Scenic Newfoundland : Road Trip Photos, Part 3

It's March! Eeek - the winter is finally going to turn into spring soon. Although, according to the news this morning, the Weather Network released their report that in Canada this year, we'll be having a late spring. They estimate the weather to not officially turn to spring until mid-April. Let's hope that those weather guys don't know what they're talking about. I don't want to wait that long for green grass and spring coats!

As a bit of a "beat the winter blues" sort of series, over the past three weeks I've been sharing photos of our trip to Newfoundland this past August. It's been great looking back through our photos (which I've yet to get developed! Must get on that.) and reminiscing about how much fun Dan and I had on our road trip. This is the last of my three part series; you can see part one and part two here. All of the photos are straight from our camera or iPhone, no fancy editing work here, other than some diptychs. 

What's a diptych? It's a way to present two photos, side by side, that can complement or contrast with each other. (You can also create triptychs: three photos. Crazy talk!)

Here's a few shots from our days on the ol' Rock:

Cape Spear - one of the most beautiful stops on our trip

A door fit for a hobbit on the side of the road.

Seashells galore / Peeking at Newfoundland from the ferry window

The dock and boat before our adventure through the mountains / a fun airplane shot

Yet another gorgeous lighthouse / How fun is that ceiling?! It was in a pottery shop.

So many adorable shops along our trip / Several businesses backed onto the water and had decks for observing

I'm always spotting patterns that I like / Decrepit buildings are my jam - love that pop of red!

That just about winds up our photos! I have oodles more, as you can well imagine, but I won't smother you with pics of Newfoundland. I think three posts is plenty without overloading my blog. I hope you enjoyed the glimpses into our road trip! If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend taking a trip of your own to see that fine province.

Happy Tuesday!

Scenic Newfoundland : Road Trip Photos, Part 2

Well, the snow's still here, so let's reflect back on the warm summer months again. This is my second post on my trip to Newfoundland in August; if you'd like to see the photos from the first post, click here. Dan and I had a total blast on our road trip around the province, covering much of the western coast as well as the opposite (St. John's) coastline. If you've never been to "the rock", I would highly recommend taking the time to visit the lovely province. Such rugged beauty, and friendly residents in almost every town! 

Most of these photos were taken during the second half of our road trip, mostly in St. John's and the trip to and from the city. A friendly piece of advice: if you can avoid the trip across central Newfoundland, do so. It took hours and hours to get from one coast to the other; we used up almost two days in total, traveling to and from St. John's. Since we drove, we did get to explore some of the communities that weren't directly on the highway, which was a lot of fun.

A little coastal community right inside the city of St. John's / Fish drying on racks in the sunlight

Gorgeous street art everywhere in St. John's / The view from a tower on Signal Hill

Two scenes from one of our favourite communities, Little Harbour: we stayed in those cabins for a night.

Signal Hill, Newfoundland

Another coastal scene in Little Harbour

So many picturesque lighthouses

Cape Spear, the easternmost point of Canada / A few of the houses on Jellybean Row in St. John's

A beautiful river scene on the side of the highway in central Newfoundland

The view from the tower on Signal Hill

The water and coastlines were gorgeous at every stop

I hope to have a third post next week with a few more pictures from our road trip: mostly little snapshots that I took to capture small details and moments. We had so many great laughs and funny experiences on our trip. Taking our time and traveling through Newfoundland was one of my favourite vacations that Dan and I have taken together so far!

Happy Tuesday!

Scenic Newfoundland : Road Trip Photos, Part 1

Snow day! It's blizzardy outside, and the roads aren't in good condition. When we woke up this morning, it was impossible to see out of any of our windows. This has been quite the winter! I have a long commute to school, so on the days that I feel are hazardous, I stay put. I'm doing my schoolwork from home: the advantages of having modern technology :)

As I sit here this morning, sipping my (super sour!) smoothie and snuggled up under a blanket with the snow swirling around outside, I thought it might be nice to share some photos of our trip to Newfoundland this past August. I hope to share more later on this week as well. There's nothing like reminiscing about warm summer days to make the day seem a little brighter.

Pulling into the port early in the morning

Our first glimpse of Port-aux-Basque, the little village that my grandmother grew up in

Those mountains! That sky!

Even someone's junk pile can make a fun photo

Clothes drying on the line at a little museum - loved the colour of the house!

Dreamy sunsets, low tides and plant life

Beach treasures - shells that we took home, and an inukshuk with a dog

Panoramic beauty

A gorgeous boat trip through mountains

An adorable seaside village with fun shadows and tiny shops. We ate crepes on the dock.

Local plant life and our home for the week

That was fun - I can't wait to share more images with you! We had such a blast on the vacation. We both love road trips and the outdoors, so traveling and discovering our neighbouring provinces is one of our favourite things to do. We've been slowly checking off each of the provincial capitals from our list of places to visit. I wonder what the next one will be?

Happy Wednesday!

Quebec City : Graffiti

Three weeks ago, my husband and I took a train trip to Quebec City during my study break from design school. While there, I took the opportunity to get some use out of my new Nikon D5100 camera. I purchased my Nikon at the beginning of 2013 and I'm slowly getting more practice. Living in a rural community allows me to take more nature based outdoor photographs, so when given the opportunity to visit a larger centre, I'm insanely attracted to the architecture, lines, and art. We spend the entire week in the older part of the city, commonly called Old Quebec City.

Something that really caught my eye? Street art - also known as graffiti. The colourful, stencil styled graffiti was incredibly eye-catching and I was excited to be able to document it. Most of the pieces that I discovered were a bit of social commentary as opposed to "tagging" and were easily legible. 

When street art is tastefully done (as seen in the images above) I am immediately attracted to it. If I was a local business owner and my building was painted I'm not sure that I would have such an optimistic feeling. The streets of Old Quebec City are clean, the buildings well-kept, and all of the streets are brightly lit. The contrast between the edgy spray painted art and the old brick and stone structures is quite startling. 

What's your stance on graffiti? Is it an eyesore? A means of expressing yourself creatively? Destructive? Constructive? Are you intrigued by graffiti or repulsed by it? Feel free to share your thoughts on street art.

Happy Tuesday!

Autumn Beauty

Sunday, October 14

Tuesday, October 23

Autumn colours never cease to amaze me. Sorry that I keep talking about the fall, but I just can't help it! Every day I see more and more that I live in the most beautiful province that Canada has... but I may be a little biased :) The trees and hills come alive with the sound of music lush shades, tints and tones of warm harvest colours that make my heart smile.

I drive by the prettiest river on my daily commute, and I wanted to document the change in colour. The first photo was taken on October 14 (last Sunday), and the second was taken yesterday, October 23. Crazy, what a difference a little more than a week can make, eh? The side-by-side comparison blows my mind. What a beautiful world God has created.

I'm sitting in a local coffee shop, working on a few assignments and studying for a quiz on Friday. Can't beat a soy London fog, snuggly scarf, bright sunlight and a relaxing atmosphere. It's a great start to my day before I head off to my afternoon class. Free wi-fi doesn't hurt either.

Happy Wednesday!

The Road Trip Chronicles

 Taa-daa! I've got a new blog series up my sleeve:

The Road Trip Chronicles

Dan and I plan to maximize our days off together this summer and fill our time with road trips and fun. No lalligagging and wishing and hoping - the summer of 2012 is going to be the best yet! Since it's Victoria Day weekend here in Canada, we were both off of work on Monday - and a paid day off, to boot! We packed our car up, slipped on some shades, and grabbed a map at the tourist bureau and were off.

We decided to take a scenic route that was brand new to us. It's so fun to explore your own province through tourists' eyes! Unfortunately, there weren't any tourist traps along the way, but we had a blast. After about five hours in the car, we landed at a beautiful beach that is the province's surfer destination. We got out and stretched our legs for a good long break.

My darling and I

We enjoyed the chilly wind after being cooped up under the heat of the sun in the car. Dan and I had fun watching the surfers, windsurfers, and beach bums enjoy one of the nicest days of the year. Everyone and their dogs (literally!) were there, soaking up the natural beauty of Lawrencetown.

I found an adorable heart shaped rock that may or may not have come home with me.

We hiked up to the top of the crest and watched the windsurfers for a while. The view is absolutely incredible! I love living in Nova Scotia... we're surrounded by so much natural beauty.

It was the perfect day for spending time outdoors! The wind was strong enough to keep the bugs at bay.

We found a little rock tower that someone had left behind. It's no inukshuk, but it did the trick :)

After we left the beach, we had supper at a barbecue joint and headed for home. No shopping, quality time only this trip. I can't wait to spend a summer full of days like yesterday! It's going to be one memorable summer!

Question: How about you? How did you spend your extra weekend day? Do share!

Happy Tuesday!