Reykjavik by Daylight

Ok, so we haven’t done a whole lot over the last couple days but we have had a whole lot of fun. My brother can agree with that…but not now as he is still asleep. Rookies…

Fueled by my daily hot beef injection, we toured the city. Its important to note here what that means, I have had a hot dog everyday since being here, manly cause they are the only cheap eats but they are really, really tasty. Iceland and hotdogs, go figure.

The city is very nice and clean with lots of modern buildings. We made our way downtown passing by the house that Ronald Regan and Gorbichov met and eventually ended the cold war. We walked the main street which is lined with a lot of cool stores then strolled by city hall which is on this pond that has the largest ducks I have ever seen. Next was a very cool church with a statue of Leif Erickson out front then the waterfront where there is an interesting piece that looks like a Viking ship.

After that we had diner at a seafood restaurant that was recommended by a friend of my brothers. We split a huge bowl of mixed shellfish and it was great. You would think I would have had my fill of seafood in Nova Scotia. Not so.

It may not have sounded like much but we did pack a lot into a short day. We reserved a car for tomorrow so we can actually get out and see Iceland.

Live like a Rock Star

I can now truly say I have partied like a rock star. We have been in Iceland now for 3 days and all we have seen is the hostel bed's and a lot of empty drinks. We arrived Saturday morning and, as seen by a previous post, tried to adjust to the time. It was a worth while rest as we headed out on a pub crawl that lasted till sun rise. My brother drank like a Viking...or at least he thought he was one. Im not really sure what that means either.

The first bar we went to was all you could drink. Scott and I did not take that in to consideration as we got into a bottle of vodka before we headed out. It was all downhill form there...but in a good way. We had a blast and met some good people from Australia, England, and Norway. Even our "guide" was from Nova Scotia and the majority of the group was made up of cute Norwegian girls. It was a good night. Scott was the drunkest man in Canada...and he was in Iceland. The night ended outside a hotdog stand. Scott had finished his second of the night then appeared out of nowhere with this waffle complete with ice cream. It was hilarious...or at least at the time it was. No wait...it's still pretty funny.


The next day we slept and its too bad cause it was gorgeous out. We finally mustered up enough energy to walk next door to one of Reykjavik's many natural hot springs. If someone told me a year ago that I would be in Iceland...In shorts...In September...I would have said coooool.

After a relaxing soak we grabbed a hot dog (which are amazing here) and headed back to the hostel where we proceeded to finish off yesterday's vodka...And then some. It was another great night toped with card games and sing a-longs. It felt like I was backpacking Europe again...Oh wait....

Today Scott is asleep...and rightfully so.

It's another great day out and probably shouldn't waste it...besides, it is almost happy hour.

New York, New York

Wow. 5:00 am and camping in September sucks. Luckily while I was trying to get warm in the shower, Paul and Alision tore down the campsite. They have been great and I had a lot of fun with them. Lots of laughs...I even caught Paul folding my clean underwear. Creepy but a nice gesture. Underwear aside, I highly recomend touring with them, you know, if your ever in the area.

Hugs and goodbyes and I was off to Newark airport. Landing there I got a goodview of downtown New York. I also got a taste of Jersy and it ain't pretty. Bogs and refineries. I grabbed my bag and met up with my brother Scott. I figures we didn't have much time in New York but turned out we had about 6 hours. We hoped on a train and headed to Penn Station where we ditched our bags. Scott had a tourist book of things to see/do in New York wich I flipped through. The first thing that caught my eye was a WWII aircraft carrier naval museum. Sold. So very sold. Not so suprising if you have been following along.

We made our way to the carrier and it was awsome. There is something so sureal about waking up in a tent (or in my brother's case, a house boat) and then finding yourself on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the heart of New York. WTF? I was dumbfound by my suroundings ( again, a bit of a nerd.) The carrier was highlighted by an SR-71 Blackbird and the Concord which my brother loved. Have you ever been on a Concord? That's right, 1 to nothing.

After the ship we made our way to times square, where again I say WTF??? then ate at a real New York deli. After lunch we strolled broadway and said "Well, we don't have time for a show today but maybe the next time we are in New York..." which is next weekend. I grabed a schedual for some shows to peruse.

We stoped in a Virgin music store and then by the Empire state building before heading out to JFK airport for our flight to Iceland. One thing to mention about New York, the people (or at least the one's we taled to) were awsome. Very friendly with a "in your face" sense of humor. It was great. The second thing I should mention about New York, don't travel the Subway/train system at 5:00 pm on a Friday.

Off to Rekyiavik!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

And more pictures! I am in Iceland now (more on that later) and have used my brothers laptop to upload a ton of pictures. Select archives on the right to see some added pics as well.

I will be updating the last week or so over the next couple days so check back soon.

Till then...

The Windy Apple

After a breakfast of oatmeal and pie (breakfast of champions) and doing some laundry, we headed into Halifax. On the way we stopped at a very tasteful memorial to the Swiss air flight that went down off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1998.

In Halifax we parked at Pier 21, the gateway to Canada for thousands of immigrants up until the 70’s. Steered by some unknown force, we found ourselves on the Alexander Keith’s brewery tour. It was very good, much better than the flashy Heineken experience.

After a couple of very cold, very fresh beers we stumbled our way down the harbor to the Maritime museum. It’s a great place with a number of awesome exhibits. Notably, the Halifax explosion and the Titanic.

The Halifax explosion if 1917 was the result of a French ship packed with explosives colliding with a Norwegian vessel. This caused the largest man-made explosion before the a-bomb. It destroyed a good chunk of Halifax but thankfully the Keith’s brewery was spared. Pieces of the ships were blown miles away, some are still lying in there landing place.

The Titanic exhibit was very informative and showed how Halifax played a role in the tragedy. There are stories from the rescue/recovery ships sent from Halifax. There are also various artifacts firm the ship such as deck chairs and original woodworking from the staircases.

Outside of the museum was, low and behold, the Blue Nose II. Next to that was a WWII Canadian ship which during the war, rammed and sunk a German U-boat. We Canadians are a resourceful bunch…or severely lack military funds. Also present was the 6 million dollar sail boat suposably owned by the Tim Horton’s eirs. I think they are doing ok.

After a brisk walk up citadel hill we had one last seafood meal then headed back to camp. I have to be up early for a flight to Iceland…who says that??? Oh that’s right…this guy...and this guy's brother.

Fish cake flu

The next morning we ate at large Marge’s dinner (strictly based on the name) in the beautiful town of Lunenburg. After a breakfast of fish cakes we were off for a quick tour of the town. The biggest attraction is the Blue Nose II…it wasn’t there.

Note: definetly not the Blue Nose ->

We headed down the road towards Peggy’s Cove to where we were going to camp for the following 2 days when I started to feel ill. I was really hoping it was not from the fish cake’s or scallop sub as I was trying to get my aunt and uncle to try new things. Thankfully it was only strep throat…for the 3^rd time this tour. Phewww. I felt bad for filling a day trying to get some meds but once I did I felt great. Dristan, oddly enough, is amazing stuff. I was not feeling like camping but we had no choice because Halifax was hosting a couple NHL games as well as the Rolling stones. There was not a motel, hotel, or boatel for miles and miles. Thankfully I went from felling like complete crap to being on top of the world within about an hour. I did not want any bug to ruin my time.

Camping turned out awesome, so much fun. My aunt and uncle don’t mess around. We had a great meal then headed out to try and catch sunset at Peggy’s Cove which Alison dubs “the” post card place in Nova Scotia. Although we missed sunset, we got some great dusk pictures and really, really enjoyed the huge crashing waves. It was surprisingly mesmerizing and was great to enjoy it tourist free.

The day went from miserable to great. Stay positive kids.

High above the mucky muck

The next morning we were up and out early, something I have not been used to. We stopped at balancing rock which is just that. Pretty crazy to see as it is a 20 foot pillar-like rock balancing on the edge of a cliff. We hiked down and got some pictures with it and joked that with our luck it would topple over. Thankfully it survived our visit. More thankfully we survived visiting it.

Down the road we stopped at Dingby which is a nice small town. Lunched on some scallop and bacon subs and continued on to Annapolis Royal. Some very good Canadian history there. We took a walk around the Ft.Ann grounds where the have the oldest house in Canada… I have noticed Nova Scotia boasts a lot of things like this. The oldest street (as does St.John’s) the first city (again, St.John’s) and the birthplace of hockey (Windsor?) At that point I had enough and wanted this straitened out so suggested we seek out the mayor and get it all sorted. No such luck.

That night we had planned on camping at Cape Split. We arrived to find the campground was closed for the winter. No worries, there was another down the road. That one turned out to be closed as well because of a family problem. Not out night. We ended up in a motel nearby.

The next morning we were up early. I forgot there was a 6:00 am. The reason we were up and out so early is that we wanted to be at the end of an 8 KM trail for high tide. I am glad we did because the view we were rewarded with was awesome. We got a great idea of how much water is moved through the bay of Fundy. It looked like a fast moving river, not the ocean. It was amazing. Nature is cool.

After the long hike back we had a tail gate lunch of brochette (hardly roughing it) at this beautiful red cliff, red sand beach. Before lunch I walked down to the beach and thought it was a pebble beach and told my aunt and uncle this. After lunch, about an hour later, we walked down to see red mud a kilometer out. That’s how fast the tide goes there. Boy was my face was red. I felt like quite the fool. Nature 1, Shaun nothing.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the mud and enjoying the sun. It was gorgeous out, hottest spot in Canada. Can you feel the heat? Probably not.

Tharrr she blows

My aunt and uncle were camping in Nova Scotia so we decided to meet up for a week. The first day we drove all the way to Brier Island which is the birthplace of curling. No wait…nope that’s not right. It is a small island at the mouth of the bay of Fundy. After some debating we decided to stay at a hostel on the island. My aunt and uncle had never stayed at a hostel before and were skeptical but it turned out great. Very clean and comfortable. The best part was the group of “birders” staying at the hostel. Brier Island is apparently an excellent spot for bird watching as numerous species migrate through the area. Great people but so odd to see someone so excited to catch a glimpse of a Tangerine tailed tickle piper. I made that up…the bird not there enthusiasm...you can't make up that kind of excitement. Catch the fever! I did! My uncle got one of them going when he said seals evolved from birds. The birder didn’t find that so funny. To each there own and its great to be passionate about something cause if your not then your not really living. Deep.

Low and high tides, Brier Island

We got up early the next day (but not earlier than the birders cause you know, the early bird…sees the birds?) and walked out to a place called seal cove which surprisingly has just that…seals in a cove. I was pretty excited to see a few seals in Newfoundland so this was great. After trekking through a true Nova Scotian bog, we had lunch at the hostel then were off on a whale watching tour. It was pretty cool

and the weather was great. We pulled up to a pair of Humpbacks and watched them dive and “log.” It made the trip seeing one of them come right up to the boat but then 15 minutes later we came across three more where one of them was very entertaining. He…or she…was whacking its huge tail on the water then continued doing so while “moon walking” backwards. Insert whale and small boy joke here. Ok so that made the trip but not to be out down, when we were heading back we saw two more that were “breaching,” once at the same time. It was amazing seeing these huge whales jump out of the water and come crashing down. Very surreal and seemed like a scene out of Jaws. It truly was a great day. That night we went to a local restaurant to try some scallops as the area is known for them. The restaurant was out of scallops but everything else was good. Back down the bay tommorow...

Lord Tundren

Good God. I said it before and I will say it again, St.John’s is awsome. One thing I wanted to get out of all this traveling was to be more open and approachable to strangers…in a good way. Its pretty easy to so that on George street. I headed down for a few drinks by myself and by the end of the night I knew half the town thanks to some friendly flight attendants I had met. The next day I slept.

That night I headed out to see a band I had shared a stage with at a music festival in Yellowknife years ago. Small world. After that I ran into the flight attendants and that was the end of me. With less than an hours sleep I cabded it to the airport for an early flight to Halifax. There, un-showered and still feeling the effects of the night prior, I met up with my aunt Alison and Uncle Paul. They could tell I hadn’t slept so I must have looked as bad as I felt. Rough day ahead me thinks…

Dildo...Newfoundland

So I sat and read as it rained like I have never seen. Im gonna take this time to tell yall abou the book Im reading. Its called "Yes Man" and was recommended to me by a British girl I had met in Lagos. The book is about a guy who is in a slump. He goes through a year of nothingness, never going out, just working and watching TV. He had an excuse for everything in order to stay in. I think we all go through a phase like this. I have and I had and definitely have friends like that. So one day he meets someone and explains his problems to which the guy simply says "say yes more." And that's what he did and his life turns around. Its a great read, so funny, and hits close to home with what I am doing. It has been inspirational for me doing things on this trip...Like going to Newfoundland. I have yet to be disappointed by any of these random decisions...Like going to Dildo.

I left Tim Horton's and stopped at the tourist center to check the road conditions and send some emails. There on a map I saw it. Dildo, Newfoundland. Why not? I got in the car and braved the storm. It was slow going. I arrived at Dildo around 8:00 pm and was pretty surprised to see that Dildo is a very nice place. I stayed long enough to snap a picture and have a laugh. My plan was to head down down to St.Brides which is claose tto a large bird sanctuary but was gambling on the weather clearing. The forecast said it should but at that point it was still miserable out. I opted to head back to St.John's for cheap accommodations.

The next day turned out to be glorious. Nuts. I still had the car till 5:00 so I headed out and drove the Irish loop which was beautiful. You go from coastal cliffs to complete barren lands to green hills by the sea. The drive was half the fun as the road was windy and lots of hills. I decided to visit Mistaken Point which has "the oldest divers assemblage of complex multi-cellular organism's described anywhere in the world" Cooool. This was suggested by a pamphlet on the Irish loop. What the pamphlet didn't tell me is that to get there you had to drive 1/2 hour on a windy, narrow, gravel road. Being pressed for time I flew down this road, literally. I banged that car up good and laughed the whole way. Initial here if you accept coverage...Thankfully I did.

I arrived to find a sign saying the fossil site was a 45 min hike away. Crap. I thought, well that's probably 45 min for your typical walkie. I would jog and do it in 20 min tops! Yeahhh...have you ever tried to jog into Gail force winds? Not so much. I took a breather by the coast and was pleased to see some seals feeding by the shore.

I got about half way down the trail and found the path had been washed away by the storm. I thought about turning back but I have never been one to back down from a challenge. I pushed some boulders into the stream and hoped across. I was quite pleased with myself and as a plus my feet were dry. Everythings coming up Milhouse. This fossil site better be amazing. It was. Not so much for the fossils but for the view. The waves were huge from the storm and were slamming high on the rock shelf I was on. It was awesome.


I could have stayed there all day but time was against me. I rushed back to the car stopping to take pictures of more seals and leaping across the washed away path. Wasn't as far as I thought but was still pleased.

I raced back just in time to catch the car rental place before they closed. 2 nights left in St.John's and I know where Im spending them!

Downtime with Flo

Did I mention Im going to New York, New York? Im off to Iceland on the 22nd with my brother then staying in New York on the way back. The reason I mention this (other than its way cool) is while in my Gander hotel room I was watching the Daily Show when I read "If you will be in New York and are interested in free tickets..." I thought, "New York?" "Tickets?" "Free!"..."Would!" That would be so cool.

I was in no hurry to leave my room cause flo was pissing down pretty hard. I stayed in and watched cartoons in my underwear. If I would have had a bowl of cereal in front of me I would have been 10 years old again.

I finally left the hotel and got drenched dashing to my car. I made it to the museum and really enjoyed it. Gardner was used heavily as a base for flying bombers to England during WWII. This I already knew but I did not know how heavily it was used. They had pictures of hundreds of B-24's, B-17's, Lancaster etc..

In more recent time the airfield was used to house numerous airliners during the September 11th attacks. The museum had a great documentary playing on how the people of Gander and Halifax opened up there schools,churches, and homes to feed and shelter the thousands of stranded passengers. It was a very moving film and shows what kind of kindness people are capable of.

After the museum I went for lunch at Tim Horton's which by the by does not have the best looking women in Canada. Just the type of women that call you "hun" and "luv"...Which is nice. I think my brother was playing a joke on me. He's probably reading this and having a good laugh.

So there I sat and tried to wait out the storm. It was only 2:00 pm. Not much to do in Gander during a hurricane but there was no place I would have rather been...well thats a lie but it was one of those moments and it was great.

B and B

Driving on little sleep is never a good idea, even worse in a place where moose out number people. Thankfully I did not hit any "Newfie speed bumps" but was on alert non the less. I was also kept alert by passing rae cars from the Targa car rally which was cool to see.

I arrived in Bonavista around 8:00 pm and pulled up to a bed and breakfast. I was pretty hesitant about staying at a strangers place and eating with them but was so glad I did. It was like staying at a hostel for adults and I loved it. I planed on going straight to bed but ended up drinking homemade blueberry wine (made from hand picked berries) with the owners and 2 other couples staying there. We shared stories, ate homemade blueberry pie, and laughed. It was great...The experience not the pie. The pie was delicious.

The elderly couple runing the B&B were lovely and so friendly. Breakfast was awesome and was highlighted by 5 different home made jams. I was planning on an early start but after breakfast we all chatted. One of the couples were in their 70's but you could not tell. They were hiking everyday and attribute there good health to healthy eating. Soy milk, little red meat and dairy. Very inspiring couple and I hope to be doing what there doing at there age. I also hope my loved ones can enjoy that kind of life too.

It was about 11:00 am by the time I left. I was hugged by everyone and told I was like family which was nice...Cause now I have options when it comes to family!

I visited the sites in the small town then headed out to the lighthouse. There they have a statue of Jon Cabot whom is said in 1497 to have landed on the Bonavista penisula. After that I headed to the Dungeon which is a huge hole carved out by rushing sea water through two arc ways. (got that?) A very cool site and reminded me of the coast in southern Portugal. I sat there for quite awhile and took into all in. It was a very peaceful spot.


I continued down the coast through small villages and towns until I reached Trinity East. From there I hiked a trail that is said to be one of the top 5 in Canada. It did not disappoint, There was some breathtaking spots. I took so many pictures. At one spot I sat on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was amazing. Every now and then I will have these moments, quite often actually, where I will smile then laugh outloud cause I realize where I am and how odd it sounds. I was having one of those moments on this cliff and I chuckled, "Im in Newfoundland!" Just then a huge bald eagle came up the cliff and turned less that 5 feet away from me. The noise from its massive wings scarded the crap out of me. It was such a surreal moment. I was waiting to hear someone say "Cut! We got it" as it could have been a Newfoundland tourism commercial.

I finished the 5K trail and then made my way to Trinity. That's where I was suppose to go kyaking but the forecast was not looking so good thanks to hurricane Florence. Thanks Flo. I walked around the pretty town for a bit then thought that if Im gonna get caught in a hurricane I might as well be somewhere I can do something inside. The only thing I could think of was the air museum in Gander, And from my brothers mouth, the most beautiful women in Canada work at the Tim Horton's in Gander.

Going to Gander.

By George, George by'

So fueled by a hang over and a moment of pure silliness I booked a last minute flight for Erin to come to St.John's. We were chatting on msn and I joked that she should come for the weekend. It kinda escalated from there. 5 hours later we were on George st. Enjoying the end of summer street party. Like the George street festival, you pay $10 and you can walk bar to bar drink in hand. Such a great party and as it was the first week back to school the street was packed.

The next day we headed out to Cape Spear, the easternmost point in Canada...Actually, North America...over even the world! No wait, just North America. There is also Canada's oldest lighthouse as well as some WWII bunkers. The scenery there, like the rest of the coast, is beautiful and the weather cooperated. After that we hiked Signal hill then dined on some cod. Erin had cod tongues which I sampled. I couldn't get past the fact that it tasted like it was licking me.

We headed back to the hostel and finished off a case of beer and a bottle of wine with Urs, a guy from Switzerland I had met the night prior. It felt like I was back at a hostel in Europe which is great. The 3 of us headed out to George street in search of getting screeched which is the act of doing a shot, kissing a cod and reciting a Newfie phrase that I still don't understand. After that we had some white Russians at a bar that claimed to be the home of them then caught some great live music. It was such a great night and we met some great people.

The next day Erin was off to reality and I was left to enjoy a beautiful day in St.john's. I did some much needed laundry then read in a park. That night Urs and I headed down to George street for the last night of the festival. Unfortunately theory of a dead amn was playing on the street. No other bands in the bars played till they were down so we had to wait it out. It was painful and I felt like kicking my own ass for just being there. They are just that bad. We did end up at a cool bar that had one of the best bands I have ever heard. Ended up drinking with them and there friends. 3 hours of sleep and Im up and on my way to pick up a rental car. Not looking forward to the drive!