I woke up (well-rested!) the next morning and spent the morning continuing to do some work productively. Heiko was already downstairs eating breakfast and he made me coffee, waffles, and boiled eggs. While I was working, he spent his time cleaning up the kitchen as well as upholster some cushions in the garage. After my work was done, we set off to explore Stephenville.
The impression of Stephensville I got was that it was a very typical Newfie small town. It was really quiet and it seemed like a place where people would go retire. The houses seemed very cookie-cutter and they all were perfectly painted. The roads in town were also designed in some triangular shape, so it was easy to get lost. Heads would turn when I was in the grocery store. On occasion, I’d see people rake their lawns but have nothing on the lawn to rake. To dispose of garbage, houses would either have to put their garbage in a wooden barrel, under a fishing net, or under a blanket to deter the birds. It would’ve been the perfect plot setting for a mystery novel.
There was a really nice walking trail 15 minutes out of Stephenville called The Gravels. From Heiko’s pictures, it looked incredible. It was quite windy along the trail, and Heiko said there was a possibility of seeing moose on the trail. I also found a couple of lobster claws on the ground, which I kept. We passed by a cove that was also gorgeous, then walked down to the beach. Heiko discovered an ice cave along the beach, so we both climbed in to explore. It was such a good find and had a beautiful view of the beach.
Katja had an interview for a graphic design job in Corner Brook over dinner, and she offered to take us to Corner Brook if we wanted to (which I did). We went back home after, and the drive there was just under an hour. She dropped us off at a wings place called Wing’n It (I love wings) and got a wing sampler platter to try out some of their 150+ different flavours. We then hung out at the law courts for a bit until Katja was done her interview.
Katja had also told me about Pineapple Crush earlier in the day, and it was a flavour of Crush that was unique to only Newfoundland. I really wanted to try it, so they drove to the corner store and I bought us all a bottle.
When we got back to Stephenville, we stayed in the kitchen and kept chatting. They had gotten an Easter package from their mom earlier that day (she lives in Port Hardy, BC), which included chocolates, candy, and hand-painted cookies.
Heiko introduced me to Archer, and we just sat on the couch watching random episodes, eating all the cookies and chocolate, while Katja dealt with a staffing emergency at work. I went to bed when I got tired to get some rest before the long drive back to St. John’s tomorrow.
