Our Carnival Cruise to Canada- 3rd Anniversary Celebration, Part 2

Saturday we came into port at Halifax, Nova Scotia (which is French for New Scotland) onto Pier 21. Which we later found out was a lot like our Ellis Island. Between 1928-1968 they had 1 million immigrants come through Pier 21! 90% of them were Irish, Scottish, & French. Sir Edward Cornwallis who was a British military office founded Halifax in 1749. It was primarily a military city- home of the East coast navy.

We're loading on the bus...we were one of the first ones on so we got really good seats! =)

Halifax was mostly Protestant and when the Irish started to immigrate they wanted to build a Catholic church, but the Protestants didn't want any parts of that...so they gave the Irish an ultimatum...thinking the Irish wouldn't be able to do it they said you can have your Catholic church if you can build it in 24 hours. So the Irish did just that. Being built in 1872 it is one of the oldest churches in the area.

Our very first stop was Peggy's Cove. Legend has it that there was this husband & wife that were very much in love and he was a fisherman & he went out with the crew to go fishing and the ship wrecked and Peggy searched the shore continuously for her husband. There are a couple of different "legends" so not sure which one is true, but I fell in love with the area immediately! It's absolutely gorgeous up there!

Peggy's Cove has a lighthouse. Our guide said that it used to be open, but a hurricane came through and the waves broke all the glass and flooded the lighthouse out, so no one is allowed inside it now.

haahaa! Branson is 'leaning' on the lighthouse.

aw! =) love him!

I just loved this little lighthouse! The first lighthouse of Peggy's Cove was built in 1868. Each evening the lighthouse keeper lit a keroscene oil lamp magnified by a silver-plated mirror creating the red light, which marked the eastern entrance to St. Margaret's Bay. In 1914 an octagon-shaped lighthouse built of concrete & reinforced steel replaced the old structure (the lighthouse that's there today). The lighthouse was manned until 1958 when it became automated.

The landscape was just beautiful. The tour guide said that we could go near the water, but to stay off of the 'black' rocks...those are the slippery rocks...He said that every year they have a death at Peggy's Cove because somebody lost their footing. Needless to say, we stayed away from the water.=)

So beautiful.

 There was this little old lady playing her according and she had her suitcase open for people to give her 'tips'. She was so cute...and I actually knew some of the songs she was singing: Que Sara Sara & She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain...some really old songs, love them. =)

 We both thought this sign was interesting. It reads:

WARNING

INJURY AND DEATH

HAVE REWARDED CARELESS

SIGHT-SEERS HERE

THE OCEAN AND ROCKS ARE TREACHEROUS

SAVOUR THE SEA FROM A DISTANCE

 A giant anchor. (my husband would say 'that's what she said' haahaa!)

Don't you just love this quaint town!?

 Branson is standing next to a part of a whale...& I can't remember what part our guide said...so sorry. I tried to look it up & yeah...I still have no idea. 

It was so peaceful.

  Artist William deGarthe started this memorial at age 70 in 1977. His artwork shows (the section to the right) local fisherman hard at work hauling nets, pulling a dory & using other tools of trade to catch fish. (the middle section) Bounty, celebrates the riches of the sea- the fish so essential to the survival of the community. The highlight is the young woman carrying the basket. It's the famous 'Peggy' who some say inspired the name of this cove, just as her legend often inspired deGarthe. The section on the far left, Grace, features a guardian angel watching over a fisherman and his family. Sadly, deGarth passed away in 1983 before he could complete his monument.

When he passed away his wife called up the city officials and told them that since she and William never had any children she would leave their entire inheritance including all of his works of art & sculptures IF they put her in the best nursing home and took care of her until she died. (She was 80 at the time) The government jumped all over that offer and said they would take care of her. She lived to be 100 years of age. She along with her husband's ashes are buried "with their children" in the memorial itself behind a piece of white granite.

We had a little time to go exploring and we found this little path away from most of the other tourist. 

 We decided to be adventurous. =)

 I could have sat here all day...it was just so beautiful!

 haahaa! I think I'm telling Branson he took enough pictures. =)

 I love this picture of Branson.

 The water was so clear you could see to the bottom.

 Haahaa! This guy is super serious about Peggy's Cove. He painted his house and everything...he actually has a website! I found it...for your exclusive enjoyment. =) Peggy of the Cove

 Our next stop was Acadian Maple Products. It was really cool I didn't know that maple syrup had 4 different colors. Light, medium, amber, & dark. You were able to taste test all the different colors. I didn't like the dark, Branson did though. I liked the medium the best.

 Very cute little shop. Really nice people. Their prices were really good compared to some other places that we have been.

 This is the stop that I've been looking forward to seeing...& hearing the stories about. The White Star Line (Titanic's owner) commissioned the well-known land surveyor F.W. Christie to design the Titanic plot to fit into the slope of the hill at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery.

The Titanic was heading from the UK to New York. The captain was trying to break the transatlantic travel time. So when they received the warning that there were sightings of icebergs and that they should turn their engines off and just drift until morning the captain told his staff to 'rev the engine' he wanted to go even faster. The ship California was only a few miles from the Titanic when it sank, but they had turned off their communication from the Titanic because the Titanic wouldn't heed their warnings. The Titanic sends out the first SOS. Carpathia was miles away from the Titanic, but went as fast as it could to assist in the rescue. By the time Carpathia had gotten to the Titanic they didn't know where it was...the Titanic had already gone down. You see, normally it takes 3-5 days for a ship to completely sink, the Titanic took less then three hours to sink. By dusk Carpathia could see all the life boats and they proceeded to rescue those from the lifeboats. There were only 65 life boats, which was only enough to hold 1/2 of the passengers on board.

On April 10, 1912, the Titanic left on her maiden voyage with over 2,200 passengers & crew members aboard. Four days later, she struck an iceberg south of Newfoundland. She sank in 2 hours 40 minutes. Just over 700 survivors in lifeboats were rescued by the Carpathia and taken to New York. The White Star Line, which had offices located in Halifax, commissioned 4 Canadian vessels to look for bodies in the area of the disaster. Two of these vessels were cable ships based in Halifax. The 4 ships were able to recover 328 Titanic victims. Many were buried at sea but 209 bodies were brought to Halifax, the closest major port to the area of the sinking. All of the Titanic victims were buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetery. Over the years many relatives, friends, & visitors have come to honor the memory of the Titanic victims.

The general rule is if you die at sea you're buried at sea, but the families of the deceased wanted the bodies to give a proper burial. So the people of Halifax went out to sea to find bodies. They brought with them 2,000 pounds of ice & 2,000 pounds of scrap metal. They were looking for 1st class people and crew members. They could tell what class you were by your attire. When they found a 3rd class person they would tie a piece of scrap metal to them & "bury them at sea". The bodies that they did recover they numbered. All the clothing & personal belongings on the person were put in a burlap bag, also numbered. The families could then identify the body by looking at their personal belongings in the specified burlap bags. (the victims were at sea for a couple days before the people from Halifax were able to get out there to retrieve bodies...a lot of them were unrecognizable)

 Luici Catti was the owner of an Italian cafe on the Titanic. When he found out that he got the job on the Titanic...it was a big deal so he got his sons, cousins, brothers, etc. to work with him on the Titanic. When the Titanic went down it wiped out his entire family.

Our guide told us story after story...I was crying by the time he finished telling this one about Isidor & Ida Straus. Mr. Straus was co-owner of Macy's department store. Mr. & Mrs. Straus were on the Titantic celebrating 50 years of marriage. When they knew the Titanic was going down the captain said all the women & children were to get into the lifeboats first (since there weren't enough life boats for ALL the passengers). Mrs. Straus gets into the lifeboat with her maid all the while watching her husband standing on the deck of Titanic. Mrs. Straus took off her fur and handed to her maid saying she wouldn't be needing it. She got out of the life boat explaining to her maid 'I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die, together.' Both Mr. & Mrs. Straus died. Mr. Straus's body was found and buried in New York. His wife's body was never found. What a remarkable story of love. Wow! I'm crying now just typing it! 

 There actually was a Jack Dawson on the Titanic...not the Jack in the movie 'Titanic' though.

 Some of the graves have no names. In many cases, there were no distinguishing marks or personal belongings to enable a positive identification of  the body. However, thanks to careful research based on details provided in the Coroner's files, a number of Titanic victims have been identified in recent years. Research has also shown that some of the names on the headstones are misspelled.

 The Titanic sank at 2:20 AM on April 15, 1912. Given the freezing temperatures, it was believed that most of the victims died of exposure soon after sinking, that's why all of the gravestones have the inscription: Died April 15, 1912

 There were 9 band members. They stayed on the deck of the Titanic playing hymns until they could play no longer. John Hume was the violin player...he was one of the only 2 band members found.

 The last hymn said to have played by the band while the Titanic sank was "Nearer My God to Thee"

Nearer My God to Thee Lyrics

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,

Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,

Darkness be over me, my rest a stone.

Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God to Thee.

There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n;

All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;

Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee.

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,

Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;

So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I’ll fly,

Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,

There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest;

Age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee.

They found one baby that they couldn't identify and who wasn't claimed, so the townspeople paid for the burial of the baby...& to this day is a representation of the children who died in the sinking of the Titanic. 

 The grave site is to resemble a ship. Now grab a tissue, wipe your eyes, & blow your nose....we're moving onward to happier things. =)

 I'm glad I had sunglasses on...because my eyes are all red & puffy. We went to the Historical part of town near the port. This weekend the Canadians were honoring their Navy so the pier was packed with vendors and performers.

 weird...you can buy a wax version of your hand...

 Branson & I were getting pretty hungry and we saw the lunch we both knew we had to have....and 8 inch hot dog!! Yum Yum!!! =)

 We found a museum that had a section on the Titanic, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

 This deck chair was recovered by a crew member. It contains mahogany and other hardwoods, and bears the emblem of the White Star Line.

 The plaque says 'First Class passengers passed through this carved archway into the lounge, whose Louis-Quinze furnishings were copied from the Palace of Versailles. The musical motif reflected the recitals often held in the lounge'

 There was a replica of the newel-post from the Titanic's Grand Staircase that you could touch.

  A model of the ship sinking.

 'Crews of the Halifax cable ships that recovered Titanic bodies followed an old tradition of keeping fragments of notable shipwrecks. Anonymous pieces of wood from the Titanic were also carved into keepsakes, such as picture frames, cribbage boards, & paperweights. They were not sold as souvenirs, but kept by the families of crewmen often treasured for generations as relics of their connection to the sinking.'

 'This cabinet is the only intact piece of cabinetry known to have survived the sinking of Titanic. Floating wreckage- like this cabinet- was found by ships that recovered bodies of Titanic victims and kept by their crews.

 Hearses and wagons took the bodies to a temporary morgue. Strict security kept spectators away from the dockyard and make-shift morgue. Photography was just starting to get popular. When the police did find a photographer too close they would take the film and throw it into the bay. They wanted to respect the dead.

 The 'unknown child' was eventually identified.

 'Titanic has become the 20th Century's most dramatic symbol of disaster. Many groups have adopted Titanic as a symbol. Depending on your viewpoint, Titanic can represent: nostalgia from a golden age, a reminder of social injustice, a religious warning, heroic male ideals, the limits of technology versus the power of technology. She has also become a veritable mine of collectibles, from books to souvenirs to films, starting from the first news of the disaster to the present day.'

 'The Sinking of the Titanic Game was first released by the Ideal Toy Corporation of New York in 1976. The object was to rescue at least two passengers from the sinking liner and deliver them safely to the rescue ship. The company soon faced public scorn, particularly from England, that the game made light of human tragedy of Titanic's sinking. Responding quickly, Ideal took the game off the market only to immediately re-issue it under the new name Abandon Ship.'

 'Lifeboat Reform- These were all the lifeboats available to save more than 2,200 people aboard Titanic. After the disaster, additional boats were immediately fitted on North Atlantic steamships. Within a year, international regulations required lifeboats for everyone and regular lifeboat drills.

The Role of Wireless- Wireless brought rapid help to Titanic. However, investigation revealed that heavy commercial traffic had exhausted many operators: some were off duty or asleep when Titanic called for help. New regulations required a continuous watch for distress calls. They also called for automatic alarms, to be triggered by distress calls. Such alarms were later fitted in CSS Acadia's wireless room.

International Ice Patrol- A memorial service for Titanic victims aboard US Coast Guard ice patrol Modoc, April 15, 1923. Before Titanic, ships had depended on seasonal ice predictions and ad hoc reports from other ships. These were often dismissed as unreliable and were sometimes completely ignored. After the disaster, an international ice patrol was established to track ice movements, issue warnings and research ice conditions.'

I found this diagram of the Titanic from blog.thomsonreuters.com ...it explains things a little more clearly.

 This year commemorates the 100th year of the sinking of Titanic. This picture was in the window of a store.

  Our next stop was the Halifax Public Gardens, a national historic site. It's one of the rare surviving Victorian Gardens in Canada. In 1874, two older gardens were combined to create the current size of the 16 acre garden.

 The bandstand was my favorite part of the garden.

 Our tour guide, Bob. I really liked him. He gave us a lot of information & I like that.

This oak tree was planted by King George VI on June 15, 1939. 

 So beautiful...I know my mom would have loved this place.

 We stopped at the Citadel. We didn't have time to go in, but we go to see a pretty cool view of the city itself.

 We also got to get a picture with the guard...he didn't smile. =) That was our last stop before we had to go back to our ship. We were dropped off at Pier 21 which also had some gift shops. I was on the hunt for ammolite which indigenous to Canada. I found a beautiful necklace. It was a bit pricier than I thought it was going to be. You can find ammolite on Etsy. The really expensive kind of ammolite looks more like a rainbow. The lower grade (which is what I got) has a lot of amber and green colors...still very beautiful. Check it out, I never heard of it until we got up there.

 The sun set that night was amazing.

 Just the sky & the sea.

 Sunday was a day at sea...so we had a fun-filled day! Branson actually agreed to go with me to a towel folding demonstration. haahaa!! He was so thrilled, can't you tell?

 These are all the animals you could make!!! How fun!

 Yes, I was suckered into buying the book...and I'll have you know that I LOVE IT!!!! =) Branson asked me when exactly would I be making these towel creations. I told him whenever I have company...or whenever I feel like it! =P

 Finishing up making our elephants.

 aw...my eyeless elephant. He's so cute! So there were other things that we were going to do that day...but we were beat from our day in Halifax the day before so we took a nap and got up just in time for dinner. =)

 Branson had an order of frog legs!!!! ewwwwwwwwww-!!! Grooooossssss!!!! I will admit I tried a piece, but he was like digging into it and saying 'this is chewy' 'I wonder if I should eat this black part' it was all I could do not to gag right there on the table!!! I couldn't watch him.

 As for me....I got my favorite dessert of the trip. The melted chocolate cake with 2 scoops of chocolate icecream. Call me a chocoholic if you will. =)

 We were able to snap a pic with our Cruise Director, Josh. He was really great. We both really liked him. He's hilarious!! Josh did an amazing job putting together all the activities and shows.

 Well, that's all folks! All-in-all it was a pretty successful vacation...we got to relax, we got to eat amazing food, got in a little shopping, and we got to sight-see which is a win-all to me. =) I would definitely recommend a cruise to anyone. =)

from www.livetradingnews.com

If you want another interesting vacation that involves the Titanic & you don't even have to leave the States, take a look at this site: VisionForum

I guess it's kinda' weird how fascinated I am with the Titanic...and then learning more about it while on a cruise myself. I don't know. I guess it's partly because I feel like it was a tragedy that could have been avoided. I feel as though it's partly man's ignorance and pride that sunk the ship. May we never forget the tragedy of the Titanic.