What a great time! This was a wonderful AG.

2km to the east of the hotel is the savage beauty of Canada's Atlantic Coast. 2km west is the lively center of St. John's, the oldest city on this side of the Atlantic. It claims a 500 year history.

This Annual Gathering was different and better than most others because of the number of tours and organized activities outside of the conferences. (Thank-you Marie!) The first day had a tour of the local area including towns such as Dildo. The tour was scheduled for 3 hours. It took 7. The next morning we went to Cape Spear to watch the sun rise. Cape Spear is the most east point in North America. It is 6 km east of the hotel. It was raining fiercely, but everyone seemed to have fun anyway.

That evening, in the center of St. John's there was a ceremony to make visitors into official Newfoundlanders. The ceremony included learning some of the Newfoundland language. You would be asked "Is you a Newfie Screecher?". You would be expected to reply "Yes I is, me old cock, may you jib draw long". Screecher is a person who drinks screech. Screech is the sound car tires makes when stopping suddenly. It is also the local alcohol. It is sometimes rumored to be an effective replacement for jet fuel kerosene. "Me old cock" means "my old friend", and jib is a the forward triangular sail on a ship. "Draw long" means the wind takes that sail well. Jib might have other meanings… Later the would be Newfoundlander would drink some screech then kiss a cod fish in the mouth.

The last day we went on a boat tour to several bird sanctuary islands a few km out into the open ocean. The ocean was rough enough that it was difficult walking and a few people got quite sick. It was a foggy day and the bird islands looked very mysterious hidden in the mist. The density and noise of birds was extreme.

In between all these activities were daily hikes onto Signal Hill right next to the hotel. The landscape was very rugged and beautiful. The hotel was great too. The rooms were large and quiet with most people had a fantastic view of the harbour.