ROAD TRIP!!!
Up to this point, we had been taking day trips to various places of interest and spending our nights at the Bible Camp with Mark and Amy.  Then we were planning to take a 5-day tour of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  So not so bright and early Saturday morning-remember we had stayed up past midnight for games at night at the camp cook's home-we headed out on the highway north to the isthmus that joins New Brunswick to Nova Scotia.
We grabbed Tim Horton's coffees and some food for our journey.  As we chatted, enjoying the scenery, I was excited to revisit places I'd been as a kid and then as a teenager.  This was all new to Walter, so as Amy and I had planned most of our itinerary, we hoped to hit many popular highlights and satisfy everyone's touring needs!  Mark had booked our accommodations and did all the driving.  Amy did the navigating.  All Walter and I had to do was sit back and relax.
One place we drove by was Brookfield, where our friends Ken and Debbie Matthews spent several years ministering on the nearby reserve of Indianbrook.  We texted Ken to find out their former home address and to check out the restaurant they recommended.  The small fastfood place wasn't busy, but we had come for a late lunch.  We all ordered the Donairs with the works.  The only employee working there was of middle eastern descent and he prepared our food while we sipped cold beverages.
A Donair is a pita bread with sliced spicy beef meat, red onions, cheese and a sweet mayonnaise sauce.  I looked at the mound of food I had ordered, wondering if I rolled it up or used the fork and knife provided!  I tried a bit of both, but could not finished the huge, spicy meal!
We piled back into the PT Cruiser to drive the relatively short distance to Dartmouth (Halifax).  We found the Travelodge in Dartmouth easily and carried our luggage into our rooms.  Ahhhh, we stretched out on the bed in the air conditioned room, switching on the TV and relaxing.  Soon, a knock on the door adjoining the two rooms roused us from our almost asleep state.
"You guys want to figure out what we want to see in Halifax today?"
A map we found had points of interest and locations easily marked and we could see the bridge we needed to cross into Halifax from the hotel parking lot.  Adventure awaited us just across that toll bridge!
It was already coming on to 4 o'clock, so we ruled out most museums.  The sky was partly cloudy but the temperature was still very warm for late August.  So we ventured to the Public Gardens which were very close to most other tourist spots.  The Gardens closed at dusk, so we had time to enjoy them and then find a late supper somewhere nearby.
The Public Gardens were established in 1867, the year of Canada's Confederation.  They are a lovely park with various flower gardens, a pond, family area with seating and a large green space for games.  A walking path winds leisurely through the well-groomed lawns, lending itself to strolling, as was the style of the Victorian era.  Mark and Amy wandered along the paved walk as Walter and I examined a few flower gardens and took picture of various statues.  We lost them after a while- the Gardens must have been the size of two square city blocks!  So we texted them to say we were climbing up the Citadel, which was across from the north gates of the park.  They wanted to stay.  So off we walked, finding a foot path up the natural hill overlooking the harbour.  But as we had already read in our research, the Citadel would be closing by 6 pm and it was 5;50!
So we walked along, but one cannot see into the fortification without entering through the proper entrance.  We would explore this the next day.
Once we had descended the hill, we could see down the two or three blocks to the wharf area, but that also would be for another day.  Our tummies were telling us it was time to find supper.  Through the south gate of the Gardens was a Smitty's Restaurant and we decided that was as good a place as any to have a meal.  Rejoining Mark and Amy, we walked to the restaurant, leaving our car parked along the street where there was free parking on weekends.
It was definitely dusk when we finished supper and we were ready to return to the hotel.  Fresh air and full bellies meant we called it a day before 10 pm.
The next day's plans were loosely based on the weather so we simply agreed to have breakfast and see where the day took us...