#10 Looney Bird?? No Silly, Lunenburg!!

It may be surprising to some of you that we got lost on our way to the campground. In my defense (and I always have one), as the navigator, our walkie talkie was not working so we couldn’t get any direction from our wagon master. We had to wing it.

We winged it right through downtown Lunenburg. I don’t think the narrow streets, one way roads and steep hills were made for a big honkin’ truck followed by a 26 ft travel trailer. We made it though. We only had to back up once so we wouldn’t knock down a street sign. We climbed up the steep hill to the campground and arrived with a smidge of time to spare before the 2:30 meeting. Always happy to provide some comic relief, our group had a good laugh when the wagon master asked if anyone missed the road and traveled through town.

We had an excellent overview presentation by the executive director of the Lunenburg information center. We were gathered there to learn about the strict recycling requirements in Lunenburg but Kandice also gave us a spirited talk that made every restaurant, pub and museum sound like we shouldn’t miss any of them.

Our entry tickets to the Lunenburg Maritime Museum were included with our caravan. The museum was really interesting. We learned about the fishing industry of years ago and today. As I have said before, fishing is not a glamorous profession. The tour guides explained how families lived in fear of fathers, husbands and sons getting lost at sea.

As with many small businesses, children followed in their father’s footsteps and that was true in the fishing business. In fact, to make money for the household, boys became fisherman in their early teens. Worse yet, if the father died at sea, the son, no matter what the age, took his place as the bread winner. For many years, widows were left destitute when entire families of men and boys perished at sea with the capsizing of a single boat. A law was eventually passed that family members could not fish on the same fishing vessel.

On a more positive fishing note, there is a famous Canadian fishing schooner called Blue Nose, “ queen of the North Atlantic fishing fleet.” Maybe you have heard of her. She won 5 consecutive International Fishermen’s Races. Blue Nose is most famous for beating the top American Schooner 3 years in a row.

However, as good as she was, Blue Nose wrecked and sunk in 1946 near the coast of Haiti. I’m telling you, fishing is a tough business. Mother nature was not kind to old wooden boats. A replica of Blue Nose stands tall in the Lunenburg Harbor where she was built and launched in 1921. We were lucky; she was in port while we were there and we were able to explore the ship. It’s a beauty.

We had a free day and most of our group went to the famous, Peggy’s Cove, It is one of the most picturesque villages and most photographed places in Nova Scotia. Pam and I took a different route. We went hunting for a winery. Avondale Winery was about an hour long trip through gorgeous countryside. Can you guess what the winery used to be?

The building was floated on logs to this new position. The inside of the building unlocks the mystery of its previous purpose.

Those stained glass windows are original church windows. We ordered a tasting and some bruschetta and enjoyed the picture perfect day on the outside patio.

On our way home we decided to check out Peggy’s Cove. You know, it is one of those “must do” places. Peggy’s Cove would be a wonderful stop for 100’s of people but there were 1000’s crowding every nook and cranny. Not pausing for the famous lighthouse or shops, we made a quick loop and headed back to camp. During our brisk escape, I grabbed a lighthouse photo from the window of our truck.

On our way we stopped at Mahone Bay. It isn’t as famous as Peggy’s Cove but it is a charming waterside village. In fact, it has one of the most famous Nova Scotia photo ops, the 3 churches. I tried but I couldn’t capture it.

When we arrived back to camp, we decided to take a walk downtown. With all of the hills, it is more like a hike but we fell in love with the walkable town.

Our friends, Bill and Janet, are going to Boondock at the Lightship Brewery in Lunenburg so we decided to check it out. They were close to closing but we had time for a couple of beers and a relaxing view of Lunenburg.

I so enjoyed Lunenburg. I love the people, the town, the pride that the locals have in their community. It’s another place that we would like to revisit someday and spend more time. Now we’re headed to the big city, Halifax. We are going to hear Titanic stories that I had never heard before. I’ll be happy to share some if you come along. See you there.