A Heavenly Two Weeks

Helloooo.

I've been in denial over what time of year it is. Summer is by far my favourite season. I love the long, hot days, the lack of structure, the peaceful quality the air has… everything about it is perfect perfect perfect. But when the leaves start to turn from evergreen to pale yellow, I have to finally admit that summer is passing into fall. Don't get me wrong, fall is infinitely better than winter - I love the bright colours and motivation to study, the crisp breeze and pumpkin-flavoured drinks, and don't even get me started on the fashion! (it's the best time of year for fashionistas). But I crave hot, humid air all year long, and a never-ending supply of bright blue skies, 5am sunrises, and popsicles for dinner.

That being said, I will eventually have to admit that fall will arrive sooner or later, and I have to let go of summer for at least a little while and enjoy this season, too. I've realized all this as my "Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits" CD swirls around on my desk, and I thought to myself, now's as perfect a time as any to think about the main event of the summer. So please enjoy this day-by-day reflection on the time I spent in Newfoundland for two weeks this August.

August 2nd:

Was I fully aware that I had a flight to catch later that evening? Yes. Did I have the time to complete all my packing several days before we actually had to leave? Absolutely. Did I make a full-blown list of everything I needed to pack and complete during the day before my flight out there? Most definitely. But did I actually really put anything into my suitcase that actually probably really needed to be in there? Of course not! This day was entirely made up of me avoiding everyone and throwing things into my suitcase haphazardly. It's worth mentioning that I also had to make my mom's birthday (more on that later) gift, and had to spend almost two hours folded over my desk glueing and perfecting that as well. Woohoo! You know, I'm just gonna say it. I really don't think those people who swear multitasking isn't real have ever come into contact with my best friend Procrastination in their whole entire lives, and for that I envy them. Anywho, got to the airport on time, and my mom and I made it to our red-eye flight safe & sound.

August 3rd:

Landed at the ass crack of dawn. No matter… had some timmie's (yes, I mean Tim Hortons), then went straight to poppy's house (poppy is what I call my grandpa btw, although you'll hear variations of this throughout) woohoo! It's been very dry over there this whole summer, and I missed seeing all the snails that usually thrive along the side of pop's (huh, huh? See why I told you) small yellow house, but this year there were none. My mom and I relaxed at the house mostly, read some books, ate some fish (which you'll find is a recurring theme), then crashed early after a round of cornhole (which I won).

August 4th:

Much of the same.

August 5th:

Jetlag is starting to wear off! Started the day with a walk around the pond (which is actually the size of a pond, unlike the swampy piles of mud my hometown rather ambitiously classifies as lakes). Laughed at some ducks, and laughed even harder at the pigeons pretending to be ducks. After that, my mom and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. It's been so hot there this summer though that we cut it short and decided to drive over with my aunt, uncle, and cousin to one of my favourite spots: Quidi Vidi. May or may not have trespassed to get to the good view… that's a secret I'll never tell.

August 6th:

Found a friendly spider who made a sick web! I failed to discern any letters in it though, so I don't think it was the long lost Charlotte (I refuse to believe she died at the end of the book!).

Went for another early morning walk around the pond with poppy, and I found this rock that looked like a whale:

After that, we drove out to Conception Bay, which is home to one of my favourite beaches (as you can tell, I have a very distinct memory of devouring a particularly tasty marshmallow on this very beach).

I then jumped in the ocean, and I'll spare you the images because let me tell you, I definitely could NOT feel my toes after being in there. A bikini and very thin towel were definitely not the move. Shivered the whole way home. And (I know, you're gonna be totally and completely shocked when you hear this) we had fish for supper.

August 7th:

Mom and I walked all the way from poppy's house to the pond in the sweltering heat with no water (genius!). It took us several hours and a lot of sweat but we eventually made it back home, where we were greeted by a freshly baked blueberry cake (yum!), and some much needed sleep.

August 8th:

To be completely honest with you, I have absolutely no memory of what happened this day. Later that evening, however, we went over to my aunt and uncle's house, ("we" being me, pop, and my mom), where we played a round of cornhole (which I lost, and then consumed many beers). Eventually mom drove us back to pop's (pictured), and I finally crashed after some late-night girl talk. An all around great day - even if I can't remember most of it.

August 9th:

Mom's birthday!! Spent it chilling out at poppy's, and then we all drove down to Portugal Cove for some nice ocean views ("we" being me, poppy, my mom, and my uncle). The water looked SO clear from the dock, too, I was shocked by that lol.

Then we drove around a bit and checked out a few bakeries. Had some yummy salmon and roast veggies for dinner, and cupcakes (cuz duh).

August 10th:

Hike! My mom, uncle, and I went for a hike along a portion of the East Coast Trail, following the path from Flatrock to Torbay. This was one of my favourite days to be honest (and I say that hesitantly and with great displeasure because this was a day filled with a lot of teasing. Imparted onto me by my mom and uncle…). We started off early, where the trail was right next to the water. It was so windy that I half froze to death, but once we made it into the treeline it was nice and warm. Saw this rock that looked like it had a crater taken out of it:

And the berries!!! Oh my God the berries!!! That and some water was all I ate that entire hike, they were so fresh and salty from being so close to the water, and there were SO many!! After hiking through the trees for a few hours (and filling an empty water bottle with all the blueberries we found), we reached the most perfect spot that had a breeze blowing through it and we just stood there and cooled down. From there on out it was lots of open grassy areas… until we reached the final stretch…

For whatever reason, construction was being done on the trail, and a section was blocked off. So after following the giant orange "DETOUR" sign, which spit us out at the top of some random road, we decided that we didn't just hike for almost 4 hours straight, running on water and berries in ridiculous heat, to decide to walk on the side of the road for the last 30 minutes. So we turned around, climbed all the way back down that stupid fucking hill, hopped a fence, and continued down the blocked off part of the trail. Bad idea. It seems, for whatever reason, that they actually had put that detour sign there for a purpose. It appeared that the trail normally had a final staircase that led down to the bottom of the cliff and onto flat ground, where the trail ended. However, that staircase had been completely ripped out, leaving a sheer drop from the cliff across some slippery stones (remember that this is right next to the ocean), and directly under an excavator. Awesome. So I'm holding on for dear life, trying to jump down from these death trap rocks while attempting to dodge the giant metal scoop thingy that, you know, actually makes an excavator what it is. So I'm doing all this when I suddenly realize there's OIL spilt all over the rocks. That's right, thick, goopy, probably parasitic heavy-lifting machine oil spilt all over the already unsteady cliffside. Great. So now I have to make sure I don't get greasy, dirty oil all over me. Sick! So anyways, we all made it down okay, and I'm thinking well, that was an eventful end to the hike, but at least it's over now. Oh no. Dare I speak too soon? Too fucking late! You already did! You jinxed it, you idiot!

Just then, the trucks started pulling in. Big, giant semi trucks, full of construction crews who were no doubt aware of the disregard we had for their workspace. And there we were, the only three people there, clearly having just finished the trail, trespassing onto an open construction site, and the crew, with their hard hats and authority the "NO ENTRY" signs had given them, were arriving in much cooler fashion than we had. So obviously we make a run for it. Not a full-out sprint, though. I mean, they were just construction crew members after all. But we're hustling as fast as we can, and of course to get to the other staircase that leads us out of there, we have to jump over these logs that are just laying there, scale up this rickety old staircase (again, what is it with the staircases that day?!), and at the top it's blocked off, so then we had to duck under it and hoist ourselves up the final step. After completing my Mission: Impossible audition, we had to continue our hike straight up a steep hill for the next 30 minutes. And after that? After all of that hard work, dodging rocks, avoiding oil, slipping and sliding up a hill? All to avoid ending our hike on a random road? Woohoo! We're spit out at a slightly different road. Epic… also, I feel the need to mention that as for that Bruce Springsteen CD? "Murder Incorporated" started playing as I was writing that. Take that as you will. Anyways, so then we had to walk another 20 minutes (all uphill, along the side of a highway) to get to the bar. Hallelujah!!! The sweet relief of water and fries and beer after that was like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one.

After the painful adventure of what I'm sure reading that description was, please enjoy the following pictures as your reward.        

P.S. I saw this written right after we got off the trail, and it made me giggle (Elton?!?!)...

August 11th:

I also have no idea what happened this day. I'll blame it on the beers I had the night before…

August 12th:

Downtown woo! Very hot out, but my mom and I were on the hunt for some relics of our trip. Saw this hilarious sign:
And this well-named pub:
And tried these samplers:
As well as these Jam Jams:

August 13th:

Sleep? Cornhole? Fish? I'm not sure what happened this day.

August 14th:

Thrifting! Went to the cutest little store and bumped into the nicest lady ever (it's called "Helen's Treasures" in Conception Bay South if you're ever in the area), got some cute new clothes and a few books. Then we went for a walk near what's normally a raging river, but because of all the fires that happened out there it was barely a babbling brook. (Say you appreciate my alliteration!).

Sad to see how the fires have impacted so many people and wildlife.

Finished the night off with a final round of fish and chips.

August 15th:

Last day :( played cornhole (and won!), before catching our flight back home around noon. 

Played this game (that we actually got at "Helen's Treasures"!) with my mom on the plane (which I lost. Many, many times). We usually have a layover in Toronto on our way back, and it was the same deal this year, too. Stopped for some food quickly, and I had a great time watching Shrek on the flight back home.

That's it this time around. I can't wait to go back next year, I'm already antsy for the fresh fish and freezing swims, (again! Appreciate my alliteration!). Until next time.

☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾⭐︎⭐︎☾