Happy Birthday Mira! Hope you have fun celebrating 10 with everyone in Newfoundland!
Well after three vehicles, three ferries, two trains, one flight, one bus, one sea kayak a tandem bike, nearly two months and over 15,000 kms, we have finally arrived in Newfoundland. There really is no place like home. After a visit to historic Louisbourg, we crossed the Cabot Straight on the MV Highlanders on the night of September 27. We were lucky to get a cabin at the last minute. After we got the kids to bed, we both slipped down to the lounge to soak up the sweet sounds of the accents from home. The ferry was full of hunters on their way to the Rock to get their moose bye and the lounge was as excited as Christmas or summer. We even ran into some people we knew and shared a toast to home.
The weather has been fantastic since we arrived. We slipped into shorts and T shirts and headed out for a drive around Cape St. George with Maureen who is visiting Newfoundland for the first time. Although I grew up right on this ocean, I am consistently floored by the beauty of this place every time I return. The bright blue sea has sparkled with diamond whitecaps as far as the horizon, dotted here and there with little boats taking advantage of the seasonal food cod fishery. Other places we have visited have equalled the beauty of this place, but what attracts me to it most is its genuine character. This part of Newfoundland is off the tourist trail and hasn't been "gussied" up to meet some abstract ideal. You see the people and the land as they really are, worts and all. It's lovely and comforting.
Despite being travel weary, we couldn't resist taking Maureen out and showing her the night life in Newfoundland's best party town. We ran right into it, catching the monthly folk night at Emile's Pub and meeting a handful of old friends and relatives. The manager of the pub treated us to more than a single round of drinks and then proceeded to drag us to another establishment for a few rounds of karaoke. We ended off in the wee hours of the night with a slice from our favorite childhood pizza joint. Slow moving the next morning.
Deb and Maureen have headed up to Gros Morne National Park for a few days of hiking and sight seeing in the jewel of the west coast. The girls and I have chilled at home, with them switching back and forth between Nana and Poppy's House. We visted the beach yesterday and spent an hour walking on the warm sand looking for seashells. Really hard to believe its now October.
It feels great and strange to be settled down. We were so used to picking up and moving that it is taking a real adjustment to just hang out. I suspect by the time we have to leave for New York in two weeks we will be back in travel mode.
I love running into old friends and striking up long conversations every time I head downtown. We've had to teach the girls to look people in the eye and say hello to people on the street. And don't even gesture towards the road here because drivers will slam the brakes to let you cross. It's quite hilarious.
The girls are keeping busy but I must say I feel a little bad not having them in school with other kids here. We do a few hours of school each day but for the rest of it they are a little bored - something we wanted them to experience. They are handling it ok. I am tempted to see if we can register them for school one week while we are here, but I need to remember that soon enough we will be craving boredom again. They are making their own fun the way we used to in the summers and supposedly that's a good thing.
Deb and Mo have had a great time in Gros Morne and I'm not sure we will do much more exciting than that while we are here. Time to settle in with a good book and catch up on rest. I wonder what's going on in the Soaps these days.
All the best from the west, of Newfoundland.