Month: August 2023

We woke up to a very rainy day in St John’s and it looks like that its going to be an all day situation. Started out with a full breakfast in the dining room.

We checked out of the hotel at around 11 and stowed all our luggage in the car. Our first stop was at Sobeys to pick up some sandwiches and drinks to have while we are lined up to get on the ferry.

Because it is scheduled for a late 8pm departure, the buffet will not be available.

On the way to Argentia we made a couple of stops to kill time as we don’t have to be lined up for loading until 5pm.

We will spend one night in Sydney after our ferry crossing.

After breakfast we spent some time at the harbour front watching the ships and sailboats.

Afterward, we walked along Water Street which is closed off to vehicular traffic and picked up a few souvenirs.

Upon our return to our hotel, I received notification from Marine Atlantic that our ferry would not be cancelled. Instead, it would be delayed by 3 hours.

So we began booking accommodations for the remainder of our East Coast Adventure.

Then it was off to O’Reilly’s pub for some dinner and live music.

A nice way to spend our last day in Newfoundland.

Today we took it easy. We had a late breakfast in the dining room at our hotel.

In the afternoon we decided to take in a movie at the IMAX theatre in the Avalon shopping centre.

It was a very compelling movie and quite enjoyable.

We had dinner at Swiss Chalet after the movie and then it was back to the hotel at about 8pm.

We have received info from Marine Atlantic that there may be a disruption to ferry service on Thursday, our departure date from Nfld., on account of weather caused by Hurricane Franklin.

We may end up staying an extra day in St. John’s.

Our first stop after breakfast was Pouch Cove (pronounced Pooch) a short half hour drive from St. John’s.

It was a very scenic little village with very little going on but enjoyable nonetheless.

Next we headed to Quidi Vidi, a popular tourist destination known for its distillery where they make iceberg beer.

We spent a couple of hours there enjoying the view from the upper level patio where Jane enjoyed a beer and I had a soft drink.

Next, we went to Signal Hill where the first trans Atlantic wireless message was received by Marconi.

It was also a strategic military location during WWI.

We finished the day by enjoying the pedestrian mall which was normally open to vehicular traffic.

Tomorrow we move to another hotel.

We checked out of our hotel in Clarenville and headed in the direction of St. John’s. On the way we checked out the village of Cupids where we met up with a couple of locals just coming in from fishing.

Roy and Ross Dawe, twin brothers, were happy they caught their limit of 5 cod each in just 30 minutes.

Ross invited us back to his place to watch him clean them, so off we went. We ended up talking with them for about an hour and a half. Ross’ house overlooks Concepcion Bay with a stunning view of Spectacle Rock.

They were so hospitable, offering us something to drink and eat and having very enjoyable conversation.

Afterward, we drove over to Brigus which was nearby and took photos of the awesome scenery.

The weather was excellent today with sunshine all day and temperature at about 20C.

Another fabulous day in Newfoundland.

This morning we treated ourselves to an Egg McMuffin combo before hitting the road to do some sightseeing of coastal villages near Clarenville.

Our first stop was at Deep Bight, a small village not far from our motel.

I found it interesting how boaters tie up their boats to accommodate the tide’s ebb and flow. The bow is secured to a dock cleat, while the stern is tied to a rope running to a buoy away from the pier. That second line is also tied to the pier, but is used in a clothesline sort of fashion to keep the stern way from the dock. Quite ingenious.

The next village we stopped at was called Hatchet Cove and we stopped and talked to a man who has lived there his whole life. The homes are all impeccably neat and tidy.

We found ourselves in Goosberry Cove where several old fishing boats were tied up at a very sturdy pier full of unloading equipment.

We ended our day at Southport before heading back to Clarenville, about 45 minutes away.

Loving this trip!

We checked out of Terra Nova Park this morning after having coffee and stowing away the camping gear in the car.

We were going to do some exploring on the way because our check-in time at the hotel in Clarenville isn’t until later in the afternoon.

But with construction detours, we ended up in town sooner than planned so we had a late breakfast at a Quality Inn.

There was a small amount of laundry to be done so we decided it was an opportune time to do that.

We did an early check in at the Restland Hotel and spent some time just unwinding and organizing our bags.

This morning we headed off to Bonavista, about an hour and a half from our campsite, to check out a few attractions.

The fog was rolling in thick and very damp, but we did get a tour of the famous ship, Matthew’s Legacy, sailed by John Cabot. It’s a full size replica and it was inside a huge showroom.

After that, we went to check out a spectacular rock formation called the Dungeon. This was caused by erosion by the sea over thousands of years. Gull were flying in and out of the caves and there were stories from the locals about people taking their sea doos in there.

Then it was over to Elliston for lunch at Nanny’s Root Cellar Kitchen. I tried cod tongue dinner and it was delicious. Jane was not so enthusiastic about her Fish n’ Brewis.

After lunch we went looking for puffins, but it was so foggy we were unsuccessful. We did, however, get a chance to check out one of the 133 root cellars in the area.

It was a great day. Back at the park by 7 pm for our last night there.

Before we left Barrie, I thought it might be useful to bring along our small electric heater. I am glad I did, because last night it kept the tent cozy warm and it was nice this morning to get up in a comfortable temperature.

Today we plan on doing some exploring around the area and the campground itself.

Rain is being forecast for later today, so we will probably check for a restaurant nearby to have supper.

The temperature during the day has been pretty good, although we are wearing long sleeved sweaters.

We left New Wes Valley this morning and did some exploring taking in the spectacular scenery on the way.

When we got to a small fishing village of Salvage I chatted with a fisherman, Roger Penney, who is a life long resident there. He was salting cod that he had caught earlier that morning.

We picked up some groceries on the way to the park and got all set up just before it began to rain.

Here for three days.

We checked out of Penneys Vacation cottage in Little Seldom on Fogo. Did a video call with Max and Tonya. We then checked out Joe Batts Arm and took a picture of a landmark hotel called The Fogo Island Inn where rooms are $2,750 a night!

The town of Fogo is believed by The Flat Earth people to be the location of one of the four corners of the world. We, however, did not fall off the edge.

After Joe Batts Arm, we headed over to the Town of Tilting where took numerous pictures and did a video call with Roxana, Steve and Sara.

We caught the 2pm ferry from Fogo Island to Farewell and then headed to a campground near Lumsden where we spent the night.

We checked out of North99 and had breakfast at Robins on our way to catch the ferry to Fogo Island. I got into an interesting conversation about lobster traps with a group of locals having coffee and they were eager to chat with me, as everyone is here.

It was a 45 minute ride over to the Island where we then spent some time looking around Island Harbour where we had a snack at a picnic table we found.

Then we took a short drive to the small village of Fogo where Jane bought some souvenirs and we learned about methods used by early fishermen to preserve cod.

Then it was on to Little Seldom where stayed at Penney’s Vacation Rentals.

Today we had breakfast at the Anchor Inn in Georgie’s Restaurant.

After breakfast we went across the street to the Wooden Boat museum where we were shown all kinds of tools and equipment used to make small 13 foot punts or larger speedboats.

We then headed off to see Longpoint Lighthouse which was about 3 km away.

On the way back to our motel we stopped off for a smoothie and some delicious carrot cake. We then had a picnic lunch near our motel.

We checked out of our hotel this morning and went downtown near the water to people watch and enjoy the sunshine.

We found a laundromat and did a little laundry before grabbing a coffee and date square at a small cafe.

After that we headed off to North Sydney (a short 45 minute drive) to catch the ferry to Argentia.

Tomorrow we plan to meander up to Twillingate where we have accommodation booked for two nights. We’ll use that as our base for those days and explore different nearby areas like Fogo Island, Joe Batt’s Arm and Cape Fogo.

We checked out of the Dusty Diamond B and B after having a nice conversation with Cheryl, the owner.

We then set off for the Cabot Trail and the views were spectacular. Nothing like we expected except better.

We were hoping to get accommodation at Port Pleasant but no luck so we continued on until we spotted a sign reading Hideaway Campground and decided to stay in our tent tonight.

Tomorrow we’ll do some exploring along the way because we have until Thursday when we’ll catch the ferry at North Sydney to Newfoundland.

We had breakfast at the Antigonish Coastal motel after which we headed to see an acquaintance of Jane’s who used to live just up the street when Jane was a little girl. Carol and George English live in a very remote location near Goshen NS. We stayed longer than planned after Carol insisted.

We left their place and headed for Cape Breton. A couple of guys we met in Charlottetown yesterday had recommended we stop in Judique on the way, so we did just that and wandered over to the Celtic Cultural centre where live music was playing. Who do we run into? Those two guys and their wives. We had a great time. One of them, Maurice Morin, owns his own trucking business and did some work up in Temiscaming back in the 70’s.

We finished the day in a little town called Inverness where we were lucky enough to get a room at a Bed n Breakfast.

Otherwise it was going to be sleeping in our tent in the rain.

We checked out of our hotel in Cavendish after a continental breakfast and made our way over to North Rustico, a small fishing village.

We continued on to Charlottetown, a short 35 km drive from North Rustico. We spent most of the day there enjoying the sights especially at the water.

We went to see a short video on the meeting of the founding fathers and looked at a re-creation of the meeting room.

We then drove to Wood Islands ferry terminal and, although we had a 5pm reservation, we were there earlier than planned and got on the 3:30 departure.

We will arrive in Caribou NS just before 5pm. We’ll stay in Antigonish tonight.

This morning we decided to take the coastal route from Cavendish to Summerside. Before we left, I used our little one burner Coleman to make coffee out on the deck.

We talked with a young guy who was working in a downtown marina and he was saying that, because of the rain, it was a lot less busy.

We toured around Summerside for awhile in the teeming rain, then stopped at a diner called Jolly Rogers where I had some seafood chowder to warm up and Jane had a fish sandwich.

We stopped at the Anne of Green Gables museum on our way back.

After a light breakfast at the motel in Miramichi, we headed over to Rexton and had a nice visit with Rollie Foubert and his wife Rhonda. Hadn’t seen Rollie in over 60 years.

It was supposed to be a brief one but Rollie insisted Jane and I stay for lunch which was delicious.

We stopped in Shediak NB on our way to PEI and checked out some souvenir shops.

Then it was on to PEI and we enjoyed the view from Confederation Bridge after which we checked in to the Tourist Information Centre. It was there that Kalie helped us get booked in to bBay Vista Motel for a couple of nights.

Of course we had to have lobster for dinner and it was delicious.

We are staying in Miramichi NB tonight after a second day of steady driving. Jane did the first half and I did the second half. We found a nice motel right on the Miramichi River and took a walk along the boardwalk after supper.

Tomorrow we’ll be passing through Rexton NB and will pop in to visit Rollie Foubert who I know from Temiscaming.

We left Barrie just after 9am and had one stop near Kingston and a second one a little further on where I relieved Jane as driver. We continued on through some rain and road construction until five thirty at which time we booked into a small motel near Victoriaville.

After a brief rest we went to a nearby Subway and had a sub and a drink.

We played our usual three games of Yahtzee in the room and just chilled for the evening.

Tomorrow we will get to Plaster Rock NB and spend the night there.

We are all packed up and ready. Got everything we need into the car, including tent and cots in case we can’t find accommodation for the night.

We’ll take turns driving and we have no firm schedule in mind. Stops will be made whenever we see an interesting spot or just feel like it.

I have our little portable fridge to keep drinks cold and any sandwich meats cold. This worked quite well for us when we did our 6 day Quebec road trip a few years ago.

Onward!

Shortly after noon, Max and Chris left to return home. This, after a wonderful fun filled weekend which left Jane and I tired but happy.

So today we will do mostly chilling and doing little else.

I asked Max if he had a good time and said yes. He especially liked driving the dinghy yesterday.

But he also had a lot of fun at our house playing hide and seek, having water pistol fights in the back yard and playing with all the toys we have here.

He did mention, though, that the toys we have are a little boring so we’ll have to think about some that are a little more sophisticated. Right now he’s into transformers big time.

Chris and Max are coming later today and the weather is shaping up nicely. Jane has put all kinds of toys out in the back yard and I have got the fishing gear together for our dinghy day tomorrow.

It’s been awhile sonce they were here, so we’re looking forward to it.

I had a couple of little chores I wanted to get done before Max and Chris arrive tomorrow. The first one was to fix a rust spit on the bathroom sink which took no time at all.

The second was to clean the compostable green bin which was really stinky. I wanted to get these done before we leave for our big trip next week.

In the meantime, Jane did some grocery shopping and made some brownies. We have some good treats for him when he gets here.

He may be coming down with a bit of a cold, but we expect he’ll have a good time anyway.

Jane did grocery shopping at Zehrs today getting things that she knows Max likes.

He and Chris will be arriving sometime on Friday and staying until Sunday.

Depending on the weather, we will take Max fishing up on Georgian Bay. He has his own fishing rod and I will bring some tackle.

We will be having a busy time in the next few days. Chris and Max are coming for a weekend visit, so preparation is happening for them. That includes menu planning and perhaps taking Max fishing up near Honey Harbour.

We also have our upcoming East Coast Adventure which will begin about a week from now. Have to check our lists and try not to forget anything.

I have prescription renewals to pick up on Friday to make sure I don’t run out while we’re away.

Jane has already arranged for our next door neighbour to come in and water our indoor plants. As for the outside flowers, we can activate the drip irrigation system from anywhere.