Today we awoke, well rested, in sunny St. John's. The first order of business was to get a run done. I completed a 3km run up and down hill around St. John's. My legs were thanking me for getting moving after a day of sitting. Part of my run took me down The Battery, which is an infamous row of distinctly Newfoundland colourful homes. I ran past a door with a very tiny sticker in the middle "Love heals". I loved the thought and had to stop and take a picture. Since it was so small and in such an obscure spot, I feel it was meant to be seen by me. I also took the opportunity to run back down to The Terry Fox Memorial Mile One to thank Terry once again for inspiring me and snap a shot of the two of us together, both in our run gear.
We were in no rush to begin our day as we did not have any time scheduled activities today. So dad and I got ready and checked out of the hotel a little past 10am. As we left the elevator and walked into the lobby, we heard a voice say, "Theresa McGeragle". I thought, "Wow, this hotel is great with customer service. They work hard to remember everyone's name." Looking up, I was greeted by Shannon and Chuck, a couple of friends from Ontario who were visiting family in Newfoundland. So that was a surprising encounter. Even more so that we had been staying at the same hotel and didn't even realize it. Hopefully we will be able to catch up later on the trip.
Dad and I ate at a cafe around the corner, both opting for a bowl of oatmeal and a great cup of coffee.
First on the agenda for the day was to head to The Rooms. The Rooms is the St. John's museum, archives, and art gallery. We visited the museum part of The Rooms. We were treated to an education of the geographic and cultural history of Newfoundland. There was a new exhibit under construction dealing with World War 1. The museum was appealing to locals to provide information and artifacts that may fit in with the exhibit. From the observation decks at The Rooms, we were treated with panaramic views of St. John's and the harbour.
From The Rooms, it was time to head to Port Rexton to check in to our next accomodations. Our journey to Port Rexton was filled with beautiful scenery and one fantastic moose sighting. Our moose was located just on the side of the highway. Although we were not able to stop, we both got a great look at the magnificant animal. Port Rexton is about a three and a half hour drive from St. John's. We arrived at Fisher's Inn around 5:30. Fisher's Inn is situated at the top of a hill and overlooks The Atlantic Ocean. Fisher's Inn is a collection of a few different homes that now act as inns and another home that is the restaurant, living room, and bar. The view is the best part of this inn but the accomodation was also perfect.
Directly after we checked in, we headed to the village of Trinity, about 15 minutes away. Trinity was my favourite part of my Newfoundland vacation last year. I wanted to show dad around the village. The village did not disappoint. Upon driving up to the village, dad pointed and exclaimed, "iceberg!" Dad and I went to Trinity Mercantile for dinner. We both enjoyed smoked salmon on a bagel with a side salad and an iceberg beer. I also enjoyed the blueberry gingerbread cake, smothered in a warm rum caramel sauce. Dad and I enjoyed our dinner, sitting out on the balcony and overlooking the village.
As we were now unable to see the iceberg from in the village, we decided that we needed to drive around and hunt down the iceberg. We asked our server for directions to the iceberg and were given some rather vague instructions to head toward Dunfield, go up a big hill, don't mind the dirt road, and stick left. These directions actually turned out to be fairly helpful as we were able to make our way to the lighthouse on the other side of the bay where we could view the iceberg unobstructed. This was a fantastic sighting and so much closer than the icebergs we saw yesterday from Cape Speare.
Dad and I returned to Fisher's Inn and grabbed a drink from the bar to take out to the Muskoka chairs where we sat and enjoyed the view. The temperature was getting much cooler and the Irish coffee did a bit to warm me but not enough to keep me outside too much longer. In reflecting about Newfoundland, and especially Trinity, I said to dad that I feel like, when I am here, it is like I am able to release a breathe that I didn't know I was holding. I am not too sure how else to describe the feeling of being here but I know that it is a gift.
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