We left Dartmouth Sunday morning to go to Lunenburg and the Peggy’s Cove area. We were shocked to find out the Christina had never been to a Tim Horton’s! Shocking! This coffee chain started by a famous (in Canada) hockey player, the franchise might be more ubiquitous in Canada than Starbuck’s or Dunkin’ Donuts in the US. So of course we had to start our day with Tim.
Tim Horton’s has a language all its own, and it’s not on the menus. Zeke asked for a coffee with half and half…which in Timspeak means half a sugar and half a cream. They don’t have “half and half” there—like much of gastronomically advanced world, milk is used for cooking and feeding the pigs—but they will make it on request. So the most common coffee in Tim Horton’s is the “double double:” 2 sugars, 2 creams, but you can have a “double triple” or a “triple triple” or a “single triple”…you get the idea. Sound strange? At least a small is a “small” not a “tall.”
Fortified with Tim’s coffee and breakfast sandwiches, we drove west towards Lunenburg. The geography in that direction is striking: the trees are much smaller and the rocks are much more prominent. Stan Rogers used the line, “Where the earth shows its bones” and it’s apt.
The bones of the earth
Lunenburg itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The colors of the buildings are, in my opinion, vibrant without being annoying.
Lunenburg from the pier
The small harbor holds a variety of vessels from small ones driven by sail
A lovely new sailboat
or by the small, low speed engines that make a distinctive “putt, putt, putt,”
Putt putts
to a fishing fleet,
The Cape Chidley, a stern dragger
The Farley Mowat
to the Sea Shepherds “Farley Mowat,”
The Bluenose II
to the “Bluenose II,” most associated with Lunenburg and in dry dock for a major overhaul.
After some delicious homemade ice cream we boarded the Eastern Star and took a lovely cruise in the harbor. The captain was a quiet guy who managed his young crew with care and humor. Passengers were invited to help haul up the sail (which I did) and take the wheel. The tour included a little of the history of the place including the obligatory disaster: the raid on the town by privateers.
Robin McClellan 