Today was a “pull yourself up by the boot straps” kind of day. But I made it through the day and will go to bed early so I am ready for tomorrow. They were forecasting very warm weather today, but it was not that hot. We were by the ocean most of the day and with the wind it was fairly good.
Our first stop was the memorial to the 229 men, women and children who died on the Swiss Air Flight 111 off the shores of Nova Scotia on September 2, 1998. They set up the memorial in line with the crash area which was off the shore. It was an impressive place. The wind was strong and cold with rough ocean waves. It certainly made you think of the conditions the rescue worker had to work in on that memorable day.
We then went back to the RV, which was only a few miles away, and got our winter coats, We were beginning to wonder if the weather forecast was wrong. Then we drove to Peggy’s Cove to see the lighthouse. Well, we were very surprised at the whole experience. While we were there we saw probably 10 to 12 buses deliver passengers to the site and leave with their passengers. It was like a whole bunch of ants walking on the huge rocks to see the view. It was a privately owned area which had been settled by 6 fisherman and their families in the 18th century. They received the land from some nobleman who owned the property probably from France.
You cannot describe the rocks upon which the lighthouse stands. These enormous granite rocks are the work of a glacier twenty thousand years ago. When the glaciers melted, they left behind the boulders we see today. The striations (deep groves and scratches) are a result of rocks lodged in the base of the glacier. This is what made Peggy’s Cove one of the most photographed area in the world. I know I did my share of taking pictures in this area.
After crawling all over the rocks taking pictures and taking in the spectacular view we went to the restaurant in the parking lot of the lighthouse. Since this land is all privately owned a man by the name of Jack Campbell established the Sou’Wester in 1967. The establishment has the best hot tea or maybe it was because I was absolutely frozen after spending some time out in the wind and cold air.
After leaving the lighthouse we drove the Bullnose Trail. This trail goes south west along the coast of Nova Scotia. We followed the trail around the first little finger of land jutting in the sea and found we would never get to Lunenburg by driving along the coastline so we picked up Route 103 which was a divided highway just a few miles above the trail. We had Lunenburg because it had the studio of Laurie Swim, a fiber art designer and the Fisherman’s Museum. On the way we stopped at a little restaurant along the drive which had a very nice outdoor patio and we both ordered a very nice 3 egg omelet with homemade whole wheat toast. It was simple but very delicious. They do not add cheese to anything here in Nova Scotia unless you ask for it and then it is usually an extra charge. They definitely know how to live with less calories than the states.
As we arrived in Lunenburg we found Laurie’s studio right on a prominent street. She had some of her wall art quilts displayed and had many prints of other pieces of her work. She usually works from a picture which she has taken in the area. Then she uses hand dyed fabric and thread to paint her picture. She used fabric with texture in the design, small snippets of fabric for texture and many other mediums to make it look like a picture. I had “googled” her shop before we went on our trip so I knew a little about her techniques. It was a worthwhile stop.
We then went to the harbor in town and Walt took a tour through the museum. My attention span for the day was very poor, so I browsed the gift shop and pick up a pewter picture holder from the Amos Studio here on the island. The rest of the day I did some people watching and some reading. It was kind of nice to have some time to do this kind of activity after all of the fast paced days we have had in the past few weeks.
By the time we got home it was to late to go back to Peggy’s Cove to see the sunset so we decided to do that tomorrow. After a quick supper Walt went out to a neighbors campfire and I was in bed by 8:15. Good night.
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