Monday, November 19, 2012

Day 4 N.S. trip recap

11/7/12
 Here we go, day 4! These posts are long, but thanks for sticking around them. I have a few more to do, then its back to regular content. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying.

So today was our Halifax day. It was freezing cold, gray, and overcast.  

Woke up to everything covered in frost.
After about an hour and half drive and some very nice city navigating by myself, we arrived in downtown Halifax and began our day by going to the Maritime Museum. It gave an in depth look at the rich  maritime history that Halifax has seen throughout the years. One of the coolest things for me, was the Titanic exhibit. For my junior year history class, I wrote a whole paper about Titanic, so I had done a lot of research and learned a lot about the tragedy. But one thing I did not realize was how involved Halifax was in the aftermath of the sinking. It was the closest port, so all the recovered bodies were brought to Halifax to be embalmed.  and then laid to rest. It is a chilling thought and something the I found very interesting considering how long I had spent writing about the Titanic itself.
A photo of some random old swords. I forgot to take picture of any of the really good stuff because I was to busy being a nerd.

To the gallows. Lovely isn't it?

The Kraken.
tAfter looking through the museum, my mom and I took off through the streets of downtown Halifax trying to find a select few store we wanted to see.  It was a biting, bitter cold that we made our shopping spree rather quick.
While making our way through downtown, we found Theodore the tugboat. The real actual factual Theodore! How awesome is that? Please, tell me you remember Theo the tugboat? It was like Thomas that tank engine, but better. If not, look it up.




After some shopping and meandering (although is was actually speed walking because it was so cold...) through downtown, we made our way through Dalhousie University campus. I never applied, but I did want to, and after seeing it, let's just say I am glad I chose Vermont. I am definitely a nature freak. I don't think I could do the whole city thing. Anyway, we went to one of three Titanic graveyard cites in Halifax. Fairview Cemetery has the largest number of victims from Titanic in all of the city. It was situated in, what seemed to be, a crack neighborhood. Or maybe it was just my country bumpkin imagination... My mom stayed in the car and I quickly ran in and went to take a look.

This is just one of many of the graves that just says "died". No name. It is a very lonely feeling looking at these graves and wondering what they felt before they died. And wondering what the people who recovered the bodies must have felt. Perhaps I have been watching too much Ghost Adventures, but it is an eerie thought.

This is a grave of the child whose identity they did not know until just very recently. Once again looking at it was saddening and a little chilling.
Actually seeing these graves brought the magnitude of the tragedy of Titanic to life. I wrote a whole paper on it, but those were just facts and words. This was the real aftermath. It truly represents the amount of lives lost due to a series of avoidable mistakes. Despite the cold and my worry of being approached by a drug dealer, I found it a worthwhile stop.-

2 comments:

  1. I had been to Halifax in June 1991 with my Mother, but it was very different. Annie & I were both very happy to return to our lovely & peaceful Blue Cottage in Lunenburg at the Second Paradise Retreat!

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  2. There was a NOVA episode on PBS a few years ago about efforts to identify the unknown child. I see now that the grave marker has the child's actual name and birth date.

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