Day Nineteen (and a bit of Night Eighteen) - No driving
Halifax is a GREAT town. This is a place that you could live in.
The Lord Nelson Hotel was very welcome too, as I was getting a little exhausted of being on the move, and getting minimal sleep.
Late the first night, after getting settled, and catching up on the auld blog, I went out to a late night kind of diner/bar. I ordered some food, and then she asked me what I wanted to drink. "Soda water," I said. To which one of the, fairly drunken, college-age guys next to me said, "Tasty." I kind of mumbled, "Yeah, hi." Or something. To which he responded, "Seriously dude, that's a really tasty drink. Soda water. Right on."
Did I ever mention how annoying this is? I caution anyone who is, or is on the way to becoming, a problem drinker: Get it under control. Get it under control because...if you have to give it up...it really, really sucks at times. Especially if you're single, and you find yourself in "bar situations" from time to time. I don't think I'll ever get used to how other people treat you and react to you. I guess it explains why a lot of people who don't drink, just avoid the places. Unfortunately for me, I like meeting people, so I have to get over this "hurdle" all the time.
Anyway, I'm not a bad BS-er. After adapting a story from another friend of mine who (truly) has a missing kidney, and combining that with my (true) story of the drive from San Francisco, I seemed to gain some respect from Mr. College Kid. Actually, he came across as mostly drunk and smarmy, but after he warmed to me a bit, I could see he was really not a bad fellow, and it was all a bit of a "front." His friend had heard of "Long Way Round" and was impressed that I had a BMW GS. After that, we were all getting along fine.
I had earlier had a discussion with my friend Becky about going to Cape Breton Island. She was like, "Hey. Work, and all the mundane stuff will all be here when you get back. This is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Do it!" My new "buddies" in the bar were in agreement. They insisted I "MUST" do the Cabot Trail. This was the first I'd heard of the Cabot Trail.
The next day I slept for ages - it was great! Then I caught up on a bit of work, a bit more of the blog, then it was time to hit the streets of Halifax.
The "Halifax International Busker Festival" was going on, and there was plenty of activity. It was also a good excuse to wander around. There are 6 universities in Halifax, at least according to the night doorman at the Lord Nelson. This makes it a very "college town" (as evidenced the night before). There's a fairly young, hipster crowd here, but they're all pretty friendly too.
I saw this really good "street artist" - comedian, acrobat, entertainer - called Wally. Wally was from Perth, Australia, and had a good crowd going and in the palm of his hand. He was basically doing some shtick, which involved lots of unwilling participants, and the lucky majority getting to laugh at them all. He had a ladder these two guys had to hold, and then he was going to climb up to the top, however the whole "performance" took about half-an-hour. It was pretty good though, and stands out in my mind as a fun time.
After that I wandered up to "The Old Triangle Irish Ale House." With a name like that, even though I'm no longer a drinker, I thought I'd have to poke my head in. It was in there that I met a very interesting chap by the name of Keith. Keith was from Newfoundland, and was insistent that I go there. He actually sounded kind of Irish, which he was on his mother's side. He said that Cape Breton was "nothing" compared to Newfoundland, and the fact that I was Irish, people would welcome me into their homes. It was very tempting! I resolved to give it some serious thought. I bought Keith a drink, and after we chatted some more, he gave me his number, and told me to give him a call if I made it to St. John's.
I then went around the corner to the Seahorse Tavern, where I saw an amazingly good new group called "The Band Before Time." The first person I spoke to when I walked in the door, was the amazingly friendly (and amazingly lovely) Lindsay-Bea from Music Nova Scotia. I had stumbled across "New Music Tuesdays," and Lindsay-Bea organizes the whole thing. Afterwards, I got chatting with Charlie from The Band Before Time, and we swapped info in case they're ever in San Francisco. I've got a good "eye" for talent, and these guys could go somewhere. Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/thebandbeforetimehalifax
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