Month: August 2019

Canadian Signs-All Days

One day while we were driving around I was thinking how similar the US is to Canada and then there are ways we are MILES different. Their signs are by far the biggest way we can be both the same a different. First, they don’t have all the junkie signage up and down their highways, in fact they don’t have any advertising signs running up and down their highways – AT ALL. The moment we crossed back over into the US we were hit in the face with a cacophony of signage. It’s too much! It’s like having signage A.D.D.! You don’t know where to look. No wonder we are a more hyper society, in my opinion. We never have a down time. Even driving from point A to point B we are slammed with signs. We need a break!

On to the reason for this post. Some of their signs are exactly the same as ours-street signs, stop signs, yield signs and some of their signs are super funny, some are IN YOUR FACE! I think if you put up a sign it must have something to say or don’t put it up!

  • I want to live on Big Bottom Rd. 🙂
  • If you don’t read English, do you think you’d understand the picture?
  • Isle of the Dead…S c A r Y
    Yes…more bumps! They needed a sign for Smooth Road Ahead! They would save money on signs.
  • Ouch! That’s a total!
  • How can that be?
  • Lollipops ahead! Yay!!!
  • Beaver in utero
  • They are just kidding!
  • 55.9 mph
  • The last one was a stumper! No, it’s not if you die they give out Free Urns. It means Crafters ahead.
  • This is a head scratcher for sure!
  • Love this. They truly celebrate their heroes.
  • Yep, we know!
  • This is how restaurants are advertised.
  • What’s the 3rd one over on the top row? We still can’t figure that one out!
    Video games ahead?
  • 42 K = 26 miles
  • Please report a moose sightings. It’s like Sasquatch!
  • They only post these because they are hiding from us!
  • Driving through the neighborhood to get to the monument.
  • No words needed…
  • I hope!
  • 31.07 mph
  • I’m glad they labeled this one! It looks like someone yelling. 🙂
  • Road Open Every day EXCEPT Saturdays and Sundays
  • Rappel means you should already be at this speed limit.
    Or think of it as REMEMBER
    50 km = 31.07 mph
  • I like it when they use French and English on a sign.
  • The sign in the background is the same as the one in the foreground except it is in French!
  • In Cavendish you can tent camp and swim.
  • Their arrow signs are too cute! I love the checkers.
  • This sign was at “The Ovens.” This whole place was hinky!
  • Lighthouse and Museum straight ahead.
    The “?” means Information Center ahead.
  • We went to both Moncton AND Alma.
    Look at the STOP sign!
  • Can you guess what this means? It’s a pretty easy one.
  • Sign just outside The Arm of Gold Campground.
  • So is this just a “new” sign and they are showing it off OR is this sign “NEW,” meaning one hasn’t been there before and now there is one? Pay attention folks!
  • This sign makes me hungry!
  • Another “NEW” sign! It’s so pretty!
  • I know my directions in French after this trip! 🙂
    Say Shediac a few times – it makes your mouth happy!
  • 40 km = 24.8 mph
  • They actually have a sign for the police officers. No side-by-side visiting!
  • Hey Bro!
  • Fancy
  • No cute chubby delivery trucks. 18 wheelers-no problem!
  • This is an eye test. the sign is tiny!
  • 110 km = 68.3
  • I know you can figure out what these mean! YOU ARE SMART1
  • P.E.I.=Prince Edward Island Name after the 4th son of King George the III
    and he is the father of Queen Victoria.
  • I love the town names!
  • Cost us $65.00 to get off the island. It’s free to get on P.E.I. You pay to get off.
  • Take your sign test!
  • Middleton, NS Known for their clock collection.
  • First Capital in Nova Scotia. The land was fought over for 400 years.
  • One of my favorite places we visited.
  • Gas pump= gas; Coffee cup and silverware = restaurant; Key = ?;
    @ = Free WIFI (yep, how they got that I don’t know)
  • ATV’ in the sun or rain!
  • 1.5 km = .93 miles
  • Busy intersection! I hope you can speed read!
  • 6 km = 3.7 miles
    30 km = 18.6 miles
    205 km = 126.7 miles
  • Yea, bikes, share the road!
  • Looks like no hitchhiking – it’s really don’t throw trash.
    All the provinces have been extremely clean!
  • It’s a caribou frolicking!
  • Since they don’t do advertising along the highway they do it all in one place! Read fast again! Lots of history. Evangeline Trail sign; Upper Clements Park; Action Jax ; Northern Hill Museum; Port Royal(we went there)

This next photo is a crack up! We were just driving around town in Annapolis Royal,NS and went down this street. If we went straight-there was a dead end- NO EXIT! There was NO RIGHT TURN and if we did try to turn right it was the WRONG WAY! There was no road on the left – it was a house. SO what do we do? Back up until we get to a street we can drive on! In all my years of driving I have never come across this before!

These signs are the extent of what we found for their billboard type advertising. We did stumble across a couple of billboards in all the provinces. It just looks so much nicer without all that kind of “noise.”

  • Salmon Interpretation Center and Fishery – Torrent River
  • DQ in St. John’s!
  • This is in France.
  • Ann Marie’s Family
    Hair Styling
  • Safe Travels Please Visit Again!
  • Marco Polo Land Camping Inn Restaurant
  • Marco Polo Land – Camping & Trailering
  • They don’t have regular members.
  • Caught Freshly-Cavendish Lobster Shack-Open Everyday
    Open-Famous Lobster Roll-Fresh Island Lobster
  • New London Wharf-Deep Sea Fishing
    Aboard Great Big Sea 3 Trips Daily
  • Fisherman’s Wharf -World Famous
    Lobster Suppers and Restaurant-P.I.E.
  • Welcome
    Closed
  • English – Groups
    French- Groupes
  • First “real” billboard.
  • 2nd billboard
  • This sign is small.
    I wouldn’t want to live in Sackville.
  • 🙂 🙂 🙂
  • It’s a great name for a campground.
  • The signs are nice. The rest -pfffpt!

Signs on buildings.

  • Car Dealership in France
  • Post Office in France
  • See how close Wally is to the store. To get in you had to walk sideways! 🙂
  • Moo-licious!
  • Chocolate covered red licorice is the BEST!
  • Even in Canada!
  • Mmm…coffee!
  • We ate here one day- it was delicious! I licked my fingers!

Still more signs!

  • Maple leaf in the center of the ‘M’
  • Sometimes I think I need this sign.

    Bus Tour of St. John’s, NL-Day 31, July 21

    Well if I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now, Zoom Zoom and I are so fortunate. We have gotten to see and do so many “Bucket List” type things on this trip and for me it was coming to St. John’s. I know other places were added as we did them and we checked them off right away. For instance I didn’t know I needed to go to the Hopewell Rocks, but after seeing them and knowing how they were formed and how fragile they are, they were simply amazing. Seeing the Thrombolites – amazing again! There were so many more things like this on our trip that I’m going to have to read and reread this blog just to appreciate all we have done.

    Today we were picked up from the campground to go a on a bus tour of St. John’s. Our tour guide is a teacher, again! We have been so fortunate. He even knew a lot about “The Republic of Doyle” and gave us some great in-tell on the show. The Sargent from the show is the hockey goalie for his team.

    https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/top-destinations/cape-spear

    https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nl/spear

    First stop-Cape Spear. We have been here 3 days in a row! Today we saw Humpback whales again. The only problem with bus tours is you are limited to the time spent at each place. Bummer!

    • Humpback whale back
    • Dorsal fin
    • Water spout
    • Dorsal fin
    • Dorsal fin and water spout
    • Humpback whale and 2 dolphins off to the right
    • Dolphins playing with the Humpback whale
    • See birds? = Fish= whales!
    • Swim whale swim
    • Humpback whale from Google search

    http://www.pettyharbourmaddoxcove.ca/

    This stop is in Petty Harbor. Such a cute place!

    • Cleaning their catch from this morning.
    • Their water supply.
    • Mr. Bully’s Meatroom! Sounds like a Serial Killer 🙂

    https://quidividibrewery.ca/

    https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/plan-and-book/attractions/30018651

    Quidi Vidi, a small fishing village. To pronounce Quidi Vidi say, “Kiddie Viddie.”

    • Yellow building to the right is an artists’ plantation.
    • Teal building across the way is a brewery.
    • Real “MAN CAVES!” The only way to them is by boat!
    • Closer photo of the “Man Caves.”
    • LGBTQIA friendly – LOVE!

    https://www.therooms.ca/

    We were dropped of at The Rooms Museum. They gave us a whopping 1:15< I think, in here. No matter it wasn’t long enough. You need a good 1/2 day at minimum. Zoom Zoom and I never even made it into the actual museum part. We saw the art gallery and a few displays they had out in what I consider the halls. When I go to a museum I like to read and learn, not just look. If we ever go back to St. John’s we will need to revisit this place.

    • The Rooms Museum
    • Yep, Problem Child
    • Part of their “Touch” museum. Sea turtle.
    • Different sea animal parts
    • Rodney your boat is so cute!
    • I saw this and thought , “What on earth is Zoom Zoom looking at?”
      Description Below
      #getyourmindoutofthegutter
    • These are made by Mi’kmaq Indians.
      They use porcupine quills.
    • Beautiful work
    • Hmm…
    • Maybe this angle says something to me? Hmm…
    • Or this angle? Hmm…
    • Teeth from a Baleen Whale
    • Close up! Don’t forget to floss!
    • Sea turtle skulls
    • Sea turtle throat
    • Just pretty
    • Hand-hooked rug

    https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nl/signalhill

    https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/trip-ideas/travel-stories/signal-hill-national-historic-site

    The last place on the tour was to Signal Hill. From these photos, you can see how this was a great place to defend the harbor. Also from the point, signaling the ships out in the Atlantic with flags was useful before telegraphic communications took place.

    • Cabot Tower
    • The battery used to protect the harbor.
    • Folks hiking the trail.

    http://www.parkscanadahistory.com/brochures/signalhill/brochure-e-undated1.pdf

    Tattoo is performed on top of Signal Hill for audiences on specific days of the week-weather permitting. The Royal Newfoundland Companies reenacts the final battle of the Seven Year’s War, which was fought on Signal Hill. Our bus was going to the 3:00 pm performance. I stayed in the bus-it was windy and freezing! The entire performance took about an hour. I was having second thoughts about staying in the bus and then Zoom Zoom told me I never would have made it. The seats were really carved into the ground so you were actually sitting on the ground and the ground was COLD. Zoom Zoom doesn’t usually say he gets cold. I made the right choice! I enjoy his photos though!

    Iceberg Quest Boat Tour, St. John’s, NL-Day 30, July 20

    https://icebergquest.com/experience-the-wonder/

    Today we were fortunate to go on another boat tour with a company called Iceberg Quest. Usually they take tours out to see icebergs, but the iceberg “season” has already passed. They will be taking us out to see birds and whales along the coastline. We took our motion sickness pills and have on our bracelets! We saw how much the boat rocked yesterday from the shore so we knew we were going to need these for sure today.

    As soon as Zoom Zoom and I got on we headed to the top , up front like on the last boat. Now this time its a tad colder and much windier! We are ready to rock and roll! The tour guide begins his talk as soon as the boat starts. He is very knowledgeable, as all of them have been. I know it’s their job! Still it could have been his first day and we could have ended up with the guide with the shy bones.

    • The tour guide and our Captain.
    • Phil – with the camera strapped to his front
      Nick – Blue jacket
      Nancy – Purple Jacket

    This port is used for several different boating operations. The oil rigs have boats that come in each week for more supplies, cruise ships come in here, boats that need repairs come here, regular boaters come here (they are rich), and fishermen come here to offload their loads.

    • One of the supply boats for the oil rigs.
    • Brand new pleasure boat – $15,000,000.00 is all this set the folks back!
    • Fishing boat
    • Where they keep the load of fish, crab or lobster.
    • Fishing vessel
    • For the oil rigs – they are located 200 miles out in the ocean
    • Pleasure boat

    This is Battery Park. We thought we were able to drive through there – wrong. The only way to see Battery Park is on foot, unless you live there. Battery Park is full of artisans.

    • Look closely and you can see people hiking.

    As you enter the harbor, Fort Amherst is off to the left. There is a lighthouse, the remains of some gun emplacements, and some pillboxes (guardhouses) still remaining from WWII. These were put there to defend against German U-Boats. Looking from Signal Hill you can see the small Fort.

    The whales didn’t want to cooperate today. The boat captain did his best at chasing down each siting of any whale spotted. We do know that birds = fish = whales. We did not see the birds like we saw yesterday. This little fellow here is a Minke whale. Minkes don’t come up as far out of the water as Humpback whales do and their flippers are usually black with a white band. They can weigh as much as 10 tons!

    • Dorsal fin
    • Dorsal fin
    • And again it’s dorsal fin
    • Minke whale from a Google search
    • From another Google search

    The next set of photos are those of Signal Hill. There are a few ways to get to the top of the hill. The easiest way is to drive to the top. Their are some designated hiking trails also that get you to the top. The day we went to signal hill it was windy and freezing so we decided to just drive to the top. During the mid 17 century, fortifications were built on this hill since it overlooks the harbor. During the 7 year’s war flag mast signals were used between the land and sea in order to help the British win the war. The tower, Cabot Tower, was started in 1897 to celebrate the 400th year of John Cabot’s landfall and Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. In 1900, the building was officially opened. The first transatlantic transmission was received here by G. Macaroni in December of 1901. During WWII the US Kept anti-aircraft guns on the hill. Railway guns were kept here, too, as were 155 mm guns.

    • One way to get to Signal Hill is hike from the Battery.
    • It is waaay up there!
    • If you look closely you can see people hiking along the edge. >
    • Atlantic Ocean
    • My Zoom Zoom
    • Cape Spear – where we saw all the whales yesterday! Zero today!
    • Eastern most point of North America!
    • That’s me! Just call me, Honey!
    • They are cod fishing.

    We had already been “Screeched -In” at the campground in Codroy, NL. These people are getting “Screeched-In” on the boat tour – now they are honorary Newfoundlander’s too! Instead of kissing the cod, they kissed the puffin’s bottom! There were around 10 of them in all that got “Screeched- IN.” All I can say is compared to our ceremony is this one was – WEAK!

    • Repeating a phrase
    • Kiss the bottom
    • Drink the Screech
    • Repeat the phrase
    • Kiss the bottom
    • Drink the Screech
    • Repeat the phrase
    • Kiss the bottom
    • Drink the Screech

    And just like that the tour is over! What a fun day!

    Around St. John’s-Days 31 & 32, July 21 & 22

    One of the first things I noticed driving through St. John’s is their painted electrical boxes. They each have a different theme. I don’t how this trend started , but I for one think it’s fun. I know there are articles out there asking for the boxes to not be painted since it draws attention to them. Yes, it does, in a good way though. Celebrate art!

    Another warm thing about the maritimes and it has held true through all of the provinces is that they are truly LGBTQIA friendly! We see flags, banners, posters, flowers, clothing, and more supporting this community. If someone is being persecuted they will get you to Canada for free! Of course once you are there they will help you get set up in a job and then you need to reimburse them back for getting you out of your situation.

    As in most cities, they too had a huge basilica. This one was so beautiful. Welcome to the Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

    • Ship Captains will use the cross in the center to head in through the channel. This lines them up perfectly
    • There are 4 priests buried under the altar. No more will be added since so much concrete has been added to hold up the weight of the altar and the statues.

    Downtown St. John’s – fun streets!

    • Jellybean row businesses
    • We ate dinner here one night – good food
    • I wonder what they stir the beer with?
    • Off to Cape Spear
    • Watch out- he’s not potty trained!
    • Looks so real.
    • Chocolate Mermaid Mural
    • Jellybean businesses
    • All Your Cows are Dead!
    • The Rooms Museum
    • What’s Free?
    • Lupin
    • Water slide.
    • Water slide cont…
    • Don’t do it!
    • Refurbishing the ship
    • This yacht was in Halifax too! $80,000,000
    • One legged runner statue.
    • All Your Cows are Dead!
    • Garden statue – girl leaning on wall looking at a flower.
    • Snow Route…
    • Her Royal Majesty’s Penitentiary – See it in “The Republic of Doyle”
    • Hospital – see it in “The Republic of Doyle”
    • They use refurbished and GF batteries in their food.
    • Moo Moo’s was delicious!
    • Still going strong here! Go figure.
    • She is LGBTQIA friendly!

    Houses around town…no need to be approved by your HOA for your house color choices.

    • Alan Hawco’s home.

    I think this town is adorable. They are miles ahead of us in so many ways.

    Cape Spear, St, John’s NL-Day 31, July 21

    Who has been to the southernmost point on North America? Zoom Zoom and I have. Who has been to the easternmost point on North America? Zoom Zoom I have. I just have two more to go!

    Cape Spear is the easternmost point on North America. This means the sun rises here first and the sun sets here last at the end of the day. Cape Spear is a beautiful place just outside of the town of St. John’s. It actually has two has a lighthouses located here. The original one was built in 1836 and was decommissioned in 1955 and the “new” one was built in 1955 and is still used today. The original one was built with a square structure – the house for the lightkeeper and his family and the lighthouse pushed up through the middle of the house. The “new” one uses the lens from the decommissioned one. The original one has been refurbished back to the 1939 era so we can go in and see how the light keeper and his family lived. Also, the original lighthouse was cared for by 150 years of Cantwells.

    During WWII, because it was close to convoy routes, a Canadian-manned gun battery was installed at Cape Spear to defend the entrance to St. John’s harbor. For the troops that lived there, barracks and bunkers were built. The gun barrels are still there.

    • “New” lighthouse
    • Original Lighthouse.
      Having a wedding rehearsal.
    • “New” lighthouse
    • Bunker
    • Gun barrel

    While at Cape Spear, we watch these amazing birds feed on fish. These Gannets can spot a fish underwater and dive so quickly. Once they hit the water they can go down as much as 10 meters for a fish. Simply amazing!

    • See all the splashes – those are birds in the water after food.
    • The splashes are where ones just dove in.
    • Center – one is hungry! He smells sushi!
    • Left side one is diving.
    • On the left side one is going in. At the top one is diving.
    • Getting ready to dive in.
    • See?
    • Plop!
    • Splash!

    Now for the best part – humpback whales! We could actually hear them blow out their air before going under. They feed on the capelin along the shore. Zooming in with our cameras we could millions of the capelin – no wonder the birds and the whales liked it here.

    • Yes, that’s a humpback whale!
    • Blowing out to take another breath.
    • Tail
    • Tail fluke

    More fun…

    And more fun…

    • The bird to the left was tangled in some construction netting. Parks Canada called Wildlife Canada to see if they could come help it.
    • The bird was so tired. It couldn’t use it’s feet.
    • We kept thinking the whale would hurt the poor bird.
    • I never found out what happened to the bird.

    More whales. I had to move on after telling the park ranger about the bird. It was too upsetting and there was nothing I could do for the bird.

    • This is what happens when you don’t stay on the path! Bye Dave, it was nice knowing you!

    More whales!

    • It’s a pair of humpback whales.
    • This is the boat tour we will take tomorrow.
    • Millions of capelin.
    • Puffin
    • Puffin
    • More capelin…
    • So thick with capelin they are almost out of the water.
    • Good shot Zoom Zoom!

    We learned if there are birds around there are fish around, if there are fish around there are whales around. Pretty simple.

    • Tomorrow’s boat tour!

    The Duke of Duckworth St. John’s NL- Day 32, July 22

    If you watch “The Republic of Doyle” on Netflix you will recognize the fact that some of the scenes are filmed in The Duke of Duckworth and eventually the boys purchase the bar. We actually went there twice. The first time was just for drinks with some of our new friends from the tour. The next time was the very next day to go eat “the best” Fish n’ Chips around according to our bus tour guide. He wasn’t kidding – they were delicious! The batter was light and fluffy. The fish was cooked to perfection and the chips were nice and crispy not soggy and wimpy like we get at some restaurants.

    Outside the Duke of Duckworth it looks exactly like it does on the show. The shots they use are actual shots of the bar. The entrance is down a few stairs on the side of a building – what would be considered an alley entrance.

    Photos of our food – yippee! I know, food porn!

    • Fish n’ chips with salad
    • Fish n’ onion rings

    Inside the bar. I’ll have to watch another episode with the bar in it to see if the inside is the same.

    • Karen, Dick, David
    • David, Amy (low table), Betty (high top0, Randy
    • Faces you see…
      David, Amy, Betty, Joe

    St. John’s Jellybean Row-Days 31 & 32, July 21-22

    These are the houses I have been dying to see! I love the jellybean houses! We were told several reasons as to why the houses were painted in such fun colors and I read one reason. I don’t know which reason is true, I just know I enjoy looking at the houses and all the fun colors. Something that is hard to show in the photos is exactly how steep the streets were. I liken them to the famous street in San Francisco, CA. Zoom Zoom was thankful for my automatic transmission in Jethro!

    One of the reasons for painting their house so bright would be because the captain of the ship might have just painted his boat and he had paint leftover, so why not paint your home to match? Another was because the winters were so tough and dreary they wanted something to cheer them up – their house made sense since they were so big. And yet even another reason was because the downtown area was struggling in the 70’s and this was a way to get the tourist to come down and visit-this was the one I read. If you look in my blog on the bus tour of the town you will see that the businesses are quite colorful too! The reason we heard most often and the one that makes the most sense was that the boat captains used the colorful houses as navigational tools in foggy and dreary weather. Whichever one you believe it doesn’t matter, the houses are so cute and colorful they make anyone smile just to look at them.

    Oh my goodness! If you think of St. John’s you probably think of their Jellybean houses. These are some of my most favorite houses EVER! The streets, with their extremely steep hills, are similar to those in San Francisco,CA. We were told a few different reasons why they paint them such fun colors. One was that it started out the captain of the ship used the same colors as their boats they sailed on. If they had just painted their boat and had leftover paint-they just used it on their home. Another reason was to help guide sailors in foggy and dreary inclement weather. These homes are like beacons for them to guide their boats by. One other reason was since the winters were so dreary they needed something cheery and that would be their houses. I also read that in the 70’s the downtown was in need of a revitalization so on came the colors! I’m not so sure I believe this one as much. Although, a lot of downtown stores have super cute and creative colors too! Regardless of the reason- I love them all!

    • I love the coral colored one.
    • Look at the red one. I like the windows and casings.
    • I love the colors of this first home. It’s so classy.
    • Brave choice of color.
    • Orange is a popular choice for a ‘pop’ of color.
    • New builds – all the same – just different colors.
    • That one added a garage.
    • I like black and gray.
    • Wonky intersections in St. John’s with steep streets!
    • LOTS of colors!
    • Beautiful!
    • Hmm…
    • There’s that orange again!
    • You know I love yellow!
    • Fancy entrance.
    • For sale
    • For sale
    • Cute street
    • Lovely flowers
    • Malachi’s house from “Republic of Doyle.”
    • Gray with a yellow door – CLASSY
    • LOVE…LOVE…LOVE
    • I like these colors.
    • Most places were neat as a pin – oops!
    • Orange – LOVE
    • And again – orange!
    • Cute door
    • I like the transom.
    • The yellow stands out. 🙂
    • Lime green and light pink – excellent!
    • Isn’t this pretty?
    • Two good choices!
    • I know some folks that will LOVE this.
    • This place is huge! It must cost $10,000 or more to paint.
    • Pop of color – orange
    • Steep-steep street
    • Up we go. I think I can. I think I can.
    • Another wonky street corner.
    • Isn’t the red house skinny?
    • The concrete foundation is painted too.
      See the green thing with the lid? That’s a trash bin.
    • New build

    I hope you can tell why I like these houses so much. They each have their own personality. Go back and look again. Look at the doors. Look at the windows. Look at the corbels and the roof lines. There is so much thought that went into each person’s home than what you just glanced at.

    Gander,NL to St. John’s, NL-Day 28, July 18

    Yippee! The day I’ve been so excited about is finally here, we are heading to St. John’s! St. John’s is located on the eastern coast of Newfoundland. I don’t know if I said this before, but, Newfoundland has a nickname- The Rock. After arriving here and driving around it’s apparent why – it is all rock! Zoom Zoom and I have been wanting to come here since we watched the show “Republic of Doyle” on NetFlix. I had Zoom Zoom watch some of it just because of the scenery and he liked the show so much he watched all 6 seasons with me. Newfoundland is so beautiful. Zoom Zoom found this trip to the 4 provinces and here we are!

    As we drove from Gander to St. John’s the topography changed so quickly. It was still beautiful, just different. Now the roads, let’s best honest, they are some of the worst roads we have ever traveled on. They are just a step above driving directly on the railroad tracks. There are HUGE bumps and there are a plethora of them! Zoom Zoom would warn me when he would know we would be hitting a doozy, my nose was always in my laptop editing photos or peeking through the camera lens. One bump was so big it actually bounced me right up and off my seat.

    These are just a few photos from Gander to St. John’s.

    • How many moose did we see? I saw one ‘bottom’ far off in the distance. Zoom Zoom saw ZERO!
    • Don’t feed the animals!
    • Look how nice he passed us and got right over!
    • Left lanes are for passing only. No one hangs out there and drives.
    • Some of the blue icon signs are indiscernible! We have no clue what #3 is!

    I was going to write an entire post about how polite the drivers are here. Actually, all the provinces have had very polite drivers. There is always that ONE! This guy decided to pass not only Wally, but also our friends, Dave and Anne, on a double yellow- while going uphill! Idiot! Zoom Zoom says it’s a self correcting problem. My only worry is that the person they correct this with coming in the other direction! I tell Zoom Zoom that that person must have diarrhea-probably explosive diarrhea! Why else put yourself and others in danger like that?

    • Yes, that’s a double yellow!
    • That’s Dave and Anne’s RV they are passing now. On a hill!
    • Idiot! (With explosive diarrhea)

    I tried to capture some of the “bumps” in the road as we traveled. I wished I had a button where you could experience the rumbles and bangs! To prevent our drawers and closets from opening while we travel we use bungee cords through the handles. On our large drawer we have a baby lock – it kept flinging out there!

    Some roads were so bad we tried to straddle the dotted line if there wasn’t oncoming traffic. These provinces don’t have a lot of money for their infrastructure. Winters are hard on these roads.

    • Bump in 100 meters.
    • It’s a BIG bump!
    • See all the skid marks from folks slamming on their brakes? Non believers. 🙂

    These are just some signs I took photos of. Some are in French and English. I think it’s interesting how we are so different in our signage. Some of them we had a hard time deciphering. The images – we didn’t know what the “@” was for. Turns out it means they have public WIFI.

    • Letting us know a passing lane is coming. Move over.
    • Letting us know in 300 meters the passing lane ends – and it does. People in the right lane have the right-of-way to get back in the left lane.
    • We don’t know how?!?!
    • Don’t feed the wild animals.
    • Go 70km in the air as you hit the bumps!
    • Lookout point, ?
    • Kayaking, Tour boats, Dining, Shopping
    • On hills we move over so people can pass. There is a solid white line at the end of it. The other lane has to let us back over. They can’t pass when the white line is there.
    • Food, Hiking, ? Some kind of sight seeing
    • See the solid white line? the people passing have to stop! We get to move back over at the end of the line. Dave is doing it.
    • More bumps. I bet they spend most of their budget on these signs!
    • They “say” they have moose. We don’t believe them!
    • Scooping moose poop. 🙂
    • No police talking side-by-side
    • Not the minimum!
    • They are serious about their construction zones.
    • Man with a big lollypop for us ahead!
    • Big trucks crashing into the road ahead.
    • The beaver is the Canadian mascot. Most Americans see it as a beaver in utero.
    • Seriously – it ENDS
    • I try to decipher these icons – most I can figure out. Left-right Top row first-
      Hotel with a restaurant, Historic Site, Baseball, Skiing
      Theater?, Site seeing – whales, Lighthouse, Handmade crafts (Someone said if you die here they will ship your ashes back in a decorative urn)
    • Liars! Never saw a single moose! (I saw a butt)
    • I love the highway sign – Maple leaf with the Highway number.
    • More! And they mean it! And look! More bumps!
    • See?
    • Canadian Capital E or 1/2 a railroad track
    • Getting closer!!
    • Mile marker
    • No turns
    • Love…Love…Love
    • Almost there!
    • Yep, we know!
    • That means the ‘Subway’ restaurant.
    • Here we go again!
      Hotel with a restaurant, camping, ? …Zoom Zoom thinks Information panel – I thought video games, Birders
      Whale watching, view point, fishing, golf
    • Ha!
    • We are in a passing zone.
    • They have ‘Adopt a Highway’ like we do. I don’t know why – it’s so clean here.
    • Remember that’s 100 km not 100 mph
    • 32 km to St. John’s
    • That’s 5.0 meters tall.
    • Let’s go!
    • Hmm…maybe it’s up in the sky?
    • I guess there are thugs in every country and province.
    • Mmm…Love me some pea soup!
    • Who wouldn’t like to learn in Paradise?
    • Cape Spear is the most Eastern part of North America – the sun rises here first and sets here last!
    • They won the Gold Medal in Curling one year in the Olympics!
    • That’s where we are heading – Pippy Park
    • Home of the Jellybean Houses!

    Lastly, the scenery was simply amazing. We were in piney trees for a long time and passed SEVERAL “ponds”(we would call them lakes (the huge bodies of water)or ponds (the small bodies of water)back home.) Some of their “ponds” are huge. If it is inclosed by land, it’s a pond.

    • Tall , thick trees.
    • That’s a pond!
    • More pine trees and very hilly.
    • Peek-a-boo
    • Searching for moose!
    • Just beautiful minus the bumps.
    • I’d live here .
    • CAUTION Traffic Entering & Exiting Ahead
    • notice the trees are gone?
    • Now absolutely no trees.
    • Another “pond.”
    • My Zoom Zoom.
    • When you see all the rocks you remember why Newfoundland is called “The Rock.”
    • Lupine – still blooming
    • They paint their traffic boxes. So cute!
    • Yes, schools in. Poor kids and teachers.

    Made it to our campground now we are ready to explore the city and whatever is around it!