So a bit late on things again as a trip home has made it
busy and not very conducive to writing.
And, with the travels and all, a bit of a mishmash today…
Travels
Thursday the First…
I have concluded that one of my favourite things about
Ottawa is the airport. Does this mean
one of my favourite things about the place is the leaving of it? Or is it the
returning to it? Hmm.
In truth, it’s just a nice airport. I usually get through security quickly and
just do a wander along the gates, finding a place to perch for a bit before my
flight. It’s often easy enough to find a
good window seat… on this occasion a leather sofa next to a plug in… and you
can just look out over the flat expanse of runways and grasses, watching planes
of all sizes coming and going. Today I
do so while charging the phone (hence the plug in bonus), take a few pictures,
and send a few texts. It makes it so you don’t even much mind flight
delays. Two hours waiting for a flight
out of Ottawa is like five minutes waiting in Halifax. When it comes to airports, Halifax is the
devil.
The highlight of the flight is sunset. Moments after clearing the Nova Scotia coast,
with nothing but sea and patches of cloud below, I look back and see the
horizon turning orange and pink. It’s a
funny age we live in really. In the same
hour, you can receive an e-mail from a stranger across the globe, trying to
spam you with Viagra ads… and then you can view a sunset from the comfort of a
leather seat, 25,000 feet above the ocean… as you sip on a drink.
Friday the Ancient…
I have been on this earth for forty years. Until today I have never been to the site
that sits three hours away from my home town.
Two hours of highway/coastal highway driving, followed by a half hour on
a gravel road, followed by forty-five minutes upon a coastal path… and you
reach a site of wonder.
It took me forty years to view the animals that were here 560
million years ago. Forty years to see
Mistaken Point.
These are the oldest animals we know. They are so old that they don’t even look
like animals. They look like fern leaves
and sea fans. They have gone from the
floor of a deep ocean to a rock bed some fifty feet above sea level. Someday, perhaps, some new species we can
only imagine today will be finding our petrified forms, turned to rock by
geological forces, and on the top of a mountain the height of Everest… a
mountain we never scaled, but simply went for a geologic ride to get to. Give it a few million years and seas become
mountains.
Anyway, Mistaken Point brings the same wonderment as
Stonehenge. It’s an ancient wonder that
strikes you because it’s just sitting there normally. I was struck by the normalness of
Stonehenge. This wondrous place I had
heard about all my life. I had it built
up to legendary status and I guess, when doing so, you expect great fanfare and
fireworks upon your arrival. But with
Stonehenge, I remember just gazing out the bus window upon the countryside…
when suddenly the countryside was Stonehenge.
Most bizarre when you go from farmers fields and grazing cows to one of
the Wonders of the World.
Mistaken Point was like this. You read about it and see David Attenborough
speak passionately about it on TV. You
know that this is a site unique the world over in the realm of living
history. Yet a drive over a gravel road
followed by a coastal walk along a fisherman’s cart path and suddenly there you
are, walking over ancient sea bed with booties as your toes come to rest upon
stone animals.
Mistaken Point is one of those places in the world that
everyone should visit… but at the same time you wish nobody else knew about
it. It’s isolation and anonymity add to it’s wonder.
Saturday the Central…
The trip to Central Newfoundland is always a relaxing
thing. Driving over familiar
highways. Passing familiar, glacier
dropped, boulders along the way. You
know they’ll be there but it’s nice to see them there all the same. Then you reach the familiar gas
station/restaurant in Clarenville and get your familiar hamburger for
lunch.
And by the end of the day, you pull in to your uncle’s
driveway. Have a wander about his land,
a sit with he and your aunt, and a stroll that brings you to the seashore just
as the sun sets over the hills. In a few
years, you forget the abandoned mattresses along the stroll. You just remember the dim light of the
western sky, silhouetting the distant black hills… with the mirrored hills and
lights upon the sea… and the family there watching it with you.
Sunday and Monday the Fogo…
The ferry to Fogo reminds me of Big Turk bars. The first Big Turk of my memory was had upon
the Fogo Island Ferry. It was a
different ferry leaving from a different port.
There was no vending machines to shove quarters and loonies in. In fact a loonie was still the juvenile term
put on a rival kid who just went off the deep end. “That David, he’s gone Loonie today.”
No, back then there was a man in a small room looking out
his little window at you with a wall of treats behind him. The same man helped guide your car upon the
lower deck a few minutes before. Now
he’s taking your money and handing out treats.
Dad would buy us a couple of Big Turk bars… we’d find a place upon the
railing… and watch for whales and dolphins as we steam towards the island.
Things have changed. But
the overall feel for the place is the same.
My grandmother’s home, where you’d sit at the kitchen table and sip tea
and gobble toast has been replaced by Nadine’s Guest House. But the feel there is similar. It’s more than the feeling that comes with
vacations. It’s an extra level of
relaxation. Trips to Joe Batt’s Arm are
supposed to have squeaky floor boards in homes built as individuals rather than
in the cookie cutter way of modern homes.
And little historical treasures are supposed to be there on
display.
In my grandmother’s place, these treasures were a tin of
Chinese Checkers, an old kitchen stove that took a match in the morning to heat
up, and quilts atop your bed that seemed to connect the past to the present as
you slept.
At Nadine’s, there’s an old glass punch tumbler with a tap
at it’s base. It’s empty now but puts
you in mind of Christmas parties with cups of cheer being poured as tongues
smacked lips in anticipation. There’s a
small rusty frame upon a hook on the wall that mom, as an archeologist, places
as a device used to carry small hot dishes.
All that’s missing is the porcelain tile. There’s a bird’s nest of eggs on the
fireplace mantle and sea shells lodged upon most every window sill. Rainy days at Joe Batt’s have always been,
and continue to be, about indoor historical exploration.
Thursday the Second
Visits to funeral homes are never fun. A few trips back, I happened to be home at
the same time as when my old girlfriend’s grandmother died. This time it’s a buddy’s father. Mom and dad join me there and I meet up with
other friends and catch up. Funny how
things work. One of the guys I meet here
also lives in Ottawa yet we haven’t seen each other for around two years until
now in St. John’s.
So it’s been much of a goings on since I’ve been back. Fossil Footying and touching stone
treasures. Sharing sunsets with family
as well as taking one in from the air.
Long sits and talks with new friends.
And sad hugs with old friends. No
wonder a blog is a little late in the updating.
SATURDAY…
--- Day shift. Fair
bit to do at work. Bit of TV with supper
before bed. No life on a Saturday.
SUNDAY…
--- Day 2. Slow
going. Ruby and Lee arrive this
evening. Supper and some time with them
in the evening.
MONDAY…
--- A little Canadian Tire time with Ruby and Lee… a walk,
showing them the trails a bit… fish cakes for lunch thanks to Rub, and nap
before work.
--- Work is kind busy tonight. Lots of shoes all over the place. Shoe impressions anyway.
TUESDAY…
--- Nights again.
Walk before work… nap… reasonable night at the office on cheat
night. So that means Wendy’s burger as a
bit of a treat.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Up around 11:00.
Walk again… my neck is kind of stiff and sore. One of those days. Around the house getting ready for the trip
home.
THURSDAY…
--- Travel day. Fly
out in the afternoon. From Ottawa to
Halifax I sit next to a quiet older woman… wear my headphones and listen to
music. From Halifax to St. John’s, it’s
next to a chatty middle-aged woman. No
headphones but it was fine.
--- Lasagna supper awaits with the folks and a fairly early
night to bed.
FRIDAY…
--- One of the cooler things I’ve done. We drive to the Southern Shore… and hike in
to Mistaken Point. Loads of fossils on
slabs of rock right along the coast.
Five of us in a small group guided in and then wearing little booties…
or “fossil footies” as we shuffle along the oldest fossils of complex creatures
in the world.
--- Fish and chips in Ferryland on the way back… some TV
tonight.
SATURDAY…
--- Drive to central.
Great burger at Clarenville for lunch.
The tradition of the place. Then
on to Bert’s for supper and some cards in the evening. A busy but fine day.
SUNDAY…
--- Up early and off to Fogo. A bit of a drive around when we get there and
spend time hanging out with and having supper with Nadine (the one who owns the
Guest House we’re staying in). Nice
time… great food… good place to be.
MONDAY…
--- Rainy day in Joe Batt’s.
Around the house most of the day and that’s nice and relaxing. Reminds me of rainy days when I was a kid at
my grandmothers. Games at the table,
quiet sits, and a long pause at the window to look out at the sea. Nadine is by in the evening to chat for a
while and that makes for a relaxing time sitting around the living room.
TUESDAY…
--- Sleep like a rock with the wind blowing outside. Another reminder of days at my
grandmother’s. Pack up and off soon
after getting up. Wish I was closer to
Joe Batt’s so that trips could be made here on a more regular basis.
--- Lunch in Gander… a grill cheese with cheese slices
should be illegal at restaurants. Oh
well, the pea soup was tasty.
--- Get back in to St. John’s around 4:30. Now time for some hometown activities… but I
must say, Mistaken Point and Fogo are a tough combo to beat.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Quiet day. I’m
tired so just laze around the house for the most part.
THURSDAY…
--- Rainy day. Meet
Bev at Jungle Jim’s for a drink and snack.
Go to a wake with mom and dad… see several friends there. Not the ideal way of meeting up with people
though.
