The Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip! {Letter “S”}

 

I am very excited to be taking part in the Blogging A to Z Challenge 2013.  This is actually my third challenge; the first year I featured a recipe for each letter and last year I drew on  my nursing background and used “parts of the human body” as my inspiration!

This year I have decided to change things up a bit.  I live in Canada and believe it is one of the most beautiful countries on the planet; so I have decided to feature a different Canadian “place”, for each letter of the challenge.

I am very much looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets the Challenge and I would love to have you join me, as I crisscross this vast country on my Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip!

So, without further ado, “S” is for St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

 

History:   St. John’s is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America.  Its name has been attributed to the feast day of John the Baptist, when John Cabot was believed to have sailed into the harbour in 1497.

Population:  City 106,172 / Metro 196,966 {2011 Census}

 

Notable persons:

• Rick Mercer, TV Personality/Writer
• Mary Walsh Writer, This Hour Has 22 Minute
• Shannon Tweed, Actor
• Seamus O’Regan,  Canadian broadcast journalist

St. John’s, Newfoundland {Photo attribution: JcPollock Wikimedia Commons}

Geography: St. John’s is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, on the northeast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeast Newfoundland and is the most easterly city in North America, excluding Greenland.  It is 295 miles (475 km) closer to London, United Kingdom than it is to Edmonton, Alberta. The city is the largest in the province and the second largest in the Atlantic Provinces after Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Coniferous trees such as black spruce, white spruce, and balsam fir dominate the native vegetation. The largest deciduous tree is white birch; species of lesser stature include alder, cherry and mountain ash.

View of St. John’s from Signal Hill – Photo attribution: Aconcagua (CC)}

Climate:  St. John’s has a humid continental climate with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters, which is due to Gulf Stream moderation. Mean temperatures range from −5.4 °C(22.3 °F) in February to 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) in August. 

Record high temperature – 31.5 C (88.7 F)

Record low temperature – −23.8 C  (−10.8F)

Of major Canadian cities, St. John’s is the foggiest (124 days), windiest (24.3 km/h (15.1 mph) average speed), and cloudiest (1,497 hours of sunshine).

Things to see/do: 

• East Coast Trail – Category: Trail
• Signal Hill – Category: Historic Sites; Landmarks/ Points of Interest; Military Bases/ Facilities; Scenic/ Historic Walking Areas
• Jelly Bean Row – Category: Neighbourhood
• Cape Spear Lighthouse – Category: Lighthouses
• Johnson Geo Centre – Category: Science Museums
• The Rooms – Category: Museums
• Rennie’s River Trail – Category: Trails
• Bowring Park – Category: Parks
• Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist – Category: Religious Sites/A beautiful stone church built in 1847.
• Basilica of St. John the Baptist – Category: Speciality Museums; Libraries/Museum featuring historical and artistic artifacts pertaining to the Roman Catholic Church.
• George Street – Category: Neighbourhoods
• Cabot Tower – Category: Observation Decks/ Towers

 Jelly Bean Row {Photo attribution: Kenny Louie (CC)}

The Rooms {Photo attribution:  David P Janes (CC)}

St. John’s Harbour {Photo attribution: JcPollock Wikimedia Commons}

We had a very, very long drive today and an overnight ferry trip to get from Regina to St. John’s!  We spent the entire day exploring this magnificent city, then dancing and dining the night away on George St, and I am more than ready for a good sleep!  I will see you  in the morning, get a good rest we have another long drive tomorrow to get to our “T” destination.

Past visits on the A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip:

• A is for Alma, New Brunswick
• B is for Banff, Alberta
• C is for Cornwall, Ontario
• D is for Dawson City, Yukon
• E is for Edmonton, Alberta
• Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Virtual  Road Trip & Actual Road Trip! 
• L is for London, Ontario {Resumption of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip!}
• M is for Montreal, Quebec
• N is for Nanaimo, BC (with recipe)
• O is for Ottawa, Ontario
• P is for Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia
• Q is for Quispamsis, New Brunswick
• R is for Regina, Saskatchewan

Complete listing of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 participants.

CREDITS – Map source –  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Newfoundland_map.png   Information contained in this post was obtained from Trip Advisor, Wikipedia, stjohns.ca and IMDb