Fantasy RV Caravan - Day 14

Thursday, 15 August - Day 14

Today is a “explore on your own” for most of the day.  Our organizers added a whale-watching trip with Lunenburg Whale Watching Tours.  As the boat is fairly small, they could not accommodate the entire caravan group in one trip.  Originally, we were on the 2:30pm tour, but because of car pool arrangements, they needed someone to change to the 5:30pm tour.  We were happy to do so, which gave us most of the day to explore.

While at the Visitor Center yesterday, one of the tidbits we learned was that Thursday is Market Day in Lunenburg.  The Lunenburg Farmer’s Market is a year-round  market held at the Lunenburg Community Center on the west side of town.  Close enough to walk to. 

After breakfast, Lyn, Kris and Darrell walked to the Farmer’s Market, while Doug and Jan drove over in their Jeep.  The Farmer’s Market was quite nice, very popular, and focused on the locals.  All sorts of meats, produce, baked goods and crafts available.  As Jan said, look for the people with baskets to see where they are buying - they are the locals as tourists don’t have the baskets.

As Lyn had stocked up on several items, she rode back to the campground with Doug and Jan in their Jeep, and we walked back.  Last evening, Phil and Lori told us about a remarkable story of the St Johns Anglican Church.  It was built in 1754, and is the second oldest Protestant church in Canada.  They said it was beautiful inside.  What made the church even more interesting is that it suffered a fire in 2001 and most of the church was destroyed.  The church was rebuilt to be identical to the structure that burned - even the pews and stained glass.  They spoke of it in a way that we thought they had been inside.  Later, we learned they met someone last evening who told them the story.

The church was absolutely magnificent.  The church as it exists today was expanded and improved over the years.  One piece of its remarkable history was in 1871.  The original church was neat and compact, and the parishioners were not anxious to see any change, but it was not large enough for the growing congregation.  Many changes were begun in 1871.  The flat plaster ceiling was opened, the interior was gutted, and the windows were taken out.  Teams of oxen then dragged the empty building, with its tower attached, approximately 25 feet to the west, into the church parade, to make room for the addition of a chancel and sanctuary as well as extending the nave 10 feet.

The story of the fire and the reconstruction was posted near the entrance.  

We learned 91% of the residents of Lunenburg supported the reconstruction.  The craftsmanship was just amazing.  What a treasure.

After our visit to the church, we made our way to the No. 9 Coffee Bar for a caramel latte.  The coffee bar was enjoying a brisk business even though it was mid-morning.  They had some tales and chairs in a courtyard behind the building where we enjoyed a relaxing latte.

A sign in the coffee shop reminded us of the many environmentally friendly things we have seen while in Nova Scotia.  At the coffee shop, they made quite clear they were a “no plastic” business, and supported Lunenburg ‘s Bring Your Own Container” Campaign.  If you wanted you coffee to go and did not bring your own mug (and thereby saving 25 cents), you could get your coffee in a mason jar for a $1 deposit.

Throughout our travels, we have observed a lot of focus on recycling, to include separating out paper, organic (which goes to composting), returnables (like plastic soda bottles), and landfill.

As a side note, after we played golf in Annapolis Royal on Wednesday, Darrell struck up a conversation with the lady golfer who had been behind us for 9 holes.  Darrell asked if we were holding her up, and she said “gosh no”.  Darrell had observed she had played a lot of golf that day, having seen her come off the 18th hole as part of the morning ladies group, as we were about to tee off.  She said she played 9 holes with the ladies, 3 holes before the ladies group started, and 18 holes afterwards.  She asked about Sprinty, and it was obvious she was quite keen to have a look.  So we invited her over for a tour.  When we mentioned we had solar, she exclaimed “Bless you for what you are doing to save the environment”.

As we walked back to the campground, we passed by a book store with the following sign out front:

Easy enough to say as there are only three book stores in Lunenburg.

We spent the afternoon relaxing at the campground

until it was time to head for Lunenburg Whale Watching Tours (https://www.novascotiawhalewatching.com) located on the Lunenburg waterfront, a 10-minute walk.  Bill, Lyn and the two of us walked down and avoided the challenges of parking.

The boat arrived with the 2:30 group just before our scheduled departure time.

The 2:30 group was disembarking as we waited at the top of the ramp.  They did not see any whales, only a few seals, and a lot of fog.  We boarded the boat, and a Kris staked out a seat where she could be in the fresh air.  As we got underway, we got to see the Lunenburg waterfront from the harbor.

One of the crew pointed out the slip where the Bluenose II schooner is normally tied up.  It was not there as it was in the Great Lakes for the summer.  When it is in Lunenburg, it sails twice a day in the Lunenburg Bay.

We headed out Lunenburg Bay to where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.

The boat captain did not take us as far out into the Atlantic as the 2:30 group because of the fog bank.  Like the group before us, we did not see any whales.  We did see a couple of porpoises on the way out, and on the way back, we saw some seals.

As we idled through the harbor (no-wake zone), we saw the boat used to ocean age the rum for the Ironworks Distillery.

By the time we walked back to the campground, it was after sunset.  We ate a light meal and crashed, having walked over 4 miles today, and climbed the hill to the campground twice.