Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Up until now, in the Maritime Provinces, I have not had problems getting a space in an RV park, for as long as we wanted, by calling only a day or two ahead. Up until now. We had heard several recommendations for a stop in the little coastal town of Lunenburg which is not far from Halifax. So, while visiting the Halifax area I called ahead. We wanted four nights, but were lucky to get two. It seems there was going to be a big Folk Music Festival starting on the next weekend.

Please use the right lane

In Lunenburg we visited the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.  As we entered there was a "Meet a Lobster" program.  We learned how to tell a boy lobster from a girl lobster, and several other interesting things about these tasty crustaceans.

Cod fishing built the wealth of the area and the equipment and history of the industry was well displayed.

There are two ships that belong to the Museum on display in the harbour. One was a fishing boat that we were able to board and explore.

The other was a replica of the Bluenose II, a fishing schooner that has quite a history and has been on the Canadian dime.

It is a beautiful ship, and takes passengers out for a sail.

Our friends, Jan and Jim, had also given us a heads up about a community produced musical production called "Glimpses" that had shows, in the Fisheries Museum 100 seat theatre, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

It has been running for nine seasons, and was a true delight. It tells the story of Lunenburg in song and dance.  All the music is original, well-paced and delightful. I'm so glad we didn't miss it!

On Wednesday we went on a guided walking tour. We got there a bit early, and so explored the old cemetery adjacent to the meeting place.

We didn't do a complete search, but this was the oldest, almost readable, stone we could find: 1770 - 1779.

The tour started at the Academy. It was once the public school building. Our guide, who appeared to be in her late 40's, said that she had gone to school there as a child. It is now under restoration.  

Our tour took us down through the historic district and we learned much about the archeticture styles and the people who lived in the town of Lunenburg over the centuries.

Our guide was 8th-generation on her mother's side. At one point we crossed paths with a rather feisty old lady. Our guide knew her and greeted her with the question of did she remember our guide's mother? They had gone to school together. "Of course, of course, but did our guide know about the house across the way"? 

She told the group she wanted to make sure these young people were getting the stories right!

Lots of pride in the town!

On our walk we went into two beautiful churches in town, and walked by a couple of others. As with many communities, their history is told in reference to the churches.

All in all our brief visit to this wonderful little town was very pleasant. I wish we could have stayed longer. 

I end this post with a picture of one of the shoreline views. The tide is low and patches of seaweed are exposed. This area is called the Blue Rocks. The rocks are in fact more gray than blue and are slate.

We have moved down along the coast about 80 miles, near Lockport. We will be here five nights and I'm looking forward to some nice walks along some of the coastal overlooks.