SailGP
After a month full of road trips, we had a weekend back in Halifax. SailGP was taking place in the Halifax waterfront, and this was its first debut in Canada. Two race series were happening on weekend, and we had purchased tickets to see the races on Saturday. Prior to the race starting, we wandered the waterfront to check out the gift shop and see The Bluenose II, which made the trip up from Lunenburg to pay tribute to Canada’s sail-racing heritage.
Unfortunately, the off-and-on rain put a damper on spirits leading up to the event and we were forced to take refuge in a coffee shop that we’ve come to know well whenever we need to escape the elements: The Daily Grind. This coffee shop escapes our minds (because it is kind of off the beaten path), but we can always find a spot to sit and just hangout while waiting out any poor weather.
The rain lifted and we got in line to enter the ticketed area. Once we had scanned our tickets, we were in a closed off section of the boardwalk – similar to an F1 paddock. There were no stands to sit and watch. Instead, you had to gather, shoulder-to-shoulder, around the edges of the docks to catch a glimpse of the boats as they passed by. Luckily, they had monitors showing the live broadcast with commentary explaining how the racing worked. Otherwise, we would not have had a clue as to what we were watching.
We watched two of the three races before getting too cold and deciding to head home. We watched final race of the day from the warmth of our apartment. With the weather looking worse on Sunday, we opted to watch the whole thing from home, and we were thankful to do so. Rain and wind was constant throughout the races, but it did bring quite the exciting race as the boats were able to pick up nearly 40kph speeds at certain points!
Trip to Truro
Aside from frequenting a jazz night at a local dive bar (conveniently called The Local), we have not been to many shows since moving out East. The jazz night definitely fills our cup, but we miss attending a proper music venue for a concert. We got a chance to go to a small concert to see Daniel Champagne in Truro, NS, and it did not disappoint. The concert was Friday, so after work we packed up and made the one-hour drive to the small city northwest of Halifax.
We arrived at Truro with time to spare to have a quick supper before the show started. Amy found a spot downtown and we snagged a table on the patio, soaking up sun and enjoying the beautiful summer evening. When we settled up and headed to the concert, it turned out we were eating right around the corner from the venue! Small towns are so convenient.
Justin is happy. I promise.
The venue was an old, single-screen movie theatre, complete with traditional seating and a fairly steep incline up towards the back of the room. We had seats near the front of the audience and got a great view of the artist.
It was a mixture of instrumental and quiet guitar playing, but Daniel Champagne integrated a lot of percussion with just his guitar. It was amazing to watch him extract as much sound as he could from his instrument while performing. Although he is from Australia, he seemed to be quite fond of the Canadian prairies, and even had a few songs paying ode to his many visits over the years. One song that we really enjoyed was called “Highway #1”, which made us feel back at home in Manitoba. It was a warm, special feeling to say the least.
After the show concluded we opted to check into a hotel in town instead of driving back to Halifax. Besides, this would probably be the only chance we would get to see Truro. We checked out of our hotel early the next day and parked the car in downtown to see what a Saturday morning would look like in this small town. A farmer’s market was open in the centre of the city and a library, located in a centuries old building, was right next to it. We enjoyed visiting both of these, and even picked up some plants from the market to fill our patio this summer.
There was lots of shops lining the old streets and more vibrancy than we were expecting for an early Saturday morning in a city of approximately 12,000. There was also a local donut shop that we, of course, had to try as well. It happened to be on the way to Victoria Park, which we were planning to hike through before heading home. We grabbed a cookie dough donut , some coffee, then walked off the sugar rush in the park.
The park is not your typical flat green space with trees dotting the fields. Instead, it’s located in a ravine with a river cutting right through the centre of it. There are walking paths you can follow, and if you are really brave, you can climb up Jacobs Ladder – a steep staircase that takes you to the top of the ravine.
It was a beautiful morning for the walk with blue skies, and not too hot. At the end of the trail, you are rewarded with a series of waterfalls which, according to some locals we passed, freeze solid in the winter. After seeing the waterfalls, we turned around and headed back to the car. It was a decent length for a hike and we were ready to head home. We felt content with our time in Truro, and besides we had Cirque de Soleil tickets that evening which we needed to get home for! The fun never stops!
Thanks for reading!
With Love,
J&A
J & A's Adventure 
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