At Large in Halifax

Arriving in Halifax by train at dinnertime, there's one powerful incentive to check into the Westin Nova Scotian Hotel.  It's connected to the railway station.  Just walk up a ramp and through a door and the Westin's front desk is right there ahead of you.

Everything else about the Westin is hedged around with "buts", sadly.  This was one of the classic old railway hotels of the Canadian National Railway back in the day when hotels used mainly single beds.   The rooms might kindly be described as "cozy".  Fine for one person, it would be verging on crowded with two, and would be like the ship's cabin in A Night at the Opera with four!  With a queen bed there's enough space to move around.  A king bed would be cramped, and I don't even want to imagine two doubles.  The air conditioning unit worked, after a fashion, once you manipulated an elderly thermostat on the wall and an even more elderly speed control on the actual under-window unit.  That said, every aspect of the furnishings and fittings is fully up the chain's high standards  And the view of the harbour from my room was splendid.  I had a swim in the indoor pool and it was all beautifully fitted and maintained -- but tiny.  Only 10 strokes from 1 end to the other, much like many modern economy chain hotels.

I did pay extra for the view, and also got a CAA members' rate with the optional add-on for breakfast.  That was a terrific investment, as I got a splendid buffet breakfast, even including an omelette station, and only had to leave a tip.

But the Westin is expensive.  No getting away from that.  So after breakfast I hiked up to the north end of downtown and picked up a pre-arranged car rental at the Avis office.  Back at the hotel, I did a quick change into shorts as it was uncommonly hot as well as sunny.  Then I checked out and off I went down to the waterfront.  One of my favourite things to do in Halifax is take the cruise across the harbour and back on the Dartmouth ferry -- $2.50 each way and lots to watch during the 10-minute crossing.

After that I had a terrific pan-fried haddock with sweet potatoes and veggies for lunch at a waterfront pub called Stayner's.  Also two pints of Garrison Red, a local brew, and a damn good one!

Post lunch, a nice walk along the shore in Point Pleasant Park and then went to check into my new home for the next two nights -- the Best Western Chocolate Lake.  First stay here, although I have often visited the Chocolate Lake Beach in past summers for swimming -- and there it is, in the view from my room.

It boggles my mind to see all kinds of people swimming in the lake already -- seems far too early in the season for me!  By now the clouds were rolling in, and an hour after I arrived it was raining.  Good time for a nap.  Then off downtown to one of my favourite "big splurge" restaurants -- McKelvie's Delishes Fishes Dishes.  Yes, that is the actual name!  It's right down in the waterfront district, and like all the restaurants there it runs to price.  So stick to one glass of wine, skip the appetizer, and it becomes more manageable.  Service here has always been good and was so again tonight.  They do a nightly fresh-fish platter which always includes 1/2 lobster thermidor, with three other fish items added on.  Tonight it came with a pair of gigantic tempura shrimp, four Digby scallops and another fine fillet of haddock.  Two different salsas came with the scallops and the fish, and there was a good selection of veggies and rice.  And it was terrific!

There's a moment driving downtown that always gets me in a way I don't pretend to understand.  I'm driving east along Sackville Street, up and over the south shoulder of Citadel Hill, and as I come over the crest and see the street running steeply down to the water in front of me, I always think, "Wow, it's good to be home again."  Why, I don't know.  I've never lived in Halifax, and no one in my ancestry ever has for more than a few months, as far as I know.  But Halifax always feels like home to me.

The Best Western launched my morning with a good swim in the (larger) indoor pool, and a very good buffet breakfast, which I ate on the broad sunny deck outside the dining room, overlooking the lake.  Great way to start the day!  I then drove down to Peggy's Cove.  I've been there five or six times before, but it has never been sunny like today (always either clouds or fog!).  So lots of pictures there, of course.

The famous cove itself:

The Fishermen's Memorial:

The coastal rock formations, worn by sea and ice:

An overview of the village, something you don't see when it's foggy (!) :

Okay, I guess I had better include one more selfie with the famous lighthouse in the background!

Nice too that the place wasn't too crowded.  That is, until I settled in for a coffee and snack, and the tour buses started pulling in -- five of them in as many minutes and two were big articulated coaches with probably 80-90 seats each.  Peggy's Cove was instantly packed to the gills with tourists.  I didn't figure it out till later in the afternoon, when I saw a big Cunard liner sailing out of Halifax Harbour.  Of course, shore tour time for the cruise passengers!

I then circled north and around the city and down through Dartmouth to Eastern Passage where I had lunch at a great restaurant called Boondocks.  My partner Massi and I ate there together 4 years ago this week, and loved it.  Well, the restaurant has changed hands, and Massi died at Christmas, but the scallops were still wonderful.  Another great meal out on the deck, poised between beautiful sunshine, broad tidal beach, great food, and bitter-sweet memories.

I then headed back to base, had another swim and a nap, and drove downtown for my last dinner before heading home.  I'd never been to The Lower Deck before and didn't know what to expect.  It's a pair of pubs in a very old building in the Historic Properties on the waterfront.

Downstairs is The Lower Deck proper, and upstairs is The Beer Market.  There's also now a branch in a suburban mall.  Contrary to expectation, all three have different menus.  I went up to The Beer Market and had a seafood platter they can serve me in heaven: grilled scallops, shrimps, and salmon along with panfried haddock, rice pilaf and veggies.  Add in two pints of the seasonal special beer from Alexander Keith's and I am stuffed!  Marked down for a very definite return date!

And now, sadly, time to start packing up for my flight back to Toronto tomorrow.  Too short of a trip in one way, but I do need to get back to real life before I gain any more weight from all the wonderful seafood!

To Atlantic Tidewater by Rail

So yesterday I was riding Business Class from Toronto to Montreal. After a two-hour stopover in Montreal, I boarded VIA’s Ocean, the 3-times-weekly Montreal to Halifax overnight train which takes a leisurely 23 hours, give or take a bit. This train is equipped with VIA’s newest vehicles, the Renaissance cars, built in Europe and bought by VIA when their original planned use disappeared with the opening of the Channel Tunnel. The cars are a bit narrow by Canadian standards, so coaches have only 3 seats across (2 and 1) and the sleeper cars are cozier even than the ones in the heritage stainless steel cars on The Canadian.  At night, the back of the sofa folds down to become the lower bed, and the wall panel above it folds out and up to become the upper bed.  Each compartment has a private washroom and some include a shower unit too.    

 

Sleeper passengers (like yours truly) check in at a special desk just before boarding at Montreal’s Central Station and are given reservations in the restaurant car if they wish.  The first seating happens promptly after the train’s departure at 6:55pm, so I was actually seated at a table before the train rolled across the historic Victoria Bridge over the St. Lawrence.   Because I was travelling just a week early for the summer season, I paid a lower fare but meals weren't included in the fare.  However, the price was definitely right.  For just $35 including tax and tip, I got 2 glasses of wine, 2 fresh hot bread rolls, a delicious hot salmon and seafood ring main course with rice and vegetables, and very good cup of coffee.  Hard to argue with that, and the service was certainly very good.  The sleeping car attendant came by not long after I returned to my cabin to arrange a time for making up the bed, and so I sat and typed away on a writing project and watched the twilight slowly deepen outside the window.  At 9:30 she came back and set the bed up for me.

 

The train used to depart from the main line only briefly to stop at the station of Charny, south of Quebec City, but now goes right across the famous Quebec Bridge to the suburban station of Ste-Foy.  This necessitates a lengthy reverse back across the bridge, and helps to explain why the trip is a good hour longer than the last time I took it.  Unfortunately it was full night by the time of this interesting manoeuvre but  I did get a bit of a look – by moonlight -- at this century-old bridge which still ranks as a major engineering masterpiece of the world.  Also, of course, there’s a splendid view of the adjacent highway suspension bridge, all brightly illuminated.
 
After returning to the main track, it was time for me to hit the hay and there is nothing to see of the lower St. Lawrence valley in the dark anyway.  However, for early risers in summer (like this fellow), there are good views of the scenic hills in the Matapedia Valley as the train approaches the New Brunswick border.  It’s quite a sight as the road and railway hug the banks of the river while it squeezes between the ancient craggy Appalachian hills, all clothed in evergreen forest.  I then had a quick but efficient shower right in my own private bathroom.

 

The dining car opens for breakfast while the train makes a long stop at Campbellton.  Sadly, the menu is very limited since no food is now cooked on board.  There are only pre-made meals which are heated and plated in the galley.  I got a freezer omelette of the sort you would see on the buffet of a mid-price hotel.  At least there was a decent side of fresh fruit and the potatoes were generously sprinkled with herb seasoning.  The toast was made to order and the coffee was both hot and flavourful.

 After breakfast, I spent some time in the scenic dome car at the end of the train, enjoying the gorgeous views of the Baie de Chaleur, schmoozing with passengers, scarfing another cup of coffee.  By then, though, I was just about ready for a compensating nap after my relatively sleepless night!

 

 That nap refreshed me considerably, about an hour’s worth of refreshment to be precise, and at noon I was ready when the call came for lunch.  This was a much better meal.  I had a very good chicken rice soup, another glass of wine, a chicken Caesar salad, and even sprang for the dessert – a raspberry oat square which I was able to finish about 2/3 – and coffee.  When the train stopped at Moncton at about 2:00pm I hopped out to walk the platform and got a real surprise.  After the efficient air conditioning inside, the outside temperature was almost shocking at 29 degrees Celsius!  I made a comment to the car attendant about how the temperature would be a bit cooler at the harbourside station in Halifax, she promptly checked it on her cellphone – and voila!  Only 15 degrees!  I have to say that I am very impressed by the pride all the staff of the Ocean display in providing attentive service to their customers.

 

 

After lunch, I was content for quite a while to sit in my compartment, writing, reading, and just generally enjoying the sensation of being outside of normal time which is so much a part of train travel to me.  But then there is the eye-popping spectacle of the v-shaped mud trench, every inch of it soaking wet, which is the channel of the tidal Memramcook River at low tide.  Nothing else so graphically illustrates the extraordinary tidal range of the Bay of Fundy as seeing such a large river emptied right out twice daily!  In between the loops of the river you also can see the strange, scummy, algae-coated pools of the Tantramar salt marshes, another key link in the intricate ecosystem of the Bay of Fundy.

 

The track from Amherst to Truro and on to Halifax is a difficult route through rolling, hilly country, with many curves and stiff grades.  All the same, this single track was the busiest railroad in all of Canada during World War Two, as huge freight trains carried tons of supplies to Halifax for England-bound convoys, while equally long passenger trains brought thousands of soldiers at a time to be carried across in preparation for the invasions of Hitler’s Fortress Europa.  With the aid of complex planning and scheduling, and record-fast maintenance, the track always remained open and serviceable.  It’s quite a sight to sit in the dome car at the rear end and watch the entire consist winding and unwinding in front of you like a snake.  There are some spectacular views from the high plateau north of Truro.  Another particularly lovely stretch winds for miles along the shores of the aptly-named Grand Lake.

 

One of the delights of this kind of trip is meeting fellow travellers.  I had a number of entertaining conversations with others during my visits to the dome car, and this certainly helps to pass the time as well as entertaining all those involved.  Speaking of entertainment, there were PA announcements several times during the trip of live musical entertainment in one spot or another on the train.

 

And so at last, the train glided down the shores of Bedford Basin, where all those wartime convoys assembled, wound its way around the city through a deep cutting, and arrived at the waterfront Halifax Station at 6:30pm, in time for a slightly-late (by my normal 6:00pm standards) dinner.  It’s been quite a trip!

For Sure, the Better Way!

I could be suffering near-terminal boredom on Highway 401 right now.  Instead, I'm relaxing in a comfy armchair and zipping eastward at a sizzling speed well beyond anything I would dare to do in a car!  I've been wined and dined, and have some lovely classical tunes on my MP3 player, I'm writing a blog post -- and I'm somewhere between Belleville and Kingston, heading rapidly towards Montreal.  Train travel really is terrific!


This being Sunday, the noon train ex Toronto is especially filled.  But that's okay.  Everything has been going smoothly, the service in business class has been first rate.  I probably shouldn't say this, but I'll risk jinxing myself:  my special diabetic meal, as always, was ready and waiting for me.  And I got lucky, having the two-seat section to myself means I can spread out a bit.  The perks of business class travel. 


Actually, for a trip this length, the cost of business class isn't really any different from going by car, when you factor in the lunch I would certainly have to buy myself on the way.  As for the time: this is one of the slower trains of the day, taking 5 hours and 20 minutes for the trip with 8 enroute stops.  I'd have to have a clear road and no stops to do Toronto to Montreal, downtown to downtown, in that length of time!  But of course, I would also have to stop -- to eat, to refuel the car, to answer the call (and I don't mean the call to the church ministry!).  Overall, I'd need more like 7 hours to make the trip, and I'd be a lot more tired at the other end -- and achy!


For those not familiar, the business class service on VIA Rail begins with a round of drinks and a salty snack.  Then lunch is served, with a small appetizer, a choice of 3 entrees, warm bread rolls, dessert, wine, and coffee or tea.  Chocolates are handed around afterwards.  All of that is included.  No beverage and food sales, as on the airlines.  The only trick is that I have to book or order 60 hours in advance to get that special diabetic meal loaded. 


And then there`s the scenery.  Nothing thunderingly dramatic along this route, but plenty of lovely lush greenery now that summer is (almost) here.  There are occasional views of Lake Ontario.  The line crosses some rivers from time to time, and runs through some towns and cities.  From time to time the tracks run parallel to Highway 401, and we get to watch the train slowly overhaul the highway traffic.  I`m not sure, but I think the maximum speed for the train is somewhere around 130-140 kilometres per hour.


As far as I am concerned, this is the only way to travel over the medium distance!


I also use the train a lot between Woodstock and Toronto when I have to be in downtown Toronto, as I was for the last 2 days.  Why drive in, and then be faced with a $20, $30, or even $40 daily or nightly parking fee? 


As with many airlines and hotel chains nowadays, it's important (if planning a trip) to sign up on the various individual companies' websites for regular updates on sales and promotions.  News of these doesn't necessarily filter downstream through third-party websites such as Expedia or Travelocity. 

The True North (of Ontario)

As some of you know, I lived and taught school for over 30 years in Elliot Lake, Ontario, a small former mining city set amidst the forests, lakes, and rocks of the Canadian Shield.  You can't stay in one place that long without making a lot of friends, and you can't move away after that long without wanting to go back and visit them again!  So that's what I was doing this week.


It's a long road from Woodstock to Elliot Lake, and even longer as I get older and can no longer keep going for four or five or six hours without getting out for a stretch and a break.  But in the entire trip, there is one moment that matters more than any other.


About 45 minutes north of Barrie, the highway to Sudbury (and Elliot Lake) crosses the mouths of the Severn River on a chain of several bridges.  Right in that same spot, there appear beside the road the first unmistakable outcroppings of the Canadian Shield's ancient granite, older than the hills, almost as old as the earth itself, still rugged, still sharp-edged and stained orange with the minerals that leach out in the rain. 


I can never cross those bridges without having the same sensation, a huge lift in my heart and spirits.  The very sight of those rocks seems to say to me, "You're home, Ken!  Welcome back to the north!"


I know, it sounds kind of silly.  But to me it's very, very real all the same.  I don't think anyone ever leaves Northern Ontario to live in the south without leaving a sizable piece of their heart behind them.  Yes, it's true, the landscape of the north really is that beautiful, and wild, and untamed.  And it's never more so than during the season of the fall colours.


Trust me, there are no fall colours anywhere like those in the district of Algoma.  Why exactly this is so, I can't say.  But the region from Elliot Lake to Sault Ste. Marie and then north along the shore of Lake Superior has a rainbow of blazing colours such as you will never see anywhere else (certainly, nowhere else that I have ever been!).  The peak colours through the area are usually seen in the first week of October.

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Algoma is the Agawa Canyon Tour Train which runs daily out of Sault Ste. Marie throughout the summer and fall seasons.  It's an 8.5-hour trip north through the wilderness to the Canyon.  Most of the way, the rails run very far from the major highway which sticks closer to the shore of Lake Superior.  The train includes dining car(s) which serve breakfast and lunch, as well as selling pre-packed box lunches.  At the bottom of the Canyon the train stops for 2 hours in a parkland setting alongside the rushing Agawa River.  You can eat there, walk up the stairs to the lookout point on the Canyon wall, hike along the trail beside the river down to the falls which cascade down the sides of the Canyon.  I always prefer to eat on the train after starting back to the Soo. 

There's no more striking way to see the colours than from the Tour Train, but you have to book very early indeed to get seats during the colour season.  Otherwise, you can usually get tickets for most trips on just a few days notice.  Plan on two overnight stays in the Soo to keep it simple -- there are several excellent hotels within walking distance of the station (the Quality Hotel and Holiday Inn Express are my favourites).

But don't take my word for it.  Go, and see for yourself why I love this country so much!