Mountains of the West

In late September
I drove across the Prairies
The mountains behind me
And the ocean beyond

This country's a coal mine
And I'm a canary
Turn out the headlights
And the radio on

All the lyrical details of Joel Plaskett's Light of the Moon don't match up with those of our summer roadtrip:  it was actually early August, we were driving in the other direction, and we did keep the headlights turned on at all times, Mom.  But the song has always evoked a feeling in me, a longing for that quintessential Canadian Road Trip, and it plays in my head when I think of our drive from Calgary to Revelstoke, to Kamloops, to Vancouver, to Sechelt, to Secret Cove and back again.  Me and my man and endless sing-a-long songs on the radio.

[quintessential Canadiana]

Ferryland

So the blog has been slightly neglected this month; ironically, I have had more free time in July than any time so far this year.  Perhaps the lack of posting is because of all that free time - I've been filling it up with fun little visits and outings!  I'm quite behind, so let's get started:

Ferryland is a little village on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland.  Friends of ours have been raving about Ferryland's lighthouse picnics for years now.  A few weekends ago, we finally made plans to go check it out for ourselves.

The village of Ferryland is south of St. John's.  It took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to drive out there.

[maplandia]

Once arrived in Ferryland, you realize that the lighthouse is located on the tip of a little... well, in PEI we'd call it a spit but since it's made of solid rock, not sand, I guess it's more of a mini-peninsula.  From the parking area, you walk out onto the peninsula, which is traffic-free.  This takes another fifteen minutes if you are at a strolling pace.  I mention all these times because we were quite late the day we decided to picnic.  We had made reservations (very important!) but overshot by an hour (eep).

It is at this point I would like to discuss the service at the Ferryland lighthouse.  As some of you may know, my pet peeve in this world is the dearth of customer service personnel who actually give a crap about their job.  At the Ferryland lighthouse, I was instantly struck by the quality professional service.  Despite an obviously busy afternoon, the counter staffperson was calm and collected.  She kindly accepted our profuse apology for our lateness (apparently lots of stunned city folk like us misjudge their transit time), took our order, answered our questions, and did it all with a smile and a welcoming attitude.

But as impressed as I was with the service... my favorite part was the food!  (You know me).



O. M. G.  So there were several selections available, but I had heard in advance about the "ham and cheese" and had already made up my mind about what to order.  "Ham and cheese" is a sandwich that can range from a satisfying lunch to a Sketchy McNasty vending machine disaster.  The Ferryland picnic sandwich fell on the extremely awesome end of that spectrum.

Oven-roasted fruit-chutney glazed ham, sliced thin, but not too thin.  The cheese?  Brie.  Green apple slices brighten the flavour.  The bread:  hearty, homemade, thick-sliced, buttered oatmeal with (methinks) a touch of molasses.  And that was just the sandwich!!  Orzo and bell pepper side salad with fresh mint, topped with fresh-grated Parmesan.  Fresh-squeezed lemonade in a Mason jar.  Wide dessert selection - but mine was a no-brainer:  gingerbread with brown-sugar sauce.  The meal runs you about $20 and is worth every buck.

Did I mention that the picnic is served to you after you've nestled in on the cliff overlooking the ocean on a lovely tartan picnic blanket (provided)?  Oh yeah, a server comes out to you with a picnic basket/horn o' plenty filled with the above-mentioned feast.

Did I mention there's not a bad view from the Ferryland lighthouse?

And did I mention that we had front-row tickets to the frolicking-whale show?  Whales spouted and breached all afternoon.  Wish I had a better zoom so you guys could enjoy it like we did:

All-in-all, the Ferryland lighthouse picnic is an outing not to be missed while on the East coast of Newfoundland.

Your rocky spine

I don't know whether you'd call this a landscape or a seascape.  Regardless, this is one of my favorite photos from my trip around the bay:

It calls to mind the beautiful lyrics of a Great Lake Swimmers song:

[Your Rocky Spine]

I was lost in the lakes
And the shapes that your body makes
That your body makes

And the mountains said I could find you here
They whispered the snow and the leaves in my ear
I traced my finger along your trails
Your body was the map
I was lost in it

Floating over your rocky spine
The glaciers made you and now you're mine

I was moving across your frozen veneer
The sky was dark
But you were clear
Could you feel my footsteps?
And would you shatter, would you shatter?
Would you?

With your soft fingers between my claws
Like purity against resolve
I could tell then and there we were formed from the clay
And came from the rocks for earth to display

They told me to be careful up there
Where the wind blows a venomous rage through your hair
They told me to be careful up there
Where the wind rages through your hair

Twillingate

Hello all!  I apologize for the lengthy absence.  I am spending the month working in Twillingate, on the North East side of Newfoundland.  I have limited internet access here; this post is taking me forever!

I'm working in both the town of Twillingate, on the Island of Twillingate, and in Summerford, on New World Island.  This is a beautiful part of the province.

I just wanted to give you a quick post to share some of the amazing scenery up here.  There will be more posts to follow, perhaps when I get back to high-speed late next week.  Enjoy the pics!

Just outside the town of Twillingate, in Durrell:

At Crow Head, a short drive from the cottage where I'm staying:

In Back Harbour, just a stone's throw from my little cottage:

Until next time - I'm going dark!

Wedding pics have arrived!

We were thrilled to receive our official wedding photos last week.  Every one was sharp and stunning.  Many thanks to Pam Bernard, our photographer.  We didn't even notice her during the ceremony, and yet she captured so many amazing shots.

The wedding was just such a joyous occasion for us.  What a day.  We couldn't be more grateful for the family and friends that made it that way!

(You can click on the photos for the large version.) 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

{All photos credit Pam Bernard}
{Program design credit Becki Peckham}
{Flower arrangements by Daisy-A-Day}

Flickr faves

I find Flickr a source of endless entertainment.  Given the time, I could peruse for hours.  My favorite feature is probably "Explore - Last 7 Days".  Here are some favorites I've been collecting over the past few years (many of them were found via the Explore page).

Some familiar themes?  Good food, the outdoors, cozy and rustic homes... and flowers, a lot of flowers for some reason.