ZR-1 Road Trip to Newfoundland & Labrador Canada

[QB93Z]

We arrived in Sydney this morning and drove to Breton Tire to unload the rims from the Z. The tires from Tire Rack arrived a few minutes ago. The Road Trip Fairy is looking out for us this trip.

Jim


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[tf95ZR1]

Awesome adventure!
Thanks for taking the time to report your trip.
ZR-1's never die...

[QB93Z]

I finally have a chance to catch up on posting some photos. Getting to the ferry and then getting the tires replaced and aligned kept us pretty busy.

So stepping back a little, Day 21, Monday, was our last day in St John's, NL. We took a drive along the water front and noticed a new arrival since the day before. The USNS Zeus:



The Zeus is a Navy owned, contractor operated cable laying ship. It was built in 1984 and is a one of a kind ship. We drove down to the waterfront to see if we could get a better look. We parked near the ships and walked to the Zeus. Security was in place so we couldn't get very close, but we were looking at another ship nearby, the MV Strait Signet:







A crew member invited us aboard to talk and we accepted:




As we talked, he said that the Strait Signet used to be a US Navy ship called USNS Sub Sig II:




He said that there were still some photos of the submarines the Sub Sig II had worked with on display in the crew's mess. We got a tour of the ship. Here is the Galley:




to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

In the Crew's Mess there were a collection of pictures of US Navy submarines. It was an amazing collection. There were two sister ships of the subs that I was XO and CO of:




There was the USS Buffalo that I road for exercises out of Pearl Harbor in 1987:




There was the USS New York City which my brother Rich was Engineer on in the 80's.




There was a picture of a test launch of a Poseidon Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile:




There was a plaque for the USS Batfish, a sub I had orders to in 1979, but the orders got changed.




The Sub Sig II was navy owned and operated by Raytheon to monitor the acoustic signature of US Submarines for research purposes and to verify the submarine was quiet enough to deploy. The Sub Sig II also was a support ship for the Navy submerged missile launches.

After our tour, we were able to get a picture of the bow of the Zeus:




to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

Earlier in the morning we had watched a container ship enter the harbor. We found the wharf where it was being unloaded:






We drove around to the south side of St John's harbor for a last look:




Bidding farewell to St John's, we drove 85 miles across the Avalon Peninsula to the Maritime Atlantic Ferry terminal in Argentia, NL.

We stopped at Castle Hill to see the remains of the fortifications that were built over the years to defend the important fishing grounds and shore areas:




On the high ground overlooking the present day town of Placentia, the remains of several fortifications are visible. The first construction date from 1693. By the early 19th century, the forts became irrelevant and they decayed.



We drove on to Argentia and got in line to board the ferry that would take us to North Sydney, Nova Scotia on an 18-hour trip:




Jim

[QB93Z]

On Day 22, Tuesday, we arrived in North Sydney, NS. The process of unloading the cars and trucks was very efficient:



We drove directly to Breton Tire Company, the shop that was coordinating with us to receive shipment of the Tire Rack tires. Breton Tire was not a fancy tire store. In fact we were initially worried that the shop couldn't handle the job. But my fears we put aside after meeting the mechanics and noting that the Sydney Police Department uses Breton Tire.




The tires were delivered by UPS at about the same time we got there. Also a truck with 1800 tires for the shop's inventory arrived. They told us they would have to unload the truck before working on the ZR-1. So we went sightseeing until after lunch:




I have to express our heart-felt thanks to Bill, John, Jason, JB and Dawn for everything they did to get the tires on and aligned so we could get back on the road.




Jim

[QB93Z]

On Day 23, We drove 387 miles from Sydney, NS to Saint John, NB. It rained all day, sometimes fairly hard. The new Sumitomo tires did fine in the rain.

In order to get the tire problem resolved, we altered our itinerary to visit Halifax, NS and then take a ferry from Digby to Saint John. Since we didn't have time to drive to Halifax, we had to cancel the Ferry trip.

Jim

[QB93Z]

On Day 24, Thursday, we left Saint John, MB and drove south. We crossed the International Border into the USA and headed south on the Coastal Route US-1. In St George, Maine we flea market and of course, Lyndi had to stop and look around:




Our destination for the day was Acadia National Park. We stopped first in the Schoodic District of the National Park. It is across the bay from Bar Harbor where the main section of the Park is:




We drove the Scenic Route around Schoodic Point. Most of the route is one way with plenty of room to stop and look at the rocks and the water:



Across the bay was an island:



Lyndi identified Winter Harbor Lighthouse on the shore of the island:



With her 300 mm lens she was able to get a picture of the lighthouse:




to be continued....

[QB93Z]

It was good to see the PurpleZ with the real wheels back on it:




Here we are on the rocks:




An artsy shot of the Z with a fallen tree:




The water crashing on the rocks was hypnotic:




And after each wave was a waterfall:




One of the fascinating aspects of the coastal rocks of Schoodic point is their geological history. The main body of rock is Schoodic granite, the light tan colored rock. After the granite layers were formed, the area was subject to volcanic forces that cracked the overlaying granite. Lava flowed upward filling the cracks with rock that was darker and softer than the Schoodic Granite. As the rocked aged and weathered, the softer rock eroded faster leaving grooves in the coastline:




to be continued....

[QB93Z]

As Lyndi was photographing the waves crashing on the rocks, she spotted a seal watching us. The seal hung around for a while then dove and disappeared:




As the tide came in and the swells picked up, the waves became more dramatic:




The seagulls seemed used to the visitors and were happy to pose for the camera:




The Z in the parking area at Schoodic Point:




Jim