I had a fantastic time in Newfoundland hiking along the coast on the East Coast Trail. I had never been farther East in Canada than Ontario and live in the prairies, so it was very impressive to explore the rocky cliffs along the shoreline.
My favourite spot along the trail was Freshwater Bay. One side of the rocks was the ocean shore and the other was a freshwater pond. We swam in the clear pond, but not so deep that we couldn't see the bottom as there was shipwreck debris in the water we didn't want to step on.
My second favourite spot was the ruins of a community called La Manche, which was washed out by a storm. You can see a house foundation on the right of the second photo, and the suspension bridge which went over a waterfall in the 3rd.
small community along the coastline
sea spray weathered trees
St. john's harbour from signal hill
The community of Petty Harbour, where we stayed
Me in my raincoat on a cool day in Petty Harbour
I shocked myself by trying sea kayaking. I am usually too wimpy and/or clumsy to do anything very adventurous, but I quite liked the kayaking.
I had a lovely time and would definitely do a hiking vacation again in the future. Unfortunately, Mr Blackbird's vacation was not so hot. A big storm Saturday night knocked the top half of a 4 story tree down into our backyard, taking our power and phone lines with it. Mr B said the noise was so loud he wasn't sure if the tree hit the house or not (just the garage). He and Blackbird Jr evacuated only to return home the next day and find a live wire in the backyard. They stayed in a hotel for a couple more nights while things were sorted out with the electrical company. Then he began the task of removing a very large pine tree out of our backyard, the same backyard he had done weeks of landscaping in and had just put down new sod 2 days before the tree fell in it. Poor Mr Blackbird. I was lucky to come home to a tidy backyard and some new furniture made from pine trees, lol.
