12 - Blue Rocks, Mahone Bay, Peggy's Cove and Halifax, Nova Scotia

July 14, 2017 - Today we toured various scenic areas to the east and north of Lunenburg.  Our first stop was the small community of Blue Rocks.  It started life as a small fishing village and got it's name from the bluish hue of the local rocks when wet.  In the 1940s it was discovered by the artist community.  Here are a group of photos showing you why this area is so popular.

From Blue Rocks we drove up the coast to Mahone Bay.  This town was settled in 1754 by German and Swiss Protestants.  For many years it's main industry was wooden boat building.  Today it is tourism.  Mahone Bay's claim to fame is its three churches lined up along the bay.  We were told where to go to get the best photo so we pulled off on the side of the road in the best spot and took this picture.

The church on the left is St. James Anglican Church and it was built in 1887 in High Victorian Revival Style.  Here is a close up of it.  It was the only church we came across that wasn't either stone or painted white.

The center church is St. John's Lutheran Church and the building dates from 1903.  Here is a close up of it.

The church on the right is Trinity United Church.  It was built in 1861 and was moved by teams of oxen to its current location in 1885.  Here is a close up of it.

Our next stop was the world famous Peggy's Cove, just south of Halifax.  It is famous for it scenic beauty but also, unfortunately, for the crash of Swissair 111 on Sep. 2, 1998.  Here is a photo I took from just behind the Swissair Memorial with Peggy's Cove town and lighthouse in the background.

The Swissair flight had left New York and was headed to Geneva when the cockpit  started filling with smoke.  They tried to divert to Halifax Airport but the fire spread too rapidly and it crashed about 8 miles off the coast with the loss of all 229 passengers and crew.  Here is the Memorial.

Here is a telephoto shot of the Peggy's Cove lighthouse which is reputed to be the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

Her is some of the town itself with the large building on the right the visitor's center.

Here is the famous lighthouse.  Unfortunately it was being repainted.

And a couple of photos of the rocks along the coast here.  Peggy's Cove is too popular and it was wall to wall people which made it less then ideal.

We next headed into Halifax which is the capital of Nova Scotia and its biggest city.  Our first order of business was lunch and after consulting Trip Advisor, we headed to the Brooklyn Warehouse which turned out to be a great place for lunch.

Halifax was first settled in 1749 by 1,176 settlers and their families led by Lt. Gen. Edward Cornwallis.  The famous Gen. Charles Cornwallis from the American Revolution was his nephew.  The establishment of Halifax was in direct violation of the treaty of 1726 with the Mi'kmaq and led to what became know as Father Le Loutre's War.  

The first citadel was built in 1749 when Halifax was first settled.  It was built on the top of the largest hill in the town, now called Citadel Hill, and was built to counter balance the French fortress at Louisbourg.  It was needed to defend the town against Mi'kmaq and Acadian attacks and over the next few years there were a total of 12 attacks.  The current Citadel is the fourth and it was completed in 1856 following 28 years of construction.  Here is an aerial view that shows the star shaped configuration of the fort.

Here we are just outside the walls.

The Citadel continued to be manned by the British Army until 1906 and it was then taken over by the Canadian Army.  During World War I, it was used to intern enemy aliens, mostly Germans.  During World War II, it was used to house anti-aircraft personnel and signalling and central control points.  Today, it is owned and run by Parks Canada and the fort is now manned by re-enactors representing the 78th Highland Regiment of Foot and the Third Brigade of the Royal Artillery and has been restored to the mid-Victorian period.  Here some of the re-enactors showing off a 6 pound cannon.

This is an example of a 32 pound cannon.

And here we have 78th Highlander re-enactors demonstrating their skills.

This is the barracks that is in the center of the fort.

I also shot a couple of videos.  This first one is a demonstration of musket shooting and loading and firing the 6 pound cannon.  You can't see the guys firing the muskets as they are kneeling and are directly behind the cannon but you can here their shots and see the muzzle blast.  It is interesting to watch the exaggerated procedure they go through in loading and firing the cannon.  Definitely not rapid fire.

This second video is much shorter and is of one of the 78th Highlander bagpipers.  While we were touring the fort, he walked the walls and periodically stopped and played.

And here is the main entrance with a 78th Highlander guard at his post.

On our way out of the fort, I took this photo of this interesting looking building.

Our next stop was the St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica.  The original Church was built in 1820 and was replaced by the present building in 1869.  It was formally consecrated in 1899.  It has the tallest granite spire in all of North America at 189 feet.  Here is a photo.

Unfortunately, the front stained glass windows/portals had been removed for restoration.  Here is a photo of the interior.

And the main altar with an interesting stained glass dome.

And lots of stained glass windows of which this is an example.

With that we headed back to Lunenburg and our RV.  Tomorrow we head north to Cape Breton Island which is the northern most part of Nova Scotia.