My friend Shelloo and I decided to go for a spin up the Northern Peninsula and into Southern Labrador.

We stopped for breakfast in Flower's Cove along the way - bologna and toutons for the win!

Driving out to the lighthouse in St. Anthony, there were a gaggle of tourists out at Fishing Point and it was clear they were very excited about a whale.

Shelloo rushed down to join them, while I grabbed my book and sat up on the hill to read, since I've seen a whale before and I don't understand why people need to see them a 10th or 100th time. It's not like they're a lighthouse, grackle or interesting town.

So I sat and settled into my book, shaking my head at the people so excited to see a whale, but also slightly jealous of those who can get this excited to see Gros Morne over and over, or sit by salty water once again, or see a whale for the 30th time.

Bringing my eyes back to the page, an incredible whoosh broke through the air and I looked up to see the gigantic beast completely out of the water, propelled upwards and breaching like I'd never seen before. As I gasped, the whale had instantly deflated my indifference in one fell swoop.

Okay, so maybe breaching is worth seeing multiple times.

We wrapped up the day near the top of the island in L'Anse aux Meadows, where fantastic sunsets are often delivered because of the shallow landscape, distant hills and jagged, open shoreline.

After spending the night in St. Lunaire, the next morning we went to Goose Cove and wandered down their Pumley Cove Trail. Shelloo always wants to go see more whales because she isn't as bitter as me, while I took my time on this trail to ponder how difficult my life would be if I needed to see not just every lighthouse here, but every skeletal tower like the one above.

This one on Mouse Island is only 35m offshore, but then again I don't have Manuels Island Lighthouse in Catalina, which is only slightly further offshore.

Continuing to drive around, I really enjoyed the setting and design of this old barn in Great Brehat.

Later in the day, we were driving along when I spotted this buoy along the shoreline, but across a bog.

Of course we would be running late at this point, but I had to ask Shelloo if I could rush across for a picture. She gave me a strict 5 minute window and I set off at the fastest speed I reach, carefully picking my way around the mud holes and ankle-rolling chunks of grass.

As I popped out on the beach, I had just enough time to discover that abandoned buoys creep me out in the same way that shipwrecks do.

In the last minute before I had to get back to the car, I thought of throwing away these fears and climbing atop the buoy like one has too, but pictured the buoy righting itself and throwing me into the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and off towards Greenland, haha.

Next time.

After spending the night in St. Anthony, we popped down to the Flower's Cove area again on the way to the Labrador ferry. This is where I discovered that they replaced Nameless Cove's skeletal tower that I counted as a lighthouse, with this skeletal tower that I don't count.

That now makes three demolished Newfoundland lighthouses I've seen (here at Nameless Point, plus Change Islands and Bear Cove Point).

We arrived early for the ferry, which made me happy as it gave me a window for a walk away from St. Barbe and down through Pigeon Cove.

I had to laugh at how this was the fifth-last town I had to see on the island, and now I'd been through Pigeon Cove three or four times.

Finding a quad path heading south along the seaside to Black Duck Cove, I checked out the Whimbrels, Black-Capped Chickadees and Scaups along the way. I also thought of Panoramio and how fun it would be to add a tagged photo from this random patch of shore.

Over in Labrador, the highway was now paved all the way up to Mary's Harbour, allowing us to take advantage and skip that typical discussion about how much we wanted to keep driving on the previously unpaved highway after Red Bay.

Having been to Mary's Harbour three times via gravel road, it felt like cheating to casually cruise up here without any risk. Of course this road upgrade really helps Mary's Harbour and nearby Battle Harbour in making them much more accessible to tourists; not to mention the residents don't have to carry satellite phones and spare tires for the gravel highway anymore.

Stopping at the ferry office in Blanc-Sablon, I'd been thinking recently about how being a bit chatty often rewards you with information you may not know otherwise.

So as Shelloo was off to wait in the ticket line, I paid attention to a backpacker with a giant camera who was talking to an older couple. After hearing him say that he'd seen a Beluga Whale, normally my quiet and reserved self would say nothing and then simply spend hours searching every cove for the Beluga as that's easier than striking up a conversation.

This time though, I asked and found out everything I wanted to know in a pleasant exchange.

The Beluga wasn't from weeks ago, but just a few hours prior. If we went to the L'Anse-au-Loup fish plant, he was sure it'd be there as the whale had been hanging out there for a week now.

Knowing that Belugas hang around like this, I totally believed him.

It's pretty funny that in the same update where I complain about people being excited about whales, I'm about to say that I was over the moon about seeing this Beluga.

It's a crappy trait to only get excited about new things when you live on an island, but that's how I am. At least I'm really excited when I see something new like a Beluga Whale, haha. Maybe that makes it all that much sweeter?

It's also true that I was excited that we finally found the snack shack Yummies open while in Blanc-Sablon, QC (on the Quebec side of southern Labrador).

Just by the looks of it, I insisted on trying Yummies whenever I got off the Labrador ferry but unfortunately it was always closed.

But today? It was time for Pogo poutine boyyyyyy!

Their gravy was actually a bit peculiar so I can't totally recommend it, but North Shore Quebec provided something different like it always does. I guarantee some place in Trois-Rivières or Chicoutimi does a similar pogo poutine exceptionally (and I will have it one day).

Anyway, after a night in L'Anse-au-Clair, it was finally time to head back towards where we live following a good time up the coast.