When asked what I wanted to do for Mother's Day by my wonderful husband, I said that I wanted an outing, with hiking, a picnic, some photographs and happy people.
He said he could do most of those, but the last one might be problematic, given that The Daughter has turned into The Fiend lately and throws tantrums because you've told her the sky is blue and, in her mind, it can't be.
At 9:30 on Sunday morning, John asked me to name a location already and I picked Salmon Cove (again) because if the weather was gurk, we could look down at the cool stuff on the beach.
Spontaneously, we decided to call some friends of ours, the Bauers, to see if they were interested in coming along. I thought that they'd still be asleep, but then John reminded me that it was Mother's Day and that kids make their mothers breakfast, which means that fathers get up to make sure the kitchen doesn't burn down. Not only was Larry protecting the structural integrity of the kitchen, he was willing to wake his lovely wife up and put the idea to her. Shelley apparently leaped out of bed and, within an hour, they were ready to go (no one can martial troops like a nurse!) and we hit the road.
The weather was indeed gurk for the first bit, but it de-gurked and became gorgeous by mid-afternoon. We started at the beach and nearly froze our fingers off. Had a quick picnic and then hit the little hiking trail ("Trail of the Eagles" 3km long, gentle), which promised us eagles and other wildlife. The other wildlife was nowhere to be seen, but then we had a herd of stampeding children. We did see an eagle, though:
More importantly, we saw some tremendous views. The trail skirts the tops of cliffs, but is edged by low fencing to prevent people from leaving children behind inadvertently. The sky cleared and the ocean became amazing hues of blue and green. It was incredible and the pictures don't do it justice.
There were, of course, bits that went through woods…. I thought the rocks below looked like facial profiles.
Miraculously, The Daughter remained cheerful and The Fiend was not in evidence. After the hike, we went back to the beach where I indulged my love of leading children in the the path of licentiousness by removing my sandals, rolling up my pants and running in the surf. Three children followed and the result was soggy:
I also managed a couple of shots of Katherine without awakening The Fiend:
Larry got one of me fishing my daughter out of the drink after she did a face-plant. The funny part was that she wanted to go back and do it again!
The face plant more or less ended the beach excursion, though. I don't mid her getting soaked, but sick is more work than it's worth! We dried them off and drove to Carbonear for hot chocolate and a wander along the little boardwalk in the downtown. Katherine was delighted, as they have a train! Luckily, CN never let Shelley drive!
Climbing the train was a big hit, although it was bigger than Katherine bargained for and being up so high freaked her out. Sam and Katie had no such difficulties!
The Bauers headed home from Carbonear while John, Katherine and I decided to swing quickly through Harbour Grace, as the light was still nice and we were in that neck of the woods anyway….
Raising the Bar Strength & Conditioning 
Those photos are tremendous. You just get better and better.
AWESOME pics, Vicky.
They have a wonderfully personal feel to them.
-Zack
These make me want to emigrate. Today.
Let’s hear it for the motivational/persuasion powers of nurses! We can stick a tube in any one of your orifices and make it seem like a good idea!
your pictures are absolutely beautiful. I accidently came upon this sight. I am glad I did
It looks like you and your family had a awesome time, the beach is beauitful. I actually grew up in salmon cove and spent many of hours on that beach playing in the sand and ocean.
I now live in Vancouver B.C, but my parents still live there we are maybe 5 mins from the beach. I took my boyfriend back there this past summer and he would wake up every morning and go out on my parents deck look down on the beach while he drank his morning coffee.
I’m glad you had a good time in my home town!
Love the pic’s. Makes me home sick. I grew up in slamon cove just a 1 minute walk from the “sands” I spent all of my childhood summers on the “sands”. Thats what us salmon covers call a beach. I could see the whole beach from my bedroom window, and I would fall asleep to the sound of waves breaking on the beach………….I used to sleep alot better then!!!!! Now I live in ontario and fall asleep to the sound of traffic………….OK now I’m treally home sick…… nice pics. looks like you had fun
Wonderful pictures. So good that we’re going to pack a picnic lunch and head for Salmon Cove. Hey, I can remember it as a youth when very few folks went there — it was almost like a private beach.
I lives on the road leading to the beach. It was called beach road. Whe n I was little i use to love going there fishing, swimming, have a picnic and doing a lil hiking. It is the best place in the world. I cant wait to go back to Newfoundland and go to the beach and just stay there for hours!
I too grew up in Salmon Cove (1943-1960) and lived within a mile [make that 2 km] of the Sands. I came across your beautiful/nostalgic photos while looking for a picture of the little island with a hole in it. We called it The Bakery because of its resemblance to the truck that brought bakery goods to our little community- perhaps it still bears the name. Thanks for including it in your portfolio.
My childhood summers were spent partly “down on the Sands” and partly hiking along those cliffs that now apparently have a guard rail. How we kids survived childhood without any thought of our own safety is beyond me. One day 3 or 4 friends and I were “lost” from 8 am to 8 pm. We of course didn’t realize there was a problem until we heard the church bells ringing in the distance and we knew they shouldn’t be because it was not Sunday. The bells were easily heard although we were over the hill in Otterbury, even then uninhabited. We wondered who could be lost…
That’s it. Thanks for the pictures and the essay.
Clay
Your photos are wonderful. I grew up in Salmon Cove and now have a retirement home at the bottom of the Ridge.