Nova Scotia Weekend #2

Last Thursday morning we were up and on the road again. Hadn't been to Halifax for years and now two weekends in a row!



We actually beat my family by an hour, even though we had the longer distance to travel. Since it was around lunch time we decided to get something to eat. We ended up at Jack Astor's where I had a Chopstick Chicken Salad which was awesome.

Then we headed for Citadel Hill where we were meeting up with everyone. As you can see, it was a lovely day...



I have not been to The Halifax Citadel since I was just a youngun' - don't remember much about it other than the fact that I was there.

I snapped lots of pictures, but I think it is one of those things that is better seen in person.

However....





The library. I want it in my house.





There was way more in the museum than I expected - it seemed to just keep on going. We really didn't have time, definitely rushed through some of it, but I really enjoyed it.

There was a wall of regimental badges...



including the regiment that Husband used to belong to.

















View of the city as we were driving off the hill.



I kept trying to get a shot of the clock on the hill and finally snapped this one when we parked the car to go for dinner.



Dinner was here.



I'm sure that I probably have been to The Keg before, but so long ago that I really don't remember. I always hear good things about The Keg though, so I was looking forward to it.

Sadly, for me? The Keg? Not a hit.

I'm not a big fan of steak. I'll eat it. If Husband cooks it. Or if I go to someone else's house and that's what they give me. But I would never order it in a restaurant. "I think I'd like a steak" is just not something that ever crosses my mind.

They do have some chicken and seafood options on the menu, but most of it didn't appeal to me. Husband suggested I have lobster, since I like it and he doesn't, so I ended up having the lobster tails. Most expensive entree I've ever ordered I think. The lobster was ok, it came with rice pilaf but it had mushrooms in it so I didn't end up eating that. So not only was it an expensive dinner, I walked away feeling like I'd hardly eaten anything. Oh well. The glass of wine I had was really good.

And that was pretty much the day. My West Coast Sister and her entourage were staying in Halifax for the night and their flight home to BC left the next morning.

They all had a great time visiting and we hope they'll be back soon!

The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key. Hung out with my East Coast sister for the afternoon on Friday. We had lunch and hit the one store in Greenwood that I always want to visit. Greenwood is not exactly a shopping destination, but I love the Country Store. The carry bulk foods, vitamins, natural remedies and skin care products, organic foods...Just all kinds of stuff. So when I can I like to stop by there.

My haul:



Grapeseed oil (for skincare) Chai Latte scented soap (smells awesome), Maple Syrup, Coconut Oil, Agave Nectar, Amy's Refried Beans, Chipotle Barbecue Sauce and Coconut Spread.

Along with my sister and Bro-In-Law, we went to my parents for supper.

Driving up to my parents house.



Walking up to the front of the house.

=



And the newest members of the family - kittens!



My parents like orange cats.

And that's all I've got. Friday was rainy - Sister and I got pretty soaked when we were out and about, otherwise I might have taken some more pictures around my parents place, but there are some here from last year.

Saturday Husbands parents had a party for Husband's Grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. We did some running around for Mother-In-Law in the morning/early afternoon and there there was just a houseful of people.

Sunday we came home again.

It was nice to visit and see everyone, but I'm kinda glad to be staying home for a while now.

And we're off! Again!

I had good intentions of writing a garden-related post tonight...But that was when the plan was to have a [relatively] relaxed morning at home and catch the 12:30 ferry to Digby. Alas...Not to be. Turns out we'll be getting up early and hitting to road to meet up with the family in Halifax again. So now I'm organizing and getting packed, etc.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and the weekend! We'll be home on Sunday and if it decides to stop raining, I may even have more pictures. :)

Rest of the weekend...

When I left off last night, we were heading here:



This is Husband's favorite restaurant in Halifax. His family went there often while he was growing up. I did try taking some photos of the food, but it was quite dark in the restaurant so the pictures didn't come out great. They offered us a tasting menu - we had appetizers, soup and 6 main dishes of our choice (there were 14 of us). I think this photo sums it up nicely:



After dinner we piled into our parade of vehicles and headed home to the valley. My parents house is just outside of Greenwood. Since there were already so many people staying there, Husband and I went on to Husband's parents house in Middleton which was about a 90 minute drive from Halifax. Add that to the 4 hour drive from Saint John to Halifax that morning and we were well and truly tired of being in the car!

Saturday was a more relaxed day. We hung out at Husband's parents place for part of the day, then headed over to my parents house for a BBQ. The weather was not very cooperative - my father manned the grill while holding an umbrella. But we still had a good time.

Before we knew it, it was Sunday and Husband and I had to pack up and make the return trip. My sisters, Brother-in-laws, nieces and nephew planned to meet up with us in Digby for lunch before Husband and I caught the ferry to Saint John.

The weather was not promising while we were on the road...



But it actually ended up being the nicest day of the weekend, weather-wise (go figure).

Husband and I arrived first. We had a short wait though, and the view was pretty nice.



The building with the red lighthouse on top is where we planned to go for lunch. Sister (Nova Scotia Sister) and I discovered it last year.



I did get a few pictures from lunch. Husband ordered seafood chowder, along with a plate of bacon wrapped scallops for us to share.





I had 3 scallops, and a taste of Husband's chowder and biscuit. Then I got all distracted by the kids and by my own food when it arrived so failed to get photos of our main course - I had Pan Fried Haddock and Husband had fish and chips. There were fries with my Haddock, but I only ate a few because the fish was so good.

Then it was time for dessert. There were some happy kids at our table, let me tell you...





And I had coconut cream pie. I figured this was going to be lunch and dinner, so I went ahead and enjoyed myself.



After (and a couple times during) lunch, we let the kids run off some energy in the lovely green space behind the restaurant.



And enjoyed some more of the ocean view.



All too soon it was time to head for home. It took them forever to get the ferry loaded for some reason. We were supposed to sail at 4:30 and we were driving on at 4:28. I hadn't slept well over the weekend, so once we got underway I ended up sleeping for an hour of the 3 hour trip.

The weekend went too fast, and I wished that I'd had more time...But it was so nice to get home to my kitties and look forward to sleeping in my own bed.

It was a beautiful sunny evening. I went out to check on my garden and came in with:



I ate the two sad little sugar snap peas; the cucumbers have been going into salads for the past couple of days.

Then I took my baby Fred for a walk.



After a short walk of my own, I spent a little time puttering in the garden. With a little help from my friends.