High over St. John's and down low under

Today we went to the Tripadvisor #1 Thing to See in St. John's.

Signal Hill is the highest point in the city.  It was used for fortifications and for communication.  Marconi received the first wireless transatlantic message here.

Cabot Tower is atop the hill.  We didn't learn what is was all about because.......

But this area is really all about the view

You can see the whole city below.

Many people choose to walk up the hill.  "Many" ,   not all.

You can also see the Narrows, the small channel that opens up into the harbor.  The cruise ships enter here.  A ranger told me that because it is so windy, many
cruise ships do not come into the harbor, but choose to pass on by.






After visiting Signal Hill, we went down the hill to the Geo Center.  The entrance is on ground level but all exhibits are below ground. This is as it should be as the center is all about the geology of the earth and particularly Newfoundland.  There were exhibits about oil and gas exploration and a large exhibit about the Titanic, which hit that iceberg just off the coast of Newfoundland.  We also saw a 3D movie about James Cameron, of the movie Titanic fame, and his special diving apparatus that went to the deepest part of the ocean, in New Guinea.  I felt the claustrophobia just sitting in the theater.

A short drive to the Easternmost point in North America

Today we woke up to real sunshine.  The sky was blue.  No dark clouds anywhere to be seen.
I had to take one more shot of the view and one of the cabins and little village below.  I guess I thought this would be the best scenery we would see... wrong.

We drove about an hour to Cape Spear. This is the easternmost point in North America.

This map seems to prove that. Cape Spear is that little finger furthest east.

Cape Spear was used as  lookout point during WWII.  This is the cannon and bunker left from that time.

                                                                     We climbed many steps and a few hills to get to the top.  Cape Spear is also the oldest remaining lighthouse on this coast.  Above is a lighthouse, but not THE lighthouse.

                                                      This is the lighthouse and the keepers house which was built around the circular lighthouse.

  

We saw some great scenery here also.  Saw an minke whale.  There were even a few icebergs but they were far out on the horizon and only visible with our binoculars.  Hopefully we will see some a little closer that can be photographed.




We drove to Pippy Park which was our campground.  The views were not what we had been used to, but you can't have it all.

Puffins and almost a whale

We woke up to cloudy skies again.  Sunrise is 5:10, that's AM.  But no rain.  We decided to check out the whale and puffin boat tour.  Drove 6 miles to the little office.  We decided to go today even though it was a bit windy.

                                                       

This is the little  boat.  It only holds eight people and has a naturalist to explain what we are seeing.

The puffins live on these rocks.  It is hard to get a good picture, but you can somewhat see them flying overhead.  This preserve is supposed to be the largest colony of puffins in North America.  The puffins have cute little striped beaks, but only during breeding season.



We did chase some humpback whales and we did see spouting and a humped back going down. But that was all.  A little disappointing, but there will be more chances for whales as we travel.

Later in the afternoon the sun came out!  The dark clouds disappeared and we actually sat outside under blue skies.

There was one other rv here today, but they left. It is kind of lonely.  The one Rv pictured below is stored here... we are alone.  Of course that doesn't count the cabins down the hill that are fully occupied with a wedding group.

                                                     

Have I told you about this campground?

For three nights we will be in Tors Cove, south of St. John's Newfoundland.  It is a facility called Celtic Rendezvous.  It is a cluster of cabins for rent, a conference center and a facility for weddings and parties. Actually there will be a wedding tomorrow.  Up on a hill, there is a gravel parking lot with 8 full hook up campsites.  But the view!  I have been posting some pictures of views from previous campsites.  We hadn't seen nuttin' yet.

I am not sure these do justice to the view, but it is the best we've got.

The waves crash against the rocks below us.  Tomorrow we are going on a boat ride to those islands in the distance.  Said to be the largest concentration of puffins in North America.

We meet some folks from two homes, and we have a picnic

Today we woke to lighter clouds and the promise of sunshine.  We had a reservation for a picnic at a lighthouse.  Before we left, we finally saw the people in the one other RV here.  The license plate said Texas.  The man said he was really from South Carolina.  Home!  They are full timers, use Texas as a residence, but lived many years in northern South Carolina.  After a few minutes, I knew he wasn't from SC.  He was from Pittsburgh.  Home!

We left to drive about 1/2 hour to the town of Ferryland.  It has some fame for the Ferryland Lighthouse Picnics.  We had a reservation.  We knew it was a walk to the lighthouse.  We parked at the bottom of the hill and could see the lighthouse way ahead.  The sign said 1.9 km.  We started walking.

We saw some beautiful scenery along the way.

This is the Atlantic Ocean.

More to see along the walk.

We are getting closer.

Some warnings along the way.

Finally see the lighthouse.  The sky is a little brighter.

The picnic is somewhat famous.  It has been written about in newspapers and magazines.

We finally saw some tourists.  We thought we were the only ones on the island.  While not crowded at all, the reservations are full for the month of July.  If you plan on coming, it is waitlist only.

 There are only a few choices:  three kinds of sandwiches, comes with salad, lemonade and a choice of dessert.  We go outside and our lunch is brought in a basket.                                                    

This is our basket.  Sandwiches are under the dessert plates.
















This is our view sitting on the rocks.

It started to cloud up and get windy and we thought we had better finish up and head down the hill.  Les bought a hand knitted cap with a puffin.  Kept him warm on the windy walk down.

At the bottom of the hill was the tiny harbor.

We had a lovely day at the Ferryland Lighthouse Picnic.
 

Newfoundland AHOY

A few more miles and we are on the last leg to Newfoundland.

We pass through Nova Scotia from all the way west to all the way east.

One wind mill farm.

We stay in a few pretty campgrounds.

At this campground,  the owners were particularly nice.  Les got a flat tire on his bike and didn't have spare.  One of the owners drove his truck to pick him up.  We still have no cell phone usage.  Les went into a house.  The woman was kind enough to open the door!  She also let Les use her phone to call the campground, to get in touch with me.

Still rainy and a bit foggy.  We are approaching the causeway that connects the two islands of Nova Scotia.  The one we are going towards in Cape Breton.

We got to the ferry in North Sydney and got in line.  I think the people in front of us are selling paddleboards!  It is a lightly loaded ship as we will see when we get on board.

This is the RV line... we are at the end of this lane.  I had somehow found a woman, on the internet,  who was traveling on this same crossing.  We met up and talked a bit.  We may see them later at our next campsite and probably will also meet them along the way.

We are now driving into the belly of the beast.

Up onto the ramp.

Down to our lane.

And into our parking spot for the night.  Close quarters here.


You have to take everything you will need as you cannot go back to your vehicle until the morning.








The ship is a lot like a cruise ship.  The cabin was just like on a cruise ship, just slightly smaller if that is possible.  There are several places to eat (not included).  There is a small movie theater.

It is larger than this picture.  There were three movies shown.  After dinner we went down to see the end of Malefecant.

If we didn't want to take the ferry, we could have taken the rv this way.















I sat down to read.  And look what happened:   and the sign on the wall says:  no sleeping in the lounge.  It says it in three languages.  If you don't book a cabin, they do not want you sleeping in the lounge.  So the sign didn't mean me.                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                   

Next morning, at about 10 AM, the ship had docked and it was time to leave.  We drove ...

and drove off the ship.

and into Newfoundland.

Welcome to Newfoundland.  It is cold and rainy.  Look at the temp on the rv dashboard.  And it didn't get any better all day.  Soup for lunch and an inside day for reading.