ZR-1 Road Trip to Newfoundland & Labrador Canada

[QB93Z]

Day 20: We spent the day sight seeing in St John's and the surrounding area.

St John's is a nice city. We felt comfortable visiting the urban areas and the people are friendly. Tourism is a big part of St John's economy.
There are many areas of St John's that are painted bright colors, a pleasant décor:



Another strong economic influence is the oil industry support services. A large part of the water front area is dedicated to the support ships:



The support ships were busy, even on Sunday morning. We watched the MV Atlantic Hawk get underway and head out to sea:




We drove out to the north side of the harbor, up onto the highest ground surrounding the harbor to Signal Hill:



The view of St John's harbor from Signal Hill is stunning:






to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

Across the harbor entrance from Signal Hill, on the southern coast of the harbor is Amherst Lighthouse:




Just north of the downtown area of St John's is a small bay known as Quidi Vidi. It is a picturesque fishing village. We watched several local fisherman cleaning the morning catch to the delight of the seagulls:




The area is also home to the Quidi Vidi Brewery, the brewery that makes Iceberg Beer:




After lunch, we drove about 30 minutes south of St John's to Bay Bulls to board a Whale and Puffin Tour Ship:




In Bay Bull Harbor we saw more oil industry support services. A large support ship, the MV Seven Waves was loading equipment:




As we left the harbor on our tour boat, we had a wonderful view of the rocky coast:




to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

Along the coast near Bay Bulls, the rock formations clearly show the result of the forces that shape the land:



The tour boat took us just down the coast to the Witless Bay Islands Preserve. The three protected sea bird breeding islands are home to an estimated one half million birds of many different species. Our interest was the Puffins:




Lyndi caught this Puffin on the water between dives under the water to catch fish to take back to the chick on the island:




After circumnavigating Witless Island, we set out to look for the whales that are commonly found feeding near the coast. We didn't find any whales but we did see a group of White Side Dolphins:




After a busy afternoon on the high seas, we returned to our hotel to relax. For our last day in Newfoundland, I booked a deluxe suite at the downtown Marriott. we found out how deluxe when I went to the ice machine:




Jim

[Demps]

Absolutely phenomenal! Y'all have the best trips.

I hope that ice had a dark brown beverage poured over it.

Ted

[Tripler]

I really have to make it out there sometime . Funny enough were I live in Canada , there is a huge amount of Newfoundlanders. One lives right beside me and is always talking about home or as they say , I miss de Rock by ...



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[ZR1North]

Glad to see you made it to my old hometown (St. John's) safely, Jim and Lyndi. I wish I were still there to host you. When you started this trip, I envisioned a picture of the purple Zee in front of the Cabot Tower on Signal Hill; I didn't expect it to have black, rear wheels. Compliments to you both for persevering and carrying on - safely! You mentioned Quidi Vidi village - you just missed the oldest sporting event in North America there - the St. John's regatta, by a week. The locals will be happy to share the highlights of the 2016 edition. If you get a chance, you should have a drink on George Street too; it's an iconic social mecca for Canadians visiting "the Rock".

Look forward to more of your exploits.

Bob

[QB93Z]

We are on the ferry bound for North Sydney, NS. We will arrive tomorrow morning.





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[rush91]

Originally Posted by QB93Z

While we were in St Anthony, we discovered that the rear tires of the ZR-1 are having very accelerated thread wear on the rear tires. My assessment is that we will not be able to drive the rest of the trip on these tires.

I do not know the cause of the wear yet. It is not from burn outs at lights, I have been driving very conservatively.

We determined that there are no 315/35/17 tires of any brand in Newfoundland. We searched Nova Scotia and discovered that there are also no tires in Nova Scotia. The best I could find was a 2 week delivery of Goodyear tires to a tire store in Halifax. We searched the US and bought Sumitomas from TireRack for rapid shipment to a tire store in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

We will complete our plan for seeing Newfoundland, take the ferry back to North Sydney and then wait in Sydney for the tires. If the tires arrive as scheduled, we will be able to catch up to our original plan.

The tire wear affects both rear tires with a little more wear on the right side. The wear is uniform across the left tire and slightly more on the outer edge of the right tire. All tire pressures are proper.

I replaced both rear wheel bearings last spring and got a 4-wheel alignment at that time.

Any ideas about what I should check for when I get the new tires install will be appreciated.

Jim

I love my Sumitomas....Very smooth and quiet tire. Not the best for hooking up any kind of traction, but great road tire. I love the pictures, especially of the submarine. That thing is HUGE!! I had no idea.....I've seen an aircraft carrier in person, but wow that is crazy!!

[Mystic ZR-1]

Originally Posted by rush91

.....That thing is HUGE!! I had no idea.....I've seen an aircraft carrier in person, but wow that is crazy!!

You oughta see a Trident out of the water...!!!!!

[BlackSheepz]

Just caught up with your trip and all the photos. So excited to live Vicariously through you two! keep em coming and thanks for posting!