Last night, we camped at Signal Hill in the upper parking lot… then the lower because it was SO windy! But the day turned out to be a lot of fun with the Geo Centre and Halloween, so the van shaking all night long from the wind was quickly forgotten.
Video to come.
Morning
Every morning for breakfast, I’m always surprised by what Dong Eun comes up with. We’ve enjoyed a great breakfast every day on this trip, so I’m thankful for what Dong Eun has been doing every morning for us.
And Ethan started his day with the Kindle again. He’s now on either book 6 or 7 of the Harry Potter series.
With breakfast done, it was time to get some math work in before going into the Geo Centre.
Geo Centre
The Geo Centre turned out to be a lot more interesting than expected. The location is very cool, as it’s built under Signal Hill, and we got free admission again using our Science World memberships.
There were a lot of exhibits about the history of Newfoundland and the different industries that have been some of the main drivers of the economy here.
Ethan also watched a movie about how the Earth was formed. And there was an exhibit about the Titanic, so overall, the Geo Centre gave him a well-rounded, but more focused experience. I’m guessing he probably likes the varied exhibits of the science centres he’s been to, but this was still a cool place.
Afternoon
The Geo Centre, and all of Signal Hill, offers free parking so we were able to stay and have our lunch in the van. But before lunch, Ethan did some reading and writing. We ask him to complete one section a day, and that seems to be what he’s happy with. (Not totally happy with, but that’s what he’ll do)
I had some work to catch up on, so Dong Eun and Ethan got a chance to play Monopoly Deal while waiting for me. It’s been a while since we’ve played, so he was happy to play a few rounds. Monopoly Deal is much more strategic than regular Monopoly, and it’s also much more compact, so it’s been a great game for us all to enjoy.
We also needed to add something to Ethan’s costume so it wouldn’t blow away in the Newfoundland wind when he was out trick-or-treating. It probably wouldn’t have been good if the costume kept flying up and hitting him in the face.
Dog Park
We decided to take a short drive to Quidi Vidi and stopped at Quidi Vidi Lake. Ethan practised skipping stones here, too. He’s still working on his technique but is getting better each time.
This turned out to be great, as there was a dog park with several dogs for Ethan to play with. There were some balls around, so Ethan would throw them for the dogs to fetch. It was great fun and a nice way to enjoy this area of St. John’s.
Trick-or-Treat Time!
After the dog park, we needed to find some food and head over to Arthur and Jennifer’s place for trick-or-treating. There was a Sobeys right near their place, so we found some delicious deals for dinner. One thing we love about Sobeys is there 50% deals. And there food is actually good!
We also ran into a person I saw on the ferry who was wearing a Canucks jacket. I said hi and found out he’s from here, but lives in Vancouver. He drove his sister’s car back to St. John’s and is flying back to Vancouver. Anyway, food…
Now it was time for the main event. Ethan had been excited all day long to meet up with Michael and go trick-or-treating. The two of them had a great time and it was also fun for Dong Eun and I, as we had a nice chat with Michael’s mom, Jennifer. We also got to see St. John’s in a totally unique way, so it was a great night for all of us.
But
Afterwards, we spent some time at Arthur and Jennifer’s home to chat some more. Ethan and Michael played chess while we chatted about our trip and gawked at all the candy the kids got in one night.
But it was starting to get late and we had to get going. We felt so happy and grateful for Arthur and Jennifer’s hospitality, and love that we’ve made new friends.
Back to Walmart
We decided that we wouldn’t chance another night like the night before with the wind, so it was back to Walmart to camp. Inside JuJu Jr., we checked out all the candy that Ethan got and chatted about how much fun we had today.
We’re very lucky to do this together as a family, and today will be another great memory from this trip. We hope to stay in St. John’s a little longer, but we’ll have to pay attention to the weather and play it by ear.
Tomorrow, we’ll see some more sights and catch up with Michael later in the day, so Ethan can play with him again.
If you’re just reading this blog for the first time, we are a family of three traveling across Canada (and likely beyond) in a 1994 VW Westfalia camper van called Juju Jr. Our son Ethan, age 9, is unschooling and so we want him to learn from being on the road and traveling. So he’s also now a roadschooler and we are documenting the trip and his learning on this blog.
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