Welcome to Halifax, where “car” is “currh,” “bar” is “burrh,” and “furrh” is…you guessed it! “far!” We were fortunate that our Canadian friends, Nancy and Wayne, have a friend who lives here in Halifax and she graciously agreed to play tour guide for a day – a job she did quite well!
Elaine picked us up at the cruise terminal and made a made dash to Peggy’s Cove, getting us there before all the tour buses arrived. No one seems to know why Peggy’s Cove is so famous – we’re guessing it’s the beautiful location – but legend says it is named after the wife of a local fisherman. As a child, the wife was the sole survivor of a shipwreck near the mouth of the cove. She didn’t know her name and the family who adopted her named her Peggy, and began calling the waters where she was found Peggy’s Cove. Peggy’s Cove is home to Peggy’s Lighthouse, surrounded by a huge outcropping of granite rocks, great for climbing and exploring. We were greeted by a traditional bagpipe player. There used to be a post office inside the lighthouse, but they moved it to the gift shop a while back. You can still get the special postmark in the shape of a lighthouse if you mail a letter from there.
The nearby village has charming homes with brightly colored Adirondack chairs and wildflowers. Roadside vendors offer freshly boiled lobsters and lobster rolls, or you can get a fresh guy to take home and cook yourself. The area is home to many artists. One of them turned a granite slab in his back yard into an homage to Peggy’s Cove’s history. At the age of 70 he picked up his chisel and power tools and set about “releasing the figures sleeping in the rock for over 10 million years.” If you look closely at the picture you’ll see an inlaid plaque in the left side – this is a carving the artist did of himself and his wife. He also included his pet seagull. You’ll find him to the left of the angel’s wing.
We paid a visit to Alexander Keith’s brewery, in business since 1820. We were educated on the different malts used for different beer (but you better listen closely because these Halifax folk talk REALLY fast!), the differences between hop pods and pellets, and the process of brewing. There were plenty of generous samples, music and story telling along the way. It was really fun.
Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse 
The music of bagpipes fills the air 
Our guide Elaine and our friends Wayne and Nancy 
A beautiful view 
Granite rocks for days 
These rocks were made for climbing 
The village of Peggy’s Cove 
Quintessential Nova Scotia 
Lobsters on the boil 
Artist tribute to Peggy’s Cove’s history 
Theodore Too tugboat lives along the Halifax Boardwalk – a tribute to a very popular children’s program 
Alexander Keith’s 
The first of many samples 
Who knew there were so many different kinds of malts???? 
Key ingredients of a good beer 
Various stages of brewing 
Holding tanks for the beer. Each one has a piece of masking tape on it telling you the type of beer, the date it entered the tank and the date it will be ready for consumption. 
Evaluating a beer like a fine glass of wine 
Not all of the beers were so good – no one was fond on this salty brew 
There was wonderful Celtic music and stories from the past 
Ken enjoyed his last sample in Mr. Keith’s study. 
Creative ship figureheads line the doc of the Halifax cruise ship terminal.
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