Moving On

Time to hit the road and go to St. Anthony. Tomorrow we go to Labrador for the day.

This was a good stop in Rocky Harbour. Yesterday we first toured the lighthouse and then drove to the Gros Morne Visitors' Center. One of the most impressive centers we've visited anywhere.

Beautiful viewing area, spacious exhibits, etc.

We took Maggie and Chuck with us for the day and stopped in Woody Point for lunch. Maggie and I also detoured to visit a rug hooking studio in town. Then it was off to view the dory races.

Quite entertaining. Whoever didn't get tangled in the other boats was usually the winner. After one heat, we left, having "got the gist of it all".

More scenery viewing of table mountain. A rained-out drivers' meeting and then Joker at Helm's motorhome.

Away I Go

Gearing Up for the Zipline

Gros Morne National Park

We are in a beautiful national park, Gros Morne, and are scheduled for a hike and boat tour of the fjords tomorrow morning.

Tonight was a wonderful seafood platter dinner at a local motel restaurant. Tomorrow night we hear a Newfoundland band, Anchors Aweigh, with members of the caravan.

Yesterday Larry and I went ziplining with Chuck Helwig and it was awesome. The zip is only a year old (in August) and reputed to be one of the best in North America. And, I even made the first run (being so experienced and all). More lines than in Whistler and without all the step climbing. A hearty two thumbs up!

The guides even gave Maggie a ride up the mountain so she could take pictures and hike down with us. A very cool experience.

Newfoundland

We arrived in Corner Brook yesterday and it was a pleasant surprise. We'd all been getting a bit depressed in Stephenville with its dreary weather and bleak surroundings.

Larry spent the afternoon replacing the kitchen faucet, which was leaking all over the place. Now we have a shiny new one that doesn't leak. And, 3 way hook-ups! Hallelulah. The last stop was in a large cement lot with only water from a fire hydrant that we had to hitch up the trailer and roll across the lot to access. No dump. No garbage cans or dumpster. No electricity. 3 long days! Plus, we had rain and WIND! The good thing was the two live shows we saw at the community center. Very good and very enjoyable.

Corner Brook is beautiful, warm, sunny, has trees and mountains. Larry wants to go ziplining tomorrow, so we'll see if it can be arranged.

WiFi is in a cute coffee shop downtown (where I am now) and at 1:30 we have a luncheon in a beautiful inn. Glen Mill Inn in a beautiful location. There are provincial parks around the area.

Thoughts of Newfoundland: Laundry is hung on clotheslines. Very charming. Newfound and Labrador combine to make one province and a very long name as well. The people are extremely friendly and helpful. We know nothing of the outside world and don't really care...

Now for some pictures for your viewing enjoyment. We plan a trip to Labrador next week for the day and another to a French Island down the road at the end of the caravan.

Rookies John and Elain White learn how to depark

On to Newfoundland

After spending 2 nights in the Truro area, we drove to North Sydney today. Tomorrow is ferry day! And tonight is pizza and salad dinner. Off I go to assemble the salad. More later. I'll post pictures when we get back tonight.

Friday's Happenings

Early this morning (8:30) we left for Ministers Island. We had to get over and back before the tidal waters covered the road. The house and grounds were at one time very beautiful. The grounds still are, but the house is in great disrepair. No money for its restoration or upkeep, sadly.

Upon our return we walked back to town for lunch. The seafood chowder was outstanding and we dined with Sid and Sally. Also on the outside deck were Cam and Marcia, and Larry and Martha Jones. Ed and Beth Jones arrived as we were leaving and we spotted Dave and Sue Wendt as we walked back to the campground. They were dining at another eating establishment. You'd never know we're expecting a lobster dinner tonight.

The second caravan is trickling into the campground slowly. Their rendezvous date is officially tomorrow - when we'll be leaving. We have an early departure as parkers at the next stop.

This has been a beautiful spot and we'll be sad to leave it, but anxious for our great adventure to continue.

St. Andrews Whale Watching

The sunshine sure has made a world of difference in the attitudes of everyone. From depressed to happy in a day!

This morning's Farmers' Market brought the crowds out in force to the downtown area. We walked down to check it out and bought some baked goods. The sourdough bread with our Wisconsin aged cheddar hit the spot for lunch.

Our whale watching trip was fun. We saw whales and had a nice boat ride as well. On our way back to the trailer I spotted a "quilt show" sign. Back to the trailer for my $$ and picked up Sally Jones for the journey back downtown. At the quilt show they gave us a scavenger hunt type piece of paper to get "stickered" from several shops in town. Off we went - almost back to the trailer park for the first sticker. Picked up the rest and got a packet of cloth and pattern for a quilt block back at the show for our efforts. Sally's pedometer said she'd walked 12 miles for the day. I don't doubt it!

Viking Trail Caravan has begun

The caravan officially began last night with all the rigs in camp.

Tuesday, right after we got our trailer's brake line fixed near Worcester, MA, we spied another Airstream ahead of us. It was Ed and Beth Jones, so we traveled the rest of the way with them, staying in Bangor, ME, for the night. Yesterday morning we headed out, stopping first at a pharmacy so Ed could refill his eye drops prescription. That took nearly 2 hours; let's hope we never have to have national health care. This was bad enough!

More later. We're off to see the whales!

Massachusetts Somewhere

Our driving day was a good one - until it came time to find our RV park. I'd programmed the address into the GPS, but missed one important item: the correct town name. When the first address proved to be "not a campground" I did some further checking. Wrong town. I quickly reprogrammed it into the system and Larry was surprisingly calm. Even though we had to navigate the small and narrow town streets of Sturbridge, MA. And, we learned that directions to another location don't always take us on major roads. Think: narrow gravel road with bogs on each side. Garmina wasn't screaming that we were "off route", so we proceeded onward. Finally we reached our desired destination in the town of Wales and it's a beautiful location. And, it's QUIET! At last!!!!

Last night found us parked next to a pavilion where the DJ was conducting a Karaoke session that was just a bit LOUD!!!! And, I'm guessing the participants were not quite as talented as they thought they were:(

For those who are unacquainted with the toll road system in the Eastern USA, let me describe them to you.

In Indiana and Ohio we were stopping every few miles to throw more and more money at the attendants. It was getting quite ridiculous. The stops seem to be fewer and more spaced apart the further East we get. We just keep on going with no exits. But, there are service stops every so often with fuel and lots of food options. In Illinois they were located spanning the road, so that both sides could access them. Here they are on the sides of the road and it seems to us that there are more on the OTHER side than on our side. Larry is thrilled that Starbucks is one of the options at most of them. And, the DQ where we had lunch on Saturday had the very best blizzard I've had in a long time! It's a good thing, because I'm trying to limit myself to one small one per month.

The Madison Warrens and us

The Madison Warrens and us

Cake at our final Host to Host gathering

Madison Memories

We left Madison early yesterday morning. I really hated to miss the flea market, but we just can't have everything!

The drive was rather uneventful, which is always a good thing. The toll roads nearly broke the bank, but there aren't many other choices.

Marion Pember recommended a campground for our first night out and we'll have to be sure to thank him for the experience. Think: 4th of July in Redneck Heaven. Plus, the GPS couldn't figure out where the place was and neither could we. Two phone calls - and a side trip into Michigan - and we were there in the far northwestern corner of Ohio. The locals sure know where the place is, that's for sure. A destination for the 4th if there ever was one!

The place we're in now is pretty similar. Heavy day use, as there's a small lake I'm facing from my picnic table (WiFi hot spot). Unfortunately, I can also smell all the BBQ's and we're having leftovers tonight. Bummer.

Our last day in Madison was spent with George and Juliaanne and their kids and grandkids. See pictures! I was amazed at how quickly they lined up for the photo op. The four of us golfed in the morning and George would be disappointed if I didn't mention that he and I had fewer strokes than our combined spouses' score. We also defeated them at Joker the previous evening.

Now we miss them all terribly - and to think we barely knew they existed all these years!

Our flat tire around noon near Cleveland didn't set us back too much time. A couple stopped to help (because they have an Airstream also) and we had a nice visit while the tire was changed.

A brief trip to Sears to have the valved stem replaced and we were again on our way.

We'll be getting into Canada early Wednesday and communication after that will be sparse. Don't feel neglected if you don't hear from us.