We’ve visited St. John’s before with the boys, but since Abe was just 4 months old at the time, his memories of the place are pretty patchy. This time around was a better opportunity for both of them to see “town” — Susan’s birthplace and the provincial capital.

For us, no trip to St. John’s is complete without a picnic at the Ferryland Lighthouse. We were extremely lucky with the weather this time around, basking in the sun on the headland’s grass and juniper, before doing a bit of learning down at the archeological site of the Avalon Colony, one of the very first English settlements in Newfoundland.

The weather was less kind after that, but we still managed to get out to the easternmost point in North America, Cape Spear, with its lighthouse, signal flags, and WWII gun emplacements, and we walked around Signal Hill at the entrance to St. John’s harbour, before checking out the interior of Cabot Tower, where Guiglielmo Marconi successfully received the first transatlantic wireless signal.

Our last outing of the St. John’s leg was a sea kayaking expedition with Uncle David and cousins Allison and Matthew. Delayed a couple of days due to adverse (i.e., very common in Newfoundland) weather conditions, we eventually got out and had a great time gliding around Conception Bay.