Halifax Trip, Part 3, July 16th, 2005
And now begins one of the longer days filled with more things. Matt and I didn't set an alarm and just woke up when we wanted to. Our plan was to get up and have lunch, then head out to downtown Halifax, the Boardwalk, etc. Instead, we decided we'd go down and have lunch then continue on our way.
After getting on the bus, we headed to downtown Halifax. He'd been telling me for over a month that he had a surprise for me, but didn't want to tell me what it was til I got there. While on the bus he revealed that he was going to take me on a boat that would go to the ocean, so I could see the ocean. I was, of course, rather excited and thought that was a great idea. In anycase, Matt showed me where his school (CDI College) is - it's in a shopping center/mall type thing, which I found interesting. Anyway, he then showed me the theater he used to work at and the A&W he always goes to (also located in the shopping center/mall type thing). Actually, that's where we ate (again), lol. A&W doesn't put ice in their drinks either cause they say it takes away from the flavor of the drink (which is true).
Once we had lunch, we started heading down to the Harbor. It's really rather hilly there. The hills can be fairly steep - not that bad when you're goin' down, but when you're coming back up, ugh. There were quite a few neat looking shops along the way. We stopped in one - Freak Lunchbox (yes, that's actually its name). They had *tons* of candy and some rather unusual stuff. They had some action figures - an albino bowler, Jesus, a lawyer, a librarian, etc. They had some interesting bobble-heads too. I saw some chocolate covered bugs and considered getting 'em for my brother (last time they were in Canada he got me a sucker with a bug in it), but I figured he'd probably actually eat 'em and I didn't really think I wanted to see that, so I didn't, lol. Anyway, it was really neat. Oh, they had an oompa loompa statue outside it too.
We then continued on to the Boardwalk. I wanted to look at the Nova Scotian Crystal place, so Matt and I went in there. If memory serves, it's the only place in Canada (or at least in Nova Scotia) were they have blown glass. I was kinda hoping they'd have some small things that would be cheaper so I could get something, but all they had was bigger things that were uber expensive. Very beautiful, but very expensive. They had used the pattern from the crystal used on the Titanic - it was pretty.
We continued walking around the Boardwalk, where we saw someone playing bagpipes, guitar, cello, etc. (at different places, not together). Also, in one area a band was playing. That was pretty cool. Eventually we ended up in this gift shop since I wanted to find souvenirs. I ended up with 4 postcards, a ship/lighthouse in a bottle, a book about Halifax, a keychain (for my bro), maple syrup (for my uncle, mom, and dad), a pretty ornament (for my grandparents), and a miniature ship (for my other grandparents). Since I had no idea as to how much I was gonna spend in the first place, I spose I can't really say it was more than I expected, or less. Overall, not too bad considering all that I got.
Once we got out of there, we started walking to the piers, where we stopped by this guy wanting to have us go on a Whale Watching tour. It sounded really cool, especially since I've not seen whales in their natural environment (and I'd obviously be going to the ocean), but it was a 2 hour tour (*is now reminded of Gilligan's Island theme song, although that was a 3 hour tour*) and it was rather expensive. All of the tours were and I didn't want Matt spending that much money on it. I could be wrong, but I think he was a little disappointed, cause he really wanted to take me to the ocean. To be honest, I was probably a tad disappointed as well, but overall I didn't mind. I went to Nova Scotia to see him, so as long as I was spending time with him, I was happy. That's the most important thing. The ocean'll still be there and I can go see it another time. I told him that (more or less), so we decided to just continue looking around. Technically that was after the guy trying to talk us into the Whale Watching Tour had 'convinced' us to do it and took us to where you sign up, which was when I told Matt I didn't think we should go. Kinda put us in a difficult position since we had told the guy we'd go, but I didn't want to say that I thought it was too expensive, etc. in front of the guy, so I waited. I felt kinda bad cause I know Matt felt bad about having to tell the guy that we weren't doing it after all. *sigh* Ah well, can't be helped.
In anycase, we then continued walking around the piers. Matt showed me the building he used to work in and we had a great view of the Harbor while on the piers. Tons of sailboats were in the harbor... I've never seen one (to my memory), so that was kinda cool. Looked like they'd fall over into the water when they were turning though, lol. Also, when we looked in the water around the piers, we saw some jellyfish. I know I've never seen any of those. They were pretty, although I wouldn't want to get too close and risk getting stung. :-X That wouldn't be fun. While walking along more of the pier, we ended up with kool-aid slushies, mmmm. Matt was gonna get ice cream, but a slushie sounded good to me and I figured it was rather hot and ice cream would make me thirsty (due to the milk in it). In the end, we both got one - I got grape and he got orange.
Once we were done looking around the piers and Boardwalk, we headed back into downtown Halifax to go to the Public Gardens. Matt's been in Halifax for about a year, but hasn't seen some of the main things there (the Public Gardens being one of them). Course, once he found out I was coming, he decided to wait and see them for the first time with me. The Public Gardens were absolutely amazing. They're very, very beautiful. We got a lot of great pictures there. When we saw one of the fountains, we noticed a chain link fence around it. Matt and I were reminded of that first fountain we saw that had an electrified fence around it.... We wondered what would happen if this one were electrified as well, or if we had a remote to electrify it when kids wandered over and touched it, lol. Mean, yes, but since we wouldn't do it anyway, it was mainly just amusing. Matt ended up getting something to drink on our way out to help his sugar.
After the Gardens, we headed over to Smitty's for dinner. Technically Smitty's is known for their breakfasts, which is what we ended up getting. We both ended up with the same thing actually, lol. Three cheese omelette with hash browns and toast. Course, Matt had coffee and I had sprite, I believe. I'm not a coffee drinker. Probably shoulda gotten some juice, but meh. It was pretty good. I thought the omelette coulda been cheesier, but it was still good. Nummy toast and hash browns too.
When we finished supper, Matt and I walked over to his friend John's apartment. We had to call his apartment and have him buzz us in. After hanging up, John forgot to buzz us in, so we called again, at which point he said, "I didn't buzz you in, did I?". We laughed and he let us in. John's apartment is pretty nice (tiny kitchen though). He doesn't have any roommates, which is nice. John's a good, nice guy who is quite entertaining. If you saw the video Matt got of him, you'd understand, lol. Anycase, John put on some Nova Scotian type music and we sat and talked. He had decided we'd have a few social drinks before heading out to a nightclub in downtown Halifax. This would have been great, however, when he made the Strawberry Daiquiris, he forgot the Rum. LOL. So our first drink of the evening was non-alcoholic. Next he mixed us up a random concoction in some test tubes (he works in a lab, and yes, the test tubes were thoroughly cleaned). John's sister and her fiancé stopped in for a little while, then his brother came over with some milk to go with our next drink...Monkey's Uncle, which is milk, creme de banane and creme de cacao. Pretty good, but I think there was *way* too much alcohol in mine. I couldn't finish it. Probably should've added more milk. Too late now though. Also witnessed the "What does George like?" "Bananas!!!" routine that Matt and John do, lol. Seemed we had a banana theme for the evening... Anyway, we then headed into John's kitchen to add to John's refrigerator philosophy. The refrigerator philosophy is rather amusing and VERY wrong. John had been worried about offending me with some of the talk going on and had kinda limited what he'd say... I think after my contribution to the philosophy he got over that though. LOL I think I proved myself as a gutter mind then. hehe
A little later in the evening we headed down to Pacifico, a really really awesome Nightclub in Halifax. The guys at the door took a little longer look at my license (I imagine they don't see many from Ohio, LOL). $5 cover charge (in canadian, of course), then we stamped our hands and went in. Pacifico = AMAZING. Awesome atmosphere, awesome in general. I believe there were about two bars in there to order drinks from... There was a fake (but fairly real looking) tree amongst the tables around the dance floor. Around the dance floor were boxes about 2 feet off the ground. John took us to a booth near the tree and we started talking. A few of their other friends showed up and we chatted with them. At that point, John decided (well, technically he'd decided this before I came) that Matt and I should do body shots. I'd never done one and had never seen one done. John went and got two, one for Matt and one for me. Matt apparently likes Tequila (although he's technically not really supposed to have alcohol, least not much, due to his diabetes)...so I had him go first. He did perfectly fine. Next was my turn. From what I heard about Tequila I was a little nervous, but I went ahead. Now, I probably spilled about 1/3 to 1/2 of my Tequila shot trying to hurry and get it to my mouth after licking the salt from his neck, but it didn't seem that bad...then... Course after a few minutes it started burning... lol, Ah well. After that we headed out onto the dance floor (more accurately, onto the boxes). Lots of songs that I didn't recognize at all. Still, they were good to dance to, and I taught Matt how to grind, hehe. He's actually a really quick learner - I was impressed. I set the pace, etc. and he caught on really fast. (Good job!) Anyway, after a bit his back got sore, so we went and sat down. John came over and found us and chatted with us for a bit. He asked us if we wanted anything to drink, and Matt was going to get some water... I told John I'd consider getting something, but I had little experience with alcohol and wouldn't know what to order or how much it'd be. He suggested a Sex on the Beach. Then John took it upon himself to go and get the drinks for Matt and I, which was really nice of him. The Sex on the Beach was actually pretty good; I liked it. After a bit, Matt and I headed back to the dance floor, where I ended up getting annoyed at the people who kept running directly into me and refused to move. If I moved, they'd just somehow manage to get closer to me, which drove me nuts. Wanted to elbow 'em. We ended up leaving the dance floor once again, and John followed us, asking if we wanted to stay or leave. That turned into a much too long debate, and since I saw how much John wanted to continue dancing (and since Matt and I didn't really care either way), we stayed and danced some more. Apparently one of the bouncers was leaving, so they played two rock songs for him - Metallica - Enter Sandman and another rock song that I can't remember right now... After that, the club closed.
John, Matt, and I started walking back towards to John's apartment, and decided to hit up Tim Horton's on the way. Each of us got a muffin. I got a triple chocolate one. :D It was nummy. We were at John's apartment for a bit talking, then called a cab. John decided to walk us out, so we talked while waiting for the cab. Course, when the cab came, Matt and John realized that John forgot his key to his apartment. He assured us he'd find a way in, so we got in the cab and headed back to Matt's apartment, where we decided to get some sleep after the long day. *notes that she got a tad sunburned that day*
After getting on the bus, we headed to downtown Halifax. He'd been telling me for over a month that he had a surprise for me, but didn't want to tell me what it was til I got there. While on the bus he revealed that he was going to take me on a boat that would go to the ocean, so I could see the ocean. I was, of course, rather excited and thought that was a great idea. In anycase, Matt showed me where his school (CDI College) is - it's in a shopping center/mall type thing, which I found interesting. Anyway, he then showed me the theater he used to work at and the A&W he always goes to (also located in the shopping center/mall type thing). Actually, that's where we ate (again), lol. A&W doesn't put ice in their drinks either cause they say it takes away from the flavor of the drink (which is true).
Once we had lunch, we started heading down to the Harbor. It's really rather hilly there. The hills can be fairly steep - not that bad when you're goin' down, but when you're coming back up, ugh. There were quite a few neat looking shops along the way. We stopped in one - Freak Lunchbox (yes, that's actually its name). They had *tons* of candy and some rather unusual stuff. They had some action figures - an albino bowler, Jesus, a lawyer, a librarian, etc. They had some interesting bobble-heads too. I saw some chocolate covered bugs and considered getting 'em for my brother (last time they were in Canada he got me a sucker with a bug in it), but I figured he'd probably actually eat 'em and I didn't really think I wanted to see that, so I didn't, lol. Anyway, it was really neat. Oh, they had an oompa loompa statue outside it too.
We then continued on to the Boardwalk. I wanted to look at the Nova Scotian Crystal place, so Matt and I went in there. If memory serves, it's the only place in Canada (or at least in Nova Scotia) were they have blown glass. I was kinda hoping they'd have some small things that would be cheaper so I could get something, but all they had was bigger things that were uber expensive. Very beautiful, but very expensive. They had used the pattern from the crystal used on the Titanic - it was pretty.
We continued walking around the Boardwalk, where we saw someone playing bagpipes, guitar, cello, etc. (at different places, not together). Also, in one area a band was playing. That was pretty cool. Eventually we ended up in this gift shop since I wanted to find souvenirs. I ended up with 4 postcards, a ship/lighthouse in a bottle, a book about Halifax, a keychain (for my bro), maple syrup (for my uncle, mom, and dad), a pretty ornament (for my grandparents), and a miniature ship (for my other grandparents). Since I had no idea as to how much I was gonna spend in the first place, I spose I can't really say it was more than I expected, or less. Overall, not too bad considering all that I got.
Once we got out of there, we started walking to the piers, where we stopped by this guy wanting to have us go on a Whale Watching tour. It sounded really cool, especially since I've not seen whales in their natural environment (and I'd obviously be going to the ocean), but it was a 2 hour tour (*is now reminded of Gilligan's Island theme song, although that was a 3 hour tour*) and it was rather expensive. All of the tours were and I didn't want Matt spending that much money on it. I could be wrong, but I think he was a little disappointed, cause he really wanted to take me to the ocean. To be honest, I was probably a tad disappointed as well, but overall I didn't mind. I went to Nova Scotia to see him, so as long as I was spending time with him, I was happy. That's the most important thing. The ocean'll still be there and I can go see it another time. I told him that (more or less), so we decided to just continue looking around. Technically that was after the guy trying to talk us into the Whale Watching Tour had 'convinced' us to do it and took us to where you sign up, which was when I told Matt I didn't think we should go. Kinda put us in a difficult position since we had told the guy we'd go, but I didn't want to say that I thought it was too expensive, etc. in front of the guy, so I waited. I felt kinda bad cause I know Matt felt bad about having to tell the guy that we weren't doing it after all. *sigh* Ah well, can't be helped.
In anycase, we then continued walking around the piers. Matt showed me the building he used to work in and we had a great view of the Harbor while on the piers. Tons of sailboats were in the harbor... I've never seen one (to my memory), so that was kinda cool. Looked like they'd fall over into the water when they were turning though, lol. Also, when we looked in the water around the piers, we saw some jellyfish. I know I've never seen any of those. They were pretty, although I wouldn't want to get too close and risk getting stung. :-X That wouldn't be fun. While walking along more of the pier, we ended up with kool-aid slushies, mmmm. Matt was gonna get ice cream, but a slushie sounded good to me and I figured it was rather hot and ice cream would make me thirsty (due to the milk in it). In the end, we both got one - I got grape and he got orange.
Once we were done looking around the piers and Boardwalk, we headed back into downtown Halifax to go to the Public Gardens. Matt's been in Halifax for about a year, but hasn't seen some of the main things there (the Public Gardens being one of them). Course, once he found out I was coming, he decided to wait and see them for the first time with me. The Public Gardens were absolutely amazing. They're very, very beautiful. We got a lot of great pictures there. When we saw one of the fountains, we noticed a chain link fence around it. Matt and I were reminded of that first fountain we saw that had an electrified fence around it.... We wondered what would happen if this one were electrified as well, or if we had a remote to electrify it when kids wandered over and touched it, lol. Mean, yes, but since we wouldn't do it anyway, it was mainly just amusing. Matt ended up getting something to drink on our way out to help his sugar.
After the Gardens, we headed over to Smitty's for dinner. Technically Smitty's is known for their breakfasts, which is what we ended up getting. We both ended up with the same thing actually, lol. Three cheese omelette with hash browns and toast. Course, Matt had coffee and I had sprite, I believe. I'm not a coffee drinker. Probably shoulda gotten some juice, but meh. It was pretty good. I thought the omelette coulda been cheesier, but it was still good. Nummy toast and hash browns too.
When we finished supper, Matt and I walked over to his friend John's apartment. We had to call his apartment and have him buzz us in. After hanging up, John forgot to buzz us in, so we called again, at which point he said, "I didn't buzz you in, did I?". We laughed and he let us in. John's apartment is pretty nice (tiny kitchen though). He doesn't have any roommates, which is nice. John's a good, nice guy who is quite entertaining. If you saw the video Matt got of him, you'd understand, lol. Anycase, John put on some Nova Scotian type music and we sat and talked. He had decided we'd have a few social drinks before heading out to a nightclub in downtown Halifax. This would have been great, however, when he made the Strawberry Daiquiris, he forgot the Rum. LOL. So our first drink of the evening was non-alcoholic. Next he mixed us up a random concoction in some test tubes (he works in a lab, and yes, the test tubes were thoroughly cleaned). John's sister and her fiancé stopped in for a little while, then his brother came over with some milk to go with our next drink...Monkey's Uncle, which is milk, creme de banane and creme de cacao. Pretty good, but I think there was *way* too much alcohol in mine. I couldn't finish it. Probably should've added more milk. Too late now though. Also witnessed the "What does George like?" "Bananas!!!" routine that Matt and John do, lol. Seemed we had a banana theme for the evening... Anyway, we then headed into John's kitchen to add to John's refrigerator philosophy. The refrigerator philosophy is rather amusing and VERY wrong. John had been worried about offending me with some of the talk going on and had kinda limited what he'd say... I think after my contribution to the philosophy he got over that though. LOL I think I proved myself as a gutter mind then. hehe
A little later in the evening we headed down to Pacifico, a really really awesome Nightclub in Halifax. The guys at the door took a little longer look at my license (I imagine they don't see many from Ohio, LOL). $5 cover charge (in canadian, of course), then we stamped our hands and went in. Pacifico = AMAZING. Awesome atmosphere, awesome in general. I believe there were about two bars in there to order drinks from... There was a fake (but fairly real looking) tree amongst the tables around the dance floor. Around the dance floor were boxes about 2 feet off the ground. John took us to a booth near the tree and we started talking. A few of their other friends showed up and we chatted with them. At that point, John decided (well, technically he'd decided this before I came) that Matt and I should do body shots. I'd never done one and had never seen one done. John went and got two, one for Matt and one for me. Matt apparently likes Tequila (although he's technically not really supposed to have alcohol, least not much, due to his diabetes)...so I had him go first. He did perfectly fine. Next was my turn. From what I heard about Tequila I was a little nervous, but I went ahead. Now, I probably spilled about 1/3 to 1/2 of my Tequila shot trying to hurry and get it to my mouth after licking the salt from his neck, but it didn't seem that bad...then... Course after a few minutes it started burning... lol, Ah well. After that we headed out onto the dance floor (more accurately, onto the boxes). Lots of songs that I didn't recognize at all. Still, they were good to dance to, and I taught Matt how to grind, hehe. He's actually a really quick learner - I was impressed. I set the pace, etc. and he caught on really fast. (Good job!) Anyway, after a bit his back got sore, so we went and sat down. John came over and found us and chatted with us for a bit. He asked us if we wanted anything to drink, and Matt was going to get some water... I told John I'd consider getting something, but I had little experience with alcohol and wouldn't know what to order or how much it'd be. He suggested a Sex on the Beach. Then John took it upon himself to go and get the drinks for Matt and I, which was really nice of him. The Sex on the Beach was actually pretty good; I liked it. After a bit, Matt and I headed back to the dance floor, where I ended up getting annoyed at the people who kept running directly into me and refused to move. If I moved, they'd just somehow manage to get closer to me, which drove me nuts. Wanted to elbow 'em. We ended up leaving the dance floor once again, and John followed us, asking if we wanted to stay or leave. That turned into a much too long debate, and since I saw how much John wanted to continue dancing (and since Matt and I didn't really care either way), we stayed and danced some more. Apparently one of the bouncers was leaving, so they played two rock songs for him - Metallica - Enter Sandman and another rock song that I can't remember right now... After that, the club closed.
John, Matt, and I started walking back towards to John's apartment, and decided to hit up Tim Horton's on the way. Each of us got a muffin. I got a triple chocolate one. :D It was nummy. We were at John's apartment for a bit talking, then called a cab. John decided to walk us out, so we talked while waiting for the cab. Course, when the cab came, Matt and John realized that John forgot his key to his apartment. He assured us he'd find a way in, so we got in the cab and headed back to Matt's apartment, where we decided to get some sleep after the long day. *notes that she got a tad sunburned that day*