Little Excursion Around da' Bay!

Yesterday a couple of friends and I ended up taking a day trip out of the city as it was the first time all three of us had a weekend day off at the same time.

First stop was Avondale to go for a train ride - out of the nine people on that ride we were the only ones that didn't have a kid with us. And we thoroughly enjoyed it! I have many photos and videos from the ride that I have yet to post anywhere. I just have to edit some of the videos before I post them on my FB and tumblr.

The train ride started at the old Avondale railway station, which is the oldest surviving railway station on the island. It was originally used as a repeater station for the first telegraph line that served St. John's before it became a freight and passenger station operated by the Reid Newfoundland Company from 1900 to 1949. From Confederation in 1949 until closure in 1984 the CN Railway used it at their terminus for Conception Bay South. It is now a museum and runs a mini-train ride for guests at $5 each. The museum is free to explore but donations are encouraged.

The second floor of the Avondale station is where the station master lived with his family, and is filled with furniture and other items that would have been used over the years. A lot of the items on display had been donated by families that live or used to live in the area, and it's actually quite cute.

From there was Dildo for lunch at the Dildo Dory Grill. I had some of the best ever fish cakes with some fries and a can of Coke. I managed to escape my friend who wanted to get a pic of me with Captain Dildo, thankfully! And, of course, I took a photo of the Dildo sign that was put up in response to all the attention from Jimmy Kimmel. It's a bit blurry but I like it all the same.

Next stop was Harbour Grace for a few things. First was to get some photos of the SS Kyle that has been in the harbour for decades.

The SS Kyle was built in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England in 1913, and after years of service it was basically left in Harbour Grace in early 1967. This was after it had been hit by an iceberg and the owners of the Kyle at the time wanted to decide if it was worth it to fix the ship or not. At some point it broke its moorings and the decision was made that it was too expensive to fix or move, so it was flooded where it ended up so it would not drift or tip over in a storm. The NL government has owned it since 1972 and it's been left to rust.

From the gravel parking lot where you access the wooden walkway to get a better view of the SS Kyle, you can see the plane Spirit of Harbour Grace and the Amelia Earhart statue. Most people would be confused about the plane and statue as it is not common knowledge that an airstrip was built in 1927 as Harbour Grace was considered to be an ideal stopover for an around-the-world flight, and it where Amelia Earhart started her solo flight across the the Atlantic, hence the statue.

Once we were done there we decided to go in search of the fairy ring in Harbour Grace. We knew before we even left St. John's that the ring was located on private property, but we hoped that it would still be accessible.

Nope. The gate was padlocked so there was no getting at the ring that way. I was okay if we didn't get to see it, my one of my friends was frantic to get to it. So I suggested trying to get it from another angle.

Off we go.

I was the one who basically directed my friend where to go, even though I don't know Harbour Grace at all. I just went by instinct, and the concept of 'following the kids'. I could remember being able to find places that adults had no idea even existed back when I was a kid, and something told me that if we made our way to Crescent Collegiate's parking lot that we'd find a way to the ring.

Sure enough, we found it. I even stood in the middle and took a video while I turned around inside of the ring of trees while my friend watched from the outside. She went into the middle of it before I did and I think she took some pictures, but we both knew not to go into the circle of trees at the same time. I have posted the video in a few places online, and all but one glitches a bit. And on the sites where the video does glitch, the glitch is in the same spot...and matches up with what I witnessed as I was recording. But not once did I feel like I had no business recording what I did. I felt welcomed and even encouraged to shoot the 31 second video. It was if whatever was there wanted to be seen by others, and not just myself.

I felt...comfortable. Like I needed to be there. Honestly, I have felt that magic of Newfoundland since the very first time I stepped onto the blacktop at the St. John's airport, and now I have had a chance to visit a magical nexus outside of the city. 

After our little excursion to the fairy ring we tromped back to the car, and hit up on Irving gas station because we needed a potty break. And then it was onto Spaniard's Bay and Bay Roberts, with a stop at a Dollarama in Bay Roberts for some things we needed back home. Go figure, right? Then we followed Route 70 until it met with Hwy 1, and took Hwy to the turnoff for Bay Bulls due to a HUGE backup from construction work being done. Drove along that way along Route 10, bypassing Mount Pearl and turning onto the Route 2 as we continued on into St. John's and home for me!

We had left my place at about 9:45am-ish and returned to my place by a little before 6:30pm. I climbed up the two flights of stairs to my apartment and then laid down for a nap...that lasted three hours. Oops!

Next week: Placentia and Argentia! The friends I am going with were talking about an abandoned underground hospital out that way, you knows I wanna go exploring!