When the 4th of July is on a Wednesday, your long weekend gets confusing

TIDE-HSV said:

The high was 55F at my daughter's house in Chamberanger, France today. I'm plotting a September visit. It was only 83F here on Monte Sano today, but, with the humidity and in direct sun, it was beastly. I do really have a red neck from working on a stubborn drainage problem...

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Going to L'Anse aux Meadows today and going to look for an iceberg. I reckon if I'm looking at an iceberg in July, I'm in the right place.

It's the California in me, but I can't stand the humidity in the South. I've only begun to tolerate it now, but the summers here make me miss the dry heat back home. For July 4th, we had an homemade ice cream contest among friends, and I won with a no churn butterscotch version. My wife and I then drove out to the Providence community to watch fireworks. If y'all are ever in HSV, and want to watch some good fireworks for free, go to the Providence neighborhood. Everyone gathers on the green lawn there, and there are restaurants and bars surrounding it. If you wanted to walk around outside with a beer from one of the establishments there, you would be totally allowed to do it.

CaliforniaTide said:

It's the California in me, but I can't stand the humidity in the South. I've only begun to tolerate it now, but the summers here make me miss the dry heat back home. For July 4th, we had an homemade ice cream contest among friends, and I won with a no churn butterscotch version. My wife and I then drove out to the Providence community to watch fireworks. If y'all are ever in HSV, and want to watch some good fireworks for free, go to the Providence neighborhood. Everyone gathers on the green lawn there, and there are restaurants and bars surrounding it. If you wanted to walk around outside with a beer from one of the establishments there, you would be totally allowed to do it.

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People here in CA don't really understand it unless they've been there. In August it will get to 100+ here with lows in the 40-50's. The humidity combined with the relentless heat and humidity at night can't be explained. It has to be experienced to be understood.

I chose to not buy a grill for 3 summers running just because...several reasons...but I did "grill" steaks in the kitchen. Personal fireworks here would be stupid and likely illegal due to the risk of fire. I once thought this was overblown but it is definitely not. When I do buy a new grill (planning perhaps at the end of this season to catch a good deal in prep for next year) I will buy a gas grill for the first time, mainly due to the fire risk of charcoal in comparison and also the mess from burning charcoal, though I tend to favor charcoal for taste and familiarity.

Wednesdays have been an admin day for me the last couple of months so no extra time off, but I'm about to move that admin time to a different day and lose half of it. I spend admin time catching up on paperwork and other tasks and for personal errands and appts that I could not attend otherwise. I also have to plan at least minimal time on weekends to devote to these things or they pile up. And even though this office has been open for years there is a start-up atmosphere IRT P&P having to be revamped, updated, or newly written and several new programs requiring time and effort to get off the ground and that require gaining support and use of my network to make happen. I rarely leave the office without my laptop, so any day truly off is welcomed.

Bazza said:

I've enjoyed reading all the posts here.

In regards to re-locating to a more hospitable climate during the summer months.....to be honest it's never occurred to me on any serious level because this is my home and I have responsibilities here and for me it's just something you have to do battle with and develop a strategy, as with any obstacle one faces in life.

That said....now that I am in my 60's and on a glide path to retirement (and with that a lot less structural requirements), I should give this more thought!

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L'Anse aux Meadows (site of the first Norse settlement in North America) today. Looked across the strait to Labrador, but did not go. We saw icebergs today, which was one of my goals in coming north. (Seeing a whale and a moose were the others).
The high temperature was 61 degrees at one point, but most of the day was in the low 50s. The west coast of Newfoundland is breathtakingly beautiful. Sparsely populated, but beautiful.

Bazza said:

Oh wow....that sounds WONDERFUL!

If you don't mind....I think I will do some vicarious living off your postings here, TW.....

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Happy to oblige. You really should go and see Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Gros Morne NP Newfoundland for yourself. They really are breath-taking.

I have been to enough hot and dusty places in my life that I hate hot and humid now. (The worst I ever saw was 129 degrees F in the shade in Djibouti; but it was okay because it was a very humid heat.). Alabama in January is right up my street. February is beautiful in Alabama. August? I'd rather not. Now that I get to pick my itineraries, I choose to be in Newfoundland in July.

Yesterday was devoted to looking at archaeology* of the Norse site (L'Anse aux Meadows NP) and then looking for icebergs and watching whales. We had success on all three counts. At Great Brehat, you could see seven icebergs at once. Sunny, cloudless sky, high was around 70 degrees F, with a strong onshore breeze. Perfect day.


* The archaeological evidence was a little skimpier than I thought it would be, but still convincing. Radio carbon dating put the site at A.D. 1000. There were cedar chips (for fire starting) from Iceland. Iron-making slag (native Beothuk peoples did not work iron). A soapstone implement for woolworking.

TIDE-HSV said:

Most don't realize the importance of bog iron to the Vikings. They generally settled only where it was available, with the exception of Greenland, which made Greenland dependent upon Iceland and Scandinavian sources. In fact, it's been postulated that L'Anse itself was an effort by the Greenland Vikings to find alternative sources. BTW, the high on Monte Sano yesterday didn't quite reach 76 - cloudy in the morning. Already 72 today and it's not quite 9:30...

Bog Iron

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Did not know that about Bog Iron. The creek next to the settlement flows reddish-brown (in fact, most creeks in Newfoundland flow the color of iced tea), which the docents said indicates nodules of iron upstream. The docents believe the Norse had to make some repairs to their ships (a four-day crossing from Greenland), which mean lumber and making new nails.

CaliforniaTide said:

It's the California in me, but I can't stand the humidity in the South. I've only begun to tolerate it now, but the summers here make me miss the dry heat back home. For July 4th, we had an homemade ice cream contest among friends, and I won with a no churn butterscotch version. My wife and I then drove out to the Providence community to watch fireworks. If y'all are ever in HSV, and want to watch some good fireworks for free, go to the Providence neighborhood. Everyone gathers on the green lawn there, and there are restaurants and bars surrounding it. If you wanted to walk around outside with a beer from one of the establishments there, you would be totally allowed to do it.

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We did the same thing. Providence is a nice area but I was disappointed when we walked down to Edgar's for some sweet treats they were closed. Otherwise it was a lot of fun and surprised we didn't get rained on because there were dark clouds all around..