East Coast 2022: Dartmouth / Halifax, Nova Scotia

Prior to this East Coast road trip that we took with our friends Yim and Murray, the closest that my husband Rich and I got to seeing Dartmouth, Nova Scotia was on a visit to Halifax in 2008.  We looked across the Halifax Harbour at where the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge was supposed to be, spanning the water between the two amalgamated cities.  While we caught a glimpse of the bridge on the far shores, what we mostly saw was extremely thick fog that was literally rolling towards us.  This time we arrived in Dartmouth to find clear blue skies in the area.  Approaching from the north via New Brunswick, we did not actually drive on the pretty MacDonald Bridge until later on in the trip when we spent a day in Halifax.  We did get a good view of it the next day during our walking tour of Dartmouth, which is Murray's home town.  Rich and I would be staying at Murray’s mother Betty’s condo for a few days before heading off to tour Cape Breton Island.  From her balcony, there is a stunning view of the Halifax Harbour.

The next morning, the four of us took a stroll to see the sights of Dartmouth with Murray as our local tour guide.  As we headed out, we chuckled when we spotted a Porta-Potty situated on some scaffolding, high up against a building under construction.  Continuing along to Birch Cove Park, we reached the Banook Canoe Club on Lake Banook, where we watched the occupants of various sized boats leisurely paddling in the water.  At Henry Findlay Park, we saw one of nine locks that support the Shubenacadie Canal Waterways, which stretches 114km from Halifax Harbour to the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and is often used for canoeing and kayaking.

Next, we arrived at Sullivan’s Pond, which is actually an artificial lake originally constructed to be a holding pond for vessels travelling to Halifax when the Shubenacadie Canal was in operation between 1860-1871. After the canal system ceased operations, the area became industrial before finally being redeveloped into a park and residential district in the 20th Century.  Today, there is a fountain spouting from the middle of the pond, and a small island with a totem pole that was a gift from the British Columbia government to commemorate the first Canada Summer Games in 1969.  Made from red cedar, the totem was carved by members of the Kwakiutl Indigenous First Nations tribe that inhabits western British Columbia.  It features the Thunderbird, Killer Wale, Sea Otter and a Kwakiutl Chief.  There is also a cenotaph where Remembrance Day ceremonies are held, and a concert pavilion.  Surrounding Sullivan's Pond are beautiful residential homes including one where Murray's sister and family live.  We were lucky enough to meet Murray's Dartmouth relatives during our visit and had a few lovely dinners with them.

Continuing to Dartmouth’s downtown core, we passed by a sculpture called “The School Chair” which sits on the site of the former Greenvale School which ran from 1915 to 1987. Although the red brick building has since been converted into a residential  space, the sculpture which consists of a giant metal classroom chair and eraser, pays tribute to the school which housed Dartmouth’s first kindergarten class and later, its first high school class.  The pretty Victoria Road Baptist Church is made of stone and has a cheeky sign in front of it advertising stone masonry work that proclaims “We want to get our rocks off. Know a stone mason?”  The main streets leading south towards the waterfront are lined mostly with charming shops and eateries that were a nice respite from the usual big chains like Starbucks which are relegated to the outskirts of the city.  We stopped for a coffee and croissant at Two If By Sea Café and looked into the windows of stores including Strange Adventures which sells “comix and curiosities”.  We paused to read the sign of a restaurant with a dog-friendly patio that is humorously addressed to the dogs and warned them to keep their owners in line!

The lovely Dartmouth harbourfront and port area offers scenic walking paths by the water, motorized stand-up scooters or segways for rent, a LOVE sign made of flowers (during our visit anyways),  dolphin-shaped bicycle racks and the Alderney Landing Community Centre which has art galleries including marine-like art pieces dangling from the ceiling, markets, a theatre and event space.  Looking out from the harbour, we could see Halifax on the other side, with the L. Angus Macdonald bridge in clear view this time, and the Dartmouth-Halifax Ferry boat that provides the other access route across the water.

Further along the harbour is the Daffodil Garden for Cancer Survivors, a park created by two cancer survivors who wanted to provide a space for “rejuvenation, inspiration and education for those touched by cancer.”  The daffodil is a resilient flower whose bulb survives the winter months in order to blossom in the spring, and is the symbol of the Canadian Cancer Society.  Over 20,000 bulbs have been planted in the park since its inception in 2020.  The bronze sculpture at the centre of the park depicts an elderly man, an adult woman and a young boy, illustrating the fact that the disease does not discriminate by age or gender.  The two pathways leading to the garden are named “Path to Recovery” and “Positive Attitude Way” which culminate in a circle surrounding the sculpture in order to form the shape of a ribbon representing Cancer Awareness.  Daffodil-yellow metal benches situated around the path are engraved with positive, encouraging quotes such as “Remember how far you’ve come” and “Be defined by courage, not cancer”.   At the intersection of Portland St. and Prince Albert Road, the beautiful  St. James United Church towers over the downtown area and can be seen from several streets away.  A sign in front of the church pronounces that services will be livestreamed over Facebook.  The COVID Pandemic seems to have hastened religion into the 21st century.

The Shubenacadie Canal Marine Railway was completed in 1861 and acted as an overland towing mechanism to transport boats that had travelled across most of the canal system through the final stretch of land spanning between Lake Banook and the Halifax Harbour.  Initially another 5-7 locks were planned for this navigation, but the implementation became too costly and caused the Shubenacadie Canal Company to go bankrupt.  This railway system was less expensive and offered an alternate solution.  A wooden cradle sitting on rails would be lowered into the water, allowing a boat to float on top of it.  Strong cables were used to lift the boat out of the water and tow it several kilometres, run by a water-powered turbine driven by water from Sullivan’s Pond.  This was considered quite the engineering feat at the time.  The large coils of the cables and the wooden cradle are still on display today.

As we continued to head back to Betty's condo, we crossed several streets that had a quaint method of allowing pedestrians to navigate across the crosswalks. There were holsters containing red flags on either side of the street which are intended to alert vehicles (from afar?) that people were about to cross.  Once safely across, you deposit the flag in the container on the other side.  In effect, we became our own crossing guards.  I found this to be fun and looked for opportunities to cross the road just so I could wave the flag (Did I mention that I’m easily amused?!).  Having made a big loop that brought us back to Lake Banook but now on the north-east bank, we crossed the G. Fraser Conrad Bridge which spans across the points where Lake Banook and Lake Micmac meet.

Later that day, we visited the Shearwater Aviation Museum which provides the history of Canadian maritime military aviation and contains a collection of aircraft used by the Royal Canadian Navy including ones that served aboard Canadian Aircraft Carriers. Of particular interest to us was the Grumman Tracker since this was the plane that Murray’s father used to fly.  This was the first purpose-built anti-submarine warfare aircraft, designed to hunt Soviet submarines.  Also of interest, especially to Rich who is an airplane enthusiast, was the Fairey Swordfish Torpedo Bomber, which was a biplane that served through World War II and even outlasted its intended replacement, the Fairey Albacore.

The two restaurant lunches that we had while in Dartmouth kept to the plan that Rich and I made to eat lobster, or at least seafood for lunch and dinner whenever possible while we were in the Atlantic region.  Our first lunch was at Boondocks Restaurant, located near on Government Wharf Road in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, a suburb south-east of downtown Dartmouth.  The large open-mouthed shark over the entrance and all the nautical carvings and other knickknacks gave the restaurant a fun, kitschy feel.  Our table on the outdoor deck had a great view of the water.  Rich ordered crab cakes and I had fish tacos with salad.  There weren’t any lobster options on the menu, so the lobster eating would have to wait until we hit the Cabot Trail.

Our second lunch was at Micmac Bar where we ordered the breaded clam strips and received the largest pieces of clam that we had ever seen.  In Toronto the clam strips are tiny, while these ones were at least 5 times the size and so delicious.  I think this has spoiled me and I will not be able to go back to my old perception of what breaded clams should be like.  Only giant, mutant East Coast clams for me from now on!  We also ordered deep fried pepperoni, another East coast local favourite.  The only thing that would have made this meal more decadent would have been if we ordered fries with it.  To assuage our guilt, we selected a green salad as our side course.

Rich and I could not leave the East Coast without trying authentic Halifax donairs.  These are sandwiches consisting of thin slices of spiced beef laid on top of a warm Lebanese pita, topped with diced onion, tomato and the secret ingredient-- the special sauce made with sweetened, garlicky condensed milk that is drizzled on top.  One night before the end of our stay in Dartmouth, Betty ordered donairs for our group from Revena Pizza.  The donairs came in small, medium and large sizes and both Yim and Betty advised me that the small would be plenty.  Luckily, I listened because my small donair was HUGE and I could not even finish the whole thing at dinner.  I ate the rest the next day for breakfast, as I did not want to waste a bite!

On the day that we visited Halifax, we considered taking the ferry but decided it would be faster to drive.  This let us finally see the Angus L. Macdonald bridge up close, where we spotted that someone had hung a Ukrainian flag in support of the victims of the war.  We parked and took a lengthy stroll around downtown Halifax, browsing in the shops and inspecting historic sites.  At Jennifer’s of Nova Scotia gift shop, Rich bought a handcrafted ceramic mug and I selected a pewter fish-shaped spreader as souvenirs of our trip.  Built in 1749, St. Paul’s Anglican Church was damaged by the 1917 explosion of munition ship in the Halifax Harbour.  The blast traveled over 3,300 feet, blowing out most of the windows of the church.  One window retains a part of the glass pane, imprinted with what looks like the profile of a face.  Urban legend says that it is the profile of a deacon who was standing by the window at the time of the explosion and the heat etched his image into the glass.  At the intersection of Granville and Duke Streets, a pair of stone lions mark the entrance to school buildings owned by the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design (NSCAD).

To cool down on a hot August afternoon, we had fun in the Halifax Central Library which was opened in 2014.  This is a very modern-looking building that features a skylighted central atrium with crisscrossing stairways, private reading and study nooks, a café, auditorium, community rooms, and the magnificent rectangular reading area in the 5th floor that sits as a cantilever of glass, jutting out perpendicular to the rest of the building to provide a stunning views of downtown Halifax.

This quiet 5th floor reading area offers café styled tables and chairs, sofas or bean bag chairs to sit at or on, although I don't know how you can read with such great views to distract you.  Doors to an outdoor terrace allows you to get an even closer look at the city below.  This is one of the most beautiful yet functional libraries that I have ever been in and deservedly won multiple awards for architecture and design.

Reaching the restaurant district, we had fun looking at all the cool names and outer décor of the pubs and restaurants.  There was the Toothy Moose Cabaret with the huge moose head (and little black crow) over the door.  The Economy Shoe Shop Café and Bar has a 50’s style neon sign with the establishment's name that lights up at night.  Above the eatery, there is a sculpture of a girl looking pensively out a window of flowing drapes.  I liked the names and images of some other bars and eateries including “My Father’s Moustache Pub and Eatery”, “The Split Crow Pub” and the “The Stubborn Goat Gastropub”.   Too bad we didn’t have the time to try any of these places.  We went into the Black Market Boutique which is a funky shop selling “boho-chic” clothing, handbags, crafts, jewellery and other knickknacks sourced from around the world.  Yim found a really pretty purple patterned dress there.

We passed by a very interesting street corner at the intersection of Blowers St. and Grafton St. that has a street sign proclaiming it as “Pizza Corner”.  Apparently this is a local landmark and dates back to the 1970s when three of the four corners were populated by pizzerias/donair shops including King of Donairs, European Food Shop and Sicilian Pizza. Today only Sicilian Pizza remains although other pizza and donair shops have opened and closed at the other two locations.  Currently Pizza Girls sits on one of the corners.  Humorously (to me anyways), the fourth corner is home to the picturesque Presbyterian Church of Saint David.  I guess this was once a place where you could “Eat, Pray, Love” without travelling too far.

We visited the Halifax Public Gardens, a 16-acre Victorian-era garden dating back to the 1870s that features extensive flower beds, trees and vegetation, different horticultural areas including a tropical section with exotic plants, statues and vases, three fountains, two stone bridges, three ponds, and a gazebo/bandstand where concerts could be held.  At the entrance to the garden are 16-foot tall ornate wrought iron gates decorated with the words “Public Gardens” across the top and the coat of arms of Halifax on the side.  Over the years, many elements of the garden have been restored to their former glory including 1887 bandstand built to honour Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and the statues of Roman goddesses Diana (woodland and wild animals), Ceres (agriculture and fertility) and Flora (flowers and spring) who stand near the gazebo.  A memorial fountain commemorating Canadian soldiers who fought in the Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa features the figure of a Canadian Mounted Rifleman surrounded by four cranes standing amidst daffodils while four sea creatures surround the base.

The beautifully landscaped ponds are each highlighted by a special feature in the middle including a little stone fountain, a miniature model of the Horticultural Hall and in the Griffin’s Pond, different model ships are floated including a replica of the Titanic. The Victoria Jubilee Fountain marks Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee.  It features the nymph Egeria, advisor to the second King of Rome, surrounded by four water babies sitting on serpentines.  Carpet beds are a Victorian garden tradition which arranges dwarf plants of different coloured leaves into a design or motif.  The Public Gardens has two carpet beds which are redesigned each year to commemorate special events.  One of the beds for this year marked 2022 “The Year of the Garden”.  Serpentine and scroll flower beds display floral arrangements in curvy formations to form interesting patterns.

My favourite part of the Public Gardens features my favourite flower, the dahlia, which come in various forms, shapes and colours.  We were fortunate enough to be visiting during the annual Dahlia Festival held in late August.  A very helpful sign explains the different types including the Formal and Informal Decorative, Pompom, Semi Cactus, Collarette, Novelty and more.  I loved them all!

The last stop on our day trip to Halifax was the waterfront district which is a vibrant area full of boardwalks, piers, wharfs, outdoor art and sculptures, children's play areas including a giant wave that can be climbed upon, shops and cafes with outdoor patios.  A bronze sculpture honouring Halifax native Sir Samuel Cunard was unveiled in 2006 to recognize his contributions to the transportation, communications and tourist industries when his line of Cunard steam ships provided a link between the “Old and New Worlds”, connecting North America to Europe.  I thought it was ironic that a rival Holland America ship was docked right behind the statue when we were viewing it.  But since Carnival Corporation now owns both cruise lines, purchasing Holland America in 1989 and Cunard in 1998, I guess that lessened the irony.  Other impressive sculptures on the waterfront included “The Volunteers” (2017), paying tribute to the thousands of women and children who volunteered during WWII, providing nursing care, meals, clothing, entertainment, collecting salvage and running blood donor clinics. Another sculpture titled “The Emigrant” depicts a man carrying a single suitcase, leaving his family to arrive in Canada.  It was commissioned in 2013 to celebrate Canada’s diverse cultural heritage.

An interesting piece of modern art is titled “The Way Things Are” (2012) by Montreal artist Chris Hanson and Toronto artist Hendrika Sonnenberg.  The piece consists of 3 painted steel anthropomorphic sculptures that look like street lamp posts but whose positions tell a very human story.  A pair of them, described by the artists as a diptych subtitled “Got Drunk, Fell Down”, shows a fallen or passed out lamp post while his companion hovers overhead in concern.   The third lamp post is sub-titled “Fountain” and mischievously shoots a stream of water into the Harbour as if it is drunkenly peeing after a night of over-indulgence.  Other sculptures found around the waterfront include seating in the form of a whale tail and other marine-shaped benches, a rectangular opening carved through a large rock which provides an interesting frame for the view of the wharf behind it, and the outline of a sailboat made from mesh that can only be clearly discerned from afar.  Then there is the piece titled “The Sirens’ Call” by John Greer which features four stainless steel female figures that look 3-dimensional from the back, but have flat, reflective surfaces when viewed from the front.

There are the usual touristy shops on the waterfront selling typical souvenirs.  But one store has a special refugee success story behind it.  Peace by Chocolate is a Syrian-Canadian run chocolatier company based in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and is run by Syrian refugees who fled the country’s civil war in 2012.  Prior to this, the Hadhad family created and shipped chocolates all over the Middle East and Europe.  After settling in Nova Scotia in 2016, the family started a new company and now distributes their chocolate products around the world.  The messages on the wrappings of the chocolate bars promote peace and good will.  A docudrama of the family’s story was made into a movie in 2021.

We concluded our tour of downtown Halifax with a late lunch at Salt Yard Social, snagging a table in the covered, lower level of a multi-tiered outdoor patio, giving us shade from the blazing sun.  We all decided on the lobster roll with each couple selecting one order with chips and the other with salad so that we could share our side dishes.  This would be just one of many lobster-based meals that Rich and I would have on this East Coast trip.  We also shared a large pitcher of sangria which was perfect for the hot day.