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.