Newfoundland bound
 

In just about three weeks I will head to Newfoundland. Kodi, Clousie and Anselm Adornes have given me some great information so I feel certain it is going to be a memorable holiday. We start with an overnight in Deer Lake then off to Gros Morne for three nights. Then we head to Great Falls for an overnight stay to break up the drive. We will be at Port Rexton for two nights before heading to St. John's.
Any suggestions of
a. great bakeries or ice cream spots?
b. good casual restaurants?
c. Hikes along our route ( I have Skerwink Trail and the Gros Morne options on my list already)
d. the drive from Gros Morne to Great Falls to Port Rexton looks relatively tedious. Any hike or side trips or points of interest you can recommed?
e. what special items might I look for to buy which are unique to the area?
Thank you!

I think I told you about The Bonavista Social Club
http://bonavistasocialclub.com/
Looks like they are having a Garlic Festival-Pig Roast on Aug 31st.

We had an excellent lunch at The Rooms in St Johns-the view is on of the best in the city. The museum and art gallery are definitely worth a visit.
http://www.therooms.ca/
The featured artist is Mary Pratt and her work is beautiful.

We enjoyed the East Coast trail from Pouch Cove. Elke Dettmer who runs Points East
http://www.pointseast.ca/
was instrumental in the development of the East Coast Trail and is a great resource for trail info. She is also an amazing cook.

Thank you! I have added this to my notes.

As for shopping, I found hand knit woollen products that were beautifully done.. All were 100 %wool and I had trouble limiting my shopping . I bought a cute pair of thick woollen socks with puffins on them . I also bought a beautiful wool hat and matching mitts. . The hand knits are in many stores so not hard to find.
There are jams made from the local berries that are very good.
I also bought a hand painted silk scarf.

I know you will find just the right thing .

I will sure give it my best shot, Kodi. Thanks for the suggestions!

cmcfong, you don't mention if you are staying on the south (Woody Point) side or the north (Rocky Harbour) side of Gros Morne. Hopefully you'll take a day to see the "other side" as both have special sights: the southern Tablelands hike is just as amazing, though different, as the Western Brook boat tour is.

The little restaurant (?I think the Pioneer?) at Wiltondale has good mooseburgers, as well as blueberry, partridgeberry, and bakeapple tarts. (and that's last week's lunch!) Wiltondale is just before the southern park entrance. In Rocky Harbour, Java Jack's gets good reviews. Jacki's and the Treasure Chest are popular "home cooking" type spots.

I assume you're stopping in Grand Falls. Springdale or Lewisporte are nice little towns (you'd probably say villages, but we don't use the term) a few km off the highway, if you want a break. About the only attraction in Grand Falls-Windsor would be the salmon interpretation centre. There's a good bakery in Bishop's Falls, just east of Grand Falls--you can turn in the first entrance, and drive out the second. It's easy to miss the bakery, it's on the left attached to a gas station.

In Port Rexton I assume you're going to Trinity (the Anglican Church, the Rising Tide theatre, and of course the Skerwink Trail are worth seeing) and Bonavista (the lighthouse, the Dungeons park for the sea caves, the Mockbeggar historic property). I've heard the restaurant by the Courthouse is good, but no personal experience recently. Port Union is a nearby spot often overlooked, but the early 20th century businesses/housing established by the FPU (Fisherman's Protective Union) is unique. You can visit William Coaker's home and learn about it. Alternatively, if there are still puffins over by Elliston, that would be worth a look.

Irecommend's advice about The Rooms is spot on--probably a better view than Signal Hill (which you should also see, along with Cape Spear, and downtown).

Have a good time!

Wonderful information. We are staying at Sugar Hill in Gros Morne and are booked for the Western Brook boat trip. Anselm and Clousie have given me some hiking suggestions. I am delighted with the prospect of the berry treats. We are overnighting in Grand Falls and Inreally appreciate the suggestions for that area. Our hotel is the Carriage House ( b and b). Next we go to the Fisher 's Loft in Port Rexton and finally we go to St. John 's. We have tickets to the Rooms.

I am very grateful for your suggestions!

When you are in Gros Morne, don't miss a performance of Anchors Aweigh at the Ocean View in Rocky Harbour. Here's a brief video to whet your interest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCouZiogZLk

The Fisher's Loft in Port Rexton is a wonderful place to stay and to dine. While you are in the area, in addition to the other suggestions, I would add the Trinity Pageant in Trinity and a visit to the film set for the Random Passage mini-series in nearby New Bonaventure. (The series is available on DVD or you can read the book--both well worth it for a picture of a Newfoundland outport in the early 19th C.) Also in New Bonaventure, I thoroughly recommend a tour with Bruce Miller and his Rugged Beauty tours--you'll be too late to see whales or icebergs and will miss the recreational cod fishery, but he gives a fascinating tour of some of the abandoned outports which were resettled in the 1950's and 60's.

http://www.risingtidetheatre.com/?Co...mances/Pageant

http://www.randompassagesite.com/

http://www.ruggedbeautyboattours.net/

I don't have any recommendations for Grand Falls/Windsor, but on your way from there to Port Rexton you might take a detour on the Eastport peninsula to the very scenic village of Salvage, inhabited since the early 17th century.

Enjoy your trip.

Thank you so much, lavenderrye. I am adding your suggestions to my file!

I hope you have a great trip! We want to hear all about it.

Thank you! I am very excited about the trip. I appreciate the suggestions and recommendations.

Newfoundland is wonderful but the Newfoundlanders themselves are the best reason to visit. In all of our travels I have never had such a good time with the locals as in Newfoundland. Be sure you become an honourary Newfie by being "screeched in" http://www.screechrum.com/screechin

Ah no one had mentioned screeching before. Good thing I saw this before my trip!

If you'd like to be screeched in, don't do it yourself .
Go to George Street in Saint John's .
There are a couple of pubs that do an proper
Screeching in .

Go to Trapper Johns or Christians .
Have fun !

Thanks, kodi! self screeching was never going to work. I need help!

kodi! Did you screech?

Yes, I screeched on my first visit, and completed all the required steps !! ALL of them ! Did you ?

Well if you two are both screeched clearly it is a must do...

I was screeched in twice and of course have my certificate to prove it from the more "formal" screeching. The other was in a pub on George Street. I was with a group of friends and a fellow came over to ask me to dance. I politely declined but he thought I didn't understand him with his new teeth and all so he removed them and asked me again. Being a good sport I said yes. When we danced he removed his teeth if he was going to talk and put them in his shirt pocket!! I will never forget his name - kind of suited the scenario there but I won't tattle!! Great fun.

Great story, traveller69!

So much fun. What a great story . cmcfong, you must go to George street to be screeched in .

Yeah, George Street is kinda like the Times Square of NL, lol. It's a bit cheesy and over the top, but you still have to see it! The Ship Inn is still the top trad music spot. Greensleeves or the Sundance for party-hearty types (or so my young friends tell me :0

George St it is. I must be screeched in! Traveller's story makes it irresistible.

With a proper screeching in you also have to have a scuff and a scoff--this step seems to be missing from the "official" instructions.

Obviously I have my work cut out for me!

I've been meaning to do this post for a year now. We had a wonderful driving trip to Newfoundland and wanted to share some of the tips that we learned. We went at the end of August into September and it was the end of the heavy tourist season. We took the ferry from the northern part of Nova Scotia. The ferries are very nice, it's a long journey, and they will change the schedule for many reasons, both time and location. Meaning that you booked to arrive in one port and they can stop the ferries into that port for days. Going over we had planned to go into one port but got bumped into Port Aux Basques which meant extra driving time. We barely were able to stay with our bookings because of it. I have heard other people say this about this ferries as well. They like to have your email and cell number to contact you if there is a change. Our cell is with Rogers and as most of the island is on Bell, we were without service most of the trip outside of the bigger centres. Also, if anyone suggests leaving from Maine, that ferry has been cancelled for a while now. You prebook your ferry and it is suggested that you do this well in advance to make sure that you get a spot especially in peek season. That goes for almost anything that you plan to do or places to stay. I started four months ahead and choices were already quite limited in some instances. Be warned, it is a big island and if you think that you are going to make great distances driving, have another think. The maps are deceiving! We had about ten days and pretty much stayed to the east side of the island, although the ferry bumping required us to drive to the west going and coming home. On the east side of the island we drove directly to St. John's. There we went to Quidi Vidi to the brewery tour and took pictures in the harbour, Signal Hill, did the haunted walk (well done), and saw a bit of the night life. The city has great bars and music and we had a fun night out. It can be hard to get into some of the better places so don't wait until too late in the evening to head out. You may have to eat a meal and nurse a beer until the music starts. Also, St. John's is about as hilly as San Fransisco, so be prepared for that. We had a hard time finding parking for the Haunted Walk and the spot that we found required two people to open the door for me....it was like climbing out of a space capsule! We also did a boat tour, but by Labour Day the whales are gone, so we had a wonderful lesson in puffins, which are there year round. Our guide was informative, funny, and even sang us a few songs. It was suggested by a waitress that we try to go the Lighthouse Picnics in Ferryland but they had been booked up for months....the reviews of this are that it is an amazing experience so book that one early. Next we went to Trinity and stayed in a BandB right in town. We did both the Pageant in the afternoon and the dinner theatre in evening, and really enjoyed both. The woman who started this has been awarded the Order of Canada for her work. The afternoon pageant acts out the history of the bay. The evening show has very mediocre food, you sit at long tables with about eighty people, and some of the best entertainment that you will ever see. It is local to the area, singing, a band, and a comedian. If you have never seen anyone play an ugly stick, you are in for a treat. If you ahve to choose between Twillingate and Trinity, this is the deal breaker. After leaving Trinity we headed up to Fogo Island. Its a short trip from the northern part of the island on a rustic ferry, and you are mostly with the locals going home. Fogo is barren and beautiful. Blueberries and quilts. There is a large hotel that should be completed by now, very upscale, a joint project with a woman who grew up in Fogo, and left to make her fortune, and the government, and should be quite pricey. We rented a salt box cottage from a couple in Joe Batt's Arm and they were lovely people. We watched the fishing boats go out, and the women walking home from the processing plant, walked the shores, visited the 'artist's in residence'...the later have signs up and welcome you in to see what they are working on. This is an expectation of their residency agreement and they embrace it. Besides waking up to caribou on our front lawn, it is one of the most unique places that I have ever been, both in scenery and the great people. When we arrived there was only a local convenience store open, but they had enough food choices to get us through the weekend. There is one very good restaurant on the island and we had a great meal there. Driving back to the ferry in Port Aux Basques we stopped a couple of times at the roadside signs for the local artisans, had wonderful visits and bought some beautiful pottery. So try not to be in too much of a hurry when you are driving. Driving on the island is probably best done in daylight due to the moose strikes. They take this very seriously there and it is a big issue, with some areas having major triggers for moose in the area, so you would see warning strobes on the highway. These are not present on secondary roads. When we were there, there had been over 800 strikes by August which was the total for the entire previous year. Port Aux Basque doesn't have a lot going on, but Gander does, so it is the better choice to stay in prior to the ferry. Newfoundlanders are engaging, witty, and very hospitable as a people, and I can't say that I have ever met a Newfie that I didn't like. Last comments, if you only have a couple of weeks of vacation, doing The Rock and also trying to see Nova Scotia or PEI is too much of a stretch. These places should be seen separately. Also, the option of flying into Newfoundland is definitely a time saver but car rentals are apparently expensive. We came from Ontario and had a couple of days in Quebec city on the way to break the trip up.

Thanks for the post, wandering goat. it gives a lovely impression of Nfld. which is quite consistent with my two trips there.