September 2022 - Newfoundland
September 2022 - Twillingate NL
Saturday we wake in Grand Falls - Windsor NL after a great sleep. We don't have any schedules to get luggage out, eat breakfast or get on the bus!
Carriage House B and B
Gluten free bread was available and she gave John more bacon as the sausages were not gluten free.
NL declared a provincial holiday for the Queen's funeral.
Grand Falls - Windsor had a real liquor store with a great selection.
In Lewisporte, Norma's is known for fries, gravy and stuffing.
It’s like that classic Canadian dish, poutine…but not. In this one case we sometimes call fries ‘chips’. So there’s your potato base. Then you just have to replace the cheese curds with dressing, or what you might call stuffing. In Newfoundland, dressing is the breadcrumb concoction used to stuff turkeys. It’s a simple mixture of fresh breadcrumbs (not something dried like panko), melted butter, onion and summer savoury.
Also in Lewisporte cannabis and vape shop.
Stoneville
A drive around town after checking in.
Anchor Inn
French Beach
And a stop and sampling at the Auk Island Winery.
We enjoyed the samples but not enough to buy any. They are a little sweet and would be good in the summer with soda.
John's new t-shirt.
My favourite.
We stayed at the Anchor Inn for two nights, a great choice as it has a pub and restaurant onsite.
John had picked these up in Springdale.
When I checked in I made a reservation for dinner in the pub and the last show of the season.
Dinner we both had mussels and fries.
Who is Irma Gerd? Irma Gerd is the stage name of Jason Wells, a Canadian drag performer who is best known for competing on the third season of Canada's Drag Race, where she placed sixth.
On Canada's Drag Race she became the first queen from Atlantic Canada to compete on the show.
I never did take a picture of the musician, he was having issues with his equipment that was stressing him out. A lovely couple sat beside us. She grew up in Newfoundland and left at 18 to go to Ontario for 23 years. The pandemic and her father's Alzheimer's drove her to return home. She welcomed us to her province.
Breakfast at the Anchor Inn (last of the season) was a fried egg and toast partridgeberry preserves for me and oatmeal for John.
We hung around the room for the morning and then went for a drive before heading to lunch.
It was extremely windy and cold as we visited the Long Point Lighthouse.
No where else to go!
We both had the snow crab dinners - with salad/fries (delicious), dessert and tea/coffee. Gluten free options. The fries were served first so we would eat them hot before the crab.
Our equipment!
Gluten free muffin with caramel sauce.
We didn't need dinner!
On the way back we wanted to visit the Prime Berth museum but it was closed.
We then had a nice lazy afternoon.
Monday Twillingate and we walked over to the bakery for breakfast. Delicious coffee, gluten free brownie and I had a raisin scone.
We took the back roads to enjoy the drive. We thought we would have lunch but it was the day of the Queen's funeral and didn't find anywhere open.
Along the way.
Every small town has a Liquor Express, either located in a convenience store or gas station.
When we were having lunch in Trinity at the Dock Marina, a couple came in and said they just wanted a drink (it was a lovely day and they had a great patio) and were told they were only licensed as a restaurant so they couldn't serve without a food order. We saw them later sitting on the even more lovely patio at the Twine Loft.
We are on the Road to the Shore now.
Our destination. Yes, that is the town name.
It took us several tries to find the Happy Adventure Inn, the GPS kept saying "you have reached your destination". We checked every house number, I was beginning to sweat as I had booked it. Finally I spotted it!
Every amenity was considered.
What a great inn!
We headed down to dinner at 7 and it was quite busy.
I had to try seal flipper pie, a traditional Eastern Canadian meat pie made from harp seal flippers. It is similar to a pot pie in that the seal flippers are cooked with vegetables in a thick sauce and then covered with pastry. It is specific to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
It was good!
John started with a Caesar salad.
Battered cod.
Gluten free pan fried cod. Once again, this restaurant understood catering to a gluten free diet.
We then relaxed in our supplied dressing gowns.
Tuesday Happy Adventure our view when we opened the curtains.
We had selected our breakfast the night before for 9 AM. John had ham which he said was delicious. I had bologna.
Spotted a bald eagle at breakfast and a rainbow!
We visited the town of Salvage.
We then headed to Trinity for two nights.
We stayed at Rosewood Suites, a designated heritage property. We had two rooms and the kitchen was very well equipped.
Exploring.
Late lunch at the Dock Marina, club sandwiches. There was no problem getting a gluten free club for John.
Wednesday Trinity - and we revised our plans due to Hurricane Fiona. We were to stay in Bay Roberts on Thursday night and take a boat ride Friday morning. I have cancelled the hotel and the boat (chances are it will be cancelled anyway) and added an extra night in St. John's.
It was a gorgeous day as we headed to Bonavista. Leaving Trinity.
We made a stop in Elliston hoping the puffins hadn't left, alas, they had. But we did find this giant one.
It was a really nice day but the winds make you put on a sweater.
I also bought a cookbook.
Purity Factories Limited began creating quality food products in 1924. It was in that year that three St. John’s businessmen – C.C. Pratt, A.E. Hickman, and W.R. Goobie – purchased a local confectionery and soft drink company, and began production of what were to become instant classics – Peppermint Nobs, candy kisses, and flavoured syrups. Using traditional recipes and only the finest quality ingredients, Purity became the sole producer of hard bread, a staple of the local diet which was used by fishermen as a bread substitute on their long journeys out to sea. It is also the main ingredient in the traditional dish known as “Fish and Brewis”. The triumph of Hard Bread was followed by the development of classic recipes for a variety of British-style crackers and biscuits – Cream Crackers, Ginger Snaps, and other light-tasting snacks. The quality put into creating these products drew an even wider audience, and soon these, too, became company trademarks.
When we were on the bus tour Karen would talk about Purity products only sold in NL. She had samples of jam jam cookies and candies much like salt water taffy from Purity for everyone on the bus.
Hard Bread, also known as Hard tack, has been a dietary staple of Newfoundlanders for decades. Hard Bread was developed from the ancient sea biscuit which formed the basis of meals on fishing vessels and cargo ships prior to the 1840s when baking onboard was impossible. Due to its long shelf life, hard bread was an ideal substitute for fresh bread. As one tale goes, a cook on a schooner was preparing a meal of hard bread and fish for the crew and was asked to break-up the bread, or ”bruise” the bread prior to it being soaked. Thus the term “Brewis”.
She also had gone into a Foodland to get Pineapple Crush for a friend, also only sold in NL.
We drove up to the Cape Bonavista lighthouse.
Town of Bonavista.
Lunch in the Ragged Rocks pub since the place John wanted was open for lunch.
Pan fried cod, John has never wanted to eat cod at home, but he's eaten plenty here.
My chowder had cod, scallops, shrimp, salmon.
Thursday Trinity was a little chilly and rainy as we checked out at 9 to get to St. John's for 4 nights instead of 3 as planned due to Hurricane Fiona.
When you get off the Trans Canada Highway you can end up on some rather beaten up roads.
It was really raining until we decide to get out of the car to run across to a gift shop (which wasn't worth it) and then the skies opened.
The Dildo sign went up a few years ago as part of a bit on the talk show hosted by American comic Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign to become honorary mayor of Dildo and sent his sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, to the town for a few live reports.
And it stopped a minute later as we went into the Dildo Brewery.
Mussels for John.
I had scallops.
Next stop was Brigus and passing through Cupids.
Brigus is a postcard pretty town.
Onto St. John's, it drizzled most of the way.
We settled into the Hilton Garden Inn.
With a foggy view of a very busy harbour.
The Port of St. John's is home to the primary container shipping terminal in the province and is the main North American container connection to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Dinner was a chicken Caesar salad.
Friday St. John's - was a sunny day with a high of 18 expected and a 3% chance of rain. Hurricane Fiona looked like she wouldn't be coming our way.
We headed to Hyundai to see if we could get an oil change but they were booked solid.
We decided to drive the Irish Loop, it hadn't been on our schedule but since we came into St. John's a day early and the weather is so nice we headed out.
This car had Utah plates and a sign in the window - St. John's or bust.
Admiral's Cove
Ferryland Head Light is an active lighthouse on Avalon Peninsula, southeast of the village of Ferryland. It is situated at the end of a long peninsula that juts into the sea. You also have to drive along a perilous road!
We also stopped at the Colony of Avalon with more spectacular views.
We encountered pockets of construction as headed back to St. John's.
And there was a cruise ship in the port as we drove into town.
We would later discover there were 2 cruise ships in port, one with 1900 passengers and another with 800. It is a very short walk to the downtown area.
We parked on Water St. to get lunch, we just picked the first place.
John says these were the best mussels he's had this trip. My salt cod fish cakes were good too.
Dinner was from the hotel restaurant, GF club for John and a fried chicken for me.
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