Newfoundland Re-Visited

[rotuts]

wow

 

so pleased to see fresh fish / seafood on a restaurant menu near the sea

 

esp when its very very good.

 

seems obvious , but Time Marches On and that is going to be a relic at some point

 

enjoy it while you can.

[blue_dolphin]

In honor of our current adventure, I'm re-reading @ElsieD's first Newfoundland blog.  It's a wonderful travelogue so I'm adding a link here in case anyone else would like a little more background on the area:  A good scoff, cod tongues, toutons and tea on The Rock aka Newfoundland. 

 

I'm also keeping a tab opened to a Newfoundland map so I can follow our route.  Thanks for taking us along, @ElsieD, I'm enjoying the trip!

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

please consider passing along your Tab.

 

and then there are Cod Cheeks , and cheeks of other larger fish :

 

salmon !

 

again

 

many thanks

 

@ElsieD

 

for taking us along !

 

 

Edited June 24, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[ElsieD]

Saw this in the middle of nowhere.

[kayb]

I would have to do some serious conditioning to do the food justice. I'm spending a week at the beach next month, and I plan to eat seafood six nights out of seven, at least.

 

Love traveling with you and all the other eGulleters. I will try to take you along when we go to Fort Morgan next month.

 

 

[ElsieD]

After lunch we drove to Rose Blanche which is as far east as you can go as that is where the road stops.  There are no roads beyond that so you need to retrace your steps and go across the top of the island to get to the other side.  There was a lighthouse there that we wanted to see but when we got there, there was a loooong climb up to the top of the thing, at an angle that looked to be at least 45 degrees.  I looked at that with a jaundiced eye as  I'm not as young as I used to be so we passed and went back to Port-aux-Basques as I wanted to see the main area.  Well, the main area was disappointing, or rather, was not what I was told I could expect.  It was raining and cold and most places were closed anyway so we dudn't bother strolling about.  We had a three hour drive ahead of us so elected to drive to the cottage that is our home for tonight.  Below is a picture of the town at the end of the road.

[ElsieD]

We arrived in Lark Harbour at about 8 o'clock.  We had previously made arrangements for a lobster dinner and when we got here, there were two big cooked lobsters waiting for us.  Shortly thereafter Mary Lou, the owner came bearing plates with potato and macaroni salad, buns and a tossed salad.  She also shelled the lobster and explained how to tell the difference between males and females.  One way is that on the female's tail, there are slight protrusions on either side near the end of the tail called "hips". Male lobsters don't have them.  Also, lobsters must be a certain size or they go back in the water and if it is determined that the undersized females are breeders (forgot to ask how they can tell) get a notch on the end of the tail and are put back in the water.  It is illegal to catch and keep them.  It was interesting watching her shell them.  She used nothing but her hands and a knife to make a cut in the claw.  No special tools for her!  So here is our spread.  We enjoyed it very much.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

We arrived in Lark Harbour at about 8 o'clock.  We had previously made arrangements for a lobster dinner and when we got here, there were two big cooked lobsters waiting for us.  Shortly thereafter Mary Lou, the owner came bearing plates with potato and macaroni salad, buns and a tossed salad.  She also shelled the lobster and explained how to tell the difference between males and females.  One way is that on the female's tail, there are slight protrusions on either side near the end of the tail called "hips". Male lobsters don't have them.  Also, lobsters must be a certain size or they go back in the water and if it is determined that the undersized females are breeders (forgot to ask how they can tell) get a notch on the end of the tail and are put back in the water.  It is illegal to catch and keep them.  It was interesting watching her shell them.  She used nothing but her hands and a knife to make a cut in the claw.  No special tools for her!  So here is our spread.  We enjoyed it very much.

Gum drop cake! How prototypically Newfoundland.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

14 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Gum drop cake! How prototypically Newfoundland.

 

Ha! I thought it was some sort of candied fruit loaf. Now that you mention it, I remember my first step-mother, who was from Cambridge Mass making a similar gumdrop loaf cake when we lived in VT.

 

@ElsieD,

 

I don't blame you for not making the long climb to the lighthouse is bad weather. I remember struggling up Sugarloaf Mountain in Heber Springs, AR in my early twenties on a hot summer day. It was a nice view one we got up there, but I still don't know if it was worth all the effort. I certainly wouldn't even think about it now. I still think I would have enjoyed staying at the campground and swimming and diving off the cliffs into the lake more than that climb, which was not my idea.

 

I'm really enjoying sharing your trip and loving on the lobster dinner especially. The cod au gratin looked delicious too, so I looked up the recipes, and it looks like something I could make without too much trouble and would really enjoy. Here's hoping for some better weather for you.

 

 

[ElsieD]

We left York Harbour, stopped in Cornerbrook for a few things and are on the road to Woody Point.  Woody Point is within Gros Morne National Park.   There is a place there we want to have lunch at plus the scenery there is worth the side trip.  We did not have  breakfast today so no pictures.  

 

PS did not eat the gum drop cake.

Edited June 25, 2018 by ElsieD
Added the PS (log)

[blue_dolphin]

23 hours ago, rotuts said:

@blue_dolphin

 

please consider passing along your Tab.    .......

 

I'm just plugging the places that @ElsieD mentions into Google maps, not actually making anything interactive. 

 

Edited to add a link to the route as of today:  Newfoundland-Stephenville to Springdale

 

Edited June 25, 2018 by blue_dolphin
updated map (log)

[Porthos]

31 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I'm just plugging the places that @ElsieD mentions into Google maps, not actually making anything interactive.

 

As am I.

 

@ElsieD I'm enjoying following along. Thanks for posting about your trip.

[ElsieD]

We are in Woody Point at the moment and the restaurant we had planned to go to had scaled back on their offerings.  This is a very small place, population of 281 so our other options were limited.  We ended up with a very good fish chowder and a ham and cheese sandwich.  The bread is made on the premises and was very good.  That is the thing with Newfoundland - you are not going to get fancy food in these small places but you can expect well prepared tasty food.  No fancy swirls of sauce or dads of this and that on your plate..  We did spot an ice cream place so will have that for dessert.

 

When we leave here we will be going to Springdale where we will be staying tonight.  We have stayed at this hotel, the Riverwood before and quite liked it.  We aren't sure but are thinking of hitting up a food truck there for dinner.  I'll let you know.🙂

Edited June 25, 2018 by ElsieD
Added picture (log)

[ElsieD]

 A couple of pictures of Woody Point, the town in one, the direction we came from is the other.  The scenery is spectacular.

[rotuts]

@ElsieD

 

what does the ' question mark ' mean on the road sign ?

[chromedome]

54 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@ElsieD

 

what does the ' question mark ' mean on the road sign ?

Tourism information center.

[rotuts]

Indeed

 

Tourist are in-deed

 

questionable

 

I do enjoy the French on the signs

 

no need to go to France !

[suzilightning]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

 A couple of pictures of Woody Point, the town in one, the direction we came from is the other.  The scenery is spectacular.

We were right across from you at Norris Point!  You are so right...this is some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen.

Right now we are in Twillingate and leaving for an early dinner at Sansone's lobster pool then a visit for John to Auk Island Winery.

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Is it just me, or does it look cold?

 

Nancy in (rainy) Patzcuaro

[ElsieD]

Random picture.  Just saw a moose on the road ahead of us.  We just had ourselves a bit of an adventure.  Haven't had internet since we left Woody Point.  Am about to lose it again.

[rotuts]

Take care

 

drive careful 

 

Moose have ticks

 

a lot of them :

 

do moose have tick w lyme disease

 

And I did have lyme d

 

I do not recommend it.

 

 

[ElsieD]

@suzilightning  don't forget to have the clam chowder.  

[suzilightning]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@suzilightning  don't forget to have the clam chowder.  

No clam chowder on the menu.

Fish cakes with rhubarb compote, house coleslaw and partridgeberry cake with vanilla sauce.  John also had scallops with a garlic oyster sauce glaze.

Great recommendation!!

 

 

[ElsieD]

27 minutes ago, suzilightning said:

No clam chowder on the menu.

Fish cakes with rhubarb compote, house coleslaw and partridgeberry cake with vanilla sauce.  John also had scallops with a garlic oyster sauce glaze.

Great recommendation!!

 

 

 

I made a mistake.  It is seafood chowder, not clam chowder.  That's what happens when you read too many of @HungryChris 's posts.😬

 

What did you have? I'm glad you liked the place.  We are having lunch there tomorrow, staying in Twillingate tomorrow night.

[ElsieD]

This afternoon driving to Springdale we decided to take 422 to the trans canada highway (TCH) instead of continuing on 430.  We started out on paved road, which turned to gravel which turned to the narrow ......what do you call this, anyway? First we had the mini lakes then sizable holes then what looked to be a pathway.  I had my eyes peeled the whole time for moose and we were not disappointed as we saw a female standing on the road.  We briefly stared at each other, the moose and us, that is, then we both grabbed tablets and phones to try to take a picture.  Alas, she trotted off before we could.  We still had a ways to go and it was such a bone jarring trip, the whole time we were on high alert as we figured where there was one moose, there had to be more.  @chromedome do they travel in packs or are they solitary creatures?  We finally caught a glimpse of the highway and a track running down to it so we drove out of there and got on the TCH.  About 1/4 km up we saw the entrance/exit to this miserable excuse for a road.  The entrance was paved and looked like a proper road.  We were also concerned because we only had 1/4 tank of gas, we saw no one else on this stretch, which ran for about 16 km and there was no cellular service.  

 

This is what the road looked like in progressive photographs.