Newfoundland - Day 1

The Newfoundland trip has, thus far, has been very good.

The trip started out in El Cajon, California, at Gillespie Field. Our ride was a Hawker 850XP business jet. I'll just say this: It beats the Hell outta' flying Coach. We met at the airport at 7:30am, and we were due to be wheels-up at 8:00am. I couldn't help but get a photo snapped in front of the plane:




On the ground at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California, just east of San Diego.


On a good day, you can seat eight on this plane but, for this flight, there would only be three of us. Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug, the owners of Taylor Guitars, were giving me a ride to St. John's on their way to England.

Now, if you're like me, one of the first things you do when you board a plane is check to see how far back the seat will recline. Hey, at some point, everyone kicks the seat back. Well, I didn't really have that concern. As I said, this plane seats eight people. However, three of those seats are a couch. And, if there aren't people sitting there, the couch is free:




Catching a nap on the way to St. John's.

 
We flew from El Cajon (which is about 20 miles east of San Diego) to Salina, Kansas, to refuel. In all honesty, it's got to be the flattest place I've ever been. You can see for miles. You could watch your dog run away for days out there. We were scheduled to be on the ground for about an hour, but 35 minutes after we touched down, we were rolling down the runway and taking off for St. John's, Newfoundland.

We arrived in St. John's around 8:00pm, collected our bags, got our rental car, and we were on our way to the Sheraton. We were being met at the hotel by Bob Davis, who manages a local music store in St. John's. His mission? To take us out for "the best" fish & chips in St. John's. After having my ass kicked by dinner (it was a lot of food), I'll agree with the descriptive "the best". After dinner, we hopped into Bob's car and headed on down to George Street. George Street has more bars and pubs per square foot than any city in North America. It was awesome. We went to the Shamrock City Pub, where I enjoyed a Guinness while the Bobs and Kurt enjoyed drinks you could see through. After our beer at Shamrock City, we headed over to Christian's Pub, where we would be taking part in the solemn ceremony of "Screeching In", which is where first-time visitors to Newfoundland become honorary Newfoundlanders. My friend Ed Robertson, of the band Barenaked Ladies, told me that he'd been "Screeched" at Christian's, and that it was definitely the place to go.

The ceremony is actually a very tongue-in-cheek, very fun ceremony where our Master Of Ceremonies, Keith Vokey, has his charges singing songs and trying to keep up with his heavily-accented vernacular. The crowd erupted into laughter countless times, and there were smiles spread around the room. But, then it was time to get down to business.

The ceremony starts with all participants on their "nucks", or knees. I don't know why they just don't say "knees", but "nucks" it is. The ceremony begins: The participants drink a shot of Screech (a Newfoundland rum), and then kiss a fish. I was at one end of the line and, just my luck, the kissing started at the other end. I kissed it last and, as a result, am preparing for a myriad of untold diseases to befall me. After everyone kisses the fish, we have to answer the question "Are ye an honorary Newfoundlander?" with "Indeed I is, me old 'cock, and long may your big jib draw". At that point, the MC drop a "sou'wester" onto the head of his charge, and performs an Arthur-esque touching of the shoulders with an oar while proclaiming that person an honorary Newfoundlander.




The "Screeching In" ceremony at Christian's Pub in St. John's, Newfoundland. Everyone's drinking a shot of "Screech".

 


Yours truly being dubbed an honorary Newfoundlander. A special moment. I'm just glad Keith decided it would be a good idea for me to wear the sou'wester backwards.

 

The bartender was using my camera, and he didn't get any photos of me kissing the fish. You can see Bob taking a picture of me in the above photo; if he has a "Steve kisses fish" shot, I'll post it.

After the ceremony was completed, everyone wanted their photo taken with Keith, and I was no different:




Keith Vokey and me following the "Screeching In" ceremony. I decided to wear the hat correctly.



Talking to him before the ceremony, he told us that he's performed over 2,200 of these "Screeching In" ceremonies, and it shows. He went through the entire evening, with about a dozen participants, like a seasoned pro.

It was pushing 12:30am by the time we were finished at Christian's Pub, and we would be up early Monday, so we decided to call it a night. We returned to our hotel, said goodnight, and rested up for the next day...