Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Pennsylvania
Penn Wood Airstream Park was our next destination. We arrived fairly early and Cam and Marcia were in several hours later. Larry did a quick tour of Clarion, the nearby town and then did our laundry.
The following day we decided to stay put, since we'd all been driving for many days in a row. We all took off for the historic downtown area and tried very hard to find some treasures to buy. I did buy some shoes, but the store that was closing down did not have anything we couldn't live without.
Back at the camp, another Airstream arrived and parked next to us. I recognized those numbers!
It was Darrell and Sharon Waters, also heading home from their Viking Trail caravan. They were introduced to Cam and Marcia and we all commented on what a small world it is.
More miles, more Wal Mart parking lots for the nights' lodging, a visit to Pioneer Village (one of Larry's favorite places) and now we're at Cabela's in Sidney, Nebraska. There's a sale tomorrow beginning at 8:00. I'll be at the door waiting for it to open. And, then, we'll once again head West on I-80. Home is getting closer. We are now on Mountain Daylight Time.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Westward Ho
Yes, I know it's been awhile. We are slowly, but steadily heading home and getting used to becoming Americans again.
After leaving Prince Edward Island, we headed for Bangor, Maine, with Chuck and Maggie Helwig. Our destination for the night was to be the WalMart parking lot. Unfortunately, since our last stay there, the store closed and reopened in another location. They found it, but we didn't. By that time, we were totally frustrated by all that traffic and commotion, so decided to head down the road to Newport and another WalMart parking lot. Chuck and Maggie left their comfortable new surroundings and joined us.
Center Harbor, New Hampshire, was the next stop. Hard to get to on country roads. They were quite lovely, though. A short shopping trip to Keepsake Quilting and Larry and I said our farewells to Chuck and Maggie and trudged on. I think that night we ended up at the Wal Mart in Chicopee, Massachusetts. More later.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Homeward Bound
The caravan is over. The ferry ride was smooth and we all gathered together in a comfortable area for the journey, bonded by our experiences and love of travel and adventure.
There were a few humorous moments. Tales of gloom and doom and rough seas had run amuk and many of our group weren't taking chances with their comfort. Cabins and comfortable chairs were rented with the hope and expectation that a good night's sleep would be the result.
Sometime later in the evening, Gracie and Al led us to an upper deck where they said we'd have more darkness and quiet - and the seats were free! I took my fleece blanket, Larry had his quilted flannel jacket - and up we went. It took some time to find comfortable positions, but we managed to doze from time to time. However, I did notice some of our buddies were seated (and laying) in rows near ours. They had paid. We did not. Were we in the wrong section? Were we going to be booted back downstairs? Nope.
The group did go to their assigned stations and attempted to get some sleep, however a man sleeping nearby was snoring so loudly, they all had to escape to the unpaid section so they could get some peace and quiet - and maybe sleep. The man's identity will have to remain a secret to protect him from further humiliation. What happens on the caravan, stays on the caravan!
After a day and night in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, 5 couples spent a few more days in Prince Edward Island - the Warrens, Murrays, Larry and Martha Jones, Chuck and Maggie Helwig, and Carol and Charlie Helm. The weather and scenery were perfect and our last night's dinner at Fisherman's Wharf was a fitting end to a wonderful trip.
Today we accompanied Chuck and Maggie to Center Harbor, New Hampshire - AND - Keepsake Quilting!!!! Maggie and I had a great time shopping there, after which we said our good-byes.
Until next year and Gillette, Wyoming, where we'll reunite and have a grand reunion party of the Viking Trail Caravan of 2009.
On a sad note, Larry's dad passed away last Thursday. We knew when we left in June that it would be a possibility that we wouldn't see him again, but chose to think positively (although we did say good-bye twice, just in case...). His life had many blessings and we know without a doubt that he's now in Heaven with Margaret and Steve and Tim. We loved him dearly and will miss him terribly.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ferry to Nova Scotia
The caravan has ended and we are awaiting the ferry boarding to Nova Scotia.
Yesterday the final banquet was a fitting end to the fun and adventures we've had. We received our well-written caravan journals and Sue Wendt presented each of us with a disk of pictures. She took great pictures of our Screeching Ceremony in Port aux Choix. The facial expressions are truly priceless.
Donna Smith won the Mistress of Ceremonies title by default and did a fine job. Ted (her husband) wrote a song to the tune of I'se The B'Y using all our caravaners and their personalities.
He had to cut it down considerably from its original length, but when accompanied by Larry on his guitar it was an admirable performance. The whole group was wary of a performance by Ted and his Ugly Stick, but Larry explained that Donna would slap her hand down on her thigh and then Ted would thump his Ugly Stick when she did that. It worked. To the surprise and delight of everyone, Ted demonstrated a bit of - RHYTHM!
We will miss everyone terribly, but most will reunite at some point down the road.
As an extra added bonus, last night we were paid a visit by the couple of Ed and Kelli. Kelli works at Staples and met Carol Helm when she went there last week to inquire about copying the caravan journal. Kelli became an instant friend (like so many have done here) and she and husband, Ed, made a visit to our campground when we all arrived, bringing 25 lbs. of mussels to share. Ed collected two baseball caps from Larry W. and Sid and Sally and was ecstatic.
So, last night while Sid and Sally and Larry and I were playing our last caravan games of Joker in Carol and Charlie's motorhome, Ed and Kelli showed up with CD's of 20 favorite songs - for everyone on our caravan! They didn't have time to burn the last 4, so over we went to Dennis's and Karen's trailer. Of course, Dennis could come to the rescue - as he always can. We now all have another wonderful souvenir and memory - and two more lifelong friends.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
St. Johns Continued
Now it's Monday night. The other caravan is in and we talked to several of them. They'll be leaving the island 2 days after we do, so don't have as much time here as we've had. Although, they'll probably have better weather.
Bev and Bill Mantell were headed for Dairy Queen when we talked to them. A DQ! I haven't seen one of those since Corner Brook - and we didn't even go there. I still hadn't had my Bilzzard for August, so off we four went. Took awhile to find the place, but we were determined. Chocolate ones of varying recipes all around! Worth the wait!
Tuesday - left early with - who else but Maggie and Chuck for the downtown area. We shopped around for several hours and then made our way to Quidi Vidi and the Brewery Tour.
After that, it was off to Costco again and then Dominion for some groceries. We've been eating as much of our fresh fruits and veggies as possible to avoid problems at the border. They're pretty expensive up here, anyway. Takes the fun out of shopping, that's for sure.
Tomorrow is our final banquet and Larry is helping Ted by accompanying him. Yes, Ted wrote a song. The rest of us wrote on a recipe card about our favorite part of the caravan. Ted wrote something like an 8 verse song! What he lacks in rhythm, he more than makes up for with enthusiasm. Whatever are we going to do without our new best friends and neighbors????
Close Inspection to see how it's done
Monday was another day. Chuck and Maggie took us with them for a trip around the Irish Loop, the peninsula south of this location.
First we had to stop at the convent to see the Veiled Virgin. It's an amazing marble sculpture of the Virgin Mary and looks as if she has a veil over her face. All made with one piece of marble.
Just an awesome piece of art and it's probably priceless. It's believed to be the only one like it in the world because no one could find the other one that was supposedly like it.
Our first (and only) stop while driving the loop was at Ferryland, where we had lunch with a wonderful view of the Atlantic ocean. Larry even saw a whale jump and we saw the resulting splash. The rest of the trip was kind of bleak compared to that.
The only highlight (after Ferryland) was a little miniature village made by someone next to their house and little canal. Little houses, boats, ducks, etc. See the picture. It's really darling.
St Johns
Our last stop of the caravan. We arrived shortly after 1:00 on Friday and found that there is a Costco near the campground. Off we went with Chuck and Maggie! Larry had truly been going through withdrawal, so we just soaked it all in. This is one huge store!
Upon our return it was time for Happy Hour at Susan and Jamie's with Cam and Marcia. Our St. Pierre reunion, even though we just returned on Thursday. French wines, cheese, bread (olive from Costco, thanks to Shirley Williams who rationed it out) and bread we'd purched on St. Pierre. Susan said Jamie took a 2 hr. nap after we left. They'd been on the parking crew and it's very very windy.
Saturday we all hopped aboard a tour bus to see the area. It included Cape Spear, which is the most Eastern point of North America. Our guide said we could turn our backs and moon the continent from there, but it was way too cold and windy for that! I was thinking that if we'd had a small child along, I'd tie him or her to a large rock as an anchor. It was that windy!
Signal Hill was another stop. This is where Marconi sent and received signals, hence the name.
Upon our return, Larry and I headed for the Railroad Museum. We'd already learned that the "Newfie Bullet" was misnamed. It was actually extremely slow. Now there are no running trains in Newfoundland at all. And, another trip back to Costco.
Sunday we took off early for Canadian Tire to have our rear passenger tire looked after, as it was slowly losing air. Got there an hour early. Cleaned out the glove compartment, console and back seat of all excess garbage. They could find nothing wrong, so sent us on our way.
We drove around awhile and still the sensor on our pressure pro system showed low air in that tire. Back to Canadian Tire. By the way, I had a very nice visit with their service manager, Ed Harris. Politics, immigration, education, etc. Well, we were there a long time... this time they switched out the tire with our spare and again sent us on our way.
The Rooms was our sightseeing destination for the afternoon. It's a modern art gallery and museum, quite controversial in its architecture for the area, but we really loved it. After our visit (during which St. Johns was experiencing a horrific rain and windstorm) we made our way to the truck. Larry's Harvard umbrella turned inside out and I can't remember a heavier windstorm that I've experienced. Flat Tire!
Larry put on his yellow slicker and braved his way back to the museum so he could call a tow truck. Finally they arrived and it was back to Canadian Tire. Ed decided then to think outside the box and was able to diagnose the problem. Broken o ring on the pressure pro sensor. It was causing the valve stem to leak out air. Took it off and we've been full of air ever since.
Cam and Marcia had joined us by now in our turmoil and we all went off to the movie in Mount Pearl - Julie and Julia. Dinner was popcorn and soda. For us, that is. They'd eaten at The Rooms. Not exactly the best movie to see on a hungry stomach, but we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Island of St. Pierre
Wednesday we went to France - sort of. The Kings, Murrays and Warrens all decided to visit St. Pierre's while we were in the area. Wednesday we took the long drive down to Fortune and the ferry and crossed over in about 2 hours. It would have been shorter, but the catamaran is broken.
Upon our arrival we checked into the Hotel Robert and ordered a minibus tour of the island. It took us about an hour to see the whole thing. There are approximately 6,000 people living there (plus 5,000 in the cemetery). Add 150 horses owned by young girls, and a few government officials from France (as well as a few gendarmes also imported for about 2 years each) and there you have it.
I was most impressed by the colorful houses. It's as if they take all of the prettier colors from the crayon box and put them in a basket. Blindfolded, they pick two or three colors from the basket and that's what colors they have to paint their house. Certainly not boring!
After the tour we took off to a local bar for some wine and then went to a restaurant for dinner.
The dinner was fabulous, although the desserts were only adequate. And, the bill took forever to straighten out. But, the dinner was fabulous. I had prawns with vegetables risotto. YUM!
The next morning (yesterday) we awakened and had a continental breakfast at our hotel. The pastries came from the local bakery (where we also bought bread to take home) and it was delicious. Then, we walked around the town for awhile until it was time for the ferry. It was a most enjoyable trip.
St. Johns - The End of the Lind
What a caravan this has been and it's almost over. The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity. During the entire caravan everyone has tried to do and see as much as possible. At the last few stops there has been a lot to see and do.
After we returned from Woody Island we still had to visit the Bonavista peninsula and the striped lighthouse, puffins, Random Passage filming site, Trinity, etc. Did it. Loved the tour of the Random Passage set. The puffins were adorable and the striped lighthouse was pretty cute. And, best of all, Hurricane Bill fell apart and we only had a bit of wind and quite a lot of water.
But, then it was off to Clark's Beach, so it didn't affect us much. Our first night there we had a nice dinner at the Canadian Legion and learned that Nancy, our resident shopper and bead jewelry artist extraordinaire had won the lottery - to the tune of $100,000. She and Sarge are very happy campers and we are all thrilled for them. We all feel that the only way we could be happier is to win it for ourselves!
My favorite part of Clark's Beach was the town of Brigus, right next door. Such a quaint and charming place, not to mention that one of our favorite meals was eaten there. Cod chowder and blueberry crisp. Especially the blueberry crisp - with blueberry sauce and blueberry ice cream! Heavenly...
Monday, August 24, 2009
Woody Island Adventure
Friday was our Woody Island overnight adventure. We left in the morning for the boat dock and took the short ride over to the island.
Once there, we were given our room assignments and then served lunch of soup, bread and toutons with "lassie" (molasses) for dessert.
Since we are supposedly still young and agile, we were given the small triplex building with Chuck and Maggie and Ted and Donna. Ted and Donna had the "bridal suite" with its own bathroom and the rest of us shared. Our little building is over 100 years old and very cute, but...don't ask me how I slept!
Activities for us included hiking down the path to the cemeteries and hiking down the path to the beach.
Ted and Al managed to find more "treasures" from the beach. Donna told Ted he could only take things he could fit in his pockets. Boy, were his pockets stretched!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Eastport to Clarenville
We head out this morning for our next stop - Clarenville. Eastport was a very wet stop and we didn't do a lot of sightseeing while we were here.
But, we had a great cookout last night and a local man brought in his Newfoundland dog to show us. He was very slobbery and I just missed getting a big, wet kiss! And, I smelled like him for the rest of the evening.
The laundry was good, the WiFi great, a fellow camper entertained us the first night with her singing and guitar, we had room to spread out and play Joker, etc. All was not lost.
Our next spot is dry camping for 4 nights, but for the better part of two days we'll be at Woody Island Resort. We're with Group 1 and leave tomorrow morning for our big adventure.
All the while we're keeping an eye on Hurricane Bill, who lurks down the Atlantic Coastline.
Hopefully, our trip to the French island of St. Pierre will still be a "go".
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Eastport
We are now in Eastport and it's raining. Puts a damper on any plans for outdoor activities. We hope tomorrow will be sunny and then we'll take the ferry to St. Brendan Island.
Yesterday's journey yesterday was short, but eventful. Shortly after leaving, Larry discovered he had no trailer brakes. We pulled over at the rest area/lookout and checked. Sure enough, the line was severed (again). A vegetable stand was set up at the lookout, so he went over and asked the proprietor if there was a repair shop available in the town below. He said he'd call his friend and the guy showed up several seconds later; he and wife and son were already on their way to get some fresh vegetables for their dinner. He got the vegetables and then led us down to the town and his shop. About an hour later we left with a repaired brake line. We then headed out of town, but stopped briefly to see if we could spot a couple of beached whales at the shoreline. They'd already been towed back out to deeper water and we did see the fin on one of them.
After all that, we still weren't late in arriving into the RV park. Dinner was at the Canadian Legion Hall and we enjoyed a Jiggs Dinner, very much like the brunch we'd had the day before in Gander at the airport. Everyone loved the desserts, especially since we were able to get seconds! We liked Rosie's Bakery and Cafe (and gift shop) also and got two T-shirts.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Gander
Gander is the site of the largest military plane disaster in US history. In 1985 a plane carrying soldiers returning home from the middle east crashed into the lakeside shortly after take-off.
We visited the museum and the crash site itself yesterday. There is still a lot of controversy about the actual cause and we may never know the answers. What they did know was sealed for 70 years.
Gander was also an emergency landing center after 911. Planes from all over were forbidden to enter US airspace, so diverted to Gander instead. This town of 10,000 grew exponentially overnight and the details can be read in a book, The Day the World Came to Gander, or something like that, anyway. Several people we talked to yesterday and the day before related their stories about it.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Traveling On
This is our last day in Twillingate and we've been blessed by sunny weather.
Yesterday we all toured a fishing museum. We learned all about the fishing industry from a local, whose father was a fisherman (although he, himself, was a schoolteacher). Later he took Sarge, Chuck and Ted out for a fishing trip. Not only did they catch fish, they saw whales. The icebergs have almost all melted.
Last night was a dinner theatre experience for 12 of us in Crow Head, not far from our campground. It was very funny, although I'd heard most of the jokes before from Readers' Digest.
It did not detract from our enjoyment in the least and the dinner was excellent.
Today is a free day and tonight we have another caravan cookout. My cooking duties were over long ago, so we just get to eat and enjoy from now on.
Susan King says Twillingate is her favorite Newfoundland place and Chuck and Maggie are already planning to come back here another year. Susan and Jamie are on their third Viking Trail caravan and Donna and Jim Wilkins are on their second. It's definitely worth a return trip, but for us it's so very FAR from home. As some of their T-shirts proclaim: Newfoundland: Been there, Going Back.
Yesterday I tried twice to call Mom and wish her a happy birthday, but she wasn't home. I did get through to Roxy on I-Chat and we had a nice video visit. I highly recommend it, but the time differences here are a bit problematic.
The group is getting very well acquainted with Newfoundland music and can sing along quite adequately. We're going to be singing along with our CD's all the way home.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Caravan Hardships
Newfoundlanders have endured incredible hardships during their long history. St. Johns is the oldest city in North America and the Vikings' ruins have been unearthed near St. Anthony. Until the 60's or 70's, they didn't even have electricity. We have noticed that people here do not have cell phones attached to their ears at all times. Possibly due to the lack of service up here.
On the caravan we have also had our hard times. Not all of our RV parks have electricity, water, sewer or WiFi. Sometimes (like now) we have to sit in the basement of the office while we do our laundry and check our email.
The roads are not all good. When we get to a new place, we often find our belongings in the trailer have shifted and can come crashing out at us when we open the doors. Yesterday my pitcher of grape juice spilled all over the rug and floor. If I were home, I could take it out to the driveway and hose it off, but alas, it's a drizzly day and would never dry.
Several weeks ago I thawed some fish and then stored it in the refrigerator until it was time to cook. The trailer still smells a bit like fish.
One day the roads were so bad and full of potholes that Marcia Murray's pedometer registered steps taken while she sat in her seat!
I could go on, but don't want to depress you all - especially those of you who are enjoying triple digit temperatures and nice swimming pools. We shall survive!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Twillingate
We recently arrived in Twillingate after a fairly short drive from Grand-Falls Windsor. With Cam and Marcia, we stopped at the Titanic exhibit in Norris Arm. Excellent display. Now we are in the Bay of Isles where we are supposed to be able to see whales and icebergs. We saw a whale yesterday while visiting a Heritage Center and eating lunch on their back deck.
Last night we attended a dinner theatre where "I Will Survive" was the entertainment. Our wait staff also doubled as the stars of the show and we thoroughly enjoyed it. During the audience participation segment, we contributed Sally Jones, Beth Jones and Chuck Helwig to the Disco Dance Contest. Two Canadian men also danced, but our very own Beth won the coveted T-Shirt which proclaims on the back, "I Won the Disco Dance Contest at I Will Survive" or something like that. She'll be swimming in it, as it's an XL.
Tonight we have another dinner at the Masonic Lodge with entertainment by Karen Churchill.
Al and Gracie say she's very good. We're going to be hauling home a lot of CD's from the entertainers we've listened to here. All have been very personable and enjoyable.
Some thoughts on Newfoundland and Labrador: It's one province and Canada's newest.
Most of the houses have new vinyl siding and it makes everything look quite new and fresh. Most colors are light and it's a government stimulus program.
Laundry hangs on clotheslines and I have been trying to photograph "the perfect line of clothes" I keep looking and taking pictures.
Moose are hard to spot and not all of our caravaners have seen one so far.
The people are wonderful and VERY friendly. Up in this area, their accents are "thicker".
Every view is worthy of its own picture postcard. I've taken thousands of pictures so far. I have no idea how I'm going to sort them all out to make them viewable or shareable.
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