July 20 – Ferryland Picnic

Today we had planned to drive down the eastern coast of the Avalon Peninsula all the way to Cape Race.

Our first stop was Petty Harbour where there were some adorable chairs at the dock which are basically Muskoka chairs shaped like critters and painted so beautifully. There was a seal, puffin, dolphin and a salty old fisherman. We happened to pull in there by accident and noticed these gems.

  

  

Driving along Rte 10 in Witless Bay, we passed a house that was decorated with wood characters so I wanted to stop for a picture. Then across from the house by the pond along the road, there a miniature boats; steamboat, paddleboat, schooner, yacht, sailboat and the piece de resistance is the harbour scene. It was created with such detail it belonged in a museum. Since we had been to Prime Berth and learned about the old cod fish ways of harvesting, we knew about the process: 1. Hauling the fish into the port. 2. Loading the fish into the nets to be brought to the dock. 3. Gutting the cod. 4. Laying the fish to be salted and dried on the roof. 5. Gathering them up into barrels for storage. 6. There were all kinds of figures performing various chores to preserve the catch for sale.

You can see Stuart’s feet in the background to get a sense of scale.

There were also a whole fleet of amazing models just floating in the pond. Each one was 2 or 3 feet long.

     

We had booked to stop for lunch in  Ferryland for the famous picnic at the lighthouse. It was amazing! Reservations are a MUST, open from 11:30 am – 5:00 pm and they are not open on Mondays. It is a 1 km walk into the lighthouse on narrow, steep, gravel road so make sure you have good shoes.

  

For $20 each, you order a picnic lunch and they fill a basket with lemonade, dessert, sandwich and salad. We had curry chicken salad and ham & brie sandwiches with a parmesan orzo pasta salad then chocolate ganâche with fresh whip cream and ginger cake with rum sauce; all of which was divine! You get a blanket to set down wherever you wish around the lighthouse to sit or lie around in the sun. When your lunch is ready they deliver it to  you and have it at your leisure. There is nobody rushing you for the next seating and other noisy diners close by; just the cliffs, the water crashing on the shore, and lots of ground to hike around. If ever you come to St. Johns, this is a must do!

   

We had intended to complete the rest of the southeastern coast but after lunch we soaked up a bit of sun, hiked around the property (2.6 kms, 3951 steps, 141 calories) and decided to absorb the ambiance where we were. The rest of the coast did not matter anymore; we were in heaven.

Heading back to the car.