NEAR HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
Because Jim and I have been to Halifax, Nova Scotia before and toured the city proper, we thought this time we would venture out into the countryside and take a tour of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg. It was a wonderful choice!
Mahone Bay is known for being a land of wooden boats and wooden churches. There are gorgeous old Victorian homes along the waterfront with fabulous views of the bay. What was so striking about the homes was that even though winter had just finished here (average temperature in the winter is about 32 degrees), they all looked like they had been freshly painted. Each of the homes is painted a different vibrant and strikingly bright color, generally with white trim and shutters. There were pink, purple, yellow, orange, bright green and bright blue homes. There are several theories as to why the homes are all painted different colors – one is that the homes each match the color of the fishermen’s fishing boats – another is that after coming back from being a sea fishing for several days, the fishermen wanted to be able to know exactly which home was theirs – thus the different bright colors. No one really knows the true answer. But colorful they are!!
From Mahone Bay, we continued along the curvy coastal route to Lunenburg. The homes in Lunenburg are just as colorful as the ones in Mahone Bay. The only difference is that Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the restored buildings. Lunenburg is on a hill and at the top of the hill is the Lunenberg Academy – a huge Victorian style building painted white with burgundy red trim and roof – now an elementary school. From there, we went on a walk down the hill past many of the old historical homes and churches. Here, again as in Mahone Bay, we found the bright colorful homes that all looked like they had just been painted. The homes all have large yards and there are no fences anywhere. The lawns are all thick green grass that is meticulously manicured and they all have dandelions blooming throughout. The landscaping consists mostly of azaleas, which are in full bloom right now with vibrant colors of magenta and bright pink.
The one bush that was the most fascinating for us today was the “pink magnolia”. Never before have we ever seen a magnolia “bush” much less one with pink magnolia blossoms blanketing every branch. The flowers are about one-quarter the size of a magnolia blossom on a magnolia tree like we saw in Charleston. They are so beautiful, and put them next to the azaleas – oh my gosh what a burst of color! This place looks just like a constant Thomas Kinkade painting!
Once we finally got to the bottom of the hill, we were set loose to go explore on our own. Jim and I found The Dockside Restaurant and went in for a lunch. We each had a bowl of Lunenburg’s Famous Seafood Chowder – which was similar to a New England red chowder, but so full of seafood that the cup was about ¾ full with chopped seafood and ¼ liquid. Then, we split a lobster sandwich. Our tummies being full at that point, we took off to go explore some of the shops around the dock area.
We ended our walk in Lunenburg at the Fisheries Museum of Lunenburg and aquarium. Jim went through the museum while I looked through all of the maps and books that were on display. I wanted to figure out where exactly we were and where we were headed to next. It is difficult to understand where you are, when you are sitting on a bus watching the world go by one curve after another.
The bays are full of wooden boats, tall masted sailing ships and well-seasoned fishing vessels as well as old, rusted tug boats. The homes seem to be quite close to the water, and most all of them have a view of the water and have large front porches with Adirondack chairs on them for just sitting there on a summer day with a glass of homemade lemonade and watching the tourists admire them. You could almost smell the coffee brewing early in the morning and hear the bacon sizzling on the stove as another day begins. Life seems simpler and slower here. There are no fences between the houses, so the children are free to run about and play with their dogs barking and chasing them. It appears that this is a place where neighbors all know each other and visit back and forth between each others’ homes on a regular basis – share a cup of coffee or tea and a homemade cookie. I think this is someplace I would like to visit again some day and just sit and relax and enjoy a cool glass of iced tea and a homemade cookie.
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