How many of us can say we filled a dream? After selling her London, Ontario house in just 8 ½ hours, Amanda motored 1,720 km / 1071 miles east with her dog to become proud new owner of the historic Cooper’s Inn on Dock Street, Shelburne, Nova Scotia. “I always wanted to live here.” She told me that even a stranger confided this house was waiting for her!
Owners Pat and Dave had nurtured the Loyalist era structure over several years into Tripadvisor’s ‘Best of the Best’ list. The June handover to Amanda was so recent they pitched in to help with their signature breakfasts before we set off to explore the coast.
I was sequestered in the George Grace suite, named after the blind refugee merchant from Boston who built the house c.1785. To be honest, I wasn’t alone. An antique China doll and Cooper the bear kept me company. Using my GPS, I cleverly navigated my way to the center of an enormous 4-poster bed for a sound sleep, with windows open to catch a gentle ocean breeze.
The inn might accurately be called a B&B&B because the rear had been used as a cooperage that grew into the Shelburne Barrel Factory across the road. Amazingly, the factory is still operating as part of a small cluster of buildings that comprise a living museum of Loyalist post American revolutionary times.
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© Gary Crallé 2022
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