Jul 15, 2009 - Day 37 St Johns, Newfoundland

We woke up to another beautiful day. We slept great as we went to bed tired last night. We are so close to St Johns that we can hear all of the sounds of a city, sirens, traffic, etc. These are sounds that we haven't heard for a while. After setting up camp, yesterday, we used GPS and drove around the city a little but it was rush hour and we didn't stop for pictures or anything. This is one of the oldest cities in North America and has a huge harbor for cruise ships and other large ships. You can see a lot of magnificent church steeples in...

Jul 14, 2009 - Day 36 St Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador

We got up around 8:00 and after breakfast, we walked around the campground. Beautiful campground at Thorburn Lake with boating, swimming and hiking available. We talked with the lady at the office and she indicated that she had seen a cow moose and 2 calves right across TCH 1 from the campground yesterday in a bog. Although we have yet to see moose in Newfoundland, we know they are here. We left around 10:00am and drove through terrible fog and winds to get to Pippy's Park Campground in St Johns, arriving about 12:30pm. It is a great park...

Jul 7, 2009 - 500 million years old!

To day we visited the Fluvarium, and watched the fish swimming in the river from below. After a very nice lunch there, we visited the Geo Center. Here Flynn was able to touch a 500 million old stone, dug from the rocks in which the Geo centre is situated.

Jul 6, 2009 - The wettest place in Canada!

With 217 "wet" days a year a dry day is not to be sniffed at. We arrive, overcast and with a north wind blowing. Only 13degC here a little cooler than the 26degC we had only a few days ago up at Twillingate. On the drive in, we saw another Moose. This one just ambled his way gently at a slow trot across all 4 lanes of the Highway.

Jun 27, 2009 - Our first day

Well we've all arrived safe and sound. I got here about 12:45 am last night and spent my first day at "The Rooms" searching the archives for family information. I spent over 5 hours researching but not finding the information I really wanted. Dave got in about 1:30 pm today and spent the afternoon touring Paradise and doing a little grocery shopping which is always a little dangerous. Mum & Dad left Nova Scotia yesterday after spending a the previous day and night having a good visit with Olga & Phil in Port Hawkesbury. They got on the...

Sep 28, 2008 - Sept 28th, Half Way on a High Note

What an awesome day! St. John’s is a wonderful little city—so different from anything I’ve ever seen before! I felt so blessed today by the incredible weather as we went to our first stop--Signal Hill and Cabot Tower. It was beautifully sunny and warm. In the Cabot Tower, we learned about Marconi--the guy who invented wireless wave technology across the ocean. We saw the Queen’s Battery (named after Queen Charlotte) and I learned what a battery is (ie. NOT the Duracell). Cape Spear was our next stop—the most easterly point not only in...

Sep 27, 2008 - Drove all day and saw no moose!

Hey all, We saw EVIDENCE of moose (the blood on the road) but we drove for 8 hours today and didn't see ANY wildlife! What happened to "Drive with caution--there are moose everywhere!" ? (I'm not sure how to punctuate that)! However, I must admit, the TransCanada Highway here is better than I've seen in most of the rest of Canada! The other thing that's unexpected is that the campground we're staying at tonight here in St. John's feels like it's in the middle of the metropolis! I didn't expect St. John to feel like a metropolis at all! Not...

Sep 17, 2008 - St. Johns, Newfoundland

Canada's oldest city, St. Johns was settled by Irish & English immigrants who profited from the areas fish rich waters. In addition to super friendly residents, the scenic harbour boasts whales, puffins, iceburgs, lively Irish pubs with toe-tapping music. The St. Johns harbour was a frequent haven for European fishermen throughout the 1500's. Sir Humphrey Gilbert declared Newfoundland an English Colony in 1583. It has had a prosperous history of fishing & now is a modern export service centre. The recently discovered oil fields have led to...

Sep 11, 2008 - Day 152 St John’s NFLD

Day 152 Thursday 11th September St John’s NL When we left the ship last nite we were the 8-9th vehicle off the boat, headed up the hill following the other cars coming off the boat and within 5mins we found ourselves at a tourist information place. Yep they were open, even at 2am. We got a map of the nearby town of Placentia, took a short 2 min drive down town and parked beside the water. What a great spot Steve chose in the dark last nite. We all slept in a little bit longer than usual, and then ate breakfast and we were on our way. Today...

Sep 1, 2008 - Oh Canada!

Good Morning from foggy St John's, Newfoundland! The trip is over but the memories will live for a long time to come. I arrived here yesterday, 31 Aug 2008 at 1:30 pm, 24 hours later than scheduled, 7586 Kms and 74 days after leaving Victoria on 20 June. There were times when I thought this adventure would never end, particularly over the last few days. It was difficult getting out of North Sydney due to weather problems and mechanical malfunctions with the ferry. There were many false starts but we eventually left the dock at 03:30 am...

Aug 31, 2008 - It's Over. We did it!!!

Total Distance: 7549 kms This is just a short entry to let you know that about an hour ago we reached the top of Signal Hill in St. John's, NFLD to complete our journey. This is a day later than scheduled due to ferry problems but we are happy it is completed and we are looking forward to getting home tomorrow. We will provide more details when we get home. We are so happy!!!

Aug 31, 2008 - 71 St. John's

Here we are in our tenth province! The fog was dense as I started from the Argentia ferry terminal headed for St. John's and signal hill. I didn't actually get away at first light but I was on the road before 7:00. The first 48km were on route 100 to get to the Trans Canada Highway. As I rode and saw the depth and frequency of the pot holes, I tried to imagine what it would have been like to ride at night, especially at high speed. From later conversations I learned that the high speed group arrived in St. John's sometime just before 4:00am...