We are spending a few days here in St. John's - one of the oldest cities in North America. Has a wonderful natural harbor and when driving down Water Street, the huge ships are docked all along the street!
Monday, we drove through the narrow, very hilly streets of downtown. San Franciscans would feel right at home here. The roads are confusing because way back when wagons had to be pulled up and down these hills, they curved the roads to make it easier on the horses.
City feels much larger than the 100,000 population my AAA book says and it is spread out all over the surrounding hillsides. Colorful homes are popular here - sort of like Charleston's Rainbow Row.
We drove southeast of the city to visit Cape Spear - the eastern-most point in North America. I visited the original lighthouse which was replaced with a new one that is still working. Lighthouses are now officially known as lightstations.
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| Original Lighthouse |
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| New Lightstation |
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| The flags used for signaling in the lighthouse |
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| Remnants of WWII gun emplacements. A Newfoundland ferry had been torpedoed by a U-Boat. |
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| View from the lighthouse - furthest East you can go in North America |
Tuesday, we drove northeast to Signal Hill, home of Cabot Tower. This towering hill at the entrance to the St. John's narrows (entrance to the harbor) was used to signal the city when ships were approaching - both commercial and military. The National Park Service had a nice museum explaining the military history of the area - the French invaded and burned the settlements in the 1700's multiple times.
We were treated to some highschoolers practicing for the tattoo they will present daily starting in July. We walked around the hill that afforded fantastic views of the city.
After lunch, we toured the Johnson GEO Centre whose building is cut underground into the rocks of Signal Hill. The museum had excellent displays about the Planet, Provincial natural history, energy exploration, and Space. They also had a very informative display about the complicated reasons for the Titanic that sank less than 300 miles off the coast.
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| A wall of exposed rock in the museum |
Busy day and were glad to get back to our campground in a large park right at the edge of the city. We have full hookups and internet.
We drove southeast of the city to visit Cape Spear - the eastern-most point in North America. I visited the original lighthouse which was replaced with a new one that is still working. Lighthouses are now officially known as lightstations.
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