Let's Go Places: Halifax to Charlottetown PEI

 

Let's pick up the story of the Great Maritimes Bender from last time.  It's Tuesday morning, and I have just said so long but not goodbye to Elisabeth.  Today we're going to roadtrip to Charlottetown PEI with a stop in Halifax on the way.

First Stop: Halifax

For reasons that I cannot explain except that I like it, I am on a mission to visit each state/provincial capital city and to tour each state capitol building and each provincial legislature building.  Since the legislature buildings were only open on weekdays, this was the my best chance to tour NS's legislature.

(BTW I believe that the term for the building where the provincial government meets is Province House, but from what I can tell the term is not used as widely as capitol is on my side of the border.  I dropped the term casually in conversation in BC and the response was a blank stare and "did you mean the Legislature?" so I will keep calling these buildings legislatures until I learn better or differently).

We've already learned that Maryland has the oldest capitol building that's still in use in my country, and Nova Scotia has that honor in Canada.  As you would expect, it's much smaller than the BC Legislature due to a smaller population.

It might be small, but it is still mighty.

The tour was great, and the guide was passionate about the building and the history.

Notable things to tell you:

This gentleman's portrait on a wall of portraits of NS Premiers stands out from all the other Premier portraits since, um, he looks like he is asleep.  Pro tip: if you are having your portrait painted, make sure that you are on good terms with the artist.

We have our first instance of a tour guide pointing out fossils in the stonework in Canada:

I know you want me to show you the dome, but you're going to have to go somewhere else for that.  Halifax is the first domeless government building that we have found on the Great Capitol/Legislature Quest.  Spoiler: it will not be the last.

After the tour, I was amused to see a store that is right up my family's alley:

There were other places that I wanted to see in Halifax, but I was going to be coming back on Sunday, so it made sense to focus my time on PEI.  I walked around the waterfront just long enough to stretch my legs, and then got wheels up for my next destination.

Next Stop: Cape Jourimain

Elisabeth recommended a stop by Cape Jourimain, which is the last exit before the bridge to PEI.  My first PEI-adjacent stop was her last PEI-adjacent stop when she went there a few years ago.

There is a lighthouse:

I will never stop poking fun at "tiny lighthouses" but at the same time you may notice that I always drive past them real slow.

It is a very nice beach walk.

And it is the place to go for epic views of Confederation Bridge, which is what connects PEI to the mainland.  It is a mere eight miles long.  If bridges aren't your thing there is also a ferry.

I am 99.9% sure that my days as a runner are over, but if I were to take up running and racing again, the annual Terry Fox Bridge Run would be high on my list (the story is outside of our scope but if you take a minute to click the link and read up on who Terry Fox was you will be moved).

If only there was a way for me to show you what it was like to cross the bridge...oh wait there is an it's called YouTube!

I soaked in the views and then got wheels up and crossed the bridge into Anne of Green Gables Land.  About an hour and a half later I wheeled into Charlottetown, which is the capital city.

Let's Rate the Airbnb!

The unit was a studio apartment right in downtown and close to the waterfront.  It was in a historic building and had amenities galore - washer and dryer and a small rooftop deck.

The only issue was a "fool me once shame on you/fool me twice shame on me" situation that could have been avoided if I'd taken a closer look at the listing photos.  There were no nightstands and no reading lights near the bed.  It's not a tragedy, but it does hinder the reading/bed rot scene.

Let's Have Dinner!

After getting settled into the Airbnb, I went out on the town for dinner at nearby Lobster on the Wharf and got myself a table with a view.

I didn't realize it until just now as I'm writing this, but I did a repeat of the "oysters and poutine" dinner that I had in Victoria last month.  I guess it was only a weird combination the first time.

They sold oysters in units of one, so I got two which was exactly the number that I wanted and much more economical than getting a half dozen.

Any money that I saved on oysters went to a silly drink.  Oh yes, it's a lobster Caesar.

The main course was lobster poutine.

I was munching on my food and minding my own business when words from the next table drifted into my ear.  Did someone say "Put in Bay" or had I imagined it?  Nah, no one in PEI is talking about islands in Lake Erie, so clearly I imagined it.

I kept my ears open and sure enough I heard someone say "Lake Erie".

I turned around and faced the table, "Are you guys from Ohio?"

Yes they were and they lived a couple of towns away from me.  At this point both tables got food so the conversation broke off at that point, but it is a small world.

After dinner I walked to a convenience store to pick up some breakfast fixings and called it a night.  I had a busy day on tap for tomorrow.  But that's a story for another day.

Who (apart from Elisabeth) has been to PEI or driven across Confederation Bridge?  Have you been in a far away place and run into people who live near you?