| Newfoundland 2005 |
| Well, I have now found another spot where I could buy a house. My first choice in Newfoundland is still Flatrock - then comes Outer Cove, Pouch Cove, Long Pond/Kelligrews/Manuels/Conception Bay South, Bay Bulls, Ferryland. If I decide I want to be away from St. John's then I'll just pick it up and go to Swift Current, Rocky Harbour, Twillingate or Fogo. So if I win the lottery, you know where to look after you check in Baddeck, Cape Breton.
We went back home after supper and then to Erin's where Andrew and Barry LeDrew were playing again. We had just missed Hugh Scott's set but he joined us at the bar for pints and a chat about the festival. The LeDrews had to do three sets, singing till 2 AM or so, and mixed it up a bit for each one. Not an easy life, that of a musician. It was the second day of the Smoking Ban and it was all people were talking about. No one dared to go against the ban as there was a $5000 fine for the bar owner as well as an individual fine for the smoker. But they played with the limits from the door. We waited for the cops to come and say something, but no one did. Stayed till 4 AM, waxing poetic about the Festival and went home and watched the sun come up. Lillian had put a bottle of wine in the freezer earlier to chill it, and we all forgot. Now it was ice, so we warmed it up a bit in the microwave and had blueberry wine Slushies. Man! Were they good! Sat on the back patio and listened to material Jim wanted to put on the podcast and finally went to bed at 7 AM, after the sun had come up. I woke at 11 AM when Vic called me on the radio. I don't know how coherent I was but I went back to sleep till 2 PM and had my morning Tim's then. LOL! Sunday, July 3rd Grabbed my coffee at Tim�s and went to Signal Hill. Does this surprise you? I just sipped my coffee and sat on Signal Hill a bit. Then went home and Lillian and I went to the supermarket on one of the streets which changes names. I am getting used to a Newfoundland breakfast. I never could imagine how anyone could eat fried bologna and beans for breakfast with their eggs. I don�t have a problem with envisioning it now, as I am currently a proponent of a good Newfoundland breakfast. It�s very humid and Jim calls it �mauzy,� a Newfoundland term for what we�d say was muggy - warm and humid, air not moving much. We were as lazy as the weather and just hung around home relaxing. Vic sent Jim an email to the ROAR (Republic of Avalon Radio) website, complaining that he hasn�t heard a new podcast for 2 weeks and we laughed. I think Jim�s had a bit to do for the last two weeks, don�t you think? Jim got such a kick out of Vic�s complaint, he included it in the next podcast! I wrote up a summary from the last few days in my notebook and edited some photos. Peeled some potatoes. Lillian made a lovely roast with garlic-mashed potatoes, carrots and spinach for supper. After it was digested, we headed off for Erin�s Pub. There was no one there when we walked in! Lillian stayed home because she had work tomorrow � back to the old grind. Poor Lillian! Jim and I get to relax again tomorrow and she has to go to work. Shortly after we arrived, Jim from South Carolina walked in and joined us. I had met Jim at Wayne and Sheila�s on Canada Day, I remembered, as he sat down next to me. Erin�s closes early on Sundays � midnight � so we three went down the street to Bridie Malloy�s for the last pint of the evening. As quiet as it was on Water Street, George Street was LOUD! King of the Road was blasting out of Konfusion, down the street and a crowd was singing along as Jim stood outside smoking his cigarette. Con O�Brien and Graham Wells were inside Bridie�s entertaining. I�d rather hear them. At 1 AM we went for our sausage dogs on George Street and went home to sleep. Monday, July 4th - Independence Day I woke early at 9:30 and wore red, white and blue today to celebrate 4th of July. Lillian had already gone to work. Made myself some coffee and took off for Signal Hill. Hard to realize our Irish friends are gone. It feels a bit empty. I was missing seeing them, talking to them, picking them up on the street when they were lost, delivering them from rehearsal. It was hard to be so busy for a week and then - BAM! - nothing. Can't imagine how Jim and Lillian must feel 'cause they've been dealing with the details far longer than I have. As I drove down Water Street to go to Signal Hill, I noticed something very weird. I stopped the car to take a shot, thankful I had my camera with me. A long finger of fog coming in the Narrows filled my lens! I drove excitedly to Signal Hill, anxious to see what it looked like from above. I took several photos from the top little tree on the right. In about 15 minutes, the tree looked like this! I was surprised at the number of people who were on top of Signal Hill. A news van pulled up and broadcasted from the spot, commenting on the fog. I asked Stephen, the park ranger about it and he said he's worked here two years and had never seen the fog like this. Everyone on the Hill was commenting about how beautiful it was even though you couldn't even see the sea below. The fingers of fog extended into all the little nooks and crannies along the coast, poking into the Narrows, slipping into downtown. Cape Spear, off in the background, poked just the top of its cliffs through the fog. It looked like I was taking the photo from an airplane, above the clouds, looking down on the mountains. All of a sudden the fog rolled up Signal Hill on the sea side and enveloped Cabot Tower and the parking lot. It was amazing to me how this fog came in and stuck around the harbour. I called it the fog bowl. It sort of just hung around the downtown/harbour area all day. Photos taken within 15 minutes of each other showed completely different scenes! As I walked downtown later in the morning, the fog was still hanging around town and it was at least 5 degrees C lower than it was at Jim's house in the West End, where it was a completely sunny day! Jim says it often snows downtown in the winter and doesn't where he is. Must be all that hot music! This little fellow caught my eye as I went down the Hill and stopped at the little pond halfway down. I stopped to enjoy the sunny day on the land side of the hill and met the Tremills from Ontario who were attending the Festival 500 - the choral singing festival. Marylou herself was a choral director and had come to participate herself in the Massed Choir. Her daughter was at a similar festival in the Maritimes and the daughter's boyfriend was here in St. John's singing with his choir. It was her second visit to St. John's and this time she had brought her husband to enjoy the city. I stopped at the Press and Bean in the Murray's Premises to pick up lunch. I never knew this place existed till Jim told me about it today. I had passed it so many times and hadn't bothered to look down the steps on Water Street until today. I will have to check it out another time. It was so cool here in town. I'm glad I thought to bring my jacket with me. You just never know what the weather will be from one moment to the next here. It's been alternately hot and cold here this trip. I guess that's how it is in June. When I had asked Melissa earlier what clothes to bring, she advised "a bit of everything." She was right! I brought the lunch back to Jim's and couldn't believe the change in temperature and weather. It was hot and sunny here. Amazing! When Lillian came home from work, we decided to go to Bell Island to have some fish & chips at Dick's Restaurant. I remembered how to get there from last year and we arrived in Portugal Cove a very few minutes before boarding the ferry. There was nary a boat in sight except for the ferry and one green skiff tied up in the harbour. I was surprised not to see a bunch of boats out since it was a beautiful calm day. We drove onto the ferry and I took a photo of an unusual rock formation in Portugal Cove and then a couple of Bell Island. Two workers stood on deck, going home with their lunchboxes from their work ashore. Bell Island is a different place, stuck in Conception Bay, exposed to the elements, a ferry ride away from the Avalon. In a time in the time when the pink, white and green flew over Newfoundland, it was a vital part in the effort to fight the Axis nations in Europe in World War Two. Bell Island supplied vital iron ore that was needed by Britain to build and maintain their fighting machines. It was such a vital link that German subs got through the security at the head of the bay and blew up iron ore boats several times. There is a memorial to those who gave their lives to the cause at Lance Cove. We took the photo at the memorial on our visit last year. We enjoyed the 20 minute ferry ride and found ourselves at Dick's in short order. We ordered fish and chips and they were good. That said, I'll venture a comment that I enjoyed the fish and chips at the Big R best on this trip. Not to say that these were bad, they weren't. If you are hungry on Bell Island it's a worthwhile place to eat. After filling our bellies, we went to Lance Cove to see where Jim spent his summers growing up. So where does someone from an outport community vacation in the summer? Bell Island! The sun was getting ready to go down as we raced around the island, past Lance Cove, to the western side. I saw some funny things on that ride, not the least of which was a street sign in the middle of a stretch of road with no intersections! I guess at some point there was a road there, but now there's no vestige of it at all. Shortly after that, I caught a glimpse of beautiful colors on the water through the trees. I stomped on the brakes (I think I scared Jim) and asked Lillian to run and get a photo before it disappeared! She hopped right out and Jim took the opportunity to have a smoke at the side of the road. This is what caught my eye. Thanks to Lillian for preserving the scene for posterity. |