The Lighthouse Route . . .

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July 9th 2009

Published: September 3rd 2009

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Travelling Artist

The Famous Lighthouse

Today I decided to venture beyond Halifax and see a bit more of Nova Scotia. I rented a car and headed out from the city.

First destination: Peggy's Cove. I'm not sure why I felt drawn to go there. But just the name of the place is one I know I've known since I was a kid, so it seemed like a good place to start. The rural highway was pretty quiet, yet when I reached Peggy's Cove, suddenly I discovered a couple hundred other people also coming out to see the village! I spent about an hour just wandering through the village and walking around the famous lighthouse. I climbed over the various rocks at the water's edge, taking pictures, enjoying the sunshine, people-watching. It's pretty and quaint and calming there.

But after about an hour, I'd seen what there was to see there and still had most of the day ahead of me. So I decided to keep driving. I took the Lighthouse Route, the winding road that follows the Southern shore. I passed through tiny villages, lots of forest and beautiful view after beautiful view. All along the route, the trees would clear and the ocean

Around Peggy's Cove

would come into view. I got pretty good at taking drive-by photos!

One village that was especially lovely was Mahone Bay. The main street curves around the bay and all along the street are old houses painted bright colours and cute little shops. I walked around a bit there and took a bunch of photos.

My final stop along the Lighthouse Route was the village of Lunenburg. Alycia had recently been there and told me about it. Then Jody had recently been there too and said it was awesome. Seeing as it came so highly recommended, it seemed like a good stop to make. The village really is lovely. The main downtown section is all historical buildings, again with lots of bright colours. Cute shops. Though I must confess, that I became irrationally angry while I was there . . . The waterfront was really lovely and I wanted to walk along the boardwalk. Except I couldn't find a way to get onto it as there was a gate all along it. There's a museum there so I went inside to ask how to get onto the boardwalk and I was told it was through the museum, but

Mahone Bay

I had to pay to go into the museum - even though I had no interest in seeing the museum! I got frustrated, felt angry, but gave up and decided to just enjoy Halifax's waterfront when I got back to the city.

There were some lovely people I met in Lunenburg though. As I went through different artisan's shops, the artists would just chat with me. They were very friendly. And one of the most impressive sites in the town was the Lunenburg Academy. The school is about a hundred years old and still in use. Wow is it an incredible building!

By now it was nearing dinnertime and Alycia was texting. So I hopped back in the car and headed back to Halifax, this time along the highway. It was a pretty quick return trip - amazing how much time highways take off the old routes! Back in the city, I met Alycia and a couple of her friends for dinner and drinks on a rooftop patio that overlooked Spring Garden Road and the Public Gardens. It was the first day all week that felt like summer!

Great day. I'm happy to have explored a bit