Full Circle

Wednesday morning we reluctantly left Trinity. Our drive to St. John's was about two and a half hours. We were all recognizing that the end of this fabulous vacation was nigh. But we had a few things to look forward to still. First off, we were going to meet up with Tracey once again. We were truly hoping that she had taken us up on our offer for her to make us some Bakeapple Tarts. We were also looking forward to the Quidi Vidi Brewery Tasting.

 

Upon arriving in St. John's, we checked in to our B&B and got in touch with Tracey. She invited us over to her house to meet her parents, enjoy a cup of tea, and eat a treat. She did not disappoint us. Tracey had expertly prepared Bakeapple Tarts for us as well as Tea Buns. Her mother was a pleasure to meet. We sat around and chatted the afternoon away. Later, we also met Tracey's father as he returned from a day at the Library.

 

Tracey accompanied us to the village of Quidi Vidi, acting as our navigator, and joined us in the Quidi Vidi Brewery Tasting. Mitch was our host. He explained the genesis of the company. Quidi Vidi is essentially the lone microbrewery in Newfoundland. They have 1.5% of the entire beer market in Newfoundland. There are a number of different brews to choose from, if you live in Newfoundland. Unfortunately, Quidi Vidi does not have the capacity to export to other parts of Canada - yet. Hopefully this tragedy will be remedied one day - in the very near future. Mitch explained how the founders and owners of the brewing company began to market their beer. The genius advertising campaign involved a university professor, in his skivvies, enjoying beer, and possibly something else... (see photo to fill in the blank). Iceberg Beer still remains my favourite of the beers we tasted. We were able to purchase a couple of Quidi Vidi glasses as a souvenir of our trip at the tiny gift shop below the brewery. Here is the link for Quidi Vidi Brewery http://www.quidividibrewery.ca/ Maybe we could all petition them to send us some of their beer!

 

After dropping Tracey back home and saying our farewells, we headed out to dinner. We ate at The Celtic Hearth. As it was the last night in Newfoundland, Kim and I decided to toast the evening with, guess what, a pint of Iceberg Beer! I also decided that I should really enjoy another lobster.

 

Overnight it rained all Wednesday. The morning began as a bit of a steamy, humid mess. Fortunately, after packing up and checking out, we could see blue sky peaking through the clouds. Since it was no longer raining, we decide to head up Signal Hill. The top of Signal Hill offers wonderful views of St. John's, the harbour, and the ocean. We were able to walk around, read up on the significance of the location of signal hill, and learn about Marconi. Here is a link that will teach you about Marconi's significance in wireless messaging. http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/marconi.html The wind was so high at the top of the hill that the building was closed down to tourists who wanted to head to the top and look out over the city.

 

All three of us wanted to do some window shopping and possibly some purchasing so we wondered around on Water Street, peaking in on different shops that cater tourists. I purchased a funky painting of St. John's by artist Cara Kansala that I had admired in St. Anthony's. Here is her blog http://thegrumpygoatgallery.blogspot.ca/ and a picture of the painting that I chose.

We recognized that our time in Newfoundland was really coming to an end. We thought that one last sit by the harbour was in order. We found Iceberg Quest Boat Tour's headquarters. There we found three Muskoka chairs. We asked permission to sit and enjoy the view. For the last hour in St. John's we chatted with the crew of the Iceberg Quest Boat Tour. This, I think, was a really fitting way to end our time in Newfoundland. Simply chatting with locals. Throughout our stay in the province, I have found Newfoundlanders to be friendly, outgoing, welcoming, and funny. This final chat at the harbour of St. John's concluded our Newfoundland adventure in the most perfect of ways: being welcomed, making new friends, laughing, and enjoying the beauty of this magnificent province.