Blogs from St John's, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, North America - page 3

Hi, Again -- The first photo scene, the three colorful sheds, is used in all of the Province's PR materials. We were lucky to see it. The next photos were taken in Bowring Park in St. John's. You might want to read the story on the plaque, "Into No Man's Land." Even through this tragedy happened July 1, 1916, Newfoundlanders still commemorate that date and wear a blue flower for remembrance. The last photo, a truck on its side, was taken on our way to the five-hour ferry to Nova Scotia. We had just passed the "Wreakhouse" in a very strong wind when we saw the overturned truck. There's a story about the Wreakhouse, related here by Wikipedia: Lockie MacDougall, a farmer and trapper, was born in 1896 and lived at Wreckhouse. He had a natural ... read more

Dear Friends -- These first photos were taken on the Cabot Trail in New Breton, the northern half of Nova Scotia. We left our cabin in Maine on the 23rd of May, then crossed over to New Brunswick, CA from Calais, ME, a two hour drive from home. We drove north in New Brunswick to where we could cross over into Nova Scotia and then headed north to New Breton and the Cabot Trail, which is quite lovely. That took us to the northern most part of Nova Scotia where we caught the 5-hour ferry to Newfoundland. Note the twin set toilets I ran across in a restaurant. Either they're built for couples who can't stand to be apart for even a minute or the residents of Nova Scotia are really, really friendly folk. The sign ... read more

We enjoy a luxurious sleep-in this morning. We don't even leave the hotel until 11:00. We cruise down Water St. We elect to have brunch at Yellow Belly, where we have eaten before. Fantastic burgers. Vi has the one with beef and pulled pork that I enjoyed previously, and I have a lamb and pork burger Greek-style. Next is a revisit to Nonia, a store that features hand-knitted goods. Vi makes some purchases that she is very pleased with. Given that we have a free day in St. John's, we have decided to spend the afternoon at the Memorial University Botanical Gardens near Pippy Park. I haven't talked yet about driving in St. John's. A map of the city's roads looks like you took a piece of glass and let it drop flat to the floor. ... read more

Here we are on our final days on the most eastern point of Canada. We visited Signal Hill, the Geo Centre, Cape Spear again for the second time to pick even more blueberries and went downtown for a authentic Irish/Newfoundland East Coast Supper. We cracked and booked a hotel for a night at the Super 8 and was nice sleeping in a bed again since New Brunswick. We then travelled the Viking Trail and visited L'Anrse aux Meadow where the Vikings first landed as well as travelled through Gros Morne National Park. The Viking Trail will have to be a separate blog post since we got a bunch of great shots.... read more

We awake to a beautiful morning. Forecasted high for today is 27°C and mostly sunny. The locals we talk to are ecstatic, as the entire summer has been unusually cold and rainy. I had a hunch that there would be a weather bounce-back, and it looks like we timed it perfectly. There are two cruise boats moored outside our window this morning. One is a smaller ship called the Silver Sea and the other a large Holland America ship, the Eurodam. (As seasoned cruisers know, all the Holland America vessels are "dam" ships.) According to the master plan, this is our final day to wring St. John's dry. After breakfast in our room courtesy of Sobey's, we start off (somewhat later than planned) by visiting the Terry Fox memorial at the extreme north end of the ... read more