Halifax, Nova Scotia - walking to the Public Gardens and Citadel

A slow start to the day - then headed out for seeing the city, well, a part of it, by foot.  Headed toward the gardens and they had a beautiful display of Dahlias.  So many unique ones!  Bees were trying to pollinate... but they're moving pretty slow due to the chilly weather.  Halifax is also know for their Fish and Chips, so we had to stop for lunch and have some. 

Jerry and I were able to do some geocaching after eating (found three of them), Jens and Julie were gonna walk the boardwalk and Liz and Gary were gonna check out art galleries. Found an interesting hawk on display on the boardwalk... PLUS... checkout the cool outdoor artwork and it's explanation... love it... reminded me of the 'go home, you're drunk' captions!

Ended our evening here on the boat... with a Pub Crawl... One hour, Four strong drinks (well, except for the beer)... First one I was decorated with Toilet Paper cuz I didn't drink the Long Island Ice Tea fast enough or finish it (same with Liz)..... second one, I did pretty good with the drink beer without your hands from a plastic cup (only about 3 ozs...), Next one, was called the Spirit Drink... had seven 'spirits' in it... When no one was looking, I fed 7/8s of it to a plant... the last one was a sour apple shot... I took one sip and said.. not for me... Jerry finished it... All this took place in four different bars here on the boat... Me thinks I'm not cut out to do Pub Crawls...

Sydney, Reading, and a bit of wind!

Arrived at the sleepy town of Sydney which is always happy to have the cruise ships arrive.  Not a lot going on... but it is a good stepping off point.  We had no plans for an excursion so we disembarked and walked around town and the boardwalk.  It was windy... and as the day progressed got even more windy.

Got back on board, ate and found a warm, comfy spot for reading on the aft of the boat.  So comfy in fact, after about an hour, I left for our stateroom and promptly feel asleep for an hour or so... even though I was reading a good book!

We were suppose to leave around 4 when the Captain announced that the winds were such (gusts up to 40+ knots pounding on our Port Side while the Starboard Side was against the pier) and since Sydney had no tug boats to assist, we were going to wait till 6 and see if they would die down.  He assured us we would make the next port in plenty of time even if that happened.  The winds were not cooperating in any way and even stronger winds were predicted through the night and early morning.  About 6:30 he announced we had a small window of opportunity and he was going to attempt it.  Those starboard thrusters had to work their little blades off... It took about 10 minutes but we finally got far enough away from the dock and rocks we could begin some forward motion.   About five minutes later... the announcement was short and sweet "This is the Captain.  We Made It!"

Jerry and I finally met Kelli's parents while in the Crows Nest Bar.  Small world... as we introduced them to our group... talked about where folks were from... Rich dated a gal Jens went to high school with from the town he grew up in on the East Coast. 

Anyway... great, special dinner at the Pinnacle Grill... Finished up around 10:30 and went back to our rooms... well, I did... Jer went walking and I'm not sure what else everyone else chose to do.  Wind was quite strong all night (apparent wind was steady at 50+ mph the TV screen said)... but the boat is equipped with stabilizers that kept the ride comfortable.  Woke up arriving into Halifax... to a another beautiful sunrise, birds and lighthouses!  Who knows what today's adventure will be!

Jerry's artwork with "Towel Art....".... he calls it Pillow Art...  

 Found a Geocache under this tree and this woodpecker...

Hate to see the size of the guy that plays this fiddle

Sunrise... Halifax

An Unexpected 2:00AM Wakeup Call ... Then, Prince Edward Island!

Great evening last night... the First Formal Night.... Andersen's and Fosses met at the Ocean Bar for Happy Hour before dinner... We ordered and then they delivered two drinks to each of us.... We were expecting half price drinks... their tradition is two drinks for the price of one!!!! We did manage to drink both (in my case Rosemary Lemon Drops, Julie enjoyed Dirty Martini's)  Our little group enjoyed a delish meal (so far they all have been great!!!) and then met back at our room for a game of Farkle... Darn... Newbie Gary won...

Called it an early night (9pm)... and we all said good night since the next morning (today) would be an early call for our trip to Lucille Maud Montgomery's inspiration for the Anne of Green Gables Books and our Lobster Lunch here on Prince Edward Island (PEI).  WELL, we were all surprised with a REALLY early wake up call.... like 2:00AM... the emergency sound... HOLY MOLY, the blood started racing through my veins.  They announced there was a fire in one of the kitchens (on the 3rd floor) and that staff were responding and things were proceeding according to proper procedure and for us to remain where we were... EGADS... no one would be relaxing until we heard all was well.  About 5 minutes later, the Captain made the announcement the situation was taken care of and that the fire was under control.  Found out later it was an electrical fire on one of the grills in the Pinnacle Lounge.  The Captain acknowledge the late evening/morning shift server who found the fire and followed proper protocol... and we say, THANK YOU TOO!

Left at 8 AM for our bus.  Learned lots on the way...the island's population is 145000... lots of Potatoes and Soybeans and Canola Beans grown here.  Lobsters and Mussels also have a wonderful reputation.  Got to "Anne's House" and were able to walk a bit... even took a Bridge Picture in the "Haunted Forest" from her stories. So many of the flowers are reflecting Fall's arrival.  The Sun Flowers were huge and bursting with seeds. Course,  the guys noticed the Golf Course next to this picturesque little place.  Also, we found out there are 33 Golf Courses on this small island... The courses are a real draw for the golfers from the Eastern Seaboard...

Stopped for a Lobster Lunch... which none of us were sure what to expect... figured it would be much... boy were we wrong... A great Carrot/Ginger Soup to start with... then the Lobster... I can tell you, it was delish!  So sweet and tender... Got back to our ship after a walk  through Charlotte Town on foot... Very nice little place... Gary managed to find a popular Ice Cream shop here and, of course, since we surely haven't been eating enough, we each got a waffle cone and one scoop ice cream... geeze... like we really needed that!

Evening was nice... we have been blessed with great weather.  Watching the sun set while eating dinner... pretty special... other than it gets too bright at times and the drapes in the dining room end up being pulled shut.  Played a trivial pursuit type game in one of the Lounges after dinner and, as a team, we sucked... pooh!  Then on to the show tonight "A Tribute to B B King "...  and, now... it's time to say nighty night!

Good Morning Sun!!!!

 Anne's Aunt and Uncles home..

 Look, a golf course.... woohoo!

 Into the Haunted Forest....

 The flowers definitely know it's fall!

 Getting ready to attack that Lobster!!!!

 We failed at Trivial Pursuit!

 Alot of the towel art has been a bit lame... this one was pretty good!

Falls and Wine and Sailing Away!

So nice to get up nice and leisurely this morning... Our plan, meet at 11 to begin today's adventure... First stop would be the St Anne River/Canyon.  We hopped on the bus and we were off.  Got to see some older parts of Quebec... personal homes dating back to the 1600's, storage buildings built into the hillside to store their root vegetables, etc over the very cold and snowy winters they have here.  Hard to believe this area can get up to 15 feet of snow in the winter.  They even had bread ovens built into the earth. Adapt was their middle name!

The colors are showing here... so much more at home (and even than in Minneapolis where we were at earlier).  Apparently, just last week, the temps had been down to freezing already and now they have been blessed with the return of an Indian Summer, a blessing for us!  Our first stop was the canyon and the falls... Water appeared very brackish... not like our clear mountain streams of the Northwest...still quite majestic.  There were three suspension bridges over the river.  Rainbows in the mist (which my pics don't show well, pooh!) we beautiful.  Grabbed a couple pics of the Diva's of course!

Next stop, about 30 minutes away, on the Oreleans Island, Isles De Baccus Winery.  The grape growing season is very short here and their wines are all a bit different.  We tried about 7 different ones... The Ice Wine... The Best!

Got back to the ship just in time for the Muster Station Drill... then off to the AAA Reception as we sailed away.  We just keep pinching ourselves we are all here.... Wine and Appe's while we leave the city of Quebec!  And, if that wasn't enough, then dinner with a view you wouldn't believe!  Valerie's name was NOT being taken in vain but being praised for this great trip and dining seat...

Gary and Liz had bought a bottle of the Ice Wine earlier, so we headed back to our room and enjoyed a time of conversation till we were all just talked out!  ... Doing this blog the next morning, while we are at sea, and the sun off our deck... well, look and see! 

 Sail away party!

 View for dinner....

 Good Morning from our deck!