After a night of trick-or-treating, it was time to do some final sightseeing in St. John’s. We’ve loved our time here but with possible colder weather coming, it’s best to enjoy one more day before moving on.
Video to come.
Morning
The night before at Signal Hill, it was not a pleasant night’s sleep so we decided to stay at Walmart again. We slept well, but missed the first sunrise in North America. Ethan didn’t seem to mind, as he is enjoying reading Harry Potter. He’s now on book 7 and has read almost the entire series in about 2 weeks.
Instead of breakfast first thing, we drove to Costco to pick up some milk and oatmeal so we could have breakfast at Cape Spear, the most eastern point in North America.
It’s hard to describe what it is like to know where you are. We felt grateful, and also a bit relieved, because we arrived at our goal.
Ethan helped with breakfast once we got set up. He has been amazingly helpful over the past couple of weeks, more so than he was before. It could be that he’s looking to score some computer time, but he’s also more thoughtful, as well.
We had our breakfast outside, as it was a beautiful day out. We’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather here, as almost every local we’ve spoken to has told us that the sunny and warm weather is very unusual for this time of year.
After breakfast, we walked down to the most eastern point in North America, which is here in Cape Spear. Along the way, Ethan noticed how the rocks here had some unusual shapes. He guessed that the rocks had been shaped by the wind, as he knew how windy this area can be.
Ethan also observed some trees that had a permanent wind-swept shape to them. It’s been interesting to see what Ethan notices about each of the places we’ve been to and the questions he asks.
It was awesome to be in this spot looking out at the Atlantic Ocean. We saw the Pacific Ocean when we went to Tofino in Vancouver Island, and now we’ve come all the way across to the other side of the country.
Ethan always finds things to play with and have fun, seemingly out of thin air. We want to nurture this quality, as we think it’s part of his creative nature. It’s one of the main reasons why we wanted to homeschool him, and specifically, follow more of an unschooling format to this learning.
There were a couple of large canons from WWII that were part of a hillside battery. We learned how the canon was fired and were amazed by how big the canons were. Ethan wanted to know why the canons were placed low and under a wall. When observed from the ocean, the canons and the bunker were camouflaged.
There were also three signs describing the three types of whales that come to St. John’s. Unfortunately, they’re only here in the summer so we didn’t have any whale sightings. But it was still good for Ethan to read about the whales that come here.
Digging in
Normally, we don’t allow Ethan to have much candy, so with a bagful of Halloween candy from last night within arms reach, we had a bit of a challenge. Dong Eun decided to let Ethan eat whatever he wanted and let him decide how he felt by day’s end. She also wanted him to develop his self-control and awareness of his own body. Needless to say, he enjoyed the feast… at least, at the start.
Cape Spear Lighthouse
Newfoundland is a beautiful place. Period. And Cape Spear was just another example of that beauty.
Everywhere we looked, it was like a postcard… but my photos don’t do it justice, so you’ll have to see it for yourself.
On the way back to the van, Ethan found another heart shaped rock to give Dong Eun. By the way, we’re not keeping these rocks, as we just want to enjoy them and leave them where we found them.
Maybe the candy was having a bit of negative effect already, as Ethan was not as energetic after our relatively short walk around the lighthouse.
Afternoon
Not far from Cape Spear was the Mini Aquarium, which we could get into for free with our Science World membership. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any information about the seasonal hours the aquarium follows, so it wasn’t until we got there that we found out that it’s closed until next June. Not a big deal, as the town the aquarium is located in is charming.
Ethan was more interested in the large spider he found nearby, as we were looking at the views.
Back to town
We needed to get back to town, as Ethan was going to meet up with Micheal for a play date at the same park we first met him and Arthur. But on the way back, we couldn’t help but notice the beautiful shapes the clouds make, as they dance with the wind.
It was also the perfect time for a late lunch of pizza and penne with pepperoni and cheese.
We meet again!
The other day, we met a very nice parking bylaw officer. We wanted to get a photo with him that day, but only got a shot of him walking away. As luck would have it, we drove by him on our way to meet Michael, so we had to stop and get our photo. He remembered us and was kind enough to pose for a selfie.
Play time
Ethan had a great time playing with Michael and his brother, Robin. Lucky we brought Ethan’s scooter. They’re super-nice kids and made Ethan feel welcome. So awesome that Ethan made a new friend… and at the other end of the country, too!
Evening – Pumpkin Walk and FREE hot chocolate
We noticed that people were moving their Halloween pumpkins and placing them around the park. We found out there was a Pumpkin Walk happening and it was to collect pumpkins and get them composted. We thought that was very cool… and the free hot chocolate didn’t hurt, either.
Late Dinner
We said our goodbyes to Michael, Robin and Arthur, and needed to get ready for the night. We made another stop at Costco to pick up what we’d need for the next several days, which included some tasty Vietnamese noodles and Newfoundland ginger snap cookies.
No Candy?
Ethan didn’t feel too good after all the candy and snacks he had earlier in the day. We also told him that if he wanted to keep eating candy, that that would be all he’d be getting. He quickly changed his mind about candy and decided that moderation would be better than not feeling good, and not eating healthy food.
Getting set for sunrise
Our final destination for the day was Cape Spear again, as we wanted to try and catch the first sunrise in North America. Things looked promising, as the night was spectacular. We’ll see how it goes.
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