Oh, I could so get used to waking up in a bed.
So, no Mooses in the harbour this time. I suppose that is a good thing, but it makes for a pretty regular meal. It makes you focus on the food... Good thing the food was superb. Omelet. Ham. Cheese... mmm...
We were up early and packed and ready to go. After super we checked out and put all of the stuff in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was parked in the hotel parkade letting us wander around again without worrying too much about our stuff.
Evidently there is a lake in St. John’s called Quidi Vidi. We were told that it was a nice walk to go around the lake, so we tried it. It was. There were lots of people there walking and talking and running. We walked passed some quaint houses. A cemetery. A prison. A cemetery (I wonder if there is a connection). Some more quaint houses... I think you get the idea. It was a lovely autumn walk and the people in St. John’s are friendly, saying “Hi,” “Hello,” and “How dya do?” as they passed by.
We were almost done going around the lake when we saw a sign pointing to the Quidi Vidi Battery. We thought that since we might not be back in the near future we should check it out. It was only another 2 km so whatevs. It was only 2 km... theoretically... but actually we never really found the battery and no one told us it was all uphill! We went up and up and up and looked for the batter but did not see it. What we did see were some beautiful sights including an elevated view of Quidi Vidi Village, and a beautiful view of St. John’s coast. We went up and up and up looking for the battery and then somehow ended on the top of Signal Hill... again. Well, the views were spectacular so I cannot really complain. We took the road back and then returned to Jerusalem.
In our faithful steed we left St. John’s for a time to go visit Cape Spear, the eastmost point in Canada. It was interesting to see the lighthouse, and to go inside it, but more interesting to walk around the coast. We were just walking and walking and walking and then BAM! a bunker. Ok, so there was not BAM! but that is what if felt like. Nothing, nothing, nothing and then a tunnel into the hill. Part of the tunnel was open so we headed it. I did not know that there was a defensive battery at Cape Spear but it makes sense when you think of it. There were two guns stationed there, each weighing about 120 tonnes a piece. The main cannon part still rests there today even though the bunker had long since fallen into disrepair. The size of the cannons was quite... impressive.
We headed back towards St. John’s through a village called Petty Harbour. It was just a very small village, but nice to see. It is true Newfoundland fishing life.
The next part is a bit of a jumble. We had some errands to run. We drove back into the city to a park called Pippy Park. We set up our tent there (yes is it a campground and not just some random park, pffft...). Then we headed back down some big street to try and find a drop-in clinic. My eyes have never really been the same after I got Iritis, and since I have been told that it can be recurring I was a bit concerned. My eyes have been very sore and red and blah blah blah so I thought that I ought to get them checked out before I go to the middle of nowhere for a few days. The Doctor checked, and checked with an Ophthalmologist and said I was in the clear. She did however leave me with a brief caveat, that if my eye(s) got worse I needed to check into an ER and not piss around with it. Good to know.
We went shopping to get some food. We went to a mechanic to get the tires re-tightened (the guys who put the tires on said it was very important) and then grabbed some firewood on the way back to the campground. This marks the first time we have actually be able to have a fire this trip. The weather has been too poor so we could not until now. There was some other good... well sorta good news. The hurricane that blew through Newfoundland a few weeks ago knocked over a bunch of trees, giving us ample firewood. This let us save the wood that we bought for another day.
We cooked some cheese burgers and just enjoyed camping...
Later we headed back to George St. There was one more thing that we needed to do. To become an honourary Newfoundlander one needs to get “Screeched In.” This entails drinking a shot of Screech (a rum made by Jamaicans for Newfoundlanders), saying a few Newfie words, and kissing a cod. We signed up, and when the time came there were nine of us all together at Trapper John’s getting Screeched in. The locals watched with amusement as a blind piper played us a tune (I don’t think him being blind was important, though his dog was badass), we took our shots, said our words, and kissed a... well... ok, they aren’t fishermen at Trapper John’s and so there are no cods... but... in lieu of, we all kissed the bottom end if a stuffed Puffin, and voila, we were Newfoundlanders.
We headed back to the campground for a calm night of tent sleep... ground... rock... hard... ground...
Yay...
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