Sunday July 1, 2007

Another sunny and warm day but a chance of thundershowers in the afternoon, but who cares, we're having fun! Today is Canada Day, their 140th anniversary! We started the day by driving in to Halifax to visit the Citadel, an Army post first built in 1749. There was lots of activites going on in the fort so entertainment was abundant. Troops marching, choirs singing, bands playing, guns firing, tour guides chatting, and more. We started out with the changing of the gaurds. I'll tell you, if I could stay that straight faced when explaing to my wife why i was so late, I wouldn't have half the grief I got. Quite a ceremony. One hour tours with just a few steps taken to keep their blood circulating. After a brief and informative tour by a guide, we were on our own to explore the post. The Citadel we were in was actually the fourthone built. The first and second were of wood which rotted away. The third was a modified one of standard design and the fourth was updated to meet the needs in the late 1800s. The british finally turned it over to the Canadians in 1906. The ceremonies are performed in the dress of the period, circa, early 1800s. They still fire a big gun (they can't be called cannons because "cannon" is a French term and this was a British fort) everyday at noon, except on Christmas (a day of peace).
We had a few hours to kill before dinner at four, and as it happened, several of the group had happy hour at a streetside pub. We hd a Red Carpet Dinner at the Convention Center prior to going to the Tattoo Performance. At the dinner, there were several other RV tours along with several bus tours. The Fantasy Tours were in the same RV park back in St. Andrew. Halifax seemed to be a good gathering palce.
We attended the Nova Scotia International Tattoo at the Metro Centre. An outstanding performance of marching bands, drill teams, choirs, singers, dancers, gymnasts, and more. We had great seats and didn't miss a thing. The coordination of getting each act on and off the floor was superb. Several of the groups were from Euorpean countries who came in and practiced for up to two weeks prior to the event. Truely something to behold.
There wer fireworks after the show and then a long drive thru traffic back to the park. Off to Sheerbrooke tomorrow.