That Was a Fun Road Trip, Ellen!

Last week Ellen took the week off (she said she needs vacation too you know!) while John and I went on a road trip across Newfoundland. Both John and I have always wanted to go to L'Anse aux Meadows (where the Vikings landed 1,000 years ago near St. Anthony at the northern tip of Newfoundland), but we've never actually made it that far until this time. It's a long drive! By the time we got home on Saturday we had driven over 2,400 kms. 

I did take several knitting projects with me: the silk scarf that I've been working on (plus the pattern for it), a mohair scarf for the Fall, a pair of mittens and face cloths for Pretty (who seem to run out as soon as I send a new shipment). The two scarves; I am still working on. The mittens got ravelled twice (so no mittens to show) and the face cloths are now being blocked. I'll photograph all of that for next post. 

So, the next couple of posts will be filled with photos from our road trip mixed in with travel knitting and projects that I completed before we left but didn't have time to post.

This is my first summer not working for a corporation in 25 years, so needless to say, I'm having a fun summer - filled with doing household things I never had time to do when working, knitting, and as many vacation days as time will allow! I have not retired - just going to work for myself from now on. In the Fall I hope to open an online store filled with one-of-a-kind knitwear, mostly based on a Newfoundland lifestyle theme.

Back to the road trip!  On Saturday (July 14), we travelled to Corner Brook to see friends who live there. Then, Monday started travelling up the coast toward St. Anthony. We had a couple of days of rain so didn't get the full photographic potential of some towns the way we would have liked. Seeing we can't always count on having sunny weather when travelling in Newfoundland, we make the best of whatever we get. Some days we took pictures in the rain and fog. :-)

Salmon fishermen on the Humber River (photo taken from a bridge)

The other side of the bridge

To the right of the bridge

Shipyard in Port Saunders

Close-up of above boat
I thought the dried salt mixed with peeling paint made an interesting photo

Port Saunders from the wharf

Port Saunders - See the fog bank in the background?

Port Saunders - lobster pots stacked on a wharf

Gentleman taking a break from splitting wood

We saw several boats in fields

Crow paparazzi 

There were piles of cut firewood "everywhere"

And wild roses everywhere. They smell so nice when you pass them.

I Think It's a Secret, Ellen!

I finally finished the wrap/scarf that was supposed to be finished before Christmas! It's hand knit using a Vogue Knitting pattern with Knit Picks sugarbunny (80% merino wool, 20% angora). I finished it on the snow day last week, blocked it and it was ready to go for Sunday. Ellen was delighted that it was completed so we could do a photo shoot.

Every few months I take a run down to the South Side of St. John's Harbour. It's a different place every season so after a fresh snowfall I had to go for a look. I think it's such a cool place. All the fishing boats are docked, their crab pots are ready to go, but yet, there's a busy city right across the Harbour. There's something nice about looking across at the Waterfront. If you go up the South Side Road a little further, there's Fort Amherst. We'll have to go there sometime soon. That's another interesting place!

There are small bolted doors built into the cliffs along the side of the South Side Road. Some say ammunition used to be stored in there during the war and some people think the fairies used to live there. Perhaps they still live there because they can't get out. :-) I think what's inside those doors is a secret. A little mystery is good thing.

Then there's all the ice hanging from the cliffs. That, in itself, is a sight to behold! Makes the place even cooler (pardon the pun!) 

See the Basilica? Love all the coloured houses!

See The Room? (museum and archives)

The large white building is The Battery Hotel.

First sign of crab pots this year.

Portion of Battery Road

Water is pouring off the cliff behind the ice.

This is about 60-70 feet high.

An old train car. Trains no longer run in Newfoundland.