In order to record our experiences for our posterity (now that we have posterity), I took our relatively new DSLR camera along for the ride. It turns out that one of the less-advertised features of such cameras is that they make it extremely easy to take more pictures than you really need...about 2150, in fact. Now that the sheep finally are separated from the goats, as they say, we can get down to the business of sharing our trip with you.
Our trip started in St. John's, the largest city on the island, which was conveniently located next to the suburb-like town in which Katie grew up. From there we visited a number of different small "outport" communities and little capes (not like Superman) that jut out into the ocean.
Clara practiced her death-defying balance beam moves, while Katie practiced maintaining her patience, and I practiced pushing down the shutter release button on the camera.
This area is referred to as the Battery, and is located in the harbor of St. John's. Of course, when I say "in the harbor", I am using a figure of speech to describe all of the buildings except the one which appears to be rapidly heading toward a point below the waterline.
We also visited a new museum named "The Rooms" (the locals do have quite a way with imaginative names, as you will see) which houses a provincial history museum, an art gallery, and a lot of well-cleaned windows.
Of course, Clara did what she could to make sure those window-cleaners had something to do.
We also visited Cape Spear, the eastern-most point in the North America. The fact that it isn't actually part of the continent is only considered a minor detail.
What cape would be complete without a lighthouse?
And people taking their pictures nearby?
We also visited Pouch Cove, pronounced "Pooch Cove" - all of those vowels are pretty much the same, after all.
We also visited a favorite park of Katie's when she was a tot, named Bowring Park after the dude who owned the estate on which it is located. As it is located in Newfoundland, it is not pronounced as it one might first assume, but rather "Boring", which it seems would be a boon to children who would rather sit in front of the television than get some fresh air.
We also visited Topsail "Beach" (if you can call a large pile of small rocks a beach) with some friends. Clara felt that there were dangerously few mushrooms in the vicinity, and decided to improvise.
Thankfully, we were able to convince her that we don't need representation from every kingdom, phylum, &c. on our outings.
We also drove out to a wildlife refuge named Witless Bay. I don't know about you, but the next time that I find myself in an unnamed part of the world, I'm going to call it something like "Halitosis Harbor", or "Stupidhead Valley", or maybe just "Boring Park."
