Len and Jo
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2005
- Posts
- 1,442
Well here is the last part of our Newfoundland Trip Log.
Sunday June 13, 2010
It was a beautiful day for driving clear and warm?finally. We covered a lot of ground ? getting back to our first camping park on the Island: Grand Codroy RV-Tent Park. Alice was at the check-in window and remembered us. She even showed us her tourist guide that she prints with my comments in it from our visit 3 weeks ago. We talked for so long that Len got out of the car to see what was going on. It was like we had been friends forever and it was old home week.
We got a site for one night thinking we would take the ferry tomorrow back to Nova Scotia, but that boat is full so we?ll stay here one more day before saying good-by to one of the friendliest places I?ve ever seen.
We did some shopping in the craft store here at the park ? after looking in gift and craft stores all over the island, we think this one has the best prices and everything is made by someone here in Newfoundland ? all good quality too.
We walked around the campground after supper and down to the river. I saw two beaver swimming around the river. I was hoping to see some on this trip and there they were.
Monday June 14, 2010
Since we had the entire day here, we decided to have breakfast by the shore. We drove to Codroy Valley Provincial Park (a bird sanctuary) to have our bowl of cereal, but Len said he felt like cooking. So we had spam and eggs while we watched the terns and gulls fly around. I think the terns might have been nesting down the beach from us. We walked down the beach a little after we ate, being very careful where we stepped. This is a nesting area for endangered plovers and sandpipers and we didn?t want to damage anything. However, we didn?t even see any of these birds flying around so don?t think there were any around.
We also watched the clouds rolling over the mountains to the east of us. They really looked neat as they would fill the valley and dissipate. But more kept coming, rolling, rolling, getting grayer as they came. They had an almost eerie look to them.
Using the map from Alice at the campground, we drove around the area then looking for more places to get out to the ocean. We found another birding area right on the water and stopped to look around a bit. I was beach combing a little when a Sandpiper flew by and landed down the beach. It was the only one we saw all morning.
On the way back to camp, we stopped at the local gas bar/convenience store for an ice cream cone. Every so often I get a craving that must be satisfied!
A little later in the afternoon the sunny weather turned gray again and guess what! It started to rain. It continued the rest of the afternoon and all evening.
Tuesday June 15, 2010
We set our alarms to get us up by 7:00, but we were up earlier and ready to go by 8:15. I think it rained all night, but had stopped this morning. We got to the boat in plenty of time to eat our breakfast, get our things ready to take on the ship, to go have a walk around the terminal, and sit waiting in the van for a while. This ship, The Atlantic Vision, was larger than the first one with 4 garages, several decks for passengers, and more cabins. It has been in service for about a year and is a beautiful ship. There is a beautiful dining room with cloth tablecloths and a wonderful buffet. It was all you can eat and the price was very reasonable.It amazed me how many semi trucks were loaded on along with all the cars. I was glad it was a bigger ship because the ocean was quite a bit rougher than when we came to Newfoundland. Big waves and lots of whitecaps!
It was a very pleasant ride and the ship made good time. We arrived in North Sydney right on schedule in spite of the wind and rough waves. Although, one of the other passengers that we struck up a conversation with, who is a skipper on an oil tanker, said that he wished all his journeys were this smooth. I guess it?s all in what you?re used to.
We stayed at the North Sydney KOA which was another nice clean place, also very easy to get to from the boat. It has nice, well spaced sites with a pretty view of the river and bridge over it.
Wednesday June 16, 2010
There is not much to report today except that it was a beautiful day for driving although rather windy. The sky was clear and the traffic was not heavy. And there were lupines blooming all along the highway that were so pretty.
On a wildlife note we saw an Eagle flying over a lake we drove by and later we saw a deer off at the edge of the woods.
We stopped at a very nice RV camp named Loch Lomond just inside Nova Scotia near the New Brunswick border. Tomorrow it?s on to the Bay of Fundy.
Thursday June 17, 2010
We left in fairly good time this morning and arrived at the Hopewell Rocks around 11:30. It was a good time to get there because the tide was out and we could take the hike to the bottom of the cliffs to walk among the rock formations. Of course it rained, quite a bit on our drive there and a little more as we walked down to the ?flower pots?, but not enough to stop us. It was amazing to be down there and realize that the tide would soon come back in to be about 20 feet deep where we were walking.
Upon leaving there we were just anxious to cover miles because it?s time to head for home. We didn?t quite make it out of New Brunswick today and found one last provincial park for our Canada trip: The New River Beach Provincial Park. It?s very nice: wooded with lots of cover between sites. They have lots of sites with water and electric so we have that too. There are several other trailers parked on sites, but the people are not here at the moment. It?s going to be full for the weekend, though, because there?s going to be a big sand castle building event on Saturday. That sounds like fun.
We took a walk along the beach looking for shells and stuff. I found a few shells and Len found a Sand Dollar. We?ll try to dry it and show it to our little girls. The tide was going out so we hoped to find more. I guess that because it?s a sandy beach not much stays put as the tide goes out.
We found one more Canadian seafood restaurant for supper tonight: the Bay Breeze which was ok, but not like some of the other ones we ate at in Newfoundland. It had a good view of the water, however, and I took my binoculars in to watch the birds. We saw Common Loons, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Cormorants. Then on the way back to camp, we saw some Harbor Seals swimming just off shore. That was fun to see! Also, on our drive here this afternoon, Len saw a large bird flying over a lake which after looking it up, he?s sure it was a Golden Eagle. I missed that one?darn!
After we ate, we went back to the beach at the campground and were amazed by how far the tide had gone out! We walked about 600 feet out on the mud flats which was really a quite firm sandy beach. I thought when the tidal areas were called ?mud flats? that they would be soft and squishy, but the ground was ok to walk on.
Friday June 18, 2010
For the rest of our trip our days will be to make tracks for home. Today we said a fond farewell to Canada and ?See you soon.? Our drive through Maine was very pretty and we enjoyed seeing all the lupines along the roadsides. We stopped at LL Bean so I could look for a rain jacket; I found one with a zip in liner ? just what I wanted and have been looking for for quite a while.
We drove through a small corner of New Hampshire and into Massachusetts, the traffic getting heavier and heavier as we got closer to the Boston area until it got to stop and go conditions. It was tense for a while. We finally arrived at a Jellystone campground near Sturbridge, Mass. And called it quits for the day, after about 11 hours of being on the road.
By the way, the temperatures have really warmed up and it?s sunny, sunny, sunny!
Saturday June 19, 2010
We were up and out by 7:45. I think we?re anxious to get home! And as we were leaving the campground an Orchard Oriole flew by. What a bright red-orange contrasting with the black! Very pretty bird. We were surprised how wooded Massachusetts is. We both pictured it as just cities and suburbs, but it?s really quite pretty ? at least the western section that we drove through.
We made good time with light traffic and almost got out of New York. We stayed at Evangola State Park which is right on Lake Erie. There are lots of birds there, especially House Wrens. I kept hearing them and finally stood with my binoculars listening and looking. Then I saw it! It was on a dead branch right out in the open just singing away. They have such a happy little tune.
After supper we cleaned up and put everything away possible, including the awning, so we could have an early start in the morning. We?ll have our own shower and bed tomorrow night!
Sunday June 20, 2010
We were on the road by 7:45 again today. There were predictions of rain and thunderstorms last night, but they didn?t materialize which was good because it made for a better sleep. It took us about six and a half hours to get home. What a switch in weather! Just four days ago it was cold and windy; now it?s hot and humid. Welcome to Michigan summer?and home!
Our trip home was smooth and pretty easy as the traffic for the most part moved right along. We had one disturbing bit of excitement when we saw an accident just seconds after it happened. Len saw car doors closing, men running back down the eastbound side of the Ohio Turnpike and a tire bouncing off into the woods. I saw a young woman standing up through the front wind shield with her hands to her head. The car she was in looked crushed down at the top of the smashed windshield. As we continued west, we saw two pick-up trucks pulling travel trailers parked at the side of the road. Len saw in the bed of the first pick-up tires and other junk uncovered and not tied down. In fact the tire was hanging over the side a little. We think what happened was that one tire fell off the truck, bounced over to the other side of the highway, and hit the car. We think it hit on the driver?s side and if it did, we can?t believe the driver survived. We called 911 to report what we saw and were told someone else had just done the same. The troopers were going to watch for the two pick-ups. It was very upsetting, but there was nothing else we could do; at least we verified what another witness had reported. Now all we can do is pray for those injured, and of course, give thanks for our own safe trip.
In Retrospect --
This has been a most remarkable trip. Len and I were taken with the beauty of Newfoundland: its land and its people. Every road we took led us to places that were so picturesque that they always beckoned us to stay a while longer. Some of the highlights for both of us were the icebergs in the North Atlantic off St. Anthony and Lumsden. We found the Viking reconstruction fascinating and the interpreter very knowledgeable and passionate about this era in Newfoundland?s history. We were the only tourists there at the time and could have listened to him for hours. All the quaint fishing villages nestled around the rocky coves were a delight wander through by car and on foot. The thousands of Northern Gannets, Common Murres, and Kittiwakes we saw at Cape St. Mary Ecological Reserve were fantastic, as were all the other birds (I added 8 to my life list), moose, and other wildlife we saw.
All during our trip, I kept saying I couldn?t decide which was more beautiful, its land or its people. Our first encounter was at Codroy Valley where Alice and Denise welcomed us like old friends. I loved the way they call everyone, ?M?love.? Then there was the retired RCMP, turned history interpreter in the Trinity historical homes who spent an hour with just the two of us. Later we met Johnny who owned the small RV park in Brigus. We had fun hearing about some of his life experiences. The couple who owned the Paradise RV Park near Bonavista was really fun too. He was quite a comedian (performs in some of the summer dinner theater shows) and his wife said she has given up trying to keep up with him and his tongue in cheek joking. These are only a few of the wonderful people we met, there were so many more.
It?s good to be home, but we will always remember Newfoundland as a place of grandeur in both its landscape and people. And we hope we will be able to make a return visit someday.
Sunday June 13, 2010
It was a beautiful day for driving clear and warm?finally. We covered a lot of ground ? getting back to our first camping park on the Island: Grand Codroy RV-Tent Park. Alice was at the check-in window and remembered us. She even showed us her tourist guide that she prints with my comments in it from our visit 3 weeks ago. We talked for so long that Len got out of the car to see what was going on. It was like we had been friends forever and it was old home week.
We got a site for one night thinking we would take the ferry tomorrow back to Nova Scotia, but that boat is full so we?ll stay here one more day before saying good-by to one of the friendliest places I?ve ever seen.
We did some shopping in the craft store here at the park ? after looking in gift and craft stores all over the island, we think this one has the best prices and everything is made by someone here in Newfoundland ? all good quality too.
We walked around the campground after supper and down to the river. I saw two beaver swimming around the river. I was hoping to see some on this trip and there they were.
Monday June 14, 2010
Since we had the entire day here, we decided to have breakfast by the shore. We drove to Codroy Valley Provincial Park (a bird sanctuary) to have our bowl of cereal, but Len said he felt like cooking. So we had spam and eggs while we watched the terns and gulls fly around. I think the terns might have been nesting down the beach from us. We walked down the beach a little after we ate, being very careful where we stepped. This is a nesting area for endangered plovers and sandpipers and we didn?t want to damage anything. However, we didn?t even see any of these birds flying around so don?t think there were any around.
We also watched the clouds rolling over the mountains to the east of us. They really looked neat as they would fill the valley and dissipate. But more kept coming, rolling, rolling, getting grayer as they came. They had an almost eerie look to them.
Using the map from Alice at the campground, we drove around the area then looking for more places to get out to the ocean. We found another birding area right on the water and stopped to look around a bit. I was beach combing a little when a Sandpiper flew by and landed down the beach. It was the only one we saw all morning.
On the way back to camp, we stopped at the local gas bar/convenience store for an ice cream cone. Every so often I get a craving that must be satisfied!
A little later in the afternoon the sunny weather turned gray again and guess what! It started to rain. It continued the rest of the afternoon and all evening.
Tuesday June 15, 2010
We set our alarms to get us up by 7:00, but we were up earlier and ready to go by 8:15. I think it rained all night, but had stopped this morning. We got to the boat in plenty of time to eat our breakfast, get our things ready to take on the ship, to go have a walk around the terminal, and sit waiting in the van for a while. This ship, The Atlantic Vision, was larger than the first one with 4 garages, several decks for passengers, and more cabins. It has been in service for about a year and is a beautiful ship. There is a beautiful dining room with cloth tablecloths and a wonderful buffet. It was all you can eat and the price was very reasonable.It amazed me how many semi trucks were loaded on along with all the cars. I was glad it was a bigger ship because the ocean was quite a bit rougher than when we came to Newfoundland. Big waves and lots of whitecaps!
It was a very pleasant ride and the ship made good time. We arrived in North Sydney right on schedule in spite of the wind and rough waves. Although, one of the other passengers that we struck up a conversation with, who is a skipper on an oil tanker, said that he wished all his journeys were this smooth. I guess it?s all in what you?re used to.
We stayed at the North Sydney KOA which was another nice clean place, also very easy to get to from the boat. It has nice, well spaced sites with a pretty view of the river and bridge over it.
Wednesday June 16, 2010
There is not much to report today except that it was a beautiful day for driving although rather windy. The sky was clear and the traffic was not heavy. And there were lupines blooming all along the highway that were so pretty.
On a wildlife note we saw an Eagle flying over a lake we drove by and later we saw a deer off at the edge of the woods.
We stopped at a very nice RV camp named Loch Lomond just inside Nova Scotia near the New Brunswick border. Tomorrow it?s on to the Bay of Fundy.
Thursday June 17, 2010
We left in fairly good time this morning and arrived at the Hopewell Rocks around 11:30. It was a good time to get there because the tide was out and we could take the hike to the bottom of the cliffs to walk among the rock formations. Of course it rained, quite a bit on our drive there and a little more as we walked down to the ?flower pots?, but not enough to stop us. It was amazing to be down there and realize that the tide would soon come back in to be about 20 feet deep where we were walking.
Upon leaving there we were just anxious to cover miles because it?s time to head for home. We didn?t quite make it out of New Brunswick today and found one last provincial park for our Canada trip: The New River Beach Provincial Park. It?s very nice: wooded with lots of cover between sites. They have lots of sites with water and electric so we have that too. There are several other trailers parked on sites, but the people are not here at the moment. It?s going to be full for the weekend, though, because there?s going to be a big sand castle building event on Saturday. That sounds like fun.
We took a walk along the beach looking for shells and stuff. I found a few shells and Len found a Sand Dollar. We?ll try to dry it and show it to our little girls. The tide was going out so we hoped to find more. I guess that because it?s a sandy beach not much stays put as the tide goes out.
We found one more Canadian seafood restaurant for supper tonight: the Bay Breeze which was ok, but not like some of the other ones we ate at in Newfoundland. It had a good view of the water, however, and I took my binoculars in to watch the birds. We saw Common Loons, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Cormorants. Then on the way back to camp, we saw some Harbor Seals swimming just off shore. That was fun to see! Also, on our drive here this afternoon, Len saw a large bird flying over a lake which after looking it up, he?s sure it was a Golden Eagle. I missed that one?darn!
After we ate, we went back to the beach at the campground and were amazed by how far the tide had gone out! We walked about 600 feet out on the mud flats which was really a quite firm sandy beach. I thought when the tidal areas were called ?mud flats? that they would be soft and squishy, but the ground was ok to walk on.
Friday June 18, 2010
For the rest of our trip our days will be to make tracks for home. Today we said a fond farewell to Canada and ?See you soon.? Our drive through Maine was very pretty and we enjoyed seeing all the lupines along the roadsides. We stopped at LL Bean so I could look for a rain jacket; I found one with a zip in liner ? just what I wanted and have been looking for for quite a while.
We drove through a small corner of New Hampshire and into Massachusetts, the traffic getting heavier and heavier as we got closer to the Boston area until it got to stop and go conditions. It was tense for a while. We finally arrived at a Jellystone campground near Sturbridge, Mass. And called it quits for the day, after about 11 hours of being on the road.
By the way, the temperatures have really warmed up and it?s sunny, sunny, sunny!
Saturday June 19, 2010
We were up and out by 7:45. I think we?re anxious to get home! And as we were leaving the campground an Orchard Oriole flew by. What a bright red-orange contrasting with the black! Very pretty bird. We were surprised how wooded Massachusetts is. We both pictured it as just cities and suburbs, but it?s really quite pretty ? at least the western section that we drove through.
We made good time with light traffic and almost got out of New York. We stayed at Evangola State Park which is right on Lake Erie. There are lots of birds there, especially House Wrens. I kept hearing them and finally stood with my binoculars listening and looking. Then I saw it! It was on a dead branch right out in the open just singing away. They have such a happy little tune.
After supper we cleaned up and put everything away possible, including the awning, so we could have an early start in the morning. We?ll have our own shower and bed tomorrow night!
Sunday June 20, 2010
We were on the road by 7:45 again today. There were predictions of rain and thunderstorms last night, but they didn?t materialize which was good because it made for a better sleep. It took us about six and a half hours to get home. What a switch in weather! Just four days ago it was cold and windy; now it?s hot and humid. Welcome to Michigan summer?and home!
Our trip home was smooth and pretty easy as the traffic for the most part moved right along. We had one disturbing bit of excitement when we saw an accident just seconds after it happened. Len saw car doors closing, men running back down the eastbound side of the Ohio Turnpike and a tire bouncing off into the woods. I saw a young woman standing up through the front wind shield with her hands to her head. The car she was in looked crushed down at the top of the smashed windshield. As we continued west, we saw two pick-up trucks pulling travel trailers parked at the side of the road. Len saw in the bed of the first pick-up tires and other junk uncovered and not tied down. In fact the tire was hanging over the side a little. We think what happened was that one tire fell off the truck, bounced over to the other side of the highway, and hit the car. We think it hit on the driver?s side and if it did, we can?t believe the driver survived. We called 911 to report what we saw and were told someone else had just done the same. The troopers were going to watch for the two pick-ups. It was very upsetting, but there was nothing else we could do; at least we verified what another witness had reported. Now all we can do is pray for those injured, and of course, give thanks for our own safe trip.
In Retrospect --
This has been a most remarkable trip. Len and I were taken with the beauty of Newfoundland: its land and its people. Every road we took led us to places that were so picturesque that they always beckoned us to stay a while longer. Some of the highlights for both of us were the icebergs in the North Atlantic off St. Anthony and Lumsden. We found the Viking reconstruction fascinating and the interpreter very knowledgeable and passionate about this era in Newfoundland?s history. We were the only tourists there at the time and could have listened to him for hours. All the quaint fishing villages nestled around the rocky coves were a delight wander through by car and on foot. The thousands of Northern Gannets, Common Murres, and Kittiwakes we saw at Cape St. Mary Ecological Reserve were fantastic, as were all the other birds (I added 8 to my life list), moose, and other wildlife we saw.
All during our trip, I kept saying I couldn?t decide which was more beautiful, its land or its people. Our first encounter was at Codroy Valley where Alice and Denise welcomed us like old friends. I loved the way they call everyone, ?M?love.? Then there was the retired RCMP, turned history interpreter in the Trinity historical homes who spent an hour with just the two of us. Later we met Johnny who owned the small RV park in Brigus. We had fun hearing about some of his life experiences. The couple who owned the Paradise RV Park near Bonavista was really fun too. He was quite a comedian (performs in some of the summer dinner theater shows) and his wife said she has given up trying to keep up with him and his tongue in cheek joking. These are only a few of the wonderful people we met, there were so many more.
It?s good to be home, but we will always remember Newfoundland as a place of grandeur in both its landscape and people. And we hope we will be able to make a return visit someday.
