Thursday & Friday, August 25/26 in St. John’s, NL

Signal Hill seen from St. John's Harbor

The morning started with us taking the RV to a dealer to get another problem fixed with the dump system.  We then drove up to Signal Hill in our rental car, which overlooks St. John’s Harbor, and quite enjoyed the view. 

Cabot Tower on Signal Hill

 Cabot Tower was dedicated in 1897 on the 400^th anniversary of the explorer John Cabot landing in Newfoundland.  The Hill itself has had quite a bit of significant history.  In 1762, the final battle of the 7 years war between the British and French was fought here (we American’s know it as the French and Indian War!), with the defeated French withdrawing from North America. 

 In 1901, Marconi received the first wireless transatlantic signal on the hill.  In addition, Signal Hill has basically been the guardpost for the harbor throughout the existence of European settlers in Newfoundland. 

Sailor shooting the noon cannon

 Each day at noon there is a tradition, dating back to the 1800's, when an enlisted seaman from the Canadian Forces fires off a cannon at Signal Hill.  We were up there when this happened that day.

Entrance to the Harbor below Signal Hill

Overlooking St. John's Harbor from Signal Hil

  We then drove through Quidi Vidi Harbor to view the sites (big brewery and Village Plantation there), and finally drove through “Jelly Bean Row”, a street of colorfully painted houses that have become symbolic of St. John’s.  Following lunch, we picked up the RV, returned the rental, and arrived back at the campground where we found the electrical building in our loop had blown up and there was no electricity!  Fortunately, we only 

needed 30-amp service and were moved to another section.

Close up of the Harbor.  Note the colorful homes in the middle-these are the famed "Jellybean Homes"

Overlooking Argentia, the former US Naval Base & currently a terminus for the Ferry in the summer

Friday was a long driving day for us.  We stopped early at Islander RV to do a final check on our dump systems, and now finally have a fully operational RV again!  We spent the day driving around the Avalon Peninsula, on a road that is without a question the worst Jim has ever driven – Highway 100.  The potholes and “repaired” potholes made the worst road in Maine after the spring thaws look like major interstates!  Anyhow, we passed numerous vistas, quaint little towns, and similar terrain as we’ve been seeing the whole trip. Stopped in a small restaurant/bar/diner along the way for burgers, and were surprised to see how many locals were spending time playing slot machines and looking like they weren’t having much fun.  Nice staff, food was OK. 

 We finally reached our destination for the night, Argentia Sunrise Campground overlooking the ferry terminal and former USN Naval base and set up for the night.  The drizzle had started, and nearly the entire night the campground and RV were racked by severe thunderstorms and winds-one of our 3 most severe nights in 7 years of RVing!  We even pulled the slides in, and fortunately all was fine.  Very cloudy in the morning.

Our campsite at Argentia