Halifax and Pier 21

I left Saskatoon on August 13 for a long conference-filled ‘work’ tour.  I say ‘work’ because it was all pretty fun, visintg people I lik eand seeing new places (a respite from Saskatoon is a real plus).  The first stop was a visit to Halifax for the Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE) conference, where I presented on some preliminary development work for an occupational knee sensor.  I wanted to present something new even though I have not been at U of S a whole year yet, and this fit the bill.   The conference was alright, and it was nice to see everyone and do a social evening at a brewery tour.

Halifax was hot and humid, culminating in a massive hot-lantic downpour that added 2 kilos to my suitcase  just in time to go to the airport and check in for a transatlantic flight. I have been to Halifax lots of times for racing, and I am used to 15 degrees and drizzle in august.  The only rain was in the hours before I left, so I can’t complain.

The real highlight of the trip was going to the pier 21 museum.  Pier 21 was the major immigration port in Eastern Canada for more than 100 years, and is the same one at which mom and nana came through during WWII to escape the bombs in London.  They made this trip before the official war brides program started in 1946, so it was very hard to get any information or copies of their documents.  The museum was fantastic, with guided tours from immigrants who came through; my guide was George B. who came from the Nederlands in 1952. What a gem!  He had great stories and a good sense of humour.  There was also a historic reenactment-type movie with neat holographic images projected onto a real set with chairs and gang planks made to look like the imigration room.

2 Comments

  1. Hey Catherine – I bet you are surprised to see a comment from me 🙂 Your Pier 21 post inspired me to comment. I was married there 9 years ago (right in the immigration room in your photo) – and George volunteered as a museum guide at the interval between our ceremony and reception! He talked about the museum and his experience coming through Pier 21 – in either English or Dutch. He was awesome, and I agree – Pier 21 is a Halifax highlight! (as is Cows ice cream, when it is as hot as it was this august!)

  2. Pier 21 sounds super awesome! Thanks for taking pictures and your awesome post.

    good for your for seizing such awesome adventures on your many trips!

    hugs and love,
    elizabeth

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