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finally i slow down - more or less. in a budget busting day, bright skied windy day decided to do the irish loop afterall. wanted to get down to the area between st. peter's river and trepassey - an vast empty flattish landscape. have done it twice before twice - some parts three times - but there once it was in deep fog, once i was racing back to beat a snow storm and once was with a faulty camera

packed up everything, joãozão, ubaldo two dianas and 20 rolls of film. decided in the end not to take the transcanada as there is a part of greater st. john's that i seem to ignore - the shore from st. philips to holyrood. full tank of gasoline - wondered if i would make it back without having to refill it, headed down to torbay and took indian meal line over to the coast. by the ocean torbay is pretty, set in a valley in a cove, a church being the biggest building in the scene.

indian meal line was a long strip of subdivisioned type of houses with roads coming off of it to future subdivisions. followed construction vehicles the length of the road into portugal cove - again a note to one day take the ferry to bell island.

there was a house for sale overlooking conception bay and bell island. beside a tea house. snaked along route 41 through st. philip's nice, st. thomas, also nice. then into topsail and all the conception bay south communities. which were great for amenities - a large dominion competing with an equally large sobey's restaurants etc but more a suburb than the towns thati had been passing through. went this way to see where a photographer acquaintance lived in holyrood and in going this way it now meant that i had driven the coast around the entire avalon peninsula.

again ws noticing how many people of all ages were out walking and running, the passed a s.u.v. from alaska, photographing ball parks was a problem as they were all being used. owrked around that in holyrood as it was a day care centre using it so i documented the parts that they weren't and finally had all that i wanted. also photographed a day care worker and a kid's bandage from him falling off the bleachers.

did a lot of turning around as i would pass a place find it interesting and turn back this happened with the heavy machinery driving school along salmonier line. again at at a spring at times i would have to go a good kilometre beyond before i could turn the caravan around.

a sub theme of the day was closed conveniences, town halls and conveniences. there is a photographer scott walden who a couple of years ago had a show at the agnl of places that have been abandoned due to the resettlements of joey smallwood. he is now represented by christina parker and has a book out - envy seeps in slowly but surely.

the work is informative and quite beautiful speaking with others they seem to have more trouble with it than i do but it does tend to be more pretty than informing the social upheaval that time brought. think of people photographing weathered barns, rusting ploughs etc. he has abandoned houses that have slide down hills the roofs of churches coming out of the vegetation - the halls had collapsed?

all of a sudden saw my structures as places that were needed - they are in towns that are still viable - but closed. on my part it is curiosity as it doesn't seem to be for the reason one other places - the wal-mart out by the highway - there is no wal-mart. this is the highway. along route 90 there was a supermarket in st mary's and another in trepassey gas bars were even more rare.

a different culture along salmonier line. people having cottages on lakes and streams - gret for fishing i hear. the places are more secluded. than those along the ocean. there are trees.

stopped halfway down along hawcos pond to photograph some street furniture and a convenience. stopping there was also a sea plane and fake lighthouses. stopped again in salmonier and again in st. mary's where i photographed the town hall a crab grave yard - the gulls would drop the crabs from a height cracking the shells, then gutting them. didn't stop at the ball park - as there was a game going on and the madonna in the back of a van wasn't around.

am so behind in printing i think that i have a decent snap of the ball park in st. mary's from two times ago but wasn't sure as that was the time my joãozão was wonky.

photographed the church and church yard - six grave stones overlooking st.mary's bay and a plant - fish processing? yeah yeah back to the eternal problem of the typical tourist shot. i don't have to print it though.

was rejected in st. mary's. leaving town i pass a gas bar and two people wave. double back through town - i also saw some school buses - head up to them and said you waved i have to take your picture. both men embarrassed went into the garage shaking their heads and laughing. said that they didn't have to see them but no.

spent some time at point la haye and gaskiers. there is a stone beach with a light house - automated, not tourist. again astounded at how alone i was. was there for 30 minutes and only three cars passed. wind picked up was being blown about, photographed things left on the beach, the gravel the cliffs were sphagnum. headed to the light house to photograph the helipad - warning fog horn can sound at anytime. it can be damaging to hearing.

photographed clothes on the line overlooking the sea. photographed the garden og a meehan in point la haye - it was a city of wooden sculptures

wanted the gaskiers ball park as i know it didn't come out last time - a light leak created a band down the film - but it was filled with players.

certainly hope that these cameras hold up depended on joãozão this outing and it was worrying . last time there was no hint at anything being wrong until i developed the film. the bellows are gaffer taped making it something red green would be proud of. cannot fathom why i'm attracted to things that can cause trouble. trust my dianas more.

st. vincent-st. stephen's-peter's river was another goal. the maritime museum advertises restrooms on it hoardings - but i wanted to photograph the road that divides holyrood pond from the ocean. in newfoundland terms lake geneva would be a pond. where route 90 becomes route 10 there is a causeway with a kilometre long wooden windbreak and a sign that says that due to high seas the road may be at times impassable.

couldn't figure out a way to deal with the fence, but stopped on the route 10 side to photograph a snack kiosk that was closed and a pavilion in the sand with telescopes to watch whales.

a yound woman approached. she had been sitting behind a small fence separating the benches/picnic area from the beach. there was a blanket books. thought that she was trying to tan in the gale force winds. she was having people sign the guest book from the museum. signed and took some snaps of her.

this was the most crowded place i had been. three cars - nova scotia, ontario and mine. all minivans or s.u.v's hyundais seem to be popular. chatted with the guest book person a bit she told me a whale had been sighted in holyrood bay and the cliff to see it from.

wasn't a problem finding the cliff - there were six mini-vans with binoculared tilley hat wearing people staring out at the ocean. obviously the whales weren't hard to find either. photographed the whale watchers and headed east to trepassey.

ted from next door just ran over - he is out tending his garden and saw a humback whale in the cove. it's just below the house looking for capelin out in the ocean there is a school on the horizon - from time to time i see the blow holes. the one close in nia coming quite a bit out of the water. ted said that he has actually seen them jump. he's seen minke - me also - no killers he thinks that they are west coast only. there have been sharks. this one is feeding.

the moonscape was what i remembered also hoped to run into caribou - no luck , stopped twice to make some snaps of the land but had to be more careful left with 20 roll of film was now down to six and i wasn't half through.

reckoned on the way up to st. john's i wouldn't be making as many snaps but had to be careful. at the road to st. shott's took it even though it would add 28km to the ride and kill my budget even more. good choice saw the lighthouse that is for sale at cape pine - didn't head toward it as the road was pretty rutted.

snaps of wood piles reckoned that if i were to photograph laundry should also photograph wood piles, the fisheries building and a veg garden overlooking the ocean.

thought that trepassey had a tim horton's . was wrong. quite a few artists who have done the residency have places down here. stopped to photograph an arena thought about going to cape race - the land closest to the titanic site - but not for long a good 30 km of bad road. need my own car.

stopped in cappahayden where inland water starts to show up again . low marshes ponds, rivers. looked at a place in fermeuse that had potential and from there thought about which towns had possibilities for me.

at one time hated the irish loop especially the ocean side. witless bay was like bay bulls it takes forever to get out of st. john's. this time my view changed. could live in acquaforte , calvert, stopped in ferryland to photograph baltimore high school and the ball park on the cliff. cape broyle, brigus south, bauline east - photographed yet another ballpark with a view of the ocean - all had potential all weren't on the ocean but rather narrow coves that lead to the ocean cliffs and trees on both sides. mobile was nice also.

again crossing route 10 on the lakes side it was less crowded and more peaceful - everyone wanting to be on the ocean tors cove pond was so big it had waves and was nearly empty of housing.

the endless ride through the goulds, and kilbride hit pitt's drive to race to wordplay to post the blog - parked at the duke and was walking down duckworth when jim and anne were coming to me. they were heading to grafenberg's - ug - said that i was heading to the duke and would buy a round. ended up at the duke.

the usual talks anne hadn't seen pouch so a road trip to pouch and to see the school and have a visit with the pioneering mike all set up now in the kindergarten - laptop, external hard drive record player and digital camera. a drawing on the floor. the usual short visit of four hours leaving at midnight. the area teens were hanging out outside again.

the three were making plans for next week when more people will be here for the inauguration of the new residency. i won't be here.