The Miller Treks

Avalon- Lord Baltimore's Lost Colony

A local craftsman has placed a whole bunch of his wares into a pond directly across from his workshop.

Some folks may not know that Baltimore native Barry Levinson uses the Avalon motif in almost all of his productions including the movie "Avalon". The original Lord Baltimore, George Calvert, was deeded a portion of New Found Land and he sent a settling party in 1608. The colony grew to almost 100 residents before Lord Baltimore even set foot here. After one winter, he had had enough. And through a series of events, Second Lord Baltimore, Cecil Calvert, founded Marys Land in 1632; the original Avalon was taken over by the Kirke family who turned it into a commercial enterprise. The city was sacked several times through various European Wars, most notably between the French an the British, and rebuilt on the original foundations making for an archaeologist dream site.

In 1953 the original Ferryland site was declared a National Historic Site and archaeological digs have been going on continuously for nearly 40 years.
Very cool place to visit

Clouds forming as the air is pushed over the cliffs

Original 1934 bridge

more clouds forming

On to Pippy Park

Camping tonight for the next few days, we had reservations in Pippy Park which overlooks the city of Saint John. Travel again was out one of the many peninsulas that comprise Newfoundland's main island. Lunch was had a little mom and pop restaurant in Heart's Content; this meant we had to travel through Dildo and stop by the Dildo Brewing Company.
Also, the Dildo War memorial has been used a bonus in past Mason Dixon rallies so we had to stop.

Monday is also margarita night and we found a nice Mexican Restaurant near the park- they had poutine on the menu of course.

Dildo Post

Downtown Dildo

Dildo Brewing

Dildo War Memorial

Camp set up in Pippy Park, ready for tomorrow's adventure

Light Day

After the trip to France, we needed a down day to get our stuff in order. He drove around the southern tip of the Burin Peninsula in search of interesting stuff to view.

We had a motel reserved in Marystown so that meant three nights in a row we werent camping and it didnt rain on any of those days. Without the trip to St Pierre we probably would have camped on the Burin or just of the TCH for a few nights.

France?

Who knew getting to France would be so problematic. It involved several international phone calls to secure both the round-trip ferry tickets and lodging. But first laundry which meant partially unloading the truck; the reloading was even sloppier as we tried to leave out any camping gear that still might have been wet.

The drive down to Fortune lead us by Morris the Moose; we'll pass him again on the way to St Johns. Once onto the peninsula the landscape dramatically changes from a spruce and fir forest to scrub brush plains with pockets of ponds and lakes everywhere. This goes on for miles.

We had lunch in Grand Bank just about 10 km from the ferry in Fortune.

By now you wondering, France? Yes, France. Part of the treaty that ended the Seven Years War between France and England [of which the French and Indian War here in the colonies was part of] was the release of all French held territory in the New World, except for St. Pierre-Miquelon which remained a French holding; it also gave them fishing rights.
From Wikipedia:

Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763), which put an end to the Seven Years' War, France ceded all its North American possessions, but Saint-Pierre and Miquelon were returned to France.

[complete wiki entry]

The ferry was drama free although there was some chop along the way and going through customs was a breeze- passenger ferry travelers tend to pack light. Our hotel was Hotel Robert. This place is very French and theyre proud of it. You need reservations for nearly every meal and there is not a Tim Hortons in sight.