Tuesday - Wendy's birthday

My last full day in St. John's so we had to make the most of it! Richard made breakfast (after all...it was Wendy's Day) and then we drove around to a few city spots.

Walked up and down and up again on The Battery - Middle and Upper Battery for a spectacular view of the mouth of the harbour.

View inwards

One of the murals on the retaining walls

A pretty narrow entry, but the cruise ships make it!

During WWII, Newfoundland's ports and shorelines were VERY well protected - steel netting kept U-boats out, not to mention LOTS of mounted guns. Most of them are gone and there are only the platforms left...but this one is still standing on guard! Interesting "Spin Them Guns Around" mechanism.

The amazing St John's basilica.

Before heading back for birthday festivities, we also did a flash-tour through The Rooms - St. John's new art gallery and museum - a fantastic building and impressive collections. The gallery was featuring a Rockwell Kent exhibit at the time, which was something to see. There was even a first edition Moby Dick on display - Kent did the original illustrations for the book.

And then it was Happy Birthday Wendy time....it was great to be there and to be part of it all!

Monday - a thrill a minute

Sunday - Dog Show day and had a great time. Saw some lovely dogs and awarded Best In Show to a Labrador Retriever.

And then it was on to more sight-seeing in beautiful Newfoundland.

The lighthouse on the most easterly point of Canada

Me at the lighthouse - so you all don't think I just paste internet pics!

A Newfoundland original - Fish and Chips with Dressing and Gravy! 

Wendy, Richard and me - Rockin' our survival suits...hot or what! We took the whale watching tour in a Zodiac and it was absolutely thrilling

There are 22 types of whales to be found in and around Newfoundland waters and while We saw quite a few whales, even a few families of three swimming together, we only saw two types - Fin (the second biggest whale) and Humpback. First we saw a couple of Fins but as soon as they flashed their tails, they dove deep and disappeared. Then we found two different families of Humpbacks and they were much more willing to flash their tails a couple of times.

Sometimes when they breech, they just spray and then roll their body up out of the water, but a few times they got high enough to flip us their tails!

And then we zipped across to Gull Island and did a little bird watching...lots of different types of gulls, and the provincial bird...the Puffin!

Can you spot the Puffin trying to get up off the water?

The island is a protected sanctuary and unless it is for scientific reasons, no one is allowed to step foot on.

Monday night - Wendy and Richard hosted us to a Lobster FEAST! Delicious doesn't begin to describe!

The Screeching In

Wendy and Richard's backyard.

And the deck that Richard built. 

A pitcher of Sabgria well shared and then it was off to dinner.

Jack at supper, indulging in fresh oysters! I had the lobster...delightful!

And then.......

Are you a Newfoundlander?

Indeed I is?

A toast after the downing of the Screech and the kissing of the Puffin. Sandy and me with our host Richard.

Newfoundland...first day on 'The Rock'

Arrived just fine in the late afternoon yesterday, got all settled in and went out for a great seafood supper - even tried my first Cod Tongue - the smaller crispy ones are quite yummy.

My first sight-seeing day dawned bright and blue...and I'm glad I have this day to zip around and gawk as Hurricane Aurthor is brewing in the south and will be hitting the Canadian border later in the day. The big storm is expected to rook by a fair distance from here...but the fringe weather may make tomorrow less blue!

The typical 'salt box' house that can be seen everywhere in the older neighbourhoods. If you build new in some of the historical areas, you have to conform to style to preserve the neighbourhood feel. 

Quidi Vidi - one of the little coves where in times past, small communities tucked in. In times past, the fishermen weren't allowed to live on the island, they were supposed to fish and go back to the mainland. British gunboats would score the coastline looking for lawbreaking settlers, so many of the families built their homes tucked into coves like this. The gunboats couldn't see them from the mouth of the cove, and were too big to make it through the narrow, shallow inlet. 

A few icebergs still floating through. This on is miles out, so it is quite a big one. Notice that in the space of about 20 minutes, the clouds rolled over. A bit of a fog bank out there.

By the time I walked up Signal Hill, well the speedy clouds have rolled on a bit.

This is where Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal on December 12, 1901. Marking a new era in world communications!

Walked to the other side of the hill and noticed another iceberg way out there. You can see it just over the small hillock. The clouds have scurried along and it's blue and warm again.

One of the four Peter Pan statues in the world. This one resides in Bowring Park and is an absolute jewel in a magnificent setting!

Some of the detail around the sculpture.

Off to the other side and a quick picture of Bell Island that used to be the site of a huge coal mining endeavour. The tunnels go out under the sea for miles. No longer in operation, they do still give guided tours down into the tunnels.

Middle Cove - part of the beautiful rugged shoreline.