Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. It is also famous for its shipyards which built the Bluenose and the Bluenose II.

We set off on foot after Rhys' morning nap to explore the town of Lunenburg. We were happy to be able to just step out our door and start wandering; we also enjoyed knowing that if we forgot something, it was a short stroll back to the house! We decided to zig zag our way along the main streets admiring all of the historic buildings and popping into shops and galleries as we went. There were so many beautiful buildings in all sorts of colours. Most had stuck to paler colours, although there were a few very bright ones in the centre of town. Apparently most of the houses were originally black and white, but the colours were definitely interesting to photograph! We visited quite a few small galleries which had lovely paintings of the surroundings. There was one gallery that was uniquely quilt art and it was quite impressive. I can’t imagine how much time it would have taken to make the quilt top, let alone do all of the intricate quilting on it! The tourist shops were fun to pop in and browse around and we picked up a magnet to add to our fridge collection. We stopped by a silver studio with beautiful work and I chose a pair of earrings that had used Queen Anne’s lace (wild carrot) to make an imprint. Eventually we ended up at one of the churches, a black and white one with an incredible exterior. We decided to picnic in the shade before going in for a look. The interior was quite impressive being mostly wooden. It had burned down and as the town has a UNESCO heritage status, they had to try to rebuild it with as much of the original materials (wood, glass, even the nails) as possible. In the altar area, there is a sky scene with stars painted in gold leaf between the arches. According to the ladies who were telling us about its history, it is the same sky that you would have seen from Lunenburg the night that Jesus was born. Rhys meanwhile was babbling away and quite enjoyed listening to his amplified voice in the church!

We decided to finish wandering the waterfront another day and took a quick drive over to the nearby village of Blue Rocks. It is a picturesque village which is featured in many paintings we had seen in galleries. We stopped off for photos in a few places before following a small back road on the hunt for a red fishing hut. It is the subject of many photos and paintings so we thought we’d track it down. With the help of someone’s blog, we eventually came across it in the nearby village of Stonehurst. After stopping for photos, we returned to the end of the road in Blue Rocks where there were some houses, fishing shacks, general store and kayak rental place. The coves in the area would have made for great paddling as long as the wind wasn’t too bad.

The next day we set off for Mahone Bay, a short drive away. It is well known for its 3 churches whose spires you can see reflecting in the water of the bay on calm days. We wandered the main street down near the water stopping in the shops along the way. We checked out the haskapa shop which sells products from the haskapa berry. Originally found in northern Japan, the berry has been growing in Canada for a few years now. The jam was delicious and sort of a cross between a blueberry, black currant and raspberry. We picnicked by the water before making our way back to the car. We have been trying to figure out the best way for Rhys to take a longer nap on the go, rather than the 30 minutes he has been taking. Today we tried his nap in the stroller, however, he woke up at exactly the same time! Rhys was once again a hit with the ladies, this time in Pharmasave, where they offered to babysit while we went sightseeing!

We headed back to Lunenburg, stopping at the Lunenburg Academy (now an elementary school) and a fantastic viewpoint along the way. We had hoped Rhys might have a late afternoon nap so that we could go out for dinner afterwards. He was most content to go in his crib, but 20 minutes later he was still happily chatting away. I went to check on him and he was sitting up waving his bunny around! The area rug in our room and all the time he’s spent sitting on grass had obviously helped him sit up from his tummy more often and I guess he was ready to try it out in his crib. Needless to say, the nap wasn’t happening. Instead, we popped him in the carrier to finish wandering along the waterfront. We were glad we had saved it for when we did because the Bluenose II was in port. We were able to walk on the deck and we nearly had it to ourselves. It is a beautiful ship and it would have been really neat to see it under sail. Anoop asked about the weight of the booms and was told the following: one of the booms weighed 3000 lbs and the other 2000 lbs while the sails themselves were 1000 lbs. Since Rhys still hadn’t napped, we decided to order take out (instead of dining in) once he was in bed. After we finished up in town, we headed back to our place to do some organizing and pack up somewhat. We ordered fish chowder and fish & chips for dinner; the chowder was amazing, but the fish and chips had got a bit soggy by the time we got them home.

The next day we got up and got ready as quickly as we could. We then headed off to the farmer’s market which was held in the skating rink and was the last big one of the summer. It was fantastic! We enjoyed shopping for all sorts of fruit & veggies at prices you were actually able to afford. What a difference from the markets in Vancouver! We got a nice variety of apples, blueberries as a treat, a cuke, mini zucchini, cabbage, basil, loaf of bread, the last bagel, and a broccoli & cheese quiche. We also chose a beautiful cutting board made up of strips of wood in different colours.