Welcome to Nova Scotia

 
 

Photo credit: Ivan Fraser
 
By Barry Wood

In fifteen minutes, a jet filled with excited American 
Baby Boomers who have come to Nova Scotia for fun will 
land at Halifax International Airport, in Eastern Canada. 
Passengers with window seats have already seen the province's 
steep, rocky shoreline with the Atlantic smashing against it, 
and the thick forests.  Our license plates do not say Canada's
Ocean Playground without reason.

An alternative to flying here could be a ferry trip from Maine 
to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  It does not matter how the tourist 
arrives--Nova Scotia means fun!
 
It's autumn.  The leaves are changing to radiant fall colors.  
The orchards are full of ripe red apples. Students have returned 
to school, and workers are back from vacations.  The mornings are 
chilly, with the fragrance of chimney smoke in the air.  The warmth 
of summer is gone for another year. People are wearing thick 
sweaters while out strolling.  Homeowners are getting ready for 
the snow and bitter winds of winter.

Maps and pamphlets are available at most traveller destinations.  
As well, check the the Internet for things to see and do while in 
Nova Scotia.  A tourist whom I met in the Halifax Public Gardens 
was taking pictures of flowers.  She said, "It's too bad that I 
can't record the smell of them."  She sniffed the air and leaned 
her head back, allowing the bright sun to fall on her face. Taken 
off guard I nodded, smiled, and said, "You're right. It is too bad."

In the very center of Halifax sits Citadel Hill, a national historic 
site that is open daily year round.  It is the pride of the city, 
and has a bird's eye view of the harbor.
 
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is on the waterfront. It is 
filled with displays of marine history of Nova Scotia. Many actual 
boats are on display inside, in addition to several large ships 
anchored outside which are open daily to the public.  These ships 
are crowd pleasers as are the inside exhibits about the Halifax 
Explosion as well as the tragic sinking of the Titanic.
 
A must-see is Peggy's Cove, less than an hour from Halifax.  This 
tiny village is located in the center of a rock formation which 
stretches for miles along the coast.  Here stands one of the world's 
most famous lighthouses which was built over eighty years ago to 
replace a wooden house that was used both as a lighthouse and the 
keeper's home. Peggy's Cove lighthouse is used in the summer as a 
post office.  The tide sneaks in over the rocks like a snake.  Quietly.  
Then suddenly it pounces. The powerful waves have grabbed several 
people who failed to heed the posted warnings against going too near 
the water.  Click Ivan Fraser 
(http://www.peggyscove.net/studios/studio_frames.html) 
for more photographs and paintings.

Lobster, clams, mussels, and scallops -- from five-star restaurants 
to places for the smaller budget -- Nova Scotia serves delicious 
seafood.
 
Watercraft are common in Nova Scotia.  Some for fun, some for 
livelihood.  They range from canoes, to fishing vessels, to yachts.
 
Museums throughout the province display our culture and history.  
In Springhill you can tour a coal mine where you get the feel of 
what it was like to earn your living as a miner and work in daily 
fear of cave-ins.  Nova Scotia's history is filled with tragic 
stories of the hazards of mining.
 
Coffee shops are great places to sit and watch the locals while 
you rest your weary feet and rejuvenate your spirits.
 
Nova Scotia is a haven for birdwatchers, so pack your binoculars.  
The province has woodpeckers, sparrows, seabirds, crows, and many 
other species.
 
A ferryboat runs between the cities of Dartmouth and Halifax across 
a mile-wide harbor.  This is an excellent way to see the skyline of 
Dartmouth as well as Halifax, which is noted as one of the world's 
finest deep-water ports.
 
Bus tours are popular year-round in the city as well as throughout 
the province.  There are tours for everyone regardless of your 
interest.  Autumn bus tours show the changing leaves in the 
beautiful Annapolis Valley. British double-decker bus tours are 
available in the old city of Halifax. Sport tours, such as skiing 
coupled with a weekend stay, are available at such places as 
Keltic Lodge in Cape Breton. Craft tours from Yarmouth and up 
through the east coast of Nova Scotia show paintings, and local 
crafts from needlepoint to hand-made wooden chairs.  Maple syrup 
tours are perfect for the tourist who enjoys going into the woods
and literally tapping into nature. Titanic graves tours are
reminders of that horrific disaster.  Tours around the Annapolis 
valley during the Apple Blossom Festival are a photographer's 
dream, and the fragrance from the millions of white-pink petals 
is free for the taking.
 
Halifax's Neptune Theater has a new, impressive facility.  There 
are live performances ranging from dramas to musicals. Cabaret 
opened September 22nd.  Wit opens November 3rd, and Scrooge opens 
December 1st, 2000.
 
For fishing, try our many freshwater rivers and lakes.  For the 
more adventurous, deep-sea fishing is available.  Manned by 
experienced crews, these boats sail out into the ocean.  Take 
along your camera as whales are spotted regularly.  Canada's 
most famous fishing schooner, "The Bluenose," built in the Town 
of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, is the pride of the province.  The 
Bluenose is world famous for being undefeated in an 18-year 
racing career against US schooners.  Tourists can visit the 
schooner in Halifax or in Lunenburg depending on the time of 
the year.
 
The Cabot Trail is in Cape Breton, at the northern tip of 
Nova Scotia. This route has breathtaking scenery.  Small, 
quaint unspoiled communities along the Cabot Trail are perfect
places to take advantage of Nova Scotia's beauty at its best.  
Included in the trail is the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, 
providing camping and viewing sites.  The Alexander Graham Bell 
Museum is one of many along the trail. Mr. Bell invented the 
telephone.  He was a teacher of the deaf; his mother was deaf.  
One can easily understand his fascination with sound.  Try to 
imagine a world today without the telephone.
 
Twenty miles south of Sydney, Cape Breton is the Fortress of 
Louisbourg, which is a large reconstruction of a town from 250 
years ago.  Fully informed tour guides, in period clothing, 
welcome visitors to the site.
 
World famous Sable Island is 300 km southeast of Halifax.  They 
call it "the Graveyard of the North Atlantic."  Its history is 
full of tales of suspense and lost treasures. More than three 
hundred and fifty ships, which fell prey to the strong Atlantic 
winds, have succumbed to the sand dunes since 1583.  Underwater 
reefs around the island trapped many vessels. These shipwrecks 
have resulted in the deaths of more than ten thousand men, 
including sailors, prisoners, and pirates. Today wild ponies 
originating from one of these shipwrecks run freely on Sable 
Island.  The government has restricted access to the island to 
people with special permits such as weather watchers, and 
organized groups interested in the wild ponies or in shipwrecks.
 
The jet's landing gear is down and locked;  the tires give that 
familiar skidding sound as they scorch the runway.  The eager 
passengers disembark the plane in great anticipation of the 
many things to see and do in Nova Scotia!

THE END
  
Barry Wood is an aspiring Canadian writer.  
Website: http://www.barrywood.net
 

NOVA SCOTIA PART ONE

Healthy Traveling






Other International Seniors Organizations


Seniors Organizations From Around The World
 



Other International Links and Friends
NEW
HelpAge International


Age Well Foundaion (India)

 
Belgium Seniors Site
 

Friend From Germany
  
 
Baby Boomers In the US


Baby Boomers Death Clock
A unique and strange facts of Life (or Death!)


Denmark
 
BIENVENUE to the Rochefort,
 France American High School
Alumni Association
The American School of Paris 
ASP Online Reunion Bulletin Board Posting 
Former Students Emails and Homepage
American School In Japan

Denmark's
Overseas School Alumni Assoc.
Overseas Brat's 
Resources for children of the Cold War


Silvert's Clothing for Seniors
 Clothing for the 
elderly eases the life of the caregiver. 

The Pellin institute offers professional training

 


Jona Runa's In ICELAND
 

Tony's in London


A wonderful site that is no longer up.
 You can still see some of the site at  Wayback Machine!
 
 ASIA, Thailand, Japan, Korea,
 Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Penang, Philippines, Indonesia
Maier's Been There Done That! Jeri's Travel Journals.
Jeri's 60s
 
 
Internet Server Sites 
Middle
East and Far East 
Iran
By Jeri Maier


EUROPE: England: France,
 Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Spain, etc., 

For over 50's - "I don't feel 50" - England 
 graham@idf50.co.uk (Graham) NEW NEW NEW ! 


Dorothy in Southamton,  England


Allan PLatt's Paris


Made in Netherland
 
Thoms from Germany
South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, etc.
 Rob Green from South Africa wrote  and 
 requested for a link to South African websites!
DOWN UNDER: Did you know that in Australia, 
 BOOMER is a slang for KANGALOO!


 
Seniors In Australia




Australia -  Mary & Ray gorgeous rock 'n' roll gear
  Contact: attitude@jeack.com.au



All about Australia