For a day where I had absolutely nothing planned, it turned into a pretty good day, visiting the Killick coast, shopping, and indulging in some good food.
After a boring breakfast of French toast with partridge berries (tiny and similar to cranberries but not quite as tart), I set off to drive part of the Killick Coast Drive, a 55 km (34 mi.) loop on the southern side of Conception Bay. The weather was still dreary this morning and there was a lot of fog along the coast. I made several stops to take pictures of the coastline along the drive. In Pouch Cove, I stepped out of the car and there was a swarm of seagulls overhead. It didn’t take me long to figure out that a man was unloading fish into the water and the gulls wanted a snack!
On my way back into St. John’s, I stopped at Marshalls, Winners (like T.J. Maxx and owned by the same company), and Walmart. I left Walmart with a bag full of Canadian treats to bring home. What exactly does that mean? Crackers, cookies, chocolate, and Knorr pasta packages in flavors not available at home.
Though the sky was clearing by mid-afternoon, I took a couple of hours to be lazy and repack my suitcase before heading out again. In Quidi Vidi, there is an area called “The Wharf” with several permanent food trucks set up with picnic tables by the harbor. My original plan was foiled when the fish and chips truck was no longer there, but I ended up with an amazing lemon ricotta pesto pizza (Neapolitan style) and lemon San Pellegrino from Crosta Alta. And the setting couldn’t be beat!
I took some pictures of Quidi Vidi and started up the Sugarloaf trail to a viewpoint overlooking the harbor before heading back into town.
The one thing I still hadn’t had and had been thinking about since I first saw it was a chimney cake from Eva’s food truck on Harbour Drive. The first time I had a chimney cake was last summer in Vancouver. It is a cream horn like cone made of flaky dough and filled with soft serve ice cream and toppings. I went for the O.G., which had a chocolate truffle at the bottom and a fresh strawberry on top. Do I need to tell you how good it was?
I was initially disappointed that my hotel room looks out toward the Narrows and not into the downtown area, but I have been fascinated by watching the ships come in and out of the harbor. I have my binoculars with me (for the boat trip I took the other day) and I have spent a good amount of time with them at my window looking at the boats, the lighthouse, Signal Hill, and the harbor. Each time I see a new boat, I Google it to find out what its role is. As my dad says, I learn new things on every trip I take.
My alarm is set for 3:30 tomorrow morning for a VERY early flight home. Although I’ve only been in Newfoundland for a few days, it feels like I’ve been gone for weeks. I would love to see more of the province on a future trip, as these few days have reminded me what a beautiful part of the world Atlantic Canada is.
Traveling with Laura 