• Alexander Graham Bell Museum

    This was Alexander Graham Bell’s study. He did lots of things there. Most of which you’ve probably never heard of.

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    Like his failed attempt to develop a flock of sheep that would always have twins. Apparently these cubbyholes of wool were somehow related to that project.

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    He also made a big hydrofoil that set the world marine speed record in 1919. This is a replica.

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    This is what remains of the main hull.

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    It looks weird inside.

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    He invented lots of flyey floaty things.

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    This is apparently a metal detector.

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    This is something else.

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    This is a manometric capsule, which involved a flame and helped deaf people see sound.

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  • Fort Halifax

    After circling the fort looking for parking we made it up.

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    There were several cruise ships in the harbour.

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    Being a weekday and low season it was pretty quiet at the fort.

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    Here’s the fort’s elevator lift.

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    Matt tried to fire a mortar to take out the cruise ships below.

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    Unfortunately he missed.

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    There’s a lot of brick and concrete in Halifax. They could take a page from some of the small towns to get some more colour in.

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  • Lunenburg

    The old town of Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was originally Mi’kmaq territory that was later settled by the Acadians and finally by the British. It was a major port centre and the home of the Bluenose I and II.

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    It’s a pretty town, but we much prefer the natural sites. We were going to declare this the least interesting heritage site, but then we learned about nearby Grand Pre. Grand Pre was an Acadian town before expulsion of the Acadians. Then the British shipped off the residents and burnt it to the ground. As a result no one knows where it was. But almost 100 years later the epic poem Evangeline was written and set in Grand Pre. (Kerri downloaded the audiobook. We made it over halfway through before Matt vetoed continuing.) Then some fan took a guess at where Grand Pre might have been and built a church. And a statue of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the author, and Evangeline, the fictional character.

    The story is of course far more interesting than any story we found about Lunenburg. But at least at Lunenburg there is some heritage to preserve. You cannot preserve things that have been burnt to the ground. Protecting things so that they don’t get completely annihilated is kind of the whole point of the UNESCO budget. And if we’re going to start making the homes of imaginary characters world heritage sites you may as well go with Anne of Green Gables. Or Hogwarts.

    So we didn’t go to Grand Pre. We went to Lunenburg.

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    Thus Lunenburg remains the least interesting world heritage site we have visited. Especially since the Bluenose II was in drydock for the winter already. Matt found a distillery and got some rum and the food was excellent, so all was not lost.

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  • Mahone Bay

    Mahone Bay is famous for its churches, which are apparently painted regularly.

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    They are kind of pretty at night.

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    But the town is also kind of creepy at night because we visited during their scarecrow festival.

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    Some of the scarecrows are definitely supposed to be scary.

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    But others, like this giant cod, are unintentionally creepy, especially at night.

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    The fisherman is also kind of scary.

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    And the town founders are super creepy, even during the day.

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    We didn’t take any pictures at night because we were too scared.

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    The clowns are just kind of weird.

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    These Jack-o-lanterns are not going to make it to Halloween.

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    I’m not sure if this crow was supposed to be scary or not.

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    These Frozen characters were definitely not supposed to be creepy. But sad, understuffed Olaf in the dark is very creepy.

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    The big bad wolf is supposed to be scary. But red riding hood probably isn’t. She has a more normal face, so it’s not as bad in the dark.

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    The astronaut has a more normal face, but it hangs out above you.

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    This mermaid is very creepy.

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    These witches are probably supposed to be scary but aren’t.

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    The deadfaced dolls are much scarier.

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    Even when they are Canadian.

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    These pirates are kind of goofy.

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    They were almost Kerri’s favourite.

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    But ice cream head man was the best.

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