Still Lovin’ Lunenburg!

August 21, 2019 – Lunenburg

We love Lunenburg! It is absolutely one of our favorite destinations so far. One of the most interesting aspects of the town is the architecture. After the town got established and the local fisherman, boat builders and local merchants started prospering, they wanted bigger, fancier homes. It was during this time that the unique “Lunenburg bump” came to be. Basically, the “bump” is a fancy dormer, and they can be seen on many of the old historic homes. Anyone who buys one of these historic buildings can renovate it, as long as they strictly follow the building restrictions and codes required to preserve the historical character of the town. While the exterior look is strictly regulated, the inside can be remodeled any way you choose.

Nancy took a picturesque ride to the nearby fishing village of Blue Rocks. She passed through the village of Garden Plots and thought it was an odd name. Later in the day we learned that was where the people who built the early homes in town had their space for their gardens. Back in Lunenburg, she stopped to talk with a guy sitting on his front porch. She learned that the house was built in 1919 by his wife’s grandfather, a fisherman, that used to work on the Bluenose, a famous schooner style fishing and racing “Tall Ship”. The main mast was 126 ft. high and the ship had 10,000 sq. ft. of sails! It was built in 1921 (for $38,000!) and used for commercial purposes until it wrecked in 1942. They have since built the Bluenose II. We also learned that quite a few of the homes in the area are owned by decendents of original owners.

A picture of the Bluenose II. It wasn’t in Lunenburg while we were there.

This is the Lunenburg Academy, which was built in the late 1800’s and was a public school in Lunenburg until 2012. The city is turning it into a multi purpose facility for the community.

There are also a lot of very nice old churches here. In fact, we read that if every resident of Lunenburg decided to go to church on a given Sunday, there would be enough seats in the pews to accommodate all of them! The city has just over 2000 residents.

Later in the afternoon we took a 2 hour sail around the bay. It was a great sailing day as long as you were prepared to tilt 35 degrees or so when making certain maneuvers. I have to say it was a little unnerving at first….but it was a blast! This was our sailboat, the Eastern Star. She was made in Denmark and brought here in 1991.

While sailing, we went buy a spectacular large tract of land owned by Harry Chapin’s family (you know…..”the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon…”). You pay an entrance fee to hike, bike, go to the restaurant/pub, or explore the rugged coast (including one of the sea caves) via some man-made access stairs. There is also a campground there. The sea caves are the dark areas along the shore in the pics. You can explore them in a kayak.