What I Did on my Summer Vacation

Usually this essay is written the first week back at school, but my summer vacation is still happening and I thought I should start making notes. Ironically I don't ever remember writing one of these ubiquitous essays when I was in school.

Regatta Day - Thursday August 2
Usually the first Wednesday of August or the first sunny day after that. People in St John's have to listen to the radio in the morning to know whether it is nice enough day to get a holiday or they have to go to work as usual. I like this method and I think we should adopt it for all holidays.
We walked to Quidi Vidi lake and watched the rowing for a few hours. As we got closer we joined throngs of people doing the same thing. It was like going to a huge music festival. I have no idea who won, or even what the categories were. But the regatta is really just an excuse for eating fried things and playing games of chance. There were dozens of food and game kiosks set up by service groups as fundraisers. It was charming to see that they were still using the same kind of plywood and paint stands from my childhood instead of giving way to trailers by Timmies or the Scottish restaurant. I forgot the camera, no pictures.

Signal Hill - We went on a particularly windy day, and realised it was windier there still. Beautiful views, good interpretive signs about the military history of the site and the famous transatlantic radio signal by Marconi. You can go into the tower but not to the top. We watched what looked like a very small boat coming in through the Narrows, but when we got down to the harbour it was really quite a big boat about 60 feet long. From the top of the hill it looked like a bath toy. Too many tourists for pictures, but I did snap this one of Peter. We have to go back to explore the trails with Jake.

On August 4th we went to Middle Cove beach for the Craft Council Annual Beach Day firing. They dig a big pit in the beach sand and wrap clay pots in seaweed and throw various minerals on top. Then they pile firewood on top and set it on fire. A few hours later when the ashes are cool enough, they uncover the pots and see what patterns the firing has produced. It is a fundraiser for the craft council, they sell the pots on the beach once they have cooled. We ate a picnic lunch and explored the coastline while we waited for the firing to finish. Middle Cove also has thousands of Caplan that come ashore in summer to spawn, and it was crazy to see the waves wash them ashore. And crazier still to watch the children running back and forth throwing them back into the water. In earlier times people would scoop them up and use them as fertilizer on the garden. Ewww.

The Fluvarium and the Geo Centre got a post of their own. Nuff said.

On Labour Day weekend we went to Cape Spear. Also a very windy day, and the ocean smelled fabulous. Used up all my camera battery trying to get this goofy picture of us with Signal Hill in the background across the bay so I don't actually have a picture of the lighthouse. Bummer. Have to go back to explore the trails with Jake.



St. John's hosted a Door's Open Day on Sept 8th and 9th. Many places that usually charge admission were free, and some places that are not normally open to the public, were. I went to Government House, built in 1829 as the home of the colonial governor of Newfoundland and adopted for the Lieutenant Governor when NL became a province in 1949. Much of the furniture is original including a very cool dining table for 28 that I covet. The ceilings are painted plaster to look like carved relief. They were gorgeous. I forgot my camera.

Last weekend we went to Ferryland and toured the archaeological site of the first English colony of Newfoundland. It was fascinating. The colony of Avalon was started in 1629 by the same guy who then decided the winters were too cold and moved to Jamestown in Virginia instead. The foundations are extremely well preserved because the French attacked in 1696 and burned everything to the ground. When the English returned the next year they just built on top and kept going so the first 75 years are undisturbed until this dig started in 1993. The camera battery died again before we got there, so you'll have to explore the website at www.heritage.nf.ca/avalon

During the week, Jake and I have been using the Grand Concourse for our daily strolls. St. John's has an excellent series of 35 walking trails that link up various parks and green spaces in the city. Each trail section has a signboard that tells you what you'll see along the way. You can pretty much walk from Pleasantville to Paradise. So far we've wandered from Quidi Vidi to Long Pond to Mundy Pond. Without oppose-able thumbs though, Jake finds the camera operation difficult, so you'll just have to take our word for it.