Well Halloween came and went! Just like that! The next morning all the Halloween decorations had been removed throughout the ship, and we had a turkey towel sitting on our bed.
This day was spent in Halifax, Nova Scotia, taking another Hop On Hop Off tour of the city. The benefit of just missing one bus was we got the top front seat of the next bus which made for easier viewing and photographing during the tour.
On our tour we passed by the Government House, which is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.
The Old Burying Ground was "the common burial ground outside the stockade of the new town of Halifax. The first grave was dug June 21, 1749. It was closed to burials August 18, 1844."
A statue of Winston Churchill located outside the Halifax Memorial Library.
Halifax Public Gardens.
Colorful row houses.
This is an aerial view of Citadel Hill.
"Four fortifications have been constructed here since the city was founded by the English in 1749. The last is a concrete star fort. Those fortifications were successively rebuilt to defend the town from various enemies.
"While never attacked, the Citadel was long the keystone to defense of the strategically important Halifax Harbour and its Royal Navy Dockyard.
"Today it is the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada where visitors can step back in 1869 and be immersed in the social and military history of Halifax."
Usually you think of a moat having water in it surrounding a castle or fortress. It was interesting to see the dry moat all around the Citadel.
This is the view of Halifax coming down from Citadel Hill.
The Citadel Clock Tower "has been keeping time for the garrison since October 20, 1803."
Halifax was my favorite port. I absolutely loved the beautiful colored leaves we saw there.
The best photos for leaves were taken when we hopped off the pink bus at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery.
In this cemetery is the Titanic Grave Site, the final resting place for some of the victims of the sinking of the Titanic.
As a memorial, the Titanic victims are buried under markers arranged in the shape of a ship's bow.
"Most of the victims are memorialized with small gray granite markers with the name and date of death. The occupants of a third of the graves have never been identified and their markers contain just the date of death and marker number.
"Some families paid for larger markers with more inscriptions."
The cemetery was so peaceful to walk through, looking at the headstones and admiring the beauty of the fall colors.
In another part of the cemetery there is a memorial to the unidentified dead victims of the Great Disaster that occurred on December 6, 1917.
Two ships collided in the narrows of Halifax Harbor. The French ship was loaded with TNT for the allied war effort and it exploded when it hit the Norwegian ship.
More than 2,000 people were killed and over 9,000 people were injured. The blast leveled half the city.
We learned more about the Great Disaster when we hopped off the pink bus near the harbor area so we could visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
The time of the blast is noted by the time on this clock that was found among all the rubble of the explosion.
The Acadia Sugar Refinery photos of before and after the explosion.
View of the Halifax waterfront area after the explosion.
Over 6,000 people lost their homes in the blast.
People were also suffering from eye injuries. A dozen ophthalmologists treated 592 people who were suffering and performed 249 enucleations (eye removals). Many Explosion survivors wore prosthetic eyes throughout their lives.
The last thing we saw at the museum was this lighthouse lens. Who knew it was so big?
We walked the waterfront back to our ship and saw a lighthouse across the water. It was our last lighthouse spotting for this vacation.
Back on the ship, it was international flag night. The flags from each country representing all the crew members were hung about the centrum.
The flag parade began--headed off with Captain Tor and his country's flag.
Countries were announced and crew members representing that country would parade around, and some did a dance from their country.
Friday was a sea day. It was lobster dinner night. The entertainment was tango dancers.
Then it was time to pack our bags and get them set outside our door for pick-up because the next day we would be back in Boston and ready to disembark our cruise ship.
We had such a nice time together on land and on sea, but time to bring the vacation to an end. Unfortunately, our plane had engine trouble. Only found out once all the passengers were loaded.
We had to all get off the plane. Another plane was brought in. All the passengers loaded on the plane again. And because of that long process, we missed our connecting flight in Minneapolis.
There was a bit of a wait until we could get on another plane, but we eventually made it home safe and sound. We appreciated Dallas and Rebecca picking us up at the airport.
I was sad I missed my Aunt Anna Mae Ward's funeral which was held the day before we got home. She is married to my Dad's brother, Earl.
I was afraid I might miss my birthday luncheon if we were going to have to spend the night in Minneapolis. But, no worries! I showed up to my own party. Diane Stewart was hosting it, so I just had to walk across the street.
It was fun to see Kathy Jacketta there along with all my other friends. What a wonderful group of women I am able to associate with.
Love them all and appreciate so much their kindness on my behalf. I was extra especially thankful for the meal because our house was pretty bare of food after being gone for so long.
Jan Evans was so sweet to present each of us with a beautiful fall bouquet of flowers. I am still enjoying the beauty of that bouquet over two weeks later.
Madison invited us to her school to have lunch with her and then go to the Scholastic Book Fair. Great way for the school to make more money with grandparents willing to buy books for their grandchildren.
Rebecca has been running the elementary school's book fair for years. She runs one several times each year. It was so wonderful she was able to do that despite her recent health scare. Her booted foot cooperated and she got the job done.
Rebecca has done such a great job keeping us updated on the healing process of her foot. Here are her latest photos. She was never so elated as the day all the black skin had finally peeled off the back of her little toe.
Looks like her skin shedding is calming down. So good to see normal, healthy skin on that foot once again.
That big toenail bed is healing. Now she is "looking forward" to having her other problematic toenails removed, hopefully before the end of the year.
It was a happy sight when Rebecca sent this photo showing her outside wearing regular shoes. Her family was having a photo shoot and she donned a full pair of shoes for the event. HALLELUJAH!!
Just as we are rejoicing in Rebecca's toes healing, Sarah shows us photos of her toes. This is how they looked after her half-marathon three weeks ago.
And this is how they look after running another half marathon this past weekend. She is sure she will lose both big toenails and possibly her second toenails.
Eli decided to run the 5K while Sarah was running the St. George Snow Canyon Half Marathon
Sarah loves this race because it is mostly downhill, and she loves the beauty of the canyon as she is running.
As seems to be the case every time I go out of town... I get sick when I get home (if I haven't already gotten sick on the trip).
This is the fourth time I have had Covid. Frustrating!! Surprisingly, Glen has never once gotten sick with Covid. Although, there is no explanation as to why he cannot smell anymore.
I have been coughing my head off and struggling to breathe for the past two weeks despite a trip to the doctor and another trip to urgent care. I am finally doing better since I started taking an antibiotic a few days ago.
It was so wonderful of my Aunt Lucille to be my substitute at the temple last week when I was sick.
It was so kind of Jan to stop by with a well-decorated, chocolate-frosted Christmas tree Rice Krispie treat on a stick to help brighten my day as I was trying to recover from my illness.
So glad Dad, Mom and Nani did not get Covid. I was with them when I was first getting sick. So glad I wore a mask in their house to keep my germs to myself.
Dad wanted me to take a photo of the back of him. They had just been to one of his heart healthy appointments and he was modeling the t-shirt they have given him to wear to his appointments. "The beat goes on." Cute!
Now to end on a winning note. Spencer had the award-winning, first place car in the pinewood derby.
Way to go Spencer!!
