Despite having a flight home at 12:30 this afternoon, I managed to pack some more sightseeing into the few morning hours before I had to head to the airport. I was up with the birds at 4:30, hit the hotel gym at 6, breakfast at 7, and out the door by 7:20. A quick stop at Tim Horton’s (how could I resist?) and I was on my way to Eastern Passage. Famed for its Fisherman’s Cove, Eastern Passage is a small town located to the southeast of Halifax at the entrance to Halifax Harbour. There is a small channel between Eastern Passage and McNabs Island, and along this channel lies Fisherman’s Cove. When I was there this morning, there were several brightly colored fishing vessels in the narrow cove lined with lobster traps and fishing nets. Picture perfect! Adjacent to Fisherman’s Cove is McCormacks Beach and boardwalk. The long boardwalk traverses the marshes and along the rocky beach’s edge and was perfect for a brisk morning walk (it was only in the low 40s this morning!).

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Irish music and dancing, a visit to the Halifax Public Gardens and Citadel, and some local Nova Scotia cider were the highlights of a rain-filled day in Halifax. I abandoned my morning plans to drive along the Eastern Shore and instead spent the whole day in the city. I started by walking around the Public Gardens, which surprisingly had a large number of flowers in bloom for this time of year. From there, I hiked up Citadel Hill in time to see the 11:00 changing of the guard at the Citadel before walking along the ramparts and through the fortress. By the time I left, the rain/drizzle had set in.

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If you’ve never been to Nova Scotia, start making your plans now. Trust me on this one. This is my fourth visit to “Canada’s Ocean Playground”, and I love it just as much as I did the first time around. Sunny, cloud-dappled skies, crisp autumn temperatures, and huge ocean swells with crashing waves made for a perfect day along Nova Scotia’s southern shore.

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