Dear Kid,

Speaking of Newfoundland (you do remember that’s what we’re talking about, right?),St. John’s is the capital of the province and the oldest city in North America. John Cabot landed there 1497 and by the early 1500 it was a thriving metropolis (and by “thriving metropolis” I mean established outpost).

As we learned yesterday, the Vikings arrived first (even before C. Columbus) but apparently didn’t care for the neighborhood (because they didn’t stay to greet John Cabot and Company).

All kinds of interesting things happened in St. John’s. For example, the first non-stop, trans-Atlantic flight took off from St. John’s (it landed in Ireland, but that’s not what we’re talking about today).

Mr. Guglielmo Marconi (yes, that Marconi) received the first transatlantic wireless message on Signal Hill in St John on December 12, 1901. (The test signal was sent from Poldhu, Cornwall, 3,200 kilometers away but that’s not what we’re talking about.)

It’s cold in St. John (so take a coat). The lowest temp ever recorded there was-18.1 C (-1 F) on March 9, 1997. The place still hasn’t thawed out.

Do you know what the oldest continuous sporting event in N America is? No, it is not Black Friday shopping. It is the St. John’s regatta which is held on the 1st Wednesday of August (appropriate apparel includes parkas, mittens, and Uggs.

The airport in St. John’s is a BFD. At one time (right around the time of the dinosaurs or possibly the 1940s and 1950s), it was the busiest airport in the world. Turns out that most planes couldn’t make the transatlantic flight from NYC to London without refueling. Since there aren’t any gas stations mid-Atlantic, planes would stop at Gander International Airport (airport code YQX—go figure) to refuel.

Gander played an important role on the World Stage in 2001 when 39 aircraft were diverted to there on 9/11. Over 6,000 people were “adopted” by the citizens of St. John, proving once again that Canadians are much nicer than most humans. (The travelers remained there for three days until airspace reopened.)

So, just in case you’re traveling northward, have a wonderful and safe trip.

Love, Mom