First, Chezzetcook to Halifax without getting lost! I know you say it's part of the fun Nigel, but what fun everyone has when it doesn't happen! Before anyone gets excited, I attribute our navigating success to our incognito tour guide Davis on his pre-flight tutorial and coaching! Way to go Davis, the confidence is rebuilding in both of us!
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| Halifax Citadel Myles & Corporal McFadden compairing wardrobes! |
We travelled over the Mcdonald Bridge one more time this morning a little after 9:00 am. We toured the town a tiny bit, more to seek out a parking space, but also to get the lay of the land a bit more. We confirmed sites and intersections we witnessed the day before, and found the Citedal and perfect FREE parking space while in the Citedal! If you have never been here, the Citidal is built on a hill which almost entirely ascends straight up to what they quote inside as a 40 foot drop. The fortress is built on the top, surrounded by two man-made walls, one partly of Limestone, the other with white granite. One wall is higher than the other and features inside wartime period characters of English decent from the 1850s onward. Inside guided (Tricia chose) or self-guided (Ken chose) tours were available. Participants within the walls were treated to a guard parade, bagpipers playing and guards demonstrating period riffle shots. Heaven for our gun enthusiast friends Mike O'Brien and Jon Brown! With this, always at 12 noon, a canon was sounded, which could be heard from every point of the Halifax Harbour. A great deal was learned in our 1.5 hour visit. Tricia's tour, presented by perhaps a distant relative of our dear friend Kevin McFadden, Corporal McFadden, was extremely informative, with bouts of humour I am pretty sure only I understood! The view from the top of the fort was spectacular, where we witnessed ships, both military, cargo and pleasure crafts passing by and travelling either up or down the channel.
From here we headed down to the harbour. At first we considered leaving the truck at the Citadel, however once we arrived on Lower Water Street and looked up towards the Citadel, I was so glad we found what seemed to be the last parking spot along the water front! I am not sure how we did not experience a nose bleed from the heights of the Citadel!! Even more thankful were my thoughts that we did not have to walk up the steep streets to retrieve the truck after a long day along the Boardwalk!
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The weather has been awesome here. Even along the boardwalk, I decided to strip down to my tank top and bask in the sun today - and I wasn't the only one! Most days our temperature is above 20 degrees, usually reaching higher than 25 - unheard of here at this time of year. The nights have been turning cool, leaving us thankful for our little heater in the trailer.
As we made our way down the boardwalk, we headed towards the Immigration Museum and Archives. Three LARGE cruise ships docked sometime between when we left here yesterday and this morning. They towered over us from dockside, and due to their arrival, the docks and walkways became more crowded as the day passed. Honestly though, this is a bit of a selfish, over reactive statement. To call the walkways overcrowded would be quite unfair to what these docks must see during the summer! Our meandering gait and the laid-back atmosphere just contributed to our relaxed lassez-faire attitude today. We were so relaxed and enjoyed every minute of the day!
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| Ben, our Scotia Bank Immigration Archive Service Hero! |
Lina Bragagnolo:
- departed from Bordeaux France on November 2nd, 1926
- she was born in Resia (or Resian?) Italy and was 16 when she arrived
- she was travelling with her father Fortumato (aged 63)
- they travelled together on the SS Chicago, a rather large ship
- arrived in Halifax NS, on Pier 2 (no longer a public pier, reconstructed around the Casino area and now within the Navy compound) on November 24th, 1926
- between the two, they arrived with $50.00
- they were both detained for 6 days (a peculiar amount of time according to Ben) for unclear reasons, although there seems to be notes on an appeal filed 2 days after arrival and a further note of "claims payment by overseas wire", but the writing is not entirely clear/legible.
- They were noted to be destined to Guelph
- She was listed as "housekeeping" as her determined occupation
- she was to reside with her brother Emilio Bragagnolo, on Hood Street, Guelph ON
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| Nonna's ship from France, entering on Pier 2, Halifax Nova Scotia, November 24th, 1926 |
- departed from Cherbourg France on June 25th 1927
- he was born in Zenone? (this one was really hard to read!) and was 25 when he arrived
- he travelled with his 2 other brothers, Antonio (19yrs) and Martino (22 yrs)
- they travelled together on the S.S. R/Australia (although Ben had a difficult time finding the ship for me!)
- arrived in Quebec on July 2nd, 1927
- each of the brothers arrived with $25 each int heir pocket
- each were destined to arrive in Guelph by CPR rail
- all three were to "farm"
- they were to reside at 497 York Road in Guelph
After so much excitement Ken and I needed to find a patio that served beer! Good thing just down the street was Garrison's Brewery. For $2 a glass, we sipped beer tasters (or was that teasers?) and once again basked in the sun. I bet my ancestors didn't have such luxury!
Once we pulled ourselves off the patio, we headed back the way we came, checked out a few possibilities for supper with Leah (our friend from GPL BFM/BKM, now student at Dalhousie) tonight. We strolled the walkway at leisure, had an ice cream which melted faster than we could consume it, capped that off with a beer at "Hart and Thistle" along the waterfront, then headed to the truck to make our way to the "Public Garden", a Victorian Garden in the heart of the city, where everything, and we mean everything is build in perfect symmetry. Before we knew it, we were off to pick up Leah.
Leah lives in the Sherriff Building on South Street - actually it was pretty easy to find. I am not sure who was more excited to see the other. She looks awesome, even though she said she had the "busiest schedule ever today" which trapezed her all over the campus! We ate at Murphy's on the Cable Wharf where they promised to have exceptional seafood...they lived up to their promise! What they didn't boast about was their desserts, so we all had to give them a try. We would definitely recommend the desserts as well!
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We introduced Leah to Myles the moose, and he of course pose like the joker he is with Leah. She chatted about school and the differences between the learning environment she is used to, to the environment she now experiences. Our visit was limited as she was having 3 subject tests tomorrow! She's going to make an awesome doctor for us Amy. The travel costs may kill us, but we both know the thoroughness of the physical exams will be well worth it I expect!
Once again, Davis would be proud of us. We navigated our way through the darken streets of Halifax and Dartmouth, and without issue found our little TC nestled neatly in Davis's yard. I apologiz to our audience for our late "post" today. Now yesterday's events were packed with touring and excitement and although I gave it the "old college try", I was simply too tired to send this off last night! Now safely at our next campground in Whycocomagh Provincial Campgound, just a stone throw away from the start of the Cabot Trail. For prosperity sake, I'll send that experience and post under our next entry!
If I haven't bored you to tears yet, read on and find out if we got lost entering Cape Bretton!
No worries mate, we stopped at the glass store before we arrived! We are well stocked for the next few days!
Cheers,
Ken & Tricia
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