We are still in Newfoundland in this post and there is still so much to see but first...
I must share a tidbit or two about Saturday's LDS Women's Conference.
It was an evening full of messages of hope and light and love.
But what touched me most , just as it did last year, was the sea of sweet faces within the combined Primary and Young Women's chorus. So much hope and purity and brightness and light right there!
The opening song they sang even rang true with their image as they sang of
"...Zion's youth in Latter Days
Triumphant , Pure and Strong!"
"As Zion's Youth in latter days, we stand with valiant heart,
With promise shining in our eyes,
Resolved to do our part.
The truths and values we embrace
Are mocked on ev'ry hand.
Yet we listen and obey
We know we can withstand."
I wish I had a close up image of these beautiful faces for as they sang they embodied each word.
I searched and searched but this was all I could find:
Sister Wixom shared some thoughts that ran along a similar vein as what Brother Cartier was teaching about prayer. She said, "Because you are His child, He knows who you are and who you can become. He wants for you to come to Him in prayer." Our divine nature sparks in us a desire to reach out to others and we should ask in our prayers what we could be doing for others, specifically, by name.
Elder Uchtdorf is always a wonderful speaker, in large part due to his story telling skills which he put to marvelous use in this talk. He told the story of old Aunt Rose and the life lessons she taught her great niece over a summer spent together.
Following is a perfect example of his gift of expression and description:
“There is enough that doesn’t go right in life, so anyone can work themselves into a puddle of pessimism and a mess of melancholy. But I know people who, even when things don’t work out, focus on the wonders and miracles of life. These folks are the happiest people I know.”
God didn't design us to be sad.
He will help us notice the good.
As you walk along your own path, I pray that faith will fortify you, that hope will open your eyes to the glories that Heavenly Father has in store for you, and that love for God and all His children will fill your hearts.
If you wish to hear/ read more you can go here:
I also want to acknowledge the passing of one of our beloved apostles, Elder Richard G. Scott.
He spoke with such power and authority.
His eyes pierced your very soul yet he was tender and so kind.
His words were life- changing for me.
The talk which had the most profound influence on me is from the October 2009
Conference and is titled "To Acquire Spiritual Guidance."
He outlines steps and things we can do to increase personal revelation.
Thank you, Elder Scott, for your years of tireless and loving service to your Savior.
I am certain He personally welcomed you with open arms.
And I'm so happy for your sweet reunion with your wife who you've been missing these past 20 something years.
The Avalon Peninsula
Now, where were we?
Ah, Yes. Newfoundland, The Avalon Peninsula, and theEast Coast Trail.
(Shout out to Avalon! Love you!)
If you will look at the top center of this map you will see Bonavista and a little below it Trinity, our visits of the last post.
This post will cover our journey to St. John's down to Ferryland and back to St. John's.
We left Trinity after the pageant and drove to St. John's. Not to be confused with New Brunswick's St. John. No " 's.".
As you can see it was quite a drive.
I must add here a side note about the funny and cute names they have for towns here.
First the cute ones:
Cupids
Heart's Desire
Heart's Content
Little Heart's Ease
Tickle Cove
Darling, yes?
I'm disappointed we didn't make it to any to them.
Now the funny ones:
Jerry's Nose
Joe Batt's Arm
Nicky's Nose
Witless Bay
I am not making this up.
Gotta love a place like this, right?
Didn't make it to any of those either except Witless Bay.
We arrived in St. John's too late to do much and the BYU football game was on, so we stayed in for the night.
Go Cougars! It was a stunning last minute victory!
The next day was Sunday and there was a church meeting house close by. We attended the ward there.
Again. Lovely, very friendly, happy people.
What impressed us most here was the caliber of young marrieds who made up a large portion of the ward. There is an oil company in St John's that brings over many employees from the states and most of these young families were here working for it. They all made instant friends, are all about the same age, have kids the same age and hang out together all the time. So fun!
I wa so impressed with the Relief Society. The young president was so strong, confident, capable, gifted and caring. The young counselor who taught the lesson- ditto. Leaps and bounds above where I was at that age and stage in my life.
Dale said the same for the Priesthood.
The church is in good hands. :)
Ferryland
After church we took a Sunday drive down to Ferryland. In my head, I always hear it as Fairyland and it seems so much more magical that way.
It was a magical place. One of the "must see's" on my list.
Loved every inch of it and everything about it.
I included this pic so you could get an idea of the walk involved to this lighthouse. See that teeny bump towards the right side of the pic on the horizon? That is the lighthouse. It was about a 15-20 minute walk and it was a splendid one.
We walked through what could pass for a Christmas tree farm.
Another (deserted) Puffin sanctuary. :(
We were astonished at the color of the water here.
We felt like we had been transported to Hawaii.
Beautiful!
Thank you clouds for making this an awesome picture. It's as if they parted to give the lighthouse the spotlight and are saying "TaDa!" Look at this!
The ground cover was soft and squishy like a sponge. I'm not sure what it was but I called it Reindeer Moss. I think it looks like the tundra from photos I've seen.
The itsy- bitsy fishing harbor of Ferryland.
After visiting the lighthouse, we just drove back up the coast, along "the Irish Loop", towards our B&B,
We came upon one picturesque fishing village after another.
Spectacular coastlines.
Can you tell I loved this scene? I took photos of it from every angle. :)
Yay! Finally caught some seagulls in one of my photos!
And I hope you are noticing the colorful boats and houses. They are such a big part of the Maritime traditon and culture and charm.
My one and only view of a puffin in flight :D !
Witless Bay
Another B & B with a view! We lucked out again! Love these Adirondack chairs for relaxing.
We couldn't get over how clear and clean the water was.
We asked our hostess if they went away for the winter and she said why?
When you live here, with this view?
Why would you want to be anywhere else?
The other B&B owners with the chairs and the rock beach back in New Brunswick said the exact same thing.
Our breakfast spread and our fellow guests.
A breakfast with a view.
Our tummies filled and our hearts light, we headed back to St. John's to take in what we missed before. On our way there we stopped at a couple of spectacular sites.
Cape Spear
Lubec, Maine and West Quoddy Light were the most Easterly points in the U.S.
This is it for North America.
It looked to us like the beyond the break, the water was flowing backwards.
And again, we can't get over this water color!
We thought you needed white sand for water this turquoise but apparently we were wrong.
Gorgeous!
The bigger squarish, lighthouse is the original one. the one below was added later.
More cute little fir trees.
Notice these pinecones are pointing down while the ones at Ferryland were pointing up.
So...I was right! It is tundra!
Did you notice that last sentence? I can only imagine.
We were here on a nice day- very windy, but nice.
We loved Cape Spear! Next up is Signal Hill on the outskirts of St. John's.
It's easy to see why fortifications were built here as it is in such a strategic spot overlooking the harbor.
Notice the cannons. The city of St. John's is in the background.
The entrance to the harbor is called the narrows.
The lighthouse is across the narrows from the fortifications.
Miles of trails and pathways to hike.
This is the historic village of Quidi Vidi.
(pronounced Kiddie Vidi, which makes it even more adorable!)
As soon as I saw this I thought it was fake. It looked like a set you'd see at Universal Studios. A little too picture perfect in its quaintness.
But its real and people live and work here today.
Incredible!
See? What did I tell you? Living proof it's a working village.
Cod Jigging anyone?
Had to get at least one picture of this...
blueberry picking.
Throughout our travels through all of Canada and Maine we'd see people off on the side of the road picking wild blueberries.
We never joined in because of my sudden and complete fear of lyme disease. Ticks are rampant here and many carry the disease. Dale has had way too many calls from missionaries with tick bites. And we know and love one in particular who suffered many unpleasant symptoms due to it. My fear may be a little extreme but a few wild berries vs. lyme disease? No thanks. I'll pass.
St. John's, Newfoundland
The city is famous for its colorful buildings.
It looks like a box of crayons or kids paint box.
Love it!
It was Labor Day when we were here and half the town was closed down and nothing much was going on. But...
We did find a fabulous place for lunch. Dale had a very creamy fish chowder and I had this:
I'm actually not a big fan of chicken and waffles. I've never had one I was really crazy over. But the description of this one sounded irresistible and those combinations of flavors were fantastic.
I'm going to miss all this maple bacon goodness!
This is pretty obvious but the Newfoundland Dog came from, duh, Newfoundland and the Labrador dog from Labrador. What I didn't realize what that the Labrador was bred from the Newfoundland.
Both great dogs!
This statue is a tribute to them.
Ok. So. I didn't see any icebergs. No moose sightings. No puffins. No Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Big. Sad. Sigh.
But at least I saw a Newfoundland dog in Newfoundland!
Check!
This part of the city is called the Battery.
It reminded me quite a bit of Cinque Terra in Italy.
Colorful little houses clinging to a cliff by the sea.
What a perfect ending to our visit to Newfoundland.
A trail above the Battery.
These folks love to hike!
Right after taking those photos of the Battery we headed to the airport.
I took this at the airport.
Gros -Morne.
It is of a part of Newfoundland about 5 hours from where we were and obviously is incredible.
We would have loved to see it but are just happy with what we did see.
But I wanted to give you an idea of what it looks like in case any of you ever make it here so you can plan accordingly and fit it in :).
I've never been to Norway but from pictures I've seen, it makes me think of its fiords.
Farewell Newfoundland.
We were wowed!
We loved every inch of your wild, windswept land, rocky coasts, tiny colorful villages, picturesque harbors and happy people.
Oh how we rejoice in this beautiful world God has given us.
