Neil was particularly keen on taking the free shuttle to the event so that we would have a bit more of the crowd experience. We decided to take the shuttle from the Mic Mac Mall, though there was at least one more option. As we arrived at the mall on the bus it was clear that there were hundreds of people already waiting in line to get the shuttle to Cole Harbour.
Instead of joining the line immediately Neil wanted to head into the mall to get some food. After picking up a smoothie for Neil and a six-pack of cinnamon buns we were ready to join the line.
Amazingly, the line seemed to be moving relatively quickly even though there were rather significant gaps between the shuttle buses. This process was partly facilitated by those individuals who decided not to stick it out in the line any longer and either bailed completely or decided to try to get to Cole Harbour by other means.
After about 45 minutes we were finally able to board a bus. We lucked out and were the third and fourth last people on the bus. Not only did this allow us to get some information from the driver, it also meant that we were the third and fourth people off of the bus when we finally reached Cole Harbour.
Soon after we were let off of the bus we figured out that we hadn't yet missed the parade and that there were thousands and thousands of people still waiting to see Crosby and the Cup. The number of people gathered by the stage was particularly impressive. This shot shows just the people hanging out in the family fun area, which was quite small compared to the stage area.
Though these crowds were a little worrying, things started to calm down as we made our way along the parade route. Eventually we settled at a location that was likely about half-way along the route. After a few initial vehicles came a yellow sports car carrying Maxime Talbot and what I believe we were told was the divisional cup. As he approached our location a media crew ran out to conduct an interview, completely blocking our view. I am still a little shocked that they didn't just get the interview at the end of the parade.
Not to long after Talbot passed we could see Sidney Crosby and the Cup making their way towards us on a fire truck. As they were the end of the parade the crowd was following behind them and gradually growing as it passed people. While we had a pretty good view of the Cup and Crosby I think I probably spent most of my energy photographing the event so that I would have something to post here.
We even managed to snag a little video footage of the event.
[Embedded video]
Instead of following the Cup and Crosby back to the crowded stage area and the Cup hoisting Neil and I decided to make our way to the bus terminal at the other end of town. The idea of hanging out for another three hours in Cole Harbour to catch the free shuttle didn't seem particularly appealing. While we made our way back we had the pleasure of stopping at Chris Brothers deli and meat shop. If only we had been driving we would have picked pounds and pounds of reasonably priced meat products. As we were walking and taking the bus we decided not to take the risk of having the meat go bad on the way home.
Something that we noticed as we were making our way to the transit terminal is that a number of business were offering Crosby themed specials. This one, like a few others, was a play on Crosby's number.
Much to my surprise, we were two of the five people on the bus from Cole Harbour to Halifax. Before long we were back on Barrington and catching a local bus the rest of the way.
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