It's been Fun.

Just a heads up, if you want to see the rest of this post (the beginning part) at the bottom of the page is a button for old posts that you have to click. I guess the host only allows certain page sizes.

I'm going to pick through the blog as I get the chance and add comments to the photos so check back once in a while. This blog may be a bit confusing at times since it is written backwards from the end of the trip but you'll get the idea of it.

Sue and I left out of Bay Bulls Saturday morning and decided we better mail back the stuff we got here before the post offices close (a good thing to keep in mind is that there are a number of stores around that even mail on Sundays, but since we didn't know that off we went). This delayed us a little bit for our big meet-up with my second cousin Doug. We were both exited to meet and it turned out to be a fantastic day! Stopped over Doug and his lovely lady Rubys' house around one and Doug took us all around St. John's to take in the scenery and learn a bit more history about the area.

Below is a photo of St. John's inlet and you can just make out the Military fort that is just on the outside of the harbour on the right.

Up on the hill to the left of the harbour exit is what is called Signal Hill where Marconi scent and received his first trans-Atlantic messages. Seems like an appropriate spot to me since this is just about as east as you can get on the North American continent.

And down at the base of signal hill, known as the "Battery" section, are some of the original dwellings in St. John's that are built right on the rock face. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would build a house in this location?? It seems to be a logistical nightmare with water and snow coming down the hill from above, but they did it, and even though I may have a problem with it I WANT TO LIVE THERE~

I would think one of the main reasons for this location is to keep an eye out for incoming vessels when loved ones are returning from the sea.

The streets in this section of town are incredibly narrow and steep, if you wind up face to face with another vehicle - One of you is backing up.

There is no shortage of odd looking vessels in Newfoundland... Of course if I lived there they wouldn't look odd at all but I thought this "Cat" style fishing troller was one of the neatest things around.

After a half day of cruising around with Doug and stopping to see his mom (my Great Aunt Ivy; and I emphasize "Great" (what a sweetheart)) it was off to Doug and Rubys' house for a wonderful BBQ and drinks with the a handful of their friends. What a fantastic bunch, they made Sue and I feel right at home and we couldn't be more appreciative of their hospitality!!!

The next day (Sunday) was another picture perfect day on The Rock so off we went to do some more exploring, a bit of hiking, napping in the sun, finding of salted cod, and taking of more pictures (boy do I have to delete a lot of pictures!). At some point in the afternoon we hiked up to Cape Spear. At this location you would be standing at the eastern most point in North America, and it looked like it to me. This is the newer of the two lighthouses out on the end of the continent.

This would be the other one (sorry you can't see it too well but I liked the shot so much I couldn't resist)

OK, I have NO Idea what the heck this is floating in the water. It was a long way down and out in the water and I used all the zoom I brought and still can't figure it out. It appeared to be a shark (possibly a Great White from the fin layout) that had been cut in half. With the reports of killer whales in the area and there affinity for the whites I'm thinking they teamed up and chomped the poor little sharky;)

If anyone has a better idea I'd like to hear it.

Hear we have Suzie (I guess I'm the Newfie in the blog header) standing in front of what remains of the two large cannons that where placed here during WWII. On a side note; did you know the last German U-Boat was surrendered up here in Bay Bulls?
These cannons were removed from close to where we live, down at Fort Mott on the Delaware river, and placed up here to protect the harbour and coastline from German attack. Yep, they attacked Newfoundland also, as if a two front war wasn't enough...Silly Germans. Nice to have a few guns that could fire over the horizon.

Then it was off to to check in to another place and meet up with Doug and Ruby for another fine dinner of fish and brewis (for me at least, I love that stuff). Thanks again to our fine Newfie hosts for making the end of our trip spectacular, we hope to see you both soon. Come to the states and I'll show you some trout a bit bigger than the ones in your freezer ;)






Here we are at the airport for our early flight out just wondering where the heck the time went? It's been a great trip, and the weather the last few days has been exceptional. Saturday and Sunday we toured around St. John's, met up with family and new friends, and tried to soak up as much of the culture and history as we could. My camera stuff is neatly packed but I promise I will finish this blog within the next couple days and give you all an idea of what went on. I'm not into posting the family photos on the net so any of you family types can get in touch with me if you'd like to see those.

Half the sky is clear as the cloud line approaches, another nice day in NF. Seems the weathermen are even more confused up here than at home since they called for rain on last nights broadcast and then this morning the forecast was bright and sunny (I'd say there are a few more variables to deal with out on The Rock). Every day has at least a 20% chance of rain. The saying up here is "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes" -- Something like that? Seems accurate enough.

I'll get back to everyone interested and post the pictures SOON.

D.