Trip days: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8-9 | 10-12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
I dropped the bike off in the morning at Halifax BMW, and they gave me a ride into downtown so that I could entertain myself while they were getting everything sorted out. Halifax is a really cool city. It has a lot of capitol hill, Seattle alternative feel, mixed with a bit of vancouver, b.c. granville area. Halifax also features a number of old structures dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, the most notable of which is the Citadel that overlooks much of Halifax from its position perched on top of a hill in the center of town. The Citadel is by far the best historical landmark I've been to outside of europe. It has appeared in 4 different incarnations over the years and the current one was constructed in the 1800s, to protect Halifax in the event of an attack by the americans, took 28 years to build. It is an 8 pointed star-like bunker structure that has an overall oval shape to it, and is surrounded by a deep pit. The walls are topped with grassy mounds and cannons are found at frequent intervals along the walls. The center of the Citadel consists of a large gravelled courtyard and a barracks. The canadians have done a great job maintaining the landmark, and have also employed a number of college students, male and female, from the 5 colleges and universities in Halifax to dress in period garb, fire the noontime cannon, and educate visitors -- also a bagpipe band was there and played throughout the 2 hours I spent at the Citadel. It was quite relaxing sitting high on the wall of the Citadel listening to echoing of the bagpipers playing across the courtyard mixed with the sounds of the city. The garb and feel of the landmark was quite comparable, in a scaled down way, to what is found at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. Later, I meandered around downtown Halifax, people watched, and ended up in a really nice pool hall drinking a beer and working on my pockets skill. Everybody I met in Halifax at the restaurants and stores were extremely friendly and sociable, which was quite nice. By far the friendliest large city that I've been to. My biggest regret for the day was that I had neglected to bring my camera into town with me last night as I thought that I would be heading back to Barb and Boyd's that evening and I could bring it in with me today. Oh well, the minds eye is always more vivid than photographs, is it not? My bike was finished at 4:00pm and I caught a cab back to the dealer to pick it up. The creaking was indeed corroded pivot bearings in the final drive and quite possibly was caused by a slightly leaking seal in the rear differential. The bearings and seal were replaced, all for free, and I headed back to Barb and Boyd's for the evening. We drove in to see Kara and her father Bob, who were staying at the Larsens during the conference. After talking for a while, I said my goodbyes, and Barb, Boyd, and I headed back out to there house.
Total Mileage for Day: 28 |
©2003 John Meloy <jam@nas.com>