Newfoundland | FindPenguins

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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 17, 2023
- ☀️ 22 °C
- Altitude: 228 m
- Canada Ontario Renforth John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport 43.163345, -79.92652443°9’48” N 79°55’35” W
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Day 1
Day 1, St. John's
September 17, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
It was an early start, up at 3:30am for our 4am ride to the airport.
Our flight left Hamilton at 6:15am, arriving in St. John's, Newfoundland at 10:55am local time. We picked up the rental car and headed in search of lunch in Quidi Vidi.
A short hike up Sugar Loaf Trail, and then off to Cabot Tower and Signal Hill National Historic Site. It didn't occur to me until later to track our route and steps - there were a lot of steps!
Check-in at the Airbnb, and then a walk downtown for coffee and the Terry Fox memorial, along the harbourfront. There were 3 large cruise ships in Port, we did not expect to see that.
Lisa, our Airbnb host, recommended Gaham for dinner (the seafood chowder did not disappoint), and then a walk through the neighbourhood looking at all the Jellybean Row homes.
A long day, we saw so much more than we expected!
Settled into our room with a movie and a bag of chocolate almonds by 8:30pm.Read more
Traveler Quidi Vidi Lake, viewed from our table at the Brewery for lunch
9/17/23Reply
Traveler We hiked to the top of that closest peak, Sugar Loaf Trail. I didn't take a photo, just enjoyed the view of Quidi Vidi Lake all the way to the Atlantic Ocean
9/17/23Reply
Traveler St John's, viewed from the Cabot Tower at Signal Hill. Can you see the cruise ships, war ship, and tour boats?
9/17/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 18, 2023, 9:03pm
- ☁️ 12 °C
- Altitude: 45 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's 47.567658, -52.70601847°34’4” N 52°42’22” W
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Day 2
Day 2 Exploring the St John's Area
September 18, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
We started the day with an amazing breakfast at the b&b, fueling up for a very full day!
First stop, Fort Amherst. A short walk along the East Coast Trail, through an unlocked gate next to the lighthouse led us down to multiple bunkers, painted over the years with graffiti. 2 guns still stand on their footings, as if protecting the St John's harbour.
On to Cape Spear National Historic Site... did I mention yesterday that there are a lot stairs? Worth it though, the oldest lighthouse in Newfoundland. We walked through the lightkeepers home - no quilts, but lots of history.
Now it's 1pm, and we head back to St John's to see The Rooms Art Gallery, and tour the Basilica of St John the Baptist.
We still have a few hours of daylight, so make the most of our time here and hit the highway for Flatrock and Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. Pope John Paul visited here in 1984. It was stunning, the Stations of the Cross imbedded in the rock wall with sculptures, steps and view like no other.
By now we are tired, sore and ready for dinner - at Ches's Fish and Chips! Served with gravy and dressing, that was different, but so good!!Read more
Traveler More stairs. The Rooms is a beautiful gallery, I'm so glad we made the time to visit. Lots of Newfoundland history, art and artifacts.
9/18/23Reply
Traveler Stunning.
9/18/23Reply
Traveler Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, Flatrock
9/18/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 19, 2023
- ☁️ 13 °C
- Altitude: 3 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Twillingate Young Point 49.644757, -54.76313149°38’41” N 54°45’47” W
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Day 3
Day 3, St John's to Twillingate
September 19, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
We set off early this morning, after a very nice breakfast at the b&b (shrimp frittata and yogurt parfait). Today is our 25th anniversary, so gifts were in order - first stop was dropping by The Quilted Stash to pick up a copy of their book of Newfoundland inspired quilt patterns, second stop was at the Rugged Rock Harley dealership for a NL shirt. Just what we both wanted!Souvenirs secured, we set off from kilometer one of the Trans Canada Highway, heading for Twillingate.
We anticipated 6 hour drive (equal to Hamilton to Ottawa) but traffic and road conditions were on our side and we made it ahead of schedule.
Our beachfront cottage "Robin's Nest" was ready and waiting, super cute and cozy... a perfect getaway for a few days. The rain will keep us off some of the hilly trails, but there will be plenty on level ground.
After a drive around the marina, a stop at Auk Winery and Foodland for supplies, we had dinner at Pier 39: chunky and sweet lobster rolls!
Back to the cottage to settle in and plan our next few days.Read more
Traveler Lol😆
9/19/23Reply
Traveler I chose Kiss Me Arse lol
9/19/23Reply
Traveler So pretty
9/19/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 20, 2023, 9:25am
- ☁️ 15 °C
- Altitude: 3 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Twillingate Young Point 49.644702, -54.76313649°38’41” N 54°45’47” W
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Day 4
Day 4, Twillingate
September 20, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Has it really only been 4 days? We have done so much!
Today we woke to the waves outside our cottage, we had coffee, yogurt and blueberries for breakfast on the beach.
After a drive through town, we found our way to the Long Point Lighthouse at Crow's Head and the hiking trails. We chose the shorter of the two trails, a 6.5km loop. It was a a down hill trail through the woods on the hillside, leveling out at Nanny's Hole with incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean. The walk back was tough, all uphill and a lot of it on pavement. The reward at the top was a fudge and gift shop! The girl at the shop suggested some great local lunch spots, everyone is always so nice and helpful!
Lunch at Annie's, I had the Twilly Cheesesteak Sandwich, and Norm had a Club, with a view of the harbour. After lunch we visited the Twillingate Museum, and the Wooden Boat Builder Museum. The boat builder working in the loft told us about some other hiking trails near his home across the island, so we set off for Little Harbour, and the Natural Arch.
I wasn't sure we had another hike in us today, but we persevered and the Arch was worth it!
Dinner was pan-fried cod and steamed veggies at the Twillingate Dinner Theatre. We sat with a fun couple visiting from Collingwood - small world. The show was great: music, comedy and local stories all performed by locals who cooked and served the meal too!
A great day today, and we still have one more full day to explore these beautiful Twillingate islands.Read more
Traveler The accordion player was incredible - he plays 22 instruments! (12 accordions and 10 guitars, lol)
9/20/23Reply
Traveler Lol.....maybe Steve and I won't make it after all. Our old knees!!
9/20/23Reply
Traveler How cool is that!
9/20/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 21, 2023, 4:03pm
- 🌧 10 °C
- Altitude: 4 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Crow Head Island 49.573515, -54.70413949°34’25” N 54°42’15” W
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Day 5
Day 5 Lumsden Beach
September 21, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Today didn't go as we hoped due to the rain... We were looking forward to a fishing charter, but Capt. Dave from Prime Berth tours called us this morning to tell us that winds at 70 knots were expected, and his boats were grounded.
Plan B was to find the beaches in Lumsden so Norm could finally dip his toes in the ocean. It was windy and drizzling and only 9°. Spoiler alert: he dipped more than his toes.
After Lumsden we carried on to Newtown and the Barbour Village, but everything was closed, including all restaurants. We really saw that smaller town tourism in September drops and business owners close up shop until May.
We had big plans for dinner, and didn't want to go out of our way to find a late lunch, so we settled for gas station snacks. It was unsettling to be able to buy a slurpee and ammo at the same counter!
I heard about the chowder at Sansome's before we left Ontario, and tonight was the night. It was the one thing that went perfectly today 👌Read more
Traveler Look at those waves!
9/21/23Reply
Traveler 😮 crazy!
9/22/23Reply
Traveler Yum!
9/22/23Reply
Traveler We’ll worth the wait ❤️
9/22/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 22, 2023, 9:25am
- 🌬 6 °C
- Altitude: 3 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Twillingate Young Point 49.644747, -54.76317149°38’41” N 54°45’47” W
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Day 6
Day 6, Twillingate to Tors Cove
September 22, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 6 °C
Today was our last morning in Twillingate, it was a beautiful area but we were ready to move on. We highly recommend Robin's Nest Cottages to anyone visiting the area, found on Airbnb, and exactly as advertised.
We stopped in Gander at Rosie's Restaurant, where I finally tried toutons! I had been looking on every menu and this was the first place to serve them. Chewy fried bread with molasses sauce, perfection! Norm had a traditional breakfast with a thick cut of bologna. It looked fantastic with thick housemade bread.
4 hours from Gander to Tors Cove, breaking up the trip with a stop at Joey's Lookout over Gambo.
We arrived at our hotel, Cliff's Edge Retreat at 4pm, but before checking in we found the local trailhead, getting our bearings for tomorrow's adventures.
Dinner tonight was The Captains Table, recommended by the folks at Cliff's Edge - another first, I had Cod Tongue, Norm went for the safer option, Cod au Gratin. Both with caesar salad - oh, how I've missed salads this week!Read more
Traveler Joined Canada in 1949!
9/22/23Reply
Traveler Wow....what a great room!
9/22/23Reply
Traveler Braver than me 😁
9/22/23Reply
Traveler I didn’t know fish had tongues!
9/23/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 23, 2023, 8:23am
- ☀️ 10 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador St. Michaels 47.187344, -52.84432547°11’14” N 52°50’40” W
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Day 7
Day 7, Tors Cove
September 23, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
A slow coffee and breakfast, then off in search of the East Coast Trails at La Manche Provincial Park. I'm glad we scoped out the entrance yesterday, and glad we have a durable vehicle that can handle potholes on dirt roads!
The hiking trail was moderate, there were some technical spots where we had to watch our footing, but the suspension bridge at our turn-around spot was worth the hike in. We saw some seals in the water, a couple of waterfalls, and the remains of the 1800's homes from La Manche village.
After the hike we headed south to Ferryland, for our Lighthouse Picnic. I booked this month's ago, and weather was a concern, but today's sunny 15° was perfect :) it was very windy, but not cold. We found a sheltered area in the long grass and layed our blanket in the sun. I wish I'd brought a quilt with me!!
The lunch was fantastic: sandwiches on thick oat bread, grain salads and cookies. And fresh squeezed lemonade served in mason jars!
After lunch we wandered the trails at the lighthouse, right down to the water. If we were a month earlier, we might have seen whales in this Cove!
A drive back up Highway 10 to Bay Bulls, and then slowly though every town to Tors Cove, and our hotel.
We have to leave for the airport early tomorrow, so we are staying in tonight relaxing and repacking our bags. Dinner on the deck, and maybe a movie.Read more
Traveler ❤️
9/23/23Reply
Traveler Great photos! Love that you got lots of photos together. Did you bring your tripod or the kindness of strangers?
9/23/23Reply
Traveler A few with strangers, a few propped up against a rock!
9/23/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 25, 2023
- 🌬 11 °C
- Altitude: 20 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Ferryland Flat Point 47.015849, -52.85516347°0’57” N 52°51’19” W
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Day 9
A few thoughts on our trip
September 25, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 11 °C
Now that we are home, unpacked and back to routines, I thought I'd share a few more thoughts.... some best of, what made me laugh, things that make you go hmm, and b&b info,
if anyone's still interested.Read more
Traveler Nice summary! Thanks for sharing 😀
9/25/23Reply
Traveler 💞
9/27/23Reply
Traveler But saw a sign for potholes 😅
9/26/23Reply
Traveler The roads actually weren't as bad as we expected! The road workers weren't very skilled at filling them, though 🙄
9/28/23Reply
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Traveler Newfoundland
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- Sep 26, 2023
- 🌬 9 °C
- Altitude: 3 m
- Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Twillingate Young Point 49.652548, -54.77170249°39’9” N 54°46’18” W
Day 10
All About The Food
September 26, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 9 °C
Vacations are all about the food 🦞

If you've been watching our stories and posts on Instagram and Facebook, and if you know me at all, the camera eats first!

We had seafood chowder in 3 different towns, fish and chips, toutons for breakfast, cod tongue, cod Gratin, Twilly cheesesteak, traditional breakfast with bologna and homemade bread, lobster rolls, cod bites, pan-fried scallops and an amazing chicken curry sandwich.
I took pictures of them all, but as with all food photos, sometimes it tasted better than it looked!

Where we ate:

Doyle Sansome's, Pier 39, Auk Winery and Annie's Restaurant in Twillingate

Quidi Vidi Brewing Co, in Quidi Vidi
Gahan House, Battery Cafe, and
Ches's Fish & Chips in St John's

Rosie's Restaurant and Bakery, in Gander

The Captain's Table, in Tors Cove
Lighthouse Picnics, in Ferryland
Riverside Ice Cream, in Cape BroyleRead more
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