Friday, August 8, 2009 - Pea Soup

A couple more exciting days have passed as our vacation winds down. Yesterday the forecast was calling for a bright, sunny day, so we took the opportunity to drive "around the block". Unlike your average city block, this one takes about 10 hours to get around! The route takes us all around the Avalon Peninsula, passing through some spectacular views, little outports, caribou herds, and, most importantly, the Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, where hundreds and thousands of birds (gannets, turrs, kittiwakes, and others) nest. Just a short hike and you find yourself on the edge of the land with birds literally covering the rocky cliffs down to the ocean.

The first half hour of the drive went exactly as planned - we admired the ocean views, stopped in Port Kirwan for a photo op on a cannon, then pulled over outside Cappahayden to watch at least 20 whales spouting, swimming, even breaching, in the harbour. (While in Port Kirwan, Ed found some garbage and decided to load the artillery, chicken-cannon style.)


Not long after passing through the bustling metropolis of Cappahayden, the fog rolled in. In a serious way. We had a lovely view of...absolutely nothing. And that was pretty much the way it stayed for the rest of our adventure. There was about 15 minutes of sun around New Bridge, but Max, Jen, Joan, and Ed slept through that part of the drive.

Not to say that we didn't enjoy ourselves. Even in the van there was posing for the camera.

For lunch we stopped at the Trepassey Foodland to pick up supplies, then drove to St. Vincent's, where there was a nice interpretive centre. There was an outdoor picnic table, but at that point it had started to rain, so we poked our heads in the Centre to discover a huge room of tables and chairs, totally empty. The teenagers working there informed us that it was a tea room, as they gestured towards a small supply of raisin buns on the counter. I suggested that, if they would let us bring our lunch in to eat there, we would buy some stuff from the tea room. They seemed amenable to the idea...until their manager appeared in the background and informed me, in no uncertain terms, that we could not bring in any outside food. "It's written on the sign", she declared. Ah, traditional Newfoundland hospitality.

So, we ate in the van. What can you do?



Then, on to Cape St. Mary's. Remember the aforementioned fog? I think these pictures can speak for themselves.


A few minutes past Cape St. Mary's comes Gooseberry Cove, where Silas and I had camped many years ago, and which we remembered fondly. So we all stopped there, and we were not disappointed. The view (such as it was), the beach, the water - it was just spectacular. Jen went for a swim.


Ed enjoyed tempting fate, standing at the edge of the beach saying, "Waves gonna get me? Better not get me, waves!" Not surprisingly, the waves got him. Fun times.



Then today we recuperated on The Point. Lots of visitors, a delicious meal of pan fried cod, a couple of games of Dutch Blitz, the Jeopardy Teen Tournament. The most action was for Ed, Max, and Silas, who went for a quick trip into town. Upon their return, in a kitchen full of company, Ed was asked what they had done. He recounted his adventures this way, "Went to Tim Horton's. Drinkin' beer. And chasin' women. In miniskirts!" Nice way to spend a day, I guess.