I have a belly full of lobster.
I’ve considered more eloquent ways of starting this post,
but none of them are quite as satisfying as the ….
And then I woke up. That is as far as I got thinking about
how to tell the story of our first few days in Newfoundland before the belly
full of lobster coma overcame me, promptly ending the blog writing for the
night. So here I go again:
Driving off the ferry on Tuesday morning, all of us were
excited to be back in Newfoundland. Leia was so excited, that she started to
provide commentary on every “unique” thing she saw. “Look at that house,
girls!” she exclaimed, passing a robin egg blue house that was perfectly
ordinary. “Look! There’s a man walking on the road!” Her enthusiasm begged to
be mocked. I proceed to point out all of the obvious things we drove by for the
next ten minutes. Marley even joined in. Fun was had by all … I think. Leia’s
back was turned to me so as to avoid letting me see her laugh (or cry?) at my
teasing. Newfoundland was going to be a riot.
Moose #2, east of Gander. The first we saw in New Brunswick, but couldn't pull around for a picture. |
The drive to St. John’s is magnificent. I have driven across
almost all of this country, multiple times, and I think the scenery here is the
most striking and diverse. It is almost magical. The topography varies
considerably, and can be reminiscent of northern Ontario or Quebec, the
highlands of Cape Breton, the rolling hills of New Brunswick, the wide skies of
the Prairies, and even the lowlands of British Columbia. Although I’ve never
been, I’m told it also resembles Scotland. The only thing missing here are tall
peaks, but I’d trade those for continuous ocean views any day. If I had to
recommend one stretch of highway for people to drive in this country, I’d be
torn between the Icefields Parkway and the drive from Port Aux Basques to St.
John’s. (honourable mention: the drive from Victoria to Tofino).
The girls at Cape Spear. They can't help but pose. |
We arrived to Cathy and Guy’s house in time to head straight
out. All day, the weather had been beautiful – sunny and blue skies. Last time
Leia and I were in St. John’s the same thing happened. The city welcomed us
with nice weather. But, tired from our travels and with Leia pregnant at the
time with Marley, we decided to have an easy night and left sight seeing for
another day. The remainder of our time was spent in a blanket of fog so thick
that Signal Hill and Cape Spear were pointless. With beautiful weather, we knew
better this time and headed straight into downtown. As we were walking to our
dinner destination, we were treated to a spectacular view of St. John’s
harbour.
The iceberg in St. John's harbour on our first night. |
We had dinner with some locals on night two (more to come on
that later) who are bay folk turned city folk (three categories of people live
here: bay folk, city folk, and “from away”) who are not so impressed by
icebergs. I guess it makes sense when you’re left not with their majestic
beauty, but their tendency to cool the coastal temperatures. They suggested a
difference of up to 10 degrees when an iceberg is in the bay, cooling the
waters and the air. For us, however, the icebergs were something to behold. After dinner, they were glowing on the ocean. We headed up to Signal Hill,
which was incredibly windy, and were treated to an ocean that seemed to be full
of icebergs. We counted five.
Another iceberg in St. John's harbour on day two. |
The next morning, with clear(ish) weather, we decided to
head straight to Cape Spear. It is the furthest east one can go in Canada. In
the last year, our girls have driven to the Western and Eastern shores. Quite
an accomplishment, I think. They’ve stood with friends on the beaches of
Stanley Park in Vancouver less than a year ago, and walked the eastern shores
of Cape Spear yesterday. I don’t know that they fully appreciate it yet, but
Leia and I do. We might just have to go to PEI for a few hours so Marley and
Evelyn can say that they’ve been. I’ll have to figure out how
to get us to the territories next!
Cathy and the girls at Signal Hill. |
Overlooking St. John's at Signal Hill. |
Jordan was cold at the Cape |
After Cape Spear, and lunch at a great little coffee shop on
Water Street, we headed to Middle Cove. It just so happens that the capelin are
rolling. I’ll post more about this later, but to participate in this event, which
only happens for a few days, made us feel very privileged.
Marley had fun here, but was weird out when the guy immediately behind her decided to have some fun and poke his head through after her turn. |
Jordan showing off dinner. |
And, as you know, we ended the day with lobster. There are
few ways to eat lobster – and last night was the best way possible. I have a
colleague here that I’ve worked with over the years, and discovered that Cathy
also knew him. So, out of the blue, I sent Daryl an email indicating that we’d
be in town. He promptly invited us over for a lobster feast. To me, this is the
best way to enjoy trips like this. Daryl and his wife Gail were extremely
gracious hosts – even buying crafts for the girls to do, from which Gail kindly
let Marley pick whatever she wanted to take home (and, if you know Marley, she
had a little bag of goodies by night’s end).
Daryl had invited their friends Rick and Donna and their kids over as
well, as Rick is a bayman and knows lobster. It made for a wonderful night of
laughter, conversation, and food. Turns out Rick and I had probably met at the
conference that brought me to Newfoundland initially in 2008, and he knew a bunch
of the folks I went to Eastern with, including my Pentecostal history
professor, Dr. Milley.
Cracking tails. |
This post cannot do justice to the hospitality or the
delicious food that left all of us driving home full of gratitude. This place
may have a reputation for being windy, cold, and grey (and, at the moment, all
are true), but there is so much warmth in the people, that it hardly matters. I
do really love Newfoundland!
(Lots of lobster doesn’t hurt either.)
Our family impromptu band photo shoot at Cape Spear |
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