Al, Audrey, Judy and Gary have been following each other along the “Lighthouse Route” of Nova Scotia along the Atlantic Coast. We started out with a glorious short-cut out of Yarmouth, NS. We are not complaining, mind you, but occasionally the signing alongside the roads is either somewhat confusing or totally missing. We were looking for the 103 out of Yarmouth. It almost connects with the other highway in the area, the 101; but not quite. You have to drive number 3 for a block or two. Gary looked at this wild intersection with roads diverging every direction and then at his GPS and picked the most likely candidate. Of course you all know I wouldn’t be telling this story if I had guessed right. Yes, suddenly the GPS shows us going out of town on highway 3. Now highway 3 gets there eventually but it is narrow, rough and crooked, and we were all in a mood for smooth pavement for a while. About five miles out of town highway three gracefully curves back to within shouting distance of the 103 and here comes a wonderful connector road going exactly the right direction. With Judy voicing some doubts, I bravely strike out in search of the 103. Within a kilometer I find itÂ…slipping easily 25 feet below our wheels as we gracefully arch over the 103 on an overpass. This road now curves gracefully back toward Yarmouth and takes us back to our start and we get to try again.
We decided to stay right in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. We got to what looked like the correct exit and buzzed over to a nice Wal-Mart. We picked up directions from assorted friendly strangers there and after a little shopping we drove right to exit 11 and boldly approached the tiny little town of Lunenburg. We have the assurance that the campground is right beside the village Tourist Information Center and we follow the brown question mark signs directly into the heart of a little seaport town clinging to a side hill. The streets are narrow and one way and there is no way to change our minds now. Sure enough we mount to the top of the hill and a block-house and a wonderful little campground awaits us. Our huge, dinosaur sized, campers are easily accommodated alongside several pop-up tent trailers and a couple of 24 footers. We have a magnificent waterfront view and easy walking to everything in town.
What we found in this town was an annual event called the Boxwood Festival. At the information center they told us not to miss the concert/dance at St. Johns Anglican Church. We attended and they were teaching Irish round dances and square dances. We didn’t try them ourselves, they were very intricate and many of the dancers were using “Step Dancing” steps as they negotiated the figures. What was very unusual was all of the principal musicians were playing flute. Many of the participants too were carrying flutes. I found myself wondering all evening, “how could such a small town have such a high density of flautists?” We found the answer the next day. A concert was scheduled at four in the afternoon in the gazebo in the town square. We sat on the hillside grass and listened as half a dozen “world class” flautists took the stand and played a grand assortment of tunes from Baroque to Irish jigs to contemporary. One exceptional player was Nula Kennedy who grew up in Ireland and is now from Scotland. These were indeed world class musicians here in this tiny town for an annual flute workshop and event, and we were privileged to enjoy it.
If that isn’t enough today on our way through another tiny seaside village called Mahone Bay we were just in time for their annual “Wooden Boat Festival.” We did manage to get our house sized vehicles parked and walked back and spent a couple hours looking at boats, quilts and pewter jewelry. Here is a photo of the team of oxen hauling a boat through town on a skid.
Tomorrow we head into Halifax and guess what? They are going to be celebrating “Alexander Keith’s Natal Day Festival,” all weekendÂ…. Party Time!
Goodbye from all of us here in Nova Scotia.
