7/20/14 – Headed south along the coastal route east to Musgrave Harbor, a scenic route

and stopped for lunch in the rig at the harbor, fishing boats idle as it was Sunday. Next brief stop was Banting Memorial Park, where there was wreckage of the plane crash that killed the co-inventor of insulin.

We continued south to Windmill Bight Provincial Park for the evening, on reports the beaches were nice. We had a pretty site next to the babbling creek that terminated in a freshwater lagoon, with beaches and lots of beachgoing families. The lagoon exits to the ocean, so across a short dune were MORE beachgoers, sunning themselves and romping in the surf. We hiked a bit, enjoying the pleasant, balmy weather, before retiring.

7/21/14 – Started early this morning, arriving shortly in Newtown, called the ‘Venice of NL’, as it spans several small islands, and has a section preserved as a historical site.

However, we were too early to tour it, so we continued on, our destination a long drive ahead. We joined the TCH at Gambo, after stopping for info and wifi at the visitor center, continued through Terra Nova NP without stopping, pulled into a church parking lot for lunch in Come By Chance, then pulled into Butter Pot Provincial Park for the night.

7/22/14 – Left Butter Pot Provincial Park early, headed for Witless Bay, just off the coast of which is an island preserve that is a puffin nesting site. Couldn’t see them from shore though, and the boat tour was expensive and wouldn’t leave for 3 hrs. Since we wanted to get to St .John’s with enough time to see the town after checking into the Pippy Park campground, we decided to continue up the road to Cape Spear. The road wound along the coast and through tight but picturesque Petty Harbor/ Maddox Cove…

…and then up to the point of Cape Spear, the most eastern tip of land in North America. We hiked around above the impressive cliffs, toured the restored old lighthouse, spied on nesting gulls across the cove, and watched huge freighters steam out of St. John’s harbor.

We then drove into St. John’s, looking for the campground.

None of our maps agreed, so I took an arbitrary zigzag route up through narrow city streets from the harbor until we suddenly were on the road to the park. After getting settled, oriented, and relaxing awhile, we headed up to a pavilion for wifi in the 50A section. Row after row of behemoth busses and fivers, but squeezed in at the end of a row was a tiny, unmistakable profile!  Scurrying right over, we called into the open door of the 2002 gray FL Lazy Daze and Loreen (sp?) popped out. She’s traveling with a caravan, lives near Sacramento, and knows Lorna through Ladeze. After social hour, we walked to the city bus stop and took that to the harbor area, to people watch, check out the quaint old streets and quirky shops, pubs, restaurants, music venues, etc. This area is principally comprised of Water, Duckworth, and George Streets and Harbor Drive. Docked parallel to Harbor Drive were three huge, modern, and highly specialized oil exploration and operation ships.

Then we headed up a stair alley between Water and Duckworth to Duke of Duckworth for dinner. Our bus driver told us they have excellent fish & chips. Nancy had those, but since they aren’t gluten-free, I opted for the spicy chicken wings & chips. It was all delicious, and in a great pub atmosphere.

Then we headed off to O’Reilly’s on George St. for 2-for-1 well drinks and serenading by Jason Simms on vocal and guitar, original and traditional Newfie-Irish ballads and bawdies, with occasional accompaniment by Stevie, an accomplished step-dancer.

Exhausted by sundown, we headed back by bus to plan the next day’s attack.

7/23/14 – Nancy wanted to see the botanical gardens, near the other end of very large Pippy Park, so we left on foot early by trail, overcast skies, cool, and a bit sprinkly at times. Although, it was only 3 km away, there was a LOT of vertical gain, by steep trail and 400 steps, mostly in the last third of the hike. Had this been a warm, humid day we would have turned back. The gardens were worth the effort, though, and unlike our typical fall trips, almost everything was in rampant bloom. There is an extensive trail network beyond the planted gardens and around Oxen Lake, but since we were worn out from the hike up, we decided it was time to head back. We dragged back to the rig, prepared to head to the camp showers and get ready for St. John’s – when the sky opened up. It poured, the first real rain since we arrived in NL. So, we showered in the rig. By the time we were ready to head out, the weather had cleared. Waiting for the bus again on the busy street, I noticed a group of ducks gathered near the opposing curb. Suddenly, the momma waddled forward, into the street, the rest lined up behind. Traffic screeched to a halt as the procession slowly crossed.

That entertainment done, we spent the ride into town talking to a gentleman who filled us in on what else to do. Also, he told us that Newfoundland is oil-rich, Labrador is hydro-rich, which has made the province very wealthy. This explains the ships in the harbor. Anyway, the rain and bus delays got us back to town too late to visit the Railway Coastal Museum, though we walked there anyway, so we may add that to tomorrow’s list. We had dinner at Green Sleeves on George Street, sitting outside under clear skies, listening to the guitar and vocals inside as well as tunes drifting in from the other establishments along the row, as we dined on pan-fried cod served Newfoundland style, with veggies and a nice salad. We headed back early.