Argentia, Newfoundland

Argentia, Newfoundland is located on the southwest coast of Avalon Peninsula. It’s historical significance peaked during World War II. Because there was deepwater anchorage – which, among other things, meant that submarines could be used to secure the area from German U boats – a railway was already in place and the topography provided room for an airstrip, the United States established a base there. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill met off the coast of Argentia to create and sign the Atlantic Charter. I have a special interest in all of this because I was blessed to spend a few of my grow-up years there with my family when my father was stationed there.

When the dog days of August were upon us, I eased myself through it by thinking cool . . . I've lived in some pretty cool places . . . not just figuratively cool. Literally cool! Iceland. Alaska. Newfoundland. Anyone who knows me knows that, like my favorite flowers the violet and the lily-of-the-valley, I bloom best in cool, sun-dappled places. I wilt in direct sunlight. Fold humidity into the equation and I am -- to put it kindly -- not much fun to be around! SO. Until I learn to apparate like Dumbledore or Harry Potter, I rely on memory and imagination. And when it was STINKIN' HOT (as my friend Maggie would say!), I spent some happy time thinking of the craggy, beautiful shores of Newfoundland. It would have been nice, I know, to have had these stories up for you then BUT. It didn't happen. I hope you'll enjoy them now nevertheless. (Especially you, Annie and Denise!)