Long May Your Big Jib Draw

Happy 60th Birthday Barry! Yesterday was a long day as we managed to put almost 400 kms on our rental car but when you only have a car for 2 days, you drive it. After a traditional Sunday breakfast of Fish an’ Brewis (boiled salt cod, soaked hard bread, scrunchins, and coffee) we make a quick trip to Costco for the rest of our birthday supper supplies (St. John‘s Costco is a good place to buy books by Newfie authors and prints by local artists).
No visit to St. John’s is complete without a trip to Cape Spear and the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland which is located at the most easterly point of land in North America. The site has been restored to its 1839 appearance and is surrounded by spectacular scenery where you can see whales, seabirds, and icebergs in season. David is intrigued by the direct flush toilet - an outhouse that overhangs the steep cliff where one would have to be very careful on a gusty day! Most of the fishing sheds on the stages have direct flush toilets too but these traditional toilets aren’t much used any more.
During WW 2 there was a coastal defence battery at Cape spear to protect the entrance to St. John’s harbour. Today the underground passages are great places for children to run around and the bunkers and gun barrels provide a sheltered view of the ocean - complete with whales! Even on nice days like today it is windy and fresh at the cape.
We return to the city via Maddox Cove and Petty Harbour, a very charming coastal village very close to St. John’s that has often been a movie location. Petty Harbour gets its name from the Basque word “Pettite”. Many place names in Newfoundland are bastardized Portuguese, Basque, or French words reflecting the fishing heritage of these shore communities.
Barry has anticipated this special birthday and chose the menu long ago: BBQ steak with all the trimmings and lots of beer! We drink our Quidi Vidi favourites, Eric’s Red and QV. The weather cooperates and we reflect on the miles we rode to be here today and declare it all worth the blood, sweat, and tears!