Sea to Sea in Canada: From Away

In Newfoundland, the term, "from away" means anyone who is visiting or who has lived outside of Newfoundland.

Last week, Anne, our daughter and Ilse, Al's mother flew in for a week. We had a full itinerary ready for them and it was a very busy week. To our surprise, after a morning of rain on Monday when they arrived, the week was sunny and warm.

The first day we spent taking them to all the points of interest in St. John's:

Signal Hill and Cabot Tower
Johnson Geo Centre
Quidi Vidi and the brewery
Cape Spear
Petty Harbour

See our post of June 29th for the description of these locations.

The only new place we visited was the Geo Centre. The Johnson Geo Centre is a geological interpretation centre located on Signal Hill in St. John's. Most of the centre is located underground in an excavated glacial formation that shows the exposed bedrock of the hill. The museum is named for philanthropist Paul Johnson and opened in 2002.

The building is designed to take advantage of the geological features of Signal Hill where most of the structure is below ground exposing natural rock formations. The area was originally a peat filled area that was stripped of overburden and a glass-encased structure of 2.5 stories was built atop the excavation. The building utilizes a heating and cooling system via six geothermal wells drilled to a depth of 500 feet.

At the moment, they also have a display concerning the Titanic disaster which will be a topic of a future blog.

The centre was very interesting, educational and interactive. You could spend many visits looking through the displays. This centre is a must for your list when you visit St. John's.

Here are photos of our day:

Roof of Johnson Geo Centre with Cabot Tower in background on Signal Hill

Statues of Newfoundland Dog
and Labrador Retriever

Nobody can confirm the origins of the Newfoundland Dog. Various theories say he descended from the Tibetan Mastiff Norse Black Bear Dog, Great Pyrenees or the French Boathound. It is likely that a number of these breeds were interbred but it is clearly certain that the first dogs came over with fishermen. We do know that the Newfoundland Dog is a very splendid, distinctive animal -- a giant breed, with a large head, double-layered waterproof coat, webbed toes, and a large tail that he uses as a rudder when he swims.

The Newfoundland Dog has had rigorous, on-the-job training by the fishermen who depended on help from a multi-talented animal, that was a combined work, water, and boat dog. The dogs selected by fishers for breeding were those showing the greatest aptitude for work with the fisher and exhibiting exceptional strength, endurance and intelligence.The Newfoundland Dog's renowned instinctive bravery and resourcefulness for lifesaving in the water were highly emphasized in the distant past.

The Newfoundland Dog is huge. I hope that its tongue isn't wet like this

Ilse with the dogs

The Labrador is descended from the Newfoundland dog, but was mated with English Setters and Pointers, which strengthened the Labrador's gaming capabilities. These matings produced a smaller animal, still possessing the main characteristics of the Newfoundland Dog.

The "Lesser Newfoundland" or St. John's Dog", as the "Lab" was once know, can be traced into the 1700's, It is easily trained, eager to please and has a wonderfully friendly disposition.

A full-grown Labrador weighs 65-80 pounds, which is about half the weight of a Newfoundland Dog. Both dogs have webbed toes, large tails, and a double layered, waterproof coat. Both love the water and are strong swimmers. The Labrador, being small, is very suitable for smaller boats and around the home.

The Labrador is a gentle and loyal companion, and an excellent family dog. The Lab comes in black, chocolate, and yellow colours. After the year 2000, the Labrador became the most popular breed in America.