Yesterday was our 4th day in Newfoundland. We flew in Friday to St. John's, which was an all day project from the west coast. We spent Saturday and Sunday playing in St. John's, which is a surprisingly sophisticated city. It even had a yarn shop.
We wandered around downtown St. John's Saturday morning, had lunch, then spent the whole afternoon at the Geo Centre, a geologic museum. It's more exciting than it sounds. It really was a fabulous place.
This is my birthday trip for this year. My big day isn't for another couple of weeks, but I'm hitting one of those big milestones. Just as a hint, I'm getting the senior discount at museums at this point.
Sunday was lighthouse day. We went to the Ferryland lighthouse, south of St. John's, for a picnic and some spectacular views.
The next stop was the lighthouse at Cape Spear. This is the most eastern point in North America. There are two lighthouses, the old one that the lighthouse keeper and family lived in, and the newer one. The whole process is automated at this point, so no keeper has to live in the actual lighthouse.
Monday we drove to Trinity in Trinity Bay (there are two Trinitys in Newfoundland!). We're staying at a lovely Inn right on the water. This is the little town where Shipping News was filmed.
That dark red building in the foreground is the main Inn building. Yesterday we poked around town a bit, then headed north for some sightseeing.
The local craft and gift shop.
No, I didn't buy any. It was Briggs and Little and Paton's, both of which I can get easily. The Briggs & Little is a great basic sweater yarn, and I don't have room in my suitcase for a sweater's worth. I did buy this.
These are hand knit by locals. I managed to get here without a warm sweater. It's been moderate so far, though the wind yesterday was gale force at times. You'd have to be hardy to live around here. So I bought a sweater in case I get cold later on. I know, I could knit this, but not by the end of the week.
We had lunch by the sea in Bonavista.
After lunch we headed to Elliston and Maberly. These are the root cellar capitals of the world. Who knew?
And some spectacular ocean scenery.
On to the Bonavista Lighthouse.
This one was pretty luxurious inside. One family that lived here had 11 children. Usually the whole family lived here. If the lighthouse keeper didn't have an older son to help, he would hire an assistant. These were prestigious jobs, highly paid, and often passed down from generation to generation from father to son.
Another crappy view.
Inside the lighthouse.
Another senior discount.
John Cabot landed here in 1497.
Last but not least, another lousy water view.
We've had people asking us for weeks “Why Newfoundland??” I hope some of these photos show why.
Off to breakfast, and a boat tour of the area this morning.
Author: Lorette
My name is Lorette. I learned to knit in 1999, and took up spinning in 2009. I'm a physician specializing in internal medicine, and live in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy my blog!
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I love your pictures and your new sweater. Happy Birthday!
People who ask “Why Newfoundland” have clearly never been there!
We want to do Newfoundland! I think next summer might be Iceland and Greece, though. Since I reconnected with my Greek family, I want to keep going back to see them…so, anytime we head over to Europe to a new to us place, we have to combine it with a trip to see the relatives.
Anyway, your pictures reinforce our resolve to do Newfoundland. Thank you for posting them!
Have never been, but now I have to go! The pictures are gorgeous & so is your sweater. Hope you’ve had a wonderful birthday trip & welcome to the 60’s-they are great!!
Thanks for taking us along — gorgeous scenery. I always picture Newfoundland as gray and cold. Clearly, I was wrong!
Happy birthday and love the travelogue and photos. I’d love to visit Newfoundland, especially after classes with Lucy Neatby! The sweater is a perfect travel souvenir.
I hit that bug birthday next week. Looking forward to those museum discounts! Happy birthday.
Great pictures! I love the name of that yarn shop. Wouldn’t it be great if we could knit a sweater in a week? Have we hit the big day, yet? Happy Birthday!