August 31 to September 3 - Fishing villages and beaches ~ All Things McLean

August 31 - We travel past Dartmouth to Eastern Passage, a very pretty fishing harbour. There is also a huge Autoport here. There are thousands and thousands of new cars in parking lots, most shrink-wrapped in white plastic. We can see VW, Porsche, Land Rover, and even domestic Fords all lines up. There is a huge cargo ship unloading these cars to shore. We can also see cars being loaded 2 high into rail cars and onto truck carriers as well. This is a huge operation with millions and millions of dollars worth of inventory. It is mind-boggling and not something we would ever have imagined.

Our next stop is Peggy's Cove with its iconic lighthouse on the granite rocks and the quaint fishing village look. We are a little underwhelmed as we have seen nicer fishing villages - the one at Rose Blanche in Newfoundland for example.

September 1 - We visit Lunenburg today and are very impressed with its old buildings and very scenic harbour. The old town is very well-preserved and the bright buildings give it a beautiful look. Other stops are nearby fishing villages at Blue Rocks and also Mahone Bay.

September 2 - Time for a break from fishing villages! We visit Rossignol Cultural Centre in Liverpool, a series of museums housed in an old school. These are the very eclectic collections of Sherman Hines, a famous photographer. The collections include Mi'kmaq objects, an original 1870's fancy British dining room, a folk art museum, photographs of course, and a collection of wildlife taxidermy including many African animals. Of special note is an original apothecary saved from demolition. The most outlandish collection is one of numerous outhouses. The outhouse museum includes several full-size buildings! It seems Sherman liked to photograph old outhouses. He has published many photo books of outhouses and landscapes. On the museum grounds are more outhouses, a replica blockhouse, an original trapper's cabin, as well as a fully furnished yurt complete with bathroom.

Also in Liverpool is a huge beautiful garden with lifesize sculptures of people and mythical creatures. It is just taking shape so admission is not being charged just yet. It will be a lovely site very soon if we ever visit here again!

September 3 - A stop in Shelburne takes us to the Dory Museum. This original dory-building business is now a museum that still makes dories the same way, now by custom order. The dory is now used for dory boat races, not for fishing. The staff were very informative and we enjoyed our visit.