On Monday, I was (at least temporarily) The Best Dad In The World. It was a nice day out, so I decided to take the family down to the boardwalk on the harbourfront.
Sarah was very excited by the water, the seabirds, and then finally by the boats. Her sheer glee as she literally jumped up and down while pointing out the boats and yelling “Boat!” was making everyone around smile.
Then I had a flash of genius: the ferry.
See, Halifax is one of those cities on both sides of a harbour (technically the “other” side is Dartmouth, but it’s all Halifax really). The two sides are connected by two bridges, and by a regular ferry service.
People who live here don’t think of the ferry as anything more than another part of the transit system–it’s a bus, for all intents and purposes. And if you’re already on the Halifax side, it’s a bus that doesn’t go anywhere you want to go. (Yeah, that’s right, I said it.)
However, if it’s a really nice day, and you’re not in a hurry, you can hop on the ferry, and watch Halifax recede behind you as you cross the harbour, then get back on and watch the city come back. And it’s really pretty gorgeous, if you can look at it with fresh eyes. (Having kids is great for that.)
If you’re 21 months old, then this isn’t just about scenery, it’s about BEING ON A BOAT. It’s about your dad (and mom, but dad totally steals the credit) taking you on a boat ride. On the water!
And you talk about it for days.
(The images that illustrate this are all ganked from the site where Halifax pimps itself to the movie industry. Heh. Remind me to tell you some time about laughing at seeing the Tom Selleck movie where the Khyber stands in for a runaway shelter in Boston.)
