We have had a quiet few days since our bus trip on the Cabot Trail thru Cape Breton Highlands. Gordon and I went back to the Bell Museum and toured the rest of the museum. I took a few pictures around the KOA campground where we stayed. Then we packed up and went a whole 10 miles to our next campground at N. Sydney. The only scheduled activity for our group was was a lobster or prime rib steak supper on the evening of Sunday July 28th. That was catered into our campground. Farewells were said to the two couples leaving us. All of us got a framed copy of our group picture, which was taken after our orientation meeting on first day 1. We had some surprise entertainment. Eddy Coffee and members of his group sang for us and told us jokes about Newfies (people from New Foundland). All of us had a change to dance the ugly stick dance (decorated walking sticks, some with bells, that you tap of the ground to the beat while you move around together).
We had a lot of time before our ferry departed on Monday. Gordon and I drove to a Celtic Heritage Village. We were greeted in Celtic/English. It was small scale of the Acadian Village and very well done. It started with a crofter cottage that was similar to what existed in Scotland on the west islands, which is where people from this area came. It had a wood frame but the space in between was filled with rocks. Then the buildings showed a progress from log cabins, framed houses with fireplaces to cook, framed houses with wood stoves for heating, etc. There was nothing too unique after the first building. The interpreters all spoke gaelish with us, then changed to English. Signs were also in both languages.
We left for the ferry at 2:15 PM. We did not start boarding until 5:00PM. We departed at 5:30PM. We were supposed to leave at 5:00PM. It was smooth sailing all the way. We arrived an hour early (10:00 AM) to Argentina, New Foundland. We put are watches ahead 1/2 hour to be on Newfie time. What a ferry! It was so much better than the one we had in Alaska. Each of us had a tiny room, with two twin beds and a window. It included a small dressing table with chair, a nightstand between the beds, window, tv, and bathroom with hot immediate hot water and good water pressure. Our group had the buffet dinner included (very good, lots of choices), but there was also an ala carte restaurant and snack bar. There were at least 2 bars, computer room, game room, movie room and huge lounge with entertainment. I did not see the rooms with air chairs and recliners, where people without cabins stayed. There were 4 decks of cars, rvs and trucks. Our level was the first off (last on). We arrived at our campground before another traveling rv group left. But, we are all settled now. The wait was short. We are in Pippy Park, a large municipal park. We have lots of RV lots. We got pull thrus with full hook up, free wifi, and a shelter area. We have hiking trails, lakes, and golf course in the park.
We have noticed a change in the weather. Days are often cloudy and rainy. Sometimes the clouds and rain last all day, sometimes it is intermittent, and yesterday it was sunny all day. In a few minutes we leave on a bus tour of our area. Newfoundland has different terrain than Cape Breton. We are noticing lots of inland lakes and smaller trees. There are no fields of crops or cattle grazing at all.There are supposed to be a lot of moose here, but we have not seen one yet. As we tour the island, we anticipate poor roads. We were glad the road from the ferry to St. John was very good.
July 31 St. John Newfoundland
We had a bus tour of the area today. It was foggy and rainy until about 3:00 PM and then it was hot and sunny. We learned that St. John is the foggiest and windiest city in Canada. We are at the furthest east point of N. America. Gordon and I stood there for a picture. Newfoundland is the 6th biggest island in the world. It is called the granite island. There are very few farms or ranches here. Food is shipped in by boat or plane. It was mostly settled by people from England, Scotland and Ireland. The people from here speak an unusual form of English with lots of unusual expressions.
Our first stop was a small fishing village called Quidi Vidi. The village has a specialty brewery that makes beer from icebergs. Next we went to the residence of the lieutenant premier of the province. The British royalty stays here when they come for visits. A large Catholic Basilica was our next stop. We say a marble carving of the Virgin Mary that looks like a veil is over her face. It was made from one piece of marble. Signal hill was next. This includes a fort that went back and forth between the English and French. The hills overlook the bay. On a clear day, you can tell which ships are selling into the bay. The people on the hill can then signal the villagers about who is coming. This also the site of Marconi's first transatlantic message. In addition it was part of harbor defenses. In 1897 St. John's most visible landmark was constructed, Cabot Tower. It built to honor Queen Victoria's Diamond
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| Quidi Vidi fishing village & harbor. Also had gun placements to protect St. John's Harbor during WW II |
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| Quidi Vidi |
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| St. John's Basilica |
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| Veiled Madonna, all one piece of marble |
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| St. John's Basilica |
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| Cabot Tower, St. John's Most Visible Landmark |
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| gift of British Columbia to Province of NFLD |
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| Eastern Most Part of N. America |
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| Petty Harbor |
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| Boat at Petty Harbor (nice name) |
bell hydrofoil (there was no interest in the boat at the
time it was developed, but the design was used once interest was developed. It won speed records.
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