Over the Labour Day weekend, we were back in Newfoundland for our second Newfoundland Wedding Weekend of the summer! This time, we stayed on the Avalon Peninsula and, other than wedding festivities, mostly hung out at the cabin in Ocean Pond where Luke had his first Newfoundland blueberry picking experience.
On Thursday evening, we hopped on a plane and landed in St. John's just after midnight. Our Friday morning was fairly relaxed; we enjoyed a casual lunch at Mary Brown's (we had to...) and a stop at a new Icelandic Bakery, before visiting Nanny Dawe and heading out to Ocean Pond for some time in the great outdoors.
Unfortunately the weather over the weekend wasn't the best. It hovered around 14 C and was overcast for most of Saturday and Sunday. We may not have been inspired to swim or water ski, but on Saturday we were inspired to walk along the old railway tracks in search of some blueberries.
Unfortunately the weather over the weekend wasn't the best. It hovered around 14 C and was overcast for most of Saturday and Sunday. We may not have been inspired to swim or water ski, but on Saturday we were inspired to walk along the old railway tracks in search of some blueberries.
Some blueberry facts (found here and here):
- There are two types of blueberries: "lowbush" and "highbush". "Lowbush" means that they are grown in the wild and "highbush" are cultivated berries that were developed from wild blueberries in the early 20th century.
- Canada is the world's largest producer of lowbush blueberries, which are native to Eastern North America (including the island of Newfoundland!)
- Highbush berries are harvested earlier than lowbush, are larger, and are less perishable.
- North America accounts for 90% of the world's blueberry crops
Now, back to Saturday. We weren't sure what to expect from our lowbush berries, but luckily we showed up at the perfect time in the year and had some super berry pickers with us in the form of Elizabeth's mom and our friend, Amy, who had a keen eye for good berries.
- There are two types of blueberries: "lowbush" and "highbush". "Lowbush" means that they are grown in the wild and "highbush" are cultivated berries that were developed from wild blueberries in the early 20th century.
- Canada is the world's largest producer of lowbush blueberries, which are native to Eastern North America (including the island of Newfoundland!)
- Highbush berries are harvested earlier than lowbush, are larger, and are less perishable.
- North America accounts for 90% of the world's blueberry crops
Now, back to Saturday. We weren't sure what to expect from our lowbush berries, but luckily we showed up at the perfect time in the year and had some super berry pickers with us in the form of Elizabeth's mom and our friend, Amy, who had a keen eye for good berries.
We picked, and picked, and picked, and picked. 2+ hours later, we wandered back to the cabin with a substantial haul. We all had a great time and thorough enjoyed berry picking. Well, except for that time Luke stood on an ant hill...
After cleaning the blueberries - not actually cleaning with water, just removing any stems/leaves/spiders that made their way into our buckets - it was time to make something of these berries. Elizabeth's mom made Blueberry Muffins and a Blueberry Buckle (coffee cake).
After cleaning the blueberries - not actually cleaning with water, just removing any stems/leaves/spiders that made their way into our buckets - it was time to make something of these berries. Elizabeth's mom made Blueberry Muffins and a Blueberry Buckle (coffee cake).
We were then joined by a couple more friends for an evening of games at the cabin, where we enjoyed an obscene amount of food including our delicious blueberry treats.
The next day, the two of us bid farewell to Ocean Pond and headed off to the wedding of our friends Meghan and Garrett! A personal wedding ceremony in a picturesque location overlooking the ocean was followed by a fun reception back in St. John's. Obviously we forgot to take photos at the right times, but we did sneak in a selfie while we were waiting for a cab at 1 am, holding our box of free pizza.
The next day, the two of us bid farewell to Ocean Pond and headed off to the wedding of our friends Meghan and Garrett! A personal wedding ceremony in a picturesque location overlooking the ocean was followed by a fun reception back in St. John's. Obviously we forgot to take photos at the right times, but we did sneak in a selfie while we were waiting for a cab at 1 am, holding our box of free pizza.
Monday, our last day in Newfoundland was relaxing, and we managed to spend more time with family before heading off to the airport.
We had a great, but quick, trip back to Newfoundland and we are so glad we spent so much time with family and friends... and also that we picked so many blueberries. We carted quite a few of them back to Toronto with us.
Here are some more photos of our time back on the island:
We had a great, but quick, trip back to Newfoundland and we are so glad we spent so much time with family and friends... and also that we picked so many blueberries. We carted quite a few of them back to Toronto with us.
Here are some more photos of our time back on the island:
(SLIDESHOW)
This time last year we were sea kayaking, the year before we were exploring St. John's on a Doors Open Day, and in 2013 we took a long weekend trip to Montreal!
