ĭn'də-strē

it's like a sport

what a way to end a vacation; drunken chaos! awesome.

Last night Darren, Chris (a friend of Darren's who just got back from the Oil Patch that day) and I went drinking. We played some pool then ended up on George Street. We lost Chris somehow so Darren and I went home. Darren passed out, I swore up and down that I wouldn't pass out and surely as the sun rises, I passed out.

I woke up at 05:08 in an instant panic. I managed to get Darren awake enough to give me the phone number for the taxi. At 05:17 a taxi shows up (and I'm in the heart of St. John's) with a female driver. I tell her I passed out and have exactly 1 hour to get my butt on the plane. She's game. Just like in the movies, I buckle in and she goes like hot cakes. We get to my hotel, I stagger up to my hotel room, grab my suitcase, camera and macbook and get back down to the taxi like right quick. We're off to the airport and I roll in with 30 minutes to get through check-in, security and onto the plane.

Of course I'm still drunk but I held up well. I finally get on the plane with 2 minutes to spare and promptly pass out until we land in Toronto. Our plane was late so all of us had to practically run to the other side of the airport to catch our connecting flight. Crazy. Drunken. Chaos. Always a good time.

I'm back in Moose Jaw now. I miss Darren and Newfoundland already. I went shopping for supplies so tomorrow I'll be catching up on laundry then packing yet again, for the last 12 hour drive to camp. For the winter I'll be flying again back and forth.

However, I need a bubble bath and a good night's sleep. I've earned it.

newfoundland - day 11

my last day in Newfoundland. I'm sad because I don't want to leave. I wish money really did grow on trees so I wouldn't have to go back to the war zone on Monday. It was a perfect vacation; flawless. Nothing went wrong. Today I had lunch at the Yellowbelly Brewery on Water Street. I had beer chowder and 3, 1/2 pints of their beers. The beers were good but not as good as that made by Quidi Vidi Brewery. The soup was okay. I found that when I ate the beer soup while drinking beer it muddled all the flavours. However, still a great experience and the brew house has a wonderful, contemporary menu.

I spent the rest of the day sleeping. I'm going out with Darren tonight then catching a cab to the airport at about 04:30 hours. Then, sadly, I'll be on my way home. I love Newfoundland and soon, it will be my home.

 

A foggy day in St. John's. My last shot of the harbour taken with my Blackberry Pearl. Le Grand Bleu is gone.

Yellowbelly Brewery on Water Street. They make sw33t sw33t b33r :)

From left to right: a wheat ale, a red ale, and a stout.

Wexford Wheat ale, Fighting Irish red ale, SJS stout

Beer and white cheddar soup to eat while I read.

newfoundland - day 8

good morning :) After a quiet Thanksgiving spent reading and knitting, I woke up yesterday at 5 am and went for a hike up at Signal Hill overlooking the harbour. I got there at about 7:30 am, took a few pictures, then promptly went back to my hotel for my winter jacket before going back to finish my hike.

afterwards I went for breakfast, bought some new Seasilk yarn for a lace scarf, then drove to Quidi Vidi Brewery for a tour. I know Michiel would be proud of me. I met a fellow British Columbian there so we headed down to the pub in the village of Quidi Vidi before going for dinner. I was supposed to meet him for drinks later but ended up falling asleep. I spent last night with Darren watching TV and just being lazy and being tired from hiking and beer tasting that I fell asleep.  I feel really bad. My fellow BC'er  didn't bring his cell phone with him so I had no way to contact him.

below are pictures from day 8 including 3 pictures my sister sent me of our new dog Sandy. She's so fricken adorable :)

Daybreak over the Atlantic Ocean and first shot of the day.

Looking out over Cape Spear from Signal Hill at daybreak

Another picture of the Atlantic Ocean. I love me some pictures of the sea.

Signal Hill. The Start of my hike. I'm not going to describe every picture but basically I took a series of photos starting at Signal Hill and ending in St. John's harbour.

Breakfast in St. John's after my hike. mmm...coffee and orange juice...

Club House sandwich no tomatoe and a book called alt fiber.

A photograph taken of Quidi Vidi

A photograph taken of Quidi Vidi (pronounced 'kitty viddy') village.

Ahh well...the photo is pretty self-explanatory. They make sw33t sw33t b33r here.

newfoundland - day 4

I got drunk again :D  Now hold on a minute! I said drunk, not stupid drunk like the other night. I only drank beer and maybe one shot of Sambuca. However, I didn't get back to my hotel until this morning. You can interpret that however you like. Just remember it's me we're talking about, so I'm sure I wasn't very well behaved.

Yesterday I went to Cape Spear as you'll see in the photographs. It is the furthest point east in North America. If you were to fall off the rocks, your next stop would be England. It was bitterly cold and windy but I love the ocean and so I took a lot of photographs. Perhaps not the most inspiring but they make me happy. Oh, 4 of the photographs were taken in the town of Portugal Cove. I rented a car yesterday (red Pontiac G5) so I got to take a few detours.

Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, I am driving out to Trinity with a guy I met. We're going to spend Thanksgiving in his home town. Trinity is where they filmed the movie "The Shipping News" with Kevin Spacey. Anyways, the photographs:

The entrance to St. John's harbour as seen from Cape Spear. I took all these photographs within an hour. The sky, the clouds and the light changed so suddenly.

Waves sweeping up onto the rocks of Cape Spear. I took this shot looking west.

Another shot of the entrance to St. John's harbour. This photograph was taken only about 15 minutes after the first one but they both look totally different.

Just a photograph of waves crashing onto the rocks. I love how it sounds. Reminded me of growing up in Victoria, BC and watching the waves crash up over Dallas Road.

More crashing waves. It's a thing.

Well kids, this is it; the end of the world. Nothing but the Great Big Blue to stretch on forever.

Pretty. Windswept. Spooky. Kinda like me.

Cape Spear lighthouse.

There is a theme on this trip. I am either moving up or moving down. Did I mention St. John's is insanely hilly?

Bell Island as seen from the shores of Portugal Cove, Newfoundland.

Looking out towards the Atlantic from Portugal Cove.

Portugal Cove. A friend of mine from work lives here and when he's working in Alberta, he gets crazy homesick for this place.

Another shot of the town of Portugal Cove.

Another shot of the lighthouse. I need a new hobby.

More Atlantic Ocean. More waves crashing. err...

newfoundland - day 3

hookay...I got absolutely drunk last night on George Street. I haven't been that drunk in 10 years. Twas fun though :) Much beer, rum and scotch was drunk which led to shenanigans (of course). I did go visit The Rooms which I enjoyed. I didn't finish the whole tour because I was tired, which led me down the hill to George Street...Oh and I did get Screeched In at Trapper John's. Here are the pictures from day 3:

There were three cats but only Harper would sit still for me. The other cat had wound itself around my leg while the third watched me from a safer distance.

Another shot of The Narrows but this time using a moderate telephoto lens. I had my camera mounted on my tripod and because of how heavy the lens is and how windy it was, there was still a lot of camera shake.

A ship named the Saga Ruby from London, England.

Another shot of the houses along St. John's harbour. This one was taken with a moderate telephoto lens.

More boat pictures. I'm weak.

A picture of the heli-pad a top the Le Grand Bleu. Rumours abuzz about who owns that ship. Apparently one of the 10 richest people in the world. *lol* But who listens to scuttlebutt?

A shot of the harbour that you don't find in glossy tourist guides.

I have no idea who this guy is. I just know that he's a kiwi from the North Island of New Zealand. He was really drunk, as was I. Nice guy though; paid for my cab ride home.

I'll call it drunken abstract art.

I have no idea who these guys are either. They were drunk, I was really drunk but they saw my camera and tripod and asked me to take a picture of them.

Again, the crazy kiwi. I'm not sure why he was groping around like King Kong. Funny stuff though.

St. John's taken from the 4th level of The Rooms.

St. John's taken from the 4th level of The Rooms.

Another shot of St. John's taken from the 4th level of The Rooms.

le cats a la maison.

newfoundland - day 2

getting frisked for 5 minutes by security at the airport really does suck. Ask me how I know.

My first day in St. John's went really well. I'm tired but not sure if that's because of all the stopping in for beer every time it rained or because of the 6 hours of walking. Maybe both. I spent today walking around the city and talking hockey, beer and art with the locals. The weather was fickle and the light wasn't the greatest for taking photographs, but did I mention the beer?

Tomorrow I'm going to visit the Provincial museum and art gallery called The Rooms. That will be my big deal. I learned today to leave books at home because after 6 hours, they get kind of heavy... I'm travelling light  from now on; camera, tripod, money and ID. Below are some photographs from day 1:

Houses overlooking St. John's harbour. This is the first photograph I took and as you'll see, the weather and the light changed very quickly over the course of the day.

Signal Hill overlooking St. John's harbour. I am going to be visting this site in 2 days. First art, then history. It's all about priorities ;)

The entrance into St. John's harbour. I believe it's named The Narrows. I want to go across and get some pictures of the boats before I leave.

A war memorial that overlooks the harbour. There is a very sad song called "The Recruiting Sergeant" about how, when Newfoundland was still a commonwealth nation (before joining Canada) of the British Empire, the city sent it's young men off to war. Almost 1000 men went, only 68 returned. It was a slaughter.

A boat (or is it a ship...?) docked in the harbour. As you can see, I'm slowly working my way up. Did I mention St. John's is insanely hilly?

I believe in this picture I'm standing off to the side of the Provincal courthouse. Patterns will revel themselves.

Proof that there are still some construction workers left in Newfoundland. They don't all work with me in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Downtown St. John's. This photograph is almost a twin of the one on the Wikipedia entry for St. John's, Newfoundland.

hookay...this is where the patterns start emerging. The city has what are called jewel box houses. This set of condos are just the beginning.

More jewel box houses. I'm not sure if this is a gimmick for tourists or just tradition. Mostly all the houses in the main part of the city are painted every colour you can imagine. My favourite of course, were the ones painted black!

I took this picture on the walk back to the Inn I'm staying at. It's dark and moody and 5 minutes after the photograph was taken; it hailed and I was drenched. A bubble bath and more beer drinking soon followed.

Moonflowers on a fence. I liked the contrast so I took the shot.

The ship is called "Le Grande Bleu". I'm not sure what the big deal is about The Big Blue but I know it costs more money than I'll ever make in my life time. This bad girl has a yacht and a speed boat on board. Look closely.

I took a whole series of photographs of this. These men were trying to lift a door from a truck onto the ship. Hilarity ensued especially when the door got stuck. I think the gentleman next to me at Starbucks thought I was crazy because I kept giggling and taking photographs. It truly was funny stuff.

A coffee shop in the wee hours of the morning. I like it because of all the small details everywhere.

swell

This post is dedicated to stormgazer for all his wonderful comments that, unfortunately, I can’t answer on my macbook due to a shitty wireless connection at camp.

sw33t sw33t b33r—I’m a fan. I would like to try Bock beer, I even bet it has a nice nutty flavour that would go smashingly well with pumpkin bread. I’m going to make this pumpkin bread as it is new and interesting to me. I haven’t used my oven yet in my apartment. The stove, surely, the oven, nay. Plus, who wouldn’t want to drink a beer named after a goat?

My equinox went really well. Sunny and surprisingly warm and my dental surgery didn’t hurt a bit. That’s probably because I had the worst of it over and done with two weeks prior. I hope your equinox went equally as well. Nothing compares to autumn. It truly is the perfect season. More so at home then camp, but there are ways to cope, such as lots of hot tea drinking, time spent under my duvet reading, bubble baths and quality time shared with others ;)

Vulgar Display of Power is, in my opinion, one the greatest metal albums ever made with Fucking Hostile my favourite song. I know I’m not alone on that sentiment. I noticed my viewing, listening and reading habits have taken on a nautical theme lately. Perhaps it’s my unabashed excitement of seeing the mighty Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Or it could be I have a pirate fetish. Who knows? As for NCIS, there’s a whole lot more Jenny and her man getting in season 5 but I will leave it at that.

To continue the nautical thing, yesterday I purchased the following for the flights to and from Newfoundland:

1. Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brian
2. Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian
3. H.M.S Surprise by Patrick O'Brian

Alas, there won't be any beer drinking in my dry camp wilderness but there will be plenty of frolic, hot tea drinking and time spent watching Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Only 3 more days until I go home and 8 more days until I'm on a plane to Newfoundland.

boogie with stu

St. John's, Newfoundland and I will meet for the very first time October 7, 2008.  While I wait:

• A History of Newfoundland by Daniel Woodley Prowse.
• 52 Great Hikes of Newfoundland & Labrador by Mary Smith and Fred Hollingshurst.