Day 38 - Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

You will be relieved to know this is going to be a short blog, this Saturday, June 7th as it was a travel day of only 88 miles.  Plus I'm too tired from all the writing yesterday.  The Staff made breakfast for us this morning - in the rain - but we managed to eat none-the-less.  A group of us ran into town to a Farmer's Market.  They had a lot of great stuff.  Picked up a few things but my great purchase was a Rainbow Rose. 

 Now, how cool is that!!!

I'll make this my Picture of the Day!

After we arrived and got situated at the Campground, we drove into town with Patty and Rod.  It is a really neat Harbor Town with water and boats no matter where you look. 

The town is bright and cheerful with all the colored houses and buildings.  It is nice to see the signs designating who onced lived there, when the house was built or the oldest house.  I have to say that the people here are so friendly.  Anyone and everyone will stop and talk to you, give you directions or recommend good restaurants or stores.  Even a friendly "hello" is welcoming.

These are different buildings in the harbor used for repair of boats, equipment, etc.  The big red one is a Fisherman's Museum, which we will tour tomorrow.  Of course, there are horse drawn carriage rides, but I am most impressed with the fact that while waiting, the animals stand on a thick rubber mat vs concrete.  That's a good thing!!

The Bluenose II schooner has been in dry dock for 19 months now being repaired from top to bottom.  She is 47 years old and time has taken its toll.  There isn't much left of the old one that they are reusing.  We think it should be called # III.  The Bluenose(# l)  has a very long history beginning in l920 when she was built here in Lunenburg.  She won the International Fisherman's Trophy for l7 years.  Also earned her keep as a high-liner of the fishing fleet on a number of occasions.  In l938, she was named "Queen of the North Atlantic".

Modern diesel-powered steel trawlers began to replace the schooners so she was sold and taken down to the Caribbean where she struck a Haitian reef and sank.  The original Capt. Angus J. Walters tried to keep the boat in Nova Scotia but couldn't afford the upkeep so he was very broken hearted when he later found out she sunk. 

Bluenose II was built from identical plans as the Bluenose, in the same shipyard and by some of the same men.  She launched  in l963.  She is acknowledged to have the largest working mainsail in the world, measuring 4,l50 square feet.  Total sail area measures over ll,000 square feet.  She travels to various Canadian and USA ports to promote Nova Scotia tourism and trade development.

We watched a movie about the Bluenose and it was so heartwarming to see how hard she worked and how she fought her way through storms bringing her men home.  If you have an interest in Schooners or sailboats, you might want to check on line and read more about Bluenose - great stuff.

After watching a film about the Bluenose and her sad demise, we stopped at the Ironworks Distillery for a bit of Cheer.  They had some awesome Rum, Vodka, Liquers and I believe Brandy.  Very unusual flavors which we all enjoyed so by the time we left, after many samples, we were feeling much better.  Rod is getting an explanation has to how this equipment is used.  We might go back tomorrow and make a purchase - after a few more samples!!!

After walking around the town some more, we stopped for a snack and headed back to the campground.  We just finished playing cards with Rod and Patty.  Us girls finally won a game of Black Queen so all is well in the world again.

Hope you all had a great and cooler day.  Take Care and Keep in touch when you can.