Fireworks To Bedbugs: A Story Of Wha?

What a week, what a week.  One awesome thing about being on the perpetual voyage is the way things can change, the swift nature of the new adventure, the exciting way that stories unfold.  There are also times when that is less awesome, especially when you get yourself into a particular comfort zone and then tear yourself away from it.  Even more so when you wind up with a wicked case of "travel whiplash".  This is the story of such a case.

When we last left off it was Monday.  We were still in Trinity and all was right with the world, for the most part.  Even though it was Canada Day, Tuesday was pretty much like any other day.  We hung out at the hostel all day, after we did our work.  The only voyage we made was to go get beer and other necessities at the Yellow Store (because it was the only place that was open).  Went back to the hostel and chilled out, probably played some rounds of Quirkle and Krissy made cookies.  It was one of those great chilled out days at the hostel.  As the evening grew, the place got pretty packed with various guests.  There was no sort of organized barbecue for the day but I grilled hot dogs and we had a right good summer meal.  Krissy did the Skerwink trail while I continued my lazy evening.  We eventually made a fire and Justin brought over some pretty awesome fireworks and set them off in the backyard.  One of them was called El Diablo and it was far more impressive than anything that we get back home.  Like all the nights there, it was a fun one.

Cliffs on the Skerwink trail.

Dog Cove, along the Skerwink.

Some whale business off the Skerwink.

This bit of whale tail looks like a stealth bomber or some kind of ship from a sci-fi flick.

Some of the Canada Day shenanigans.

I can't remember what this one was called but it was kinda cool.

Wednesday we woke up and busted through our last day of work pretty quickly before heading out for one last day of exploring.  We brought one of the guests, Genie, with us and had a good time.  We headed up to Elliston once again to see the puffins.  It was really crowded there and many of the puffins were out in the water, doing their day's work.  But there were still quite a few on the island and one even flew over to near where we were.  He didn't come right up to us but he waddled around near the edge for a few minutes before he fluttered away.

"Hey guys, I just snagged me a fish and it was thiiiiis big!"

The Puffin Band photo shoot.

Puffins, paired up.

Puffin as gargoyle.

Tern it on....

...tern it on, tern it on again.

If you look closely you will see a seagull chick underneath mama's belly.

Terns.

From there we headed back to the Trinity area, where we had to stop and do some laundry for the hostel.  While that was going we went into Trinity itself and showed Genie (i am guessing that's how she spells it) around the town and stopped into the Mercantile for a light lunch.  It was delicious.

That evening we had our farewell dinner at the Bonavista Social Club and it was delicious as usual.  Dave, Justin, Kent, and Kent's mom Gillian were there and it was a great time.  The weather was perfect for sitting outside.  It was a nice sendoff.  Before we went back to the hostel we stopped by Michael Jordan's house to say goodbye.  We would end up seeing him again the next day, before we left, but it was still pretty sad.  When we got to the hostel it was bangin' with a crazy and wide variety of guests.  We had loud ladies there, quiet loners, lots of fellow travelers, and a yard full of tent campers.  It was actually a bit overwhelming at times.  We managed to escape outside after a while and it was nice.  Got another fire going and sat around that for a while.  We said goodbye to Justin and that was sad.  We will see him again before too long but still.  He's a good dude and we always loved hanging out with him.  Everyone eventually went to bed and it was just Dave and I, talking and laughing until way too late.  That's just one of the things that I already miss about that place.

Our last sunset in Trinty East.

Woke up Thursday on the rather late side (coz, hey, our work was done).  We got all the stuff in our room together and did the Skerwink trail one last time.  The fog was crazy, visibility in the water was pretty slim, and the fog was moving very swiftly.  We came back on the inland trail which was cool and different.  No pics of that but here are a few from the hike:

We didn't see too many whales from the trail but this one was hanging around.

Our favorite spot on the trail in foggier times.

Andersons in their favorite Skerwink spot.  There is another shot of us from this set where we have sad faces, because we were about to leave.  But that's no fun so we are smiling because of all the good times we had there.

We got back to the house and it was unfortunately time to get down to business.  We gathered all of our stuff from inside the house and I did my best to reconfigure the car and get it all packed in.  Our plan to get a box and ship home all the unnecessary stuff has yet to happen.  Perhaps we can get that together soon.  I'm getting a bit sick of a packed car.  But it got done and all was well.  Our goodbyes were prolonged which is fortunate because we got to see Michael Jordan as well as Melanie, who stopped by as we were getting into the car.  We had some good laughs and took some photos before we pulled away.

See that brown rectangle?  Just a few weeks ago it was grass.  It is now the bottom of the grass (sod) thanks to us.  This will eventually be a pretty awesome garden.

The living room of the hostel, where we had many an epic evening.

The man himself, Mister Michael Jordan, in the flesh.

Los Skerwinkles

Dave got all artsy with this band-photo shot of the two of us and Melanie.  I appreciate it.  

And with that we hit the road.  We stopped in Clarenville to gas up and grab some A&W but then it was onward to St. John's.  We got to the City Hostel around 7:30 or so and were showed to our rooms.  They didn't have our staff room ready so we were in dorms, but separate dorms.  I guess that's okay.  I had to take a top bunk though and that really sucks to get in and out of.  But whatever.  The hostel is a bit of a dump, a little closer to what I would expect a city hostel to be like.  A different universe from the Skerwink, but I knew we were spoiled even when we were there.  Anyway, after we get situated we went out and walked around town a bit.  Mostly stuck to Water and Duckworth Streets, as those are the ones with most of the action.  And we walked down George Street and it is a crazy mess of bars.  We would find out the next day just how crazy that mess could be.

So we get back to the hostel and we're sitting on the stoop and having a FaceTime chat with my sisters and everyone back home.  And then this drunk guest comes out and he is clearly a lifetime drunk and a total mental case.  He starts mumble-shouting and kicking things.  He was kicking porches and telephone poles and cars and garbage.  Just making a terrible racket, while I am trying to communicate with my family who, up to that point, was not all that worried about us on this trip.  Then he starts in on me.  Not sure why but I think he was paranoid that I was trying to harass him or something even though I wasn't paying any attention to him.  So we go inside and downstairs into the kitchen.  And he follows and is still as incoherent as ever.  I was visibly uncomfortable with the situation but didn't even know where to begin with him.  And then he did a roundhouse kick that went right over my head and Krissy laid into him a bit and I told him to cool it and then he got all apologetic and tried to kiss Krissy's hand.  It was all just one big hot mess.  So we leave and then go back outside to finish the conversation and then he comes out again with a beer and no shirt on and that was it. Game over, time for bed.

What pissed me off the most about all that wasn't his antics, no matter how ridiculous they were.  No, it was the fact that every night of this trip has been utterly outstanding and among the best nights of my life and the one time that I finally get the video chat with my family to actually work and this is what they see.  I wish we could have done it while we were still in Trinity.  The worst thing that would happen there is.....nothing.

An interesting post-script to that story - the next morning he left here in an ambulance because he OD'd on pills or some such nonsense.

Anyway, so we got up the next morning and headed down to Mobile for a boat tour.  We got to go for free because we are working for the hostel (even though we're not working yet - we start on Monday).  We actually got there just as the boat was leaving so they put us on the next tour.  We had breakfast at the Irish Loop Cafe, which is one of the places where we tried to volunteer (but then changed our minds to stay in St John's longer...hmm).  There was a film crew there, doing something for the university (Memorial, in St. John's), some kind of video lesson or something.  We had nothing to do with it but it was fun to watch and the food was tasty.  We made it onto the next boat and it was pretty cool but did not compare to the one in Trinity.  It was a regular boat, not a zodiac, and the sea was really rough that day.  So we got wet.  I got splashed a bit and went to the back of the boat.  Krissy got soaked.  She eventually came to the back and we chilled there for most of the time.  Fortunately it was very hot that day (even hotter than home) and we dried off rather quickly.  We only saw two whales, so it was a bit underwhelming after seeing so many in Trinity.  We did go by one of the largest puffin colonies in North America.  It was a pretty big island in Witless Bay and it was totally surrounded by puffins.  And so were we.  We've seen puffins but we've only seen them from land.  To see them down in the water, right in the mix with them, was outstanding.  They swirled all around us, flapping their wings with everything they could muster and we also got to watch them float and dive.  There was also, of course, a massive colony of seagulls and to see their actual habitat, on the edges of the cliffs, it was impressive.  Just rows upon rows of nests, the side of the cliff stained while from all their...well, you know.  The woman who gave the tour, Jeannine, manages this hostel in the winter and is the one who interviewed us (via Skype) way back when so it was nice to see her in person.

Chaos, puffin style.

There are no words...

Krissy is happy to be drying off.

Just three of maybe a thousand.

From there we visited Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America.  If you saw the sun rise there you'd be the first one in the New World to see it.  It is very windy up there, pretty much always.  It's always about 10 degrees colder there than in St. John's even though you can see the city from there.  There are the remains of a pretty big fort there and two lighthouses - the original (one of the most distinct ones around) and a newer one.  We toured the old lighthouse, where the keeper's house was actually built around the tower.  This house was much nicer than many of the ones we've seen and the only bummer is you can't go up in the tower.  They have it open and it is almost like a wind tunnel.  It was very soothing on this balmy day - like natural a/c - but I bet it is dastardly in the winter.

The "new" lighthouse at Cape Spear

The most easterly point in North America.

On the edge of the world.

The original lighthouse.

We talked to some weird girl named Chloe while we were there (one of the guides there, not the one at the hostel) and she told us about the Sound Symposium which is this multi-venue experimental music festival that is just starting in the city.  There are all types of events, from workshops to formal concerts to club shows and such.  There are even some events centered around invented instruments.  This sounds like something that I really need to check out.  There is also something on the schedule, and I don't know if it is something they always do here or if it's just part of the Symposium, but it's called the "Harbour Symphony" and it is every day at 12:30 and basically all the ships sound their horns, in a creative manner.  Sometimes in unison, sometimes not...a tapestry of noise, heard all around the city.  Some folks don't like it, apparently, but I think it's pretty cool.

Oh yeah, there are these flowers called lupins that grow everywhere here.  They are just starting to bloom now and they are amazing.  There are patches all over the place, often on the side of the road.  It took us a while to find a good patch where we could pull over but Krissy finally got her lupins.

My two favorite colors.

Usually they are purple but sometimes they are pink.  They go together well.

Anyway, we head back to St. John's and get the car parked and walk around the city.  There were some shops that we really wanted to visit.  Among those was Fred's Records, one of the best record stores I've ever been to.  It's been there for a very long time and is in a bright purple rowhouse.  It's iconic.  And it's one of those stores that really cares about itself.  The walls are lined with highlighted releases with handwritten/drawn header cards.  Lots of local artists, of all types, plus all the major releases.  Lots of vinyl and old-school, Olsson's-style listening stations, mostly of local bands.  I will definitely spend more time there.  We also stopped at the Newfoundland Chocolate Company which is just a pure delight.  The whole place smells like chocolate and their stuff is really good.  And, of course, we visited Smoke's Poutinerie.  One of the best places in the world.  We tore up some poutine (I got chili, cheese, and bacon and Krissy got the curry...both delish) and then went and walked it off.  So much of this place is walkable and we must have walked 10 miles that day, at least.  I would end this day with more than one blister on my foot.  But it's all good.

Later on we met up with Dave and Kent, who happened to be in town to pick up someone from the airport in the middle of the night.  We had a great time.  It was like it was back at the hostel except it was our Big City Adventure.  We went all over town - a couple of parks and all up and down Water, Duckworth, and George Streets.

George Street, by the way, boasts more bars, per square foot, than any street in North America.  I think there are something like 25 bars in a two-block stretch.  It is, I do believe, the loudest place on earth.  Most of the bars have their fronts wide open and they all have music (mostly bands but also DJs) blasting and it is total sensory overload.  The road is closed to traffic and with good reason - there are people everywhere.  Now, of course, this is Friday night...when we walked though the night before it was pretty relaxed.  Still, it was total chaos.  We did not go into any of those bars.  We walked though it and then went up the stairs to a quiet part of Duckworth.  A walk-thru was pretty much all that we could take.  We did see someone juggling fire and that held us up for a bit.  Seriously, it was like Mardi Gras in there.  Nutso.

So really the best place is Water Street.  Lots of cool shops and cafes and also lots of pubs, but they are not all on top of each other so you can distinguish the music.  There is a lot of music in this town.  Like, a ridiculous amount of music.  You can't take ten steps without coming across a busker or a live band, or even a dude with a guitar case in his hand.  I am looking forward to seeing some of this music very soon.

Anyway, we had a most excellent adventure with Dave and Kent.  It is probably our last one all together but we did go out with a bang.  Other highlights from the night include an epic tournament of Rock (as it shall now be known) wherein the purpose is to throw pebbles at a bottle and best two out of three wins.  That thing's hard to hit so the scoring was low.  Krissy emerged as the champion and she carried her trophy (the bottle) proudly.  There was some weird dude that came and sat with us for a while.  At first it seemed that he'd be cool but he was a bit too zonked out so we had to ditch him.  Dave had never had poutine before so we wound up back at Smoke's.  Krissy and I split the Montreal and it wasn't all that great.  Dave gave his approval and led us through several rounds of pictionary on the blackboard.  We also met this busker named Jim who plays a banjo and does a lot of ragtime sorts of stuff.  He's this wiry dude, probably not much older than me but has definitely lived much harder than me, with a booming voice and a lot of energy.  He danced while he played and gave it everything he had.  I had to give him a toonie.  I really hope I see him again soon.  He was quite a character.  I wish I had a pic of him.  Perhaps that will come.

There are at least two different movies represented here.  Can you tell what they are?

Krissy rides a Newfie and Kent strikes a pose on the Lab.

This brings us to Saturday.  We woke up and finally were out the door around 10:30.  We had breakfast at this place called the Bagel Cafe and they have the most extensive and creative breakfast menu I've seen (and they do breakfast all day).  I got an omelette with bacon, potatoes, and baked beans in it.  It was massive and it was delicious.  Definitely my favorite breakfast spot.  From there we had to run a few box-store errands and we went to Mount Pearl, which is a smaller city adjacent to St. John's.  Not much to report on that front aside from being so glad to be in a Target again (i hated having to go to wal-mart).

Headed back towards the hostel and took a blanket to Bannerman Park and just laid out under a tree and sorted the photos for this blog.  There was a theatre company rehearsing near where we were.  There is a Shakespeare By The Sea thing going on here and they will be performing Taming Of The Shrew in the park two nights a week for a month or so.  It was amusing to watch them rehearse, especially since we had no idea what they were doing for much of the time we were there.  The first performance is tomorrow evening and we will definitely be there.  There are some other plays being done at other venues, but part of the festival, but I can't remember what they are right now.

After a while we pulled up our blanket and drove up Signal Hill.  One of the two hills that brace the harbor, this is the hill where Marconi sent the first transatlantic wireless transmission, back in 1901.  Atop the hill is Cabot Tower, a remarkable stone tower that was built around that same time, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's landing as well as Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.  We got there too late to tour the tower but we will be back.  We also drove to Quidi Vidi which is a small, traditional Newfoundland fishing village, just five minutes away from downtown (still within city limits).  It is a cute little place and even though there are usually more tourists there than residents it doesn't seem all that touristy.  The Quidi Vidi brewery is there and I will certainly be visiting there for a tour and tasting, perhaps tomorrow.  There are few breweries up here (beer selection is very limited) and, fortunately, Quidi Vidi is good.  Among their offerings is a beer called Iceberg which is made with 25,000 year old iceberg water and is the most refreshing beer in the world.  It also comes in a really cool blue bottle (the only one i've ever seen).  I have two boxes of empties in the car, destined for a future homebrew endeavor.

St. John's lighthouse, on the other side of the opening to the harbor.

View of St. John's, on a bit of a hazy day, from the top of Signal Hill.

Cabot Tower

A line of old fishing houses in Quidi Vidi

Got back to the hostel and found out that one of the rooms on the top floor has bedbugs.  This might be a game changer for us.  The positive side is that we have our own room and it is on the ground floor, the furthest from the action.  The negative side is that bedbugs suck and we don't want to get stuck with them.  Needless to say it put a damper on the night.  We may not end up staying here long at all.  I am determined to stick it out for one week and then see where we are but it is thin line that this place is walking on.  I don't think it would take much more to send us packing.

The hard part is the location.  It is in such a prime spot for the city and I really like this city.  It is the kind of city that is more my speed.  It is a funky little town with lots of really cool things going on.  There is so much here to see and do, you can never be bored.  And yet it is not that big of a city.  The arts and music scene is outstanding.  There are a lot of odd people here but there are odd folks all over so big whoop.  I will admit that it has been hard to adjust to this kind of locale.  We have been in small towns and the wilderness and all that for so long.  It had been over a month since we'd been in a place with sidewalks.  The sirens and the noise and all the people...it can be a bit much but I am slowly getting used to it.  And we'll keep getting used to it as our time here grows because I am definitely far from being done with this place.  It's just a matter of finding the perfect setting.  More to come on that subject, of course.

Anyway I guess that's about it.  We hope everyone had a great 4th and we really miss you guys at home.  Until next time...



This is the caplin.  They roll in this time of year by the millions.  That's what brings the whales and the puffins.  And many just wash up on shore.  Many.