Day 20 - 08/22/22 - St. John's, Newfoundland

 What wonderful day this day turned out to be!  We arrived in St. John's Newfoundland after passing through a VERY narrow passage into a large bay.  Fortunately there was a docking location right in the heart of downtown and right behind a US Coast Guard cutter, Bear.  We had a pre-booked 3 hour excursion with McCarthy's Party and we exited the ship and made our way to the pickup point.  There were about 17 of us on a small tour bus van and our driver, David Welshman or 'Dave' greeted us with a friendly smile and we were soon on our way.  We picked up a few people at local hotels besides our group.  

 

We headed out of town to Spears Point where there is a lighthouse and WWII gun emplacements.  The scenic views were spectacular. Afterwards we drove down to Petty Harbour which is a quaint little fishing village and now a popular tourist and vacation attraction. From there we visited Signal Hill and the John Cabot monument.  This location has terrific views of the harbor as we'd further see upon our departure.

 

From Signal Hill we visited the Quidi Vidi area which was home to a large US Army base (Fort Pepperrell)  created in WWII and active until 1961 when it was sold to Canada for $1.  Creation of the base forever changed the economic vitality of the area with the creation of thousands of new jobs.  It also changed the social fabric with thousands of local women becoming brides for the soldiers.  Many of them left after the end of the war to accompany their husbands to their homes in the USA.  Here's a link to a good article about the fort:  https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/pepperrell-base.php

 

Our tour concluded with a drive through the city and we were deposited right next to the ship.  We learned that there was going to be a parade honoring a local man ( Alex Newhook) who played on the Colorado Avalanche hockey team that won the Stanley Cup.  He would be accompanying the cup in the parade which went down Water Street which is pedestrian mall during the summer. But first we found a moose burger at an Irish pub (Shamrock City) that locals recommended.  It was tasty!!

 

We found a viewing location for the parade on the steps of a government building and took pictures of the parade.  'Cup Day' was a big deal for this community. Afterwards, we walked about a mile east to the memorial to Terry Fox, a Canadian who attempted to run across Canada on an artificial leg as a charity event for cancer research.  He is beloved by Canadians!

 

On both the walk out and back I was asked by locals about the ship.  They were curious about the ship, the itinerary, and cruising in general.  

 

Back on Board I went up to Deck 14 (top outside deck) and watched our departure.  Hundreds of people watched from Signal Hill and cannons were shot off from there. Our ship replied with loud and long toots.  It was the most tooting I have experienced in a departure.  We squeezed through the narrow channel and out into the open ocean. We were buzzed by a drone and then two US Navy C-130T landing at the nearby international airport flew overhead.  It was an impressive departure.

 

I had a light dinner of cantaloupe and honey dew melons.  The entertainment was Andrew Grose, the comedian.  We didn't find his comedy as funny as the first time we saw him. After the set we noted that there was a large crew wiping each chair down.  In the Billboard Onboard, all the chairs immediately surrounding the pianos was blocked off. These are signs of increased Covid activity.  We listened to a set of '80's music before retiring to watch the first half of a Newfoundland movie, the Grand Seduction, about a small village attempting to lure a doctor to their community.  It was really good.

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