were in progress, some quite good, others less so, but all fun.
This stiltwalker was making balloon sculptures for the kids.
Here is a member of a breakdancing group. Note the little boy in the background clapping with his feet. One member, deprived of much of the use of his legs by a congenital defect did his routine on crutches. He periodically yelled "no excuses" to which the audience was coached to respond "no limits".
For a price, you could take a tour of the harbor on a schooner such as this one.
The younger set could go out on Theodore Too Tug. What a clever idea for extending the life of an undersized, obsolete tug.
This young man wasn't going to let anything that happened on board Theodore escape his attention.
On a more somber note, where there is a strong maritime tradition, there is inevitably tragedy. Halifax is where the maiden voyage of the Titanic really ended. Three ships based out of Halifax were chartered to help in the recovery operation. Many of the more badly mangled or deteriorated were buried at sea. Of the 209 brought back to Halifax, the remains of 150 were laid to rest here. Two months earlier, we visited Belfast, where the Titanic was constructed. We felt it only fitting that we come here to pay our respects to those who perished with her.
Nearly one third of the grave sites have headstones that mark the final resting place of an unidentified passenger. 
This self-explanatory stone was commissioned by J. Bruce Ismay, the controversial general manager of the White Star Lines, who traveled on the Titanic and boarded one of the lifeboats while many passengers went down with the ship.
This stone was the most poignant. It marks the grave of an unknown child whose remains were recovered. Note the toys, seashells, and a few pennies at the base of the stone.
Nor was the Titanic the only travel related disaster that occurred here. In 1998, Swissair flight 111 crashed 5 miles offshore equidistant from Peggy's Cove and Blandford, Nova Scotia. Fishermen from both towns aided in the recovery of artifacts and remains of that disaster. There were fresh flowers and a Teddy bear at the base of this memorial. We don't know whether they were placed there by relatives of the victims or by locals.
The boulders that litter the coastline near Peggy's Cove were left aeons earlier by retreating glaciers. As the last of the sun's rays lit their western faces and cast their long shadows against the shoreline, we once again turned home.
From the window of our coach, we have seen these beautiful sunsets almost daily. Today has been a study in contrasts; the sorrow of the Titanic and Swissair 111 tragedies, the joy of the weddings and Buskerfest, and the beauty that surrounds us here. 
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