Museums and Parrots

I am enjoying another day in Halifax today. It is a bit overcast but you don’t control the weather, do you? I am taking in the Maritime Museum down on the waterfront. When you walk in one of the first ‘exhibits' is Merlin. Merlin is a parrot. The sign went on to say that there was no mention of parrots being a captains mate anywhere in history. This myth was created by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book ‘Treasure Island’. Well, now I’m disillusioned! This Merlin however, has been negatively affected by COVID as well. Apparently the disruption to his routine during COVID caused him to stress and lose some of his feathers. His plumage is growing back and he is getting back to normal. I guess we weren’t the only beings to go into withdrawal due to isolation. This museum has some wicked models that show the different kinds of ships that have been built throughout the ages. There are two floors and tons to look at! The first one here is the Labrador, which was an ice breaker vessel that was the first to travel the Northwest Passage in 1954. She was 82 m long by 19 m wide (269’ by 63’) and had a crew of 224 people. She was in service from 1954 to 1987.

They also have full size sloops in the museum as well. They explain the different kinds of sailing vessels and how they progressed in time. There was even a life boat from a ferry (Madeleine) that ran in Montreal. All the exhibits were very well explained.

The second floor was dedicated to the Cunard Ship Lines. There have been many famous ships built and owned by the Cunard Shipping Company. These ships were steam powered instead of being powered by the wind. This brought in a new area of travel. These were originally built to bring mail and passengers across the sea. These ships were actually luxury liners (for their day) and the predecessor of the current cruise ships that we have. Some of the smaller ones ran the Eastern coast from Montreal to Boston, while the larger ones ran across the Atlantic to England and France. Some of the models here are The Mont Royal, The Duchess of York, The Nova Scotia and The Franconia. There are way too many facts and figures for even me to include, so you will have to visit this place yourself! One last note is that is was amazing to see how detailed these models were. Who ever built them were sure dedicated to their work!

After the museum, I take a walk down to the waterfront and see what is down there. I find a few ships and a sail boat out on the water as well. I even find a water taxi that runs between Halifax and Dartmouth! I’m starting to get hungry and there must be food here somewhere! I walk along the boardwalk until I find a place called Salty’s. It has food and customers, I’m in! It is right on the water and you can eat inside or out. I choose inside but with a view of the water. I have the lobster roll and fries. They were okay (I have had better this trip) but the best part was their blueberry pound cake dessert. It came warmed up with whipped cream and ice cream. Yeah, me bad! (I walked it off afterwards, honest!)Read more