47° 31' 17" N, 52° 37' 24" W

That is where the easternmost point in North America is located.

I knew before I arrived in Newfoundland that if there was anything I wanted to do, it was to go there since it was no more than a 20-minute drive from our hotel in St. John's. Why travel almost all the way across the continent and then stop a few degrees short of the entire distance? (Okay, I guess I'd have to be coming from the westernmost point in Alaska in order to say that I'd really covered the requisite mileage, but I think you understand what I'm getting at here.)

We had one day for sightseeing, so getting to this destination, formally known as Cape Spear, was at the top of the list for a lot of the family members who attended my cousin's wedding. So we went caravan-style in various rental cars, obligatory cameras at our sides. If the locals hadn't already gotten to see a stereotypical Asian tourist group, we definitely provided the proper visual ...

Actually, we sort of dispersed a bit once we got there, which I appreciated. Reunions with all of the extended family are fun, but it also means resurrecting certain tensions born of complicated family politics, and since this was the day after the wedding, there had been enough time for some of that to surface. That'll keep for another post, though.

Before going to the cape, we stopped at Signal Hill, which was also a lovely place to take pictures. The hiking paths were steep at certain points along the way, but they gave us beautiful views of St. John's. Signal Hill was apparently a defensive stronghold from the 18th century to World War II, and there are cannons still guarding the narrows leading into the city's harbor. Newly Graduated Sis and I had fun climbing around on them to get interesting shots. Here's one of hers:


And here are some different perspectives on the narrows as they open toward the Atlantic. Cannon-view:


NG Sis-view (rather, the narrows with NG Sis):


And Troubadour-view:


Cape Spear offered even more to see, I thought. We happened to be there at the time of year when wild irises are in bloom, so I took several pictures for D (they're his favorite flower).













Clover also covers the grassy slopes leading out to the ocean.


NG Sis and I were so absorbed in our own explorations that we got quite a bit behind the main group, as you can see:


We caught up with them just as one of our uncles ventured off the path (despite several warning signs against it!) to check out the boulders at the ocean's edge.


Apparently a good number of people have been swept off these rocks by the giant waves that can surge up quite suddenly. Fortunately, none appeared while our uncle was poking around.


The obligatory picture of the sign marking our location, latitude and longitude included (click on the photo for a closer look):


And then a leisurely climb to the lighthouse.



It's definitely worth going back -- I'd want to take D as it's the kind of place he would love. When we'll have time for an extended trip together, though, is uncertain. Perhaps when he gets more vacation time (not until he's been with his employer for five years). But by then we'll likely have little Troubadours to take with us ...

Hmm, maybe this'll have to wait till they can handle 15 hours of cross-country travel. Yes.