One of the things I love about hanging out on the south shore of Nova Scotia is that there is an absolute ton of delightful towns and villages to visit close by. First and foremost, amongst these are Mahone Bay and Lunenburg.
Both are touristy towns but thriving communities in their own right. And both, like most of the places we want to visit here, are within an easy 20-minute drive from the cottage we rented.
I suppose Mahone Bay has the most tourism-focused economy of these two important towns. The main street is lined with galleries, boutiques, and souvenir shops. We discovered that some of them are not open every day during this late part of the tourist season. Nova Scotia Tourism’s page about Mahone Bay has a great little video you can watch.
Lunenburg on the other hand, while touristy with lots of shops, still maintains one of the largest fishery-focused economies in the province. It is home to one of Canada’s largest fish-processing plants. But it is probably most famous for being the home of the Bluenose II schooner, immortalized on the Canadian dime.
I have used a couple of photos from other sites in this post because I was too busy enjoying myself to take a lot of pictures. I will credit each, of course. Most of the Lunenburg photos were taken by the Love-goddess and the “Travel Companions”.
Here it is my take on the classic Mahone Bay picture… the three churches. I think I may have fiddled with the colour just a little too much though. 🙂
The Mahone Bay Scarecrow Festival was in full swing during our visit. Many local businesses and individual homes have set out these delightful life-size scarecrow exhibits. This one at one of the many boutiques appears to be of a Scottish shepherd and his flock.
The “Favourite Cousin” checking out the menu at a local bistro where he and I stopped for coffee and a bite while the ladies were shopping. It was interesting, – the owner of this business, like a couple of others whom we encountered on this trip, wanted to tell us all about how unhappy she was that she was having difficulty getting people to work. I couldn’t help but think, maybe no one really wants to work for minimum wage ($12.95 in Nova Scotia) and irregular hours while risking their own health and also having to police customers. 🙂
Loved this particular scarecrow display. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf… who it turns out, is a bit of a snappy dresser. 🙂
And, if you’ve got the Big Bad Wolf, you must have the Three Little Pigs as well.
Photo from Tourism Nova Scotia We all remarked on how much we loved all the colourful businesses and homes we have seen on this trip. A beautiful wide palette of choices on display everywhere – many of which you can see in these photos. Amos Pewter has several outlets in the province.
If you’re going to have a scarecrow festival, you probably should have some “crow” scarecrows.
My “art shot” of just one of the many lovely waterfront views to be found in Mahone Bay.
UNESCO designated Lunenburg as a World Heritage site in 1995.
You really get the sense that this is a working Seaport as you stroll along the waterfront. The small yellow boats are called “Lunenburg Dorys”.
Thar she be… arrr, the mighty Bluenose II. There are lots of shops right on the waterfront, but I particularly like the fact that there are a number of restaurants with patios overlooking the harbour… where we always have lunch when we are in town.
The Bluenose II is beautifully maintained, as you can see. The day we were there it was originally scheduled to be open for the public to climb aboard and inspect. However, the newly created National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was announced for that same day so it was closed.
Photo from Atlantic Canada Language Academy. A shot of some of the many cheery shops in town.
Checking out the lunch menu.
The benefit of eating at one of the waterfront restaurants is you get this lovely view out over the harbour leading out to the open ocean and across the bay to the Lunenburg golf course.
I absolutely love this little maritime museum. We have visited it many times over the years, and it never grows old.
The final view of Lunenburg, as it should be, the Bluenose in all its glory.
Nice to see you and Carol out and about again. I am sure you both have many more exciting travel days ahead.
Yep, lots of travel just ahead.
Great photos I have not been down in that area for years…
Safe travels home….cheers