Sometimes writing is like pulling teeth ...

Trip Start Jul 06, 2001

Trip End Jul 22, 2001

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Flag of Canada St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Tuesday, July 17, 2001

Sometimes writing is like pulling teeth while at other times inspiration smacks you in the face and you can't help but pick up a pen. I received just such an inspiration while brushing my teeth the previous evening at the washroom facilities provided at Pippy Park. In this case my inspiration was just a title for a story but in this case the title says it all... "The Incredible Fat-Ass Family Drives Their Car To The Bathroom."

* * *

When the first dictionary of Canadian English was published there were approximately 3000 entries in it that did not appear in a comparable American English dictionary. More than half of those phrases unique to Canada were actually from Newfoundland. Here is one I learned on this morning in St. John's.

A Look Down Victoria Street

It was mauzy out that morning.

Mauzy means foggy and humid. While it was still gray out I was at least encouraged by the warmth of the air. I drove out to Cape Spear. Cape Spear is the most easterly point in North America. Yup, nothing but ocean between this point and Ireland - the very edge of the New World, if you will. There's a nice lighthouse as well as more WWII era artillery positions. From here you get a nice look at the entrance to St. John's harbour as well as the rest of the rugged coastline in this area.

I headed back into town and parked downtown. From here I would do a fairly comprehensive walking tour of the downtown/harbour area. My first stop was the Battery. This was once a little fishing village that clings to the rocks below Signal Hill. It's quite an oddity considering how close it is to the business area of St. John's. Now it looks as if the Battery undergoing the process of gentrification.

At the far end of the Battery is the trailhead for a climb to the top of Signal Hill. The unusual thing about this trail is that it starts right in the middle of some lady's front porch

Cape Spear

. She seemed quite at ease with all these people trampling by her front door all day. The hike is pretty cool and a little heart-stopping at times as you approach the cliff's edge. There are some very steep parts but the only real challenging part is the long staircase right at the top.

As I sweated my way to the top I realized just how ill prepared I had been for the weather on the island. I had brought three pairs of long pants with me, two pairs of jeans and a pair of sweat pants. The first pair of jeans I had worn from when I got for work on the Friday that I left till I arrived at Gros Morne National Park on Sunday afternoon. Seriously, I slept in them twice and hadn't taken them off at all. Then I hiked to the top of Gros Morne Mountain in the sweat pants and they definitely earned their name as they were pretty much soaked through by the time I was done that hike. That meant that I had been wearing the same pair of jeans for about 10 days when it was too cold to wear shorts. Pretty disgusting, eh? Once at the top of the hill I resolved to force myself to wear shorts the rest of the trip regardless of the weather.

At the top of the hill is Cabot Tower, which was erected at the end of the 19th century in tribute to Newfoundland's (alleged) discoverer

Fort Amherst Lighthouse

. It now houses a gift shop. The hill also has had some the battlements from the Seven Year War refurbished along with a nice array of cannons from that era. Further down the hill is the Signal Hill Interpretive Centre. This place disappointed me terribly. On this very hill the very first wireless Trans-Atlantic transmission was received. Think of how that technology (and all of telecommunications) has exploded in the past hundred years. I had assumed, wrongly, that this interpretive site would be based upon that theme. Nope. For the umpteenth time I found myself reading about the process of drying and salting a codfish. They do have some history that just centers on the city of St. John's itself but whoever put this place together is really missing the boat (figuratively, not literally as there are quite a few boats featured in the displays).

I walked back to downtown via the road and immediately headed to my car to change into my shorts. By this time the sun was beginning to peak out from behind the clouds and soon it would become a beautiful day. I celebrated with food.

I had lunch at Auntie Crae's on Water Street. Auntie Crae's is a small grocery and deli specializing in health food, bulk food, and pastries. Next door they operate a common room that anyone can settle down in with a paper or a book or a game of chess

Great View

. I grabbed two beef rolls, a veggie samosa, and a Globe & Mail. The food was excellent and it was here I spotted a Newfoundland celebrity - the lead singer from Great Big Sea (I still don't know what his name is).

After lunch I walked through the residential area on the hillside right above Duckworth Street. These may be the most colourful streets in Canada. It's a neighbourhood full of brightly coloured row houses. It looked so pretty in the sunlight. I now knew what the souvenir shop lady was talking about the day before. I think my favourite spot was the intersection of Victoria and Bond but streets like Prescott, Gower, and Holloway should be visited as well. It's these streets that define the character of the city. I was very pleased to see that developers of new subdivisions and townhouses all over the city have used this area of town as their inspiration. There is a lot of really good architecture concentrated in this downtown area, the courthouse being my favourite single structure. It makes the bland towers erected by Scotiabank, Toronto-Dominion, and the Canadian government look even worse than they are.

My next stop was Church Hill where the Presbyterian, United, and Anglican churches are congregated. Just up Garrison Hill from there is the outstanding Roman Catholic Basilica of St

St. John's Harbour

. John The Baptist. Built in 1841, this structure is still the dominant feature in the St. John's skyline. It has the most incredible view from the top of its steps.

Just a bit down Military Road from the basilica is the very screwy intersection of Rawlins Cross. It's not the only place in town where the traffic will make your heart jump. I never did figure out how things work where Military Road meets King's Bridge Road and Cavendish Square. There's also the intersection where Freshwater Road, Long's Hill, Harvey Road, LeMarchant Road, Parade Street, and Carter's Hill all collide. Right near Rawlins Cross is Moo-Moo's Ice Cream shop. It was divine.

I then made the long walk out to Quidi Vidi Village. There is a reconstructed battery and soldiers' barracks out this way. These were active in the late 18th and early 19th century. The village itself is a quaint little place and deserves a tour as well. There is a trail system all over this part of the city. I took "The Burma Road," so named by American soldiers stationed here in WWII, back up to the top of Signal Hill.

I took some more pictures of the city in the sunlight from there but I think the best time would be a clear morning at sunrise to really catch the colours from that angle

The Battery

. I started the walk back down the hill but a local stopped and offered a ride. My dogs were really barking so I hopped in. I never even caught his name but he was planning his own car trip to London, Ontario for the Canada Games in which is daughter would be competing. Like all Newfoundlanders I met he was really pleased to hear I was enjoying myself immensely on the island.

I made my way back over to the south side of the harbour again in order to get some photos of the Battery in the late afternoon light. I also watched them load up a big freighter so much that its decks were barely above the waterline.

George Street rests between Water and Duckworth on the west side of downtown. Along here is the greatest concentration of bars in the city. With me being here at the beginning of the week there was never much happening here but rumour has it that it's the place to be on the weekends. I grabbed dinner at Jungle Jim's - a plate of nachos accompanied by a big mug of beer that I definitely deserved after my day of walking.

At sunset I found myself on top of Signal Hill for the third time that day. This time I drove. It was pretty damn windy up there at the time but I stuck to my promise of keeping on my shorts.

I spent my evening lounging around the newly opened Chapters Bookstore. When I started drifting off on their couch while reading magazines I decided to pack it in for the night.