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Petty Harbour is a community just outside St. John’s. It’s pretty much a suburb now that it borders the ever-expanding St. John’s.

To most CFA’s who haven’t ever been to Newfoundland, Petty Harbour is the quintessential Newfoundland.

There’s a good reason for that. Whenever a “Newfoundland” story hits the national news, CBC (and CTV and Global) reporters drive south from St. John’s for a few minutes. They set up their cameras with Petty Harbour in the background, and proceed to ask a fisherman for his reaction to the issue of the day.

Seriously, 9 times out of 10, national news coverage of Newfoundland has Petty Harbour as a backdrop. Not bad for a community of less than a thousand people. For a long time, the person on the other side of the camera was Tom Best. If you do a Google search for “Tom Best” and “Petty Harbour” you’ll get an idea how one community could so form Canada’s view of Newfoundland.

Petty Harbour is one the scenic routes to Cape Spear, so we stopped and snapped a few photos.

The Royal St. John’s Regatta is the oldest sporting event in North America. It’s traditionally held on the first Wednesday of August, though it can be postponed if the weather conditions
(usually wind) aren’t favourable on Quidi Vidi Lake.

The event is known simply as “The Regatta” to St. John’s residents. It means a holiday and (usually) a nice leisurely stroll around the lake. Tens of thousands of people attend the event, playing games of chance and patronizing food vendors. Sort of your typical small town festival or fair on steroids.

The races themselves — the whole point of the event — become secondary for most townies. Most don’t even know who is racing, and barely pay attention when a race is in progress. The on-shore distractions are too great: food, gambling, the beer tent, bouncy-castles, live music.

This year the weather wasn’t people-friendly. It rained. The organizers of the event did not postpone it as they have in the past. The weather may have been miserable for those walking around Quidi Vidi, but it was ideal for those actually on the lake.

My father’s restaurant is Devito’s Restaurant on Duckworth Street in St. John’s. Pam loves the Caesar salad. I really like his Paella — it’s very authentic, unlike some of the other attempts I’ve tasted. I also like Madeira steak (I don’t think it’s on the menu anymore, unfortunately).

Local celebrity (and famous CBC Weatherman) reviewed Devito’s last year.

The Easter Seals people have placed mermaids all over St. John’s for their Mermaids in the City project. One of them is in front of Devito’s Restaurant. There’s a steady stream of tourists walking by and taking photos (usually involving the mermaid’s body parts).

Lucas and Victor posing:

More 2.0 photos: