Aug 12th to 15th - Newfoundland

Aug 12th - Tues - to St Anthony
Dumped our tanks and headed north by just after 9. We are happy to have Terry & Judy continuing to travel with us. We made a stop to look at The Arches which are natural stone arches right on the shore. The tide was out so we had a good view for some nice pictures. We were thinking about walking in to look at salmon and fish ladders but it would have added a couple of hours to a longish travel day so we skipped it. Terry & Judy passed us when we stopped for diesel and decided to join us viewing the salmon so they were waiting for us (1 ½ km off the main road) when we drove by!
Some of the road was fairly rough but then we hit a newer section of highway which was very nice. A notable feature of the drive was the huge piles of firewood stacked along the roads. Most people heat with wood and it is mostly small rounds. I guess that it would burn pretty fast and the winters are cold so the wood piles are huge.
We put our rig in a spot at the RV park, reserved a site for Terry & Judy and headed in to town since they weren’t here yet. Very interesting liquor store in St Anthony - it includes electrical supplies, videos & CDs, ice cream snacks and lottery tickets.
We bought a couple of bundles of wood and enjoyed a lovely fire before and after dinner. Our sites are treed and somewhat protected from wind so it was pleasant. We had a visit from the friendly campground moose and Terry H. got a lot of pictures.

Aug 13th - Wed - St Anthony
Foggy and drizzly this morning so we changed our plans and went into town instead of going to L’Anse aux Meadows. We hoped the fog would lift by the afternoon. We checked out the few stores, watched (and watched for) whales and walked on some paths & boardwalks. The weather had gotten worse so we came back to our rigs, had a light. late lunch and kicked back before getting together for a pre-dinner drink at the Hubers’.
Back to town (7 km from here) for a dinner & music evening (Kitchen Party) at the Legion. Terry H. & I had the Jiggs’ Dinner which is a traditional Newfie meal - lots of boiled potatoes, carrots, turnips; sautéed cabbage, peas pudding, bread pudding and a small amount of salt beef. Not something I would order again! The peas pudding is dried yellow peas put in a pudding bag and boiled with the rest of the meal before being mashed. The bread pudding was like steamed stuffing - not bad. The salt beef was very stringy with lots of fat. Judy & Terry M. had a seafood platter with shrimp, cod, salmon & scallops.
The band started about 9:30 and it was very loud. After a break they finally turned down the instruments so you could sort of hear the vocals. One accordion player was also the designated dancer and made sure he danced with every woman (not a huge crowd) at least once.
And we all got “Screeched In” and became honorary Newfies. It is quite the little ceremony. You have to “talk like a Newfie, eat like a Newfie, romance like a Newfie, drink like a Newfie and dance like a Newfie”. There were 10 of us going through the procedure.
“Talking like a Newfie” involved the “designated dancer” (now dressed in fisherman’s oilskins) quickly speaking a typically convoluted phrase and everyone having to individually repeat it. “Eating like a Newfie” was a three part process. First a disgusting dried small fish (carapin) like a sardine (didn’t have to eat the head and a lot of the rest ended up in a paper towel), then a piece of bologna (VERY popular in Newfoundland) and finally “lassie loaf” which is molasses on bread. “Romancing like a Newfie” is complimenting and kissing a cod - frozen in this case. “Drinking like a Newfie” is where the ceremony gets its name - you down a shot of dark, Screech brand rum. “Dancing like a Newfie” is any stomping/hopping type step that you wish to do to fast music. We all then received our certificate.

Aug 14th - Thurs - St Anthony
Two of the people that we met last night (Glen & Theresa) are traveling on a motorcycle and staying in a tent across from us. It was pretty cool this morning so I had Terry go over and ask them if they wanted to come for coffee and to get warmed up. They came over and I ended up making breakfast for all of us.
By this time, Terry & Judy were waiting for us so we headed up to L’Anse aux Meadows. This is a site where Vikings were found to have lived 1000 years ago. The spot was discovered by a couple from Norway and then excavated by them and later by the Canadian government. There is a large visitor center, some mounds where the original remains were found and some recreated sod buildings. I am not a huge history fan but this was very well done and interesting.
We stopped at a recommended restaurant for lunch and had to try the deep fried ice cream for dessert - yum! Then we drove to a spot called Cape Onion with a lookout area on a hill. Wonderful views and lots of little wildflowers along the path. Yes, I will post pictures some time.
We had some time so we continued past the RV park to St Anthony and went back to where we had seen whales. Saw one blow a long ways out but that was all.
It was nice enough to have a fire when we got back. Judy & I both did some laundry before we got together for a dinner mostly provided by Terry & Judy. It had cooled down a lot so we played some cards rather than going back out to the fire.

Aug 15th - Fri - to Deer Lake
We headed back down the Northern Peninsula today. We took a different route for the northernmost part and went along the coast. There was too much fog and clouds to see Labrador across Davis Strait. I mentioned all the wood piles on the side of the roads. There are also many small garden plots on the highway right of way. Soil is at premium in most parts of Newfoundland so people plant gardens wherever they can. When the roads were built, fill was brought in so people use it (enriched with seaweed) for gardens. They are roughly fenced to keep out the moose and often have scarecrows or plastic bags for additional “protection”. A lot of potatoes are grown in these plots.
We are staying at Deer Lake which is at the junction of the TCH and Hwy 340 which goes north. We got the last 2 drive-through sites as there is a caravan staying here. Our site is “waterfront” thanks to a huge rain storm before we got here which left some large puddles.
We have been without phone service and internet access for 3 days so I called Dad when we got here. Marg is away fishing so I got to talk to Dad for a change. All is well with them.
We sat out with Terry & Judy and started to plan the next few days so we could reserve an RV site in St Johns. We got together for another shared dinner and finished our trip planning.
Terry’s Mom is home from the nursing home now. She has only been home a couple of days and sounds good.