August 20, 2019 – Lunenberg, Nova Scotia
The Old Town section of Lunenburg is one of only two North American urban communities designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to Nova Scotia’s tourism office, it is “the best surviving planned British colonial town in North America.” The town is over 260 years old. It’s just a really neat fishing village with a lot of history. There were a lot of old homes that were restored or being restored, and a lot of historical building dating back to the 1800’s….and at least one from the 1700’s. It was interesting to find that an “Eisenhauer” (spelled the same way as Nancy’s last name) was one of the founding fathers of Lunenburg.
It was great weather day with sunny skies and temps in the mid 70’s (a great “Board of Trade” day!). We took a short 7 mile bike ride and headed for the waterfront for a sandwich and a cold beer. We ate at a great spot called The Old Fish Factory Restaurant. We were quite warm from pedaling the hills and we were glad to find the tap beer was ice cold. And our seafood wrap (lobster, shrimp, scallops) was excellent. We’ve been eating out a little more than usual…..but we really enjoy eating meals in the local restaurants when we get to a new place. It’s one way we get good info on the best places to go.
After lunch, we walked around the waterfront for a while and then I rode home while Nancy stayed downtown to do a little shopping. She never buys much but she enjoys looking for “just the right thing”. My idea of shopping is walking through a store in 5 minutes to see if there is anything I might be interested in……that’s really all it takes for me (unless I’m at Lowes with Steve!). I’m not really a store shopper…..I’m a buyer. I decide what I want or need and then its a mission to find it for a good price and purchase it (most often on Amazon!).lol
I decided to try making the pictures on our site a little bigger. Please let me know if this change creates any problems for readers (for example, slower load time). For better picture quality, go to our website – rickkandnancyadventures.com
Later that evening we went back downtown for a while…..there’s just so much history here. There’s a memorial on the waterfront for all of the local fisherman that didn’t make it back from their last fishing trip. Standing there looking at it was pretty sobering……you think of their last moments at sea, and the families they left behind……..husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles and good friends. There were a hundreds of names and about 130 entire boats listed (entire boat lost at sea). The last fisherman listed was in 2014. Most were prior to 1925. It’s hard to imagine leaving port on a multi day fishing trip hundreds of miles out in the ocean where a serious problem or bad weather can mean death…..life was harder back then.
We also went by a historic cemetery where every headstone was from the 1800’s, including several for people born in the 1700’s, and a a couple Eisenhauer’s!
The boat building business is alive and well in Lunenburg. We had a nice conversation with one of the builders who was working late on a new boat.They started it in January and it is supposed to be done next month (9 months to build)
This is an aerial shot I found on the internet. The first 4 -5 blocks back from the water are actually pretty steep. Biking around town, or even walking, can be quite a workout unless you stay down close to the water. Our campground was just outside the middle right part of the picture….which means we had a good uphill walk back from downtown!
