NewFoundland! around the Avalon and across to Gros Morne

From The Cataract Colinet, NF

Thurs. Aug. 7

I wake up at 7 am and move my van because I am parked in the driveway of a campground. oops! I drive down a gravel road and almost hit .... a moose. They are called Newfoundland speed bumps here on The Rock! Glad I was going slow. I pull off here I can see a waterfall. I walk over to take a pic and my camera battery is too low. So I go back to the van plug in the battery and crash again. I am awakened about 3 hours later by two Newfoundlanders looking at my license plate and exclaiming FLORIDA! I am feeling much better so I get up again and walk down to the Waterfall which I discover is called The Cataract. I walk down the boardwalk and take pics of the falls. Then I drive on into Colinet, NF. There is a store so I go in and the owner is very friendly. She makes me a cup of hot chocolate and tells me there is no place nearby to do laundry. But give me lots of information on good places to see.

The Cataract Colinet, NF

On Newfoundland no one tells you how far a place is they tell you how long it takes to get there! I drink my hot chocolate and we have a nice conversation about St. Pete. She has posters of St. Pete Beach, Mirror Lake and The Pier in the bathroom. Her husband wants to go there soon. So I tell her good places to visit there. I pick out a big bag of Tostitos and go to pay and she doesn’t charge me for the hot chocolate which was very nice. She wished me a good trip. I took her advice and went south the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Preserve where there is a huge colony of sea birds. As she predicted the weather was clear there so I walked out to the seabird colony. There are no trees in this park. it’s tundra like. Just a big meadow full of dandelions and purple irises. Very beautiful. I walk out and look way down over the cliff and it’s all birds. The brochure says 50,000 Northern Gannets roost there but I stopped counting at a zillion! There were birds everywhere. There were also Common Murres, Thick billed Murres, Black legged Kittiwakes, Razor bills, Black Gullimots and Cormorants. Also Humpback Whales are often spotted, but not today.

Cape St. Mary's Ecological Park

As I walked out I could smell the birds. there were so many that I really smelled bad when i got close. The path ended just above a sea stack that covered in thousands of nesting Gannets. They had chicks and were fencing(part of their mating dance) and calling to each other. it was an amazing sight. I had my binoculars and spotted all kinds of birds. It was really cool to see the colony from that close. Finally I walked back and took a picture of the lighthouse. The ranger inside told me there was a place to do laundry in the next town so i went down the road and found it. The machine were in an apartment house. There was no one around so I put in my clothes. When the owner showed up she said it ws fine and made some change for me. I need more loonies which are 1 dollar coins. I got all the clothes, towels, sheets, pillowcases washed and dry BEYOND cleaned and straightened. My dad is flying in tomorrow night and I needed to make room for him. Then I drove back to Colinet and just before town I stopped to see a fish ladder and the people who tend it had it open and were counting salmon as they went up. It was a whole family and they had a huge salmon in the basket and were showing the kids. I was asking them how far it was to the provincial park. They said to just camp here. That I looked tired and it would be nice and quiet here. I accepted and they asked for a tour of BEYOND and then were interested in seeing some of my paintings. We had a nice chat and then they went home to dinner and I cooked up some noodles and soy ginger tuna, which came out pretty good. I wrote a bit and then crashed.

Fish Ladder at Colinet, NF

In the morning I had a cup of tea and then found there were open washrooms. Yes! THe first of the fish people showed up and we checked the fish box but nothing was in yet. He said they don’t come up when it’s dark and they would start again soon. I thanked him and drove North towards St. John’s. I’m having a little trouble with the van. It feels like she might be low on transmission fluid. If I take it easy she seems okay. I drive on into St. John’s and find an internet signal from someone's house. The weather is nice so they are having the Royal St. John’s Regatta today. THey delayed it two days because of poor weather. That makes it a holiday and most of the town seems to be headed past me so I figure it must be that way. I find a parking space and get on my bike and ride around until I find the Regatta. There is a long lake with a big rowing club and lots of people, food booths, carnival rides and every club and charitable organization in the province seems to have booth set up with games of chance, raffles, prizes etc. People are buying food and playing games like crazy. I walk around and realize that it’s lunch break for the rowers. Most of the stands are selling fries. Wedge fries, poutine, fries with gravy and stuffing. they also have hot dogs and hamburger and fried fish.

I find a group that is selling moose burgers and have one. It’s very tasty. Like beef but a little stronger flavor and less fat. Not a strong a flavor as lamb though. It’s very good. I walk all the way to the end of the lake and back. I am hungry again and the races have started again so I go to Benny Peelsgoods Fries Newfoundland’s favorite since 1986. THey have three wagons together and a huge crowd. The fires are hot with the peels on and they have table with condiments. I have mine with vinegar and cajun spices. They are excellent fries! I see and stand selling partridge berry ice cream but I am full and I know my Dad will be wanting ice cream. I ride my bike back and find my van and all of a sudden the traffic is just jammed. So I find a parking space and there is internet so I upload pics and read an article about power tools races which sounds like great fun. I think I might try and stage a race when I get home! I have at least one old power tool that would make a good racer. Finally traffic clears out and I make my way across town to the airport and then go looking for a campsite. My father’s plane is due in at 10:50 pm. I want to have a campsite and dinner ready before I pick him up. I drive out towards Portugal Cove but I don’t see any campsites.

St. John's Royal Rowing Regatta

Finally I find an empty lot up a dirt road and park and make spaghetti sauce. I put it in the fridge and am looking at another map and I see a campground in the other direction that is much closer to the airport. I drive over and they are full but have room in the over flow. I take and chat with the neighbors while i finish stowing my gear and making room for my father and his gear. They tell me that some of the Parks don;t have potable water. The water is good so I fill up my tank. They tell me that the other side of the campground has wireless internet. I go over there at 10 pm and flight tracker tells me that his flight is due in early at 10:14 pm. Oh boy! So I drive to the airport and park in short term parking as I can see a plane landing. I go inside and the screen says that his plane is not early but is delayed until 1:07 am! Oh no! No more flight tracker for me. I quickly get my car out of short term parking as it’s $1.50 a half hour. Ouch! I drive around the terminal but cannot pickup the wireless signal that is supposed to be all over the airport. I park in a loading zone and realize after a while that nobody cares where I park. I go inside and check the board. No he is due in at 1:17 am. GRRR! I get the internet and finish loading pics and due my banking and other book work and wait. I get a large hot cocoa at Tim’s and finally it’s 1:25 and I still don’t see him, but people are gathering at the other end. I go down there and soon I see him coming. Finally! We get him loaded and drive back to the campground. I am really glad we are at the close campground! We pull in and park away from the rest of the overflow in the gravel pit by ourselves and I make noodles. He isn’t hungry so I eat some noodles and we crash about 3 am! Good night!

We get up about 9 and it’s raining and foggy. I make hot tea and we have cold cereal and rice milk. (I think it will last longer than regular milk) It tastes okay with the mooselips (Muselix). We walk down to the washroom and have a hot shower then back to BEYOND. We get things stowed and in typical Loyd fashion decide instead of heading North and West to head south and east to Witless Bay. We stop at the tourist info and ask about hikes. The young man there has a bad stutter but manages to to explain a couple of hikes to us. We thank him and head to the grocery store next door for supplies as the food stores were closed in St. John’s for the Regatta. Glad I got the laundry done early! We load up the groceries and go looking for the trailhead. It’s mizzling now (misty drizzle) and we drive down a little road but can’t find the trail. We ask a local guy and he sends us down the road further to a better starting place. We find it and have lunch in the van. Triscuits, PB, Chips and salsa, cheese, mackerel and apple. We get into raincoats and head out through the mizzle to the trailhead. We start up a gravel road that is lined with lots of flowers. THen the path begins and it’s wet, mossy and beautiful.

We are headed for an abandoned town called La Manche. It was hit by a tidal wave in 1966. The people who survived moved to surrounding communities. We hike through black spruce and fir trees that grow out of a carpet of thick green moss. Soon we see a side trail to Doctor’s Cove and we walk down the hill into the cove. It’s a small rocky cove with a tiny beach at the far end. Since it’s mizzling nicely we decide not to swim. There are two young women walking around and we watch one of them walk out to the beach and then head back up to the trail. at the top we encounter the other woman and she is from Toronto and they came to Newfoundland to hike the East Coast Trail of which this is a section. They have been staying in a B&B but camped last night at Lamanche. She is wondering if the town we started from has a store where she can buy milk and eggs but there was no store there. She says there is a fisherman around the bend whose mother was born in Lamanche but left before the tidal wave. We wish her happy camping and walk on. We are hearing a funny slapping sound and we round there corner and there is the fisherman and his buddy. He asks us if we saw and heard the whales. That slapping sound was the humpback whales breaching just outside of the cove. We look and we can see them out there. They are propelling their bodies up out of the water and then falling with a slap onto the surface and sliding back under. It’s fun to see them again. I saw humpies breaching when I was kayaking in Alaska many years ago out in Prince William Sound. It’s really a sight to see.

Scientists don’t really know why they do it. I think it’s called fun! We watch for a while. I try to take a pic but they are too far out. We talk to the fisherman about Lamanche and he tells us some more about it as he builds a fire to make a cup of tea. His buddy is still fishing down below. Neither are catching anything. Soon we walk on and around the corner we come on one of the most beautiful coves i have ever seen. There is a river running in from the back with a pond for swimming and there are water falls coming down the cliffs. The rocky sides of the cove are covered in ferns and moss and there is a big suspension bridge across the stream. This is replacing on the one that was wiped out by the tidal wave. We can the see remains of half a dozen houses. A few falling walls but mostly foundations. What a grand place to have lived. bUt absolutely scary in a tidal wave. This was back when there were almost no roads. Everyone traveled by boat on the sea. We walk across the bridge and explore the remains and take photos. It is now part of a park and a few other people wander in, including the two fishermen. The one points out the remains of the house his mother was born in. We ask a few more questions and then hike back out.

Hiking to Lamanche, NL

Back on the road the van is acting kind of funny. Doesn’t want to downshift on the hills so I am doing it by hand. We continue South to Ferryland and stop for ice cream. It’s choco-vanilla soft serve which isn’t my favorite but this is really good soft serve. Maybe the best I have tasted. We drove out to the Colony of Avalon and arrive at 6 pm. They are open and a tour is about to leave but we don’t have time to see all the indoor exhibits and take the tour because they close at 7. We watch the film peek at the exhibit and then catch the tour. Turns out to be a good tour and the Colony on Avalon was established in 1621 by Lord Calvert. They have done extensive archeological excavation and have found an amazing number of artifacts. We toured the site and you can really see where the colony was an how it was laid out, constructed, and run. The site was pretty ideal for a business venture of this magnitude. It was easily defended, a safe protected harbor, close to the fishing grounds, with a supply of slate for roofs and building material, and a stone beach for drying fish, and good soil for gardening. They lived well there but were often attacked by the French and Dutch. Eventually the colony was defeated and burned. But some people stayed and their ancestors still live in the community. After our tour we drove back North to the LaManche Provincial Park for the night. We landed in a nice spot and soon I had heated up the pasta sauce and made more noodles, a salad and a Propeller Bitter. Then off to bed as we had some sleep to catch up.

In the morning I toasted bagels over the stove and made a mess of one of my pans. The bagels were good with PB and Marion Blackberry Jam and hot tea. We moved BEYOND down to the shower building and I pumped old leaky tire will my Dad showered. Then I took a quick shower and we drove back to Ferryland stopping on the way for a hard ice cream. Pop had black raspberry cheesecake and I had moose hoofs. They we yummy. Then we drove back to Avalon and spend quite a while looking at the exhibit and all of the artifacts. They have lots of pottery, bottles, tools, bones, jewelry all superbly displayed and documented. Absolutely fascinating stuff and lots of everything. THen we walked back out to the site and took some pictures. We walked back to the gift hop and purchased a jar of bake apple jam and the had the book I have been looking for. The Day the World Came to Gander. Then we drove further south to try and get a glimpse of the Avalon Caribou herd which is 5000 strong and often is migrating this time of year. The Southeast is an open barren, lichen covered sub-tundra.

Ferryland, NL and the Colony of Avalon

We reach South Portugal Cove without seeing any caribou and go to the visitors center to inquire about the area. Very few sightings but there is a fossil park out on the south point and Mistaken Point. There is a tour soon. They say there are places we can camp for the night so we decide to drive out there. It’s 20 minutes out a rough gravel road to Mistaken Point. We have a quick lunch of crackers and cheese, chips and salsa, peanut butter. Then the ranger shows up and we gear up and head out. Our ranger is Julie and she tells about the Park and the environment and identifies the local berries including bake apples(cloud berries), partridge berries(lingnon berries), crow berries and raspberries. She also showed us how the forest is there but the trees are only about 18 -24 inches tall. Walked on out to the shore and the in the rocks were fossils of organisms that grew in the deep ocean 460-435 million years ago when this part of Newfoundland was attached to Europe and Africa.

We took off our shoes and walked onto the rocks and they were everywhere. It was really neat to see them and Julie has lots of information about how they were found and how work is under way to make it a World Heritage Site. Also how the local folks have been very involved in protecting the site and getting the tours and the visitors center and displays. It has been mizzling but not raining and the fog rolls in thick as we are hiking back out to our cars. We drive on out to the point at Cape Race to see the lighthouse. There is also an exhibit of Marconi wireless and the station that received the distress signals from the Titanic has been preserved there. We decide not the pay to see the radio shack or tour the lighthouse because the fog has set in so thick that you can’t see the lighthouse from 100 yards! We drove back down the road a bit to a gravel pit and parked for the night. Soon we were eating soy ginger tuna and sesame noodles for dinner. We read and typed in the travelog until time for bed. When we went to bed the fog had rolled out and we could see the lighthouse and the fog horn had stopped. The light flashed very brightly over our heads but not into the van. The sky was still too cloudy for stars. Oh well. Night!

Mistaken Point and Cape Race, NL

Monday Aug. 11

We wake at 6:45 today. We have cereal and tea for breakfast and the fog is back very thick. We depart at 7:30 and slowly drive back to the main road. By 8:30 we are back at the visitors center. They aren’t open yet but nicely let us in to use the washrooms and we leave a note for Julie the ranger to email us about the caribou. We were asking her if there was a difference between caribou and reindeer. And if they live in Greenland and Iceland. Then we begin our drive North and West. We pass through Colinet again and stop at the fish ladder to see the salmon and at the store to see my friend and buy gas and onion(which she gets from her own supply) and pepperoni. The pepperoni is a big round like a salami and is not hard cured. We drive on and the van is working okay. I am still down shifting by hand. We reach the TCH (TransCanada Highway) and head West. We stop for lunch at a town called Come by Chance and the van is not going into gear well as we negotiate the side roads. There is an ecological preserve where we have lunch. Pepperoni (it has a mild flavor and the consistency of soft salami) sharp cheddar, triscuits, chips and salsa, apples.

Then we walk the trail in the preserve where runs beside the highway but is separated by flora and there are benches and bird feeders, trash cans and bridges over riverlets. We can see a long narrow bay beside us where the tide is out. We reach the end and walk down to look at the bay then walk back up the road to the van. We drive on and the van is working better. We reach Terra Nova National Park and pull in. This is a big campground with hundreds of sites, a theater, activity center, playgrounds. Really great for families. We ask for the most remote site and end up pretty much off by ourselves. I take a nap after all the driving and then we go for a hike. We head out the Outport trail which goes over Mt. Stamford and then visits some abandoned villages.

We hike for about at hour and it’s a great trail that doesn’t see a lot of use and is very narrow. In places it looks like we are wading through the mt. laurel. There is also lots of the white lichen I remember from canoeing in Labrador many years ago. It look like snow when you first see it. But slightly green. It is puffy and airy and quite lovely. I take some pics and we turn around as we are eating in a restaurant in the park and don’t want to miss dinner. We are almost at the trail head and run into a ranger who is burying a metal detector in the trail so he can count the number of bicyclists who use it. Pretty tricky! He think the restaurant closes at 7 pm so we hurry back and drive over there and arrive at 6:45 and sure enough the Starfish Restaurant is still open but barely. We order Cod Au Gratin with salad. We get a basket of thick slices of homemade wheat bread and butter. It’s very good and the cod is tasty. My father ask about pie but all the baked goods have been sold. But she has NY Cheesecake with partridge berry sauce. We order it and it is truly wonderful. I have never had partridge berry sauce before but I am now a fan. My father has picked partridge(lingnon) berries before and had the jam. We are both very satisfied and go back to the campsite for warm showers and read and write in the journal a bit before bed. At 10 pm we are both falling asleep. Another good day.

Terra Nova National Park

Up before 7 again and after breakfast of cereal and tea we got back on the road west. Soon we are seeing signs for pick ur own raspberries and my father gets excited. SO we follow the signs and end up driving quite a distance through Lewisporte and east to Castleton, NL. Finally we find the farm and end up in a strawberry field. We pick some strawberries and ask about raspberries and they send us a long way over to another field where we pick raspberries. Now we have lots of berries and stop for groceries. THen back on the road again. We stop for a quick lunch next to a town park. Pepperoni and sharp cheddar on bagels, great with a little salsa! We decide to drive on out to Gros Morne National Park. It is our western most destination. We stop in Deer Lake and find the airport and find a hotspot to check email. Then we head for the park. On the way we stop at Jack Ladder’s Restaurant for dinner. My father orders a moose burger and baked potato and I order cod tongues and baked potato. The cod tongues are excellent. They are about the size of silver dollars and are breaded and fried. They taste a lot like fried oysters. For dessert we have bake apple tarts which are okay. I think I would like them better if they had cooked the bake apples and added a bit of sweet.

Then we drive on up to Gros Morne and head for the southern arm of the park. BEYOND is doing okay but not great and I am glad to have arrived. The rain has started again and we pull into the Lomond campsite and noon is around. We have enough cash for a campsite but not the park entrance fees. It’s raining hard and we have a section of the campsite to ourselves that overlooks an arm of the bay. There are high mountains on either side of the long narrow bay. We both take a nice long shower and retire to the warm van and read until bedtime. I read the email I pick-p in Deer Lake and there is an email from the Gorilla Theatre in Tampa, FL asking me for a Design Concept for a production of Six Degrees of Separation this fall. They are asking for concepts from a couple of designers. They also want to FED EX me a script. I will have to figure that out tomorrow. I fall asleep to the sound of rain on the roof.


Wed. Aug. 13
We are up at 7 and have cereal with fruit and yogurt and hot chocolate, pump the tire then head out to look at the Park. It’s not raining and we look around for a ranger to pay the rest of our fees but there aren’t any around. We drive into Woody Point and find the Discovery Centre. THe ranger there gives me the number for FED EX and I call them to arrange for a delivery of the script. The only place in Newfoundland is St. John’s unless I have a delivery address. I get the number for the Rocky Harbor Post office and they agree to accept a package for me. I call FED EX and they can deliver it there e on Monday if it’s mailed today. I call the Gorilla with the address. We pay our park entrance fee and head into town to get more cash and I find an internet signal by the library and email the FED EX address to the Gorilla Theatre. I am also able to find a copy of the Movie script also written by John Guare. That and a Wikipedia listing on the play gives me enough to start thinking about the design. My father has found cash and we are getting hungry so we go to a local cafe and have lunch. Fish chowder and a fishlike for me. Chowder and cod bites for my father. The fishlike is fried with scrunchions which are what I could call cracklings or chitlins. It’s very tasty and the cod bites are excellent. We finish with a partridge berry cake in rum sauce. It’s like a steamed pudding. Not a strong berry flavor but still tasty.

A number of people have recommended a hike to the Tabelands so we drive out there. All of a sudden all the trees and plants are gone. We are driving in what looks like the surface of Mars. It’s lots of bare reddish yellow rock. This is a huge section of the earth’s mantle that was thrust up to the surface. Plants won’t grow here because of the soil composition. We walk up the trail into a valley between the mountains that has a hanging valley at the top. There are flowers growing in the valley and pitcher plants. I spot a good size spider and some dwarf trees but there is not much more visible life. I don’t hear any birds calling. We walk further up into the valley but it starts thundering. We don’t want to be caught here in a lightning storm as we are the tallest things around! SO we hurry back down to BEYOND. We drive on out to Trout River and find a great campsite. The sun is out so we go for a walk beside the Trout Pond. The trail is listed as easy but it is full of shorts ups and downs. My right hip is bothering me some today. We walk about 3.5 kilometers and find some ripe blueberries to eat. THen decide to head back. We get caught in a rain squall and put on our raincoats for a while. By the time we get back the sun is out again so I go for a swim in the Trout Pond. The water is pretty warm but there are lots of weeds. My Dad takes a couple of pictures of me as I get out.

Trout Lake, NL

We go back to BEYOND and I make pasta sauce with some of the pepperoni. THen we drive back into Woody Point as there is a concert tonight. FIGGY DUFF is playing. I have been hearing lots of talk about this band. THey have been around for 25 years but have not played together recently but are doing a series of concerts. THis band fuses traditional Newfoundland and Celtic Music with modern instruments and were responsible for bringing Newfoundland music to the world stage. The concert is sold out but they are supposed to put speakers outside if the weather is nice. The weather is too iffy for speakers but they leave the doors open and we listen to a few songs which are really good. They are an excellent band. I am getting tired and we are both hungry so we go back to BEYOND and eat salad and pasta. We intend to go back and hear a few more songs but miss then end. They are doing another concert later but my hip is hurting so we decide to go back to our campsite. It’s dark and misty and I am driving slowly because BEYOND is not doing well and sure enough I pass a big moose standing right beside the road. We make back to our campsite and head for bed.

Thursday

We sleep in until 8 to the sound of rain and then have cereal with fruit and yogurt and tea. We take hot showers and drive back to Trout River and stop for ice cream at the store. We both have raspberry, then we drive to the Green Gardens trail. After a while the rain has stopped and it looks like the fog is going to lift. So we gear up and hike. The trail starts out looking like the Tabelands but after we near the top of the hill there are lots of flowers and we start to see small trees. Everything is wet and green. We go over over the top and down the other side into beautiful forest of small fir trees and flowers. I can see why they call it Green Gardens. It’s really lovely. We walk on out to the Coast. We are beginning to see blue sky and as we reach the coast the sun comes out and we are at the top of a steep cliff dropping down to beautiful blue green water. There are rocky out cropping sticking up out of the water and it’s an incredible sight. Really worth the hike. There are tenting platforms and I would love to camp out here but we don’t have time. There is a stairway down to the beach but we can see quite a few people so we decide to go further out the trail which does a big loop. We walk along and I realize that I brought water but forgot to put in the food when I remembered I left my shoes on top of the van. Darn.

We walk further and find lots of ripe raspberries and spend about an hour eating berries. We walk a bit further but my hip is hurting again and we are still hungry to we turn back. We head back up over the ridge and it gets foggier as we leave the beach. We head back up the last steep hill and we are running on empty. We agree that it was good that we turned around and soon we are back in the van eating pepperoni and cheddar on bagels. There is an older woman wandering around the parking lot looking like she is waiting for someone. I invite her over for peanut butter crackers. She joins us and says her daughter is hiking to the shore and took the car keys with her by mistake. She declines the BP Crackers and sits and chats while we eat. I think her name was Susan we had a nice conversation until her daughter showed and then we drove back into Woody Point. They are starting their writers conference today with Internationally famous author Kathy Reichs and a Newfoundland author . We stop at the Library and the bookstore looking for his book and to check email. We see it in the library but not in the store. When the library closes we get ice cream again. This is out last day together! We have hard ice cream and then find out that the writer conference is completely sold out. In fact it sold out in March in 10 minutes! I would love to hear the authors read but I am also anxious about getting back to Deer Lake as the van is driving poorly. Also I prefer to drive before dark because of the moose. They are a real problem here.

Green Gardens trail to the coast

So we decide to drive on back and stop for dinner at Jack Ladder’s again. We both have the pan fried halibut steaks and baked potatoes. While we wait we try and tie some of the knots displayed in some picture frames. Our dinner is very tasty. Afterwards we drive onto the Deer Lake to the airport and find a quiet spot in the parking lot. My father has to get up at 4 am to catch his flight. He gets his gear together and beds down. I can’t pop the top here so I sit in the chair with my feet up and am just about asleep when some people in the next parking lot start playing loud music and drinking! Who would have thought that the Deer Lake airport on Thursday night would be party central! I figure security will shut them done but the party get louder and goes on for hours. Finally I lie on the floor where it’s quieter but cramped and doze a while.
Friday Aug. 15

Finally at 3:30 we get up and I fix my father a PB andJ Bagel, granola bar and apple and drive him up to the terminal. All is quiet as we say until next time! Off he goes. It was great to have him come and travel with me. I know I will miss him!
I drive off and the rain starts again. I drive a few miles to the tourist info, park and sleep until 8 am. I go in and we find the only transmission place is down the road in Corner Brook which is Newfoundland’s 2nd largest city. THey can see me at 1:30. I look over the exhibits about Viking excavations up the road and info about Labrador and then go back to sleep until 11. I get up and make hot chocolate and then drive to Corner Brook. I make a wrong turn and end up in a shopping plaza and BEYOND will not go in gear! I park and let her cool for 45 minutes. I shop in Canadian Tire(like a Walmart sort of) I find a indoor outdoor temperature gauge to replace my broken one. I get BEYOND going and drive up a steep hill to Transmission Experts. Phonse Noseworthy and I go for a test drive and BEYOND is acting badly. Phonse thinks it’s more serious than low fluid like it was before i left home. We make it back to the shop. Barely. After awhile they get her in and it’s not low fluid. Phonse starts looking for parts but no luck. At the end of the day I phone Tom Caldwell at Halsey Auto in Portland, OR to see if he can help. THen Phonse closes up for the weekend and drops me at a mall up the hill. I find a cell store and they don’t have a replacement battery for my cellphone which died yesterday, but they can order one. Check back tomorrow. After walking around I go back and eat the rest of the pasta sauce with noodles and crash early. I am becalmed. In irons, The Doldrums! Stuck! We will see what Monday brings. Good night.

Well, it’s been a week and Phonse and I are still trying to find a new transmission for BEYOND. I have been hanging around Corner Brook. I went to three malls, I ate a Donair which is the eastern canada version of the gyro. It was served open faced and instead of tsatsiki sauce of yogurt, garlic and cucumbers the serve it with a sweet garlic sauce, onions and tomatoes. it was good but I prefer a non sweet sauce. I saw the new Starwars movie. I didn’t care for it. I missed having live actors. It felt like I was watching video games and not able to play. I bought some cheap paperbacks. Red Dragon a follow-up to Silence of the Lambs very frightening! Elmore Leonard's Maximum Bob not my favorite by Leonard. And Thin Air by Robert Baker. Shopped for new cellphone battery. Walked around town. Searched unsuccessfully for a Newfoundland author’s book my father and I were interested in reading. Ridden my bicycle some. Corner Book is all very steep hills. Hiked to 3 mile Dam. Phonse invites me to his house for a shower and some mac and cheese. It was really nice of him and his wife Shirley to fed me and let me shower. They have a beautiful house with floors, trim and cabinetry of all native wood. Beautiful. The mac and cheese had ham in it and the shower was wonderful. Then Phonse drove me back and he worked some more. Shirley tells me that Phonse loves his work and never takes a vacation. He must be one of the hardest working men in Newfoundland! Stayed in a hotel for 2 nights. But that was way too expensive so I rented a little car and drove back to Gros Morne National Park.

Corner Brook, NL

I packed up my tent and camping stove and some food and sleeping bag and drove to Rocky Harbor. I checked the Canada Post but no script from the Gorilla Theatre. So I drove north and found a rough road that went to the shore and stayed there for the evening and then built my first campfire of the trip down on the rocky beach and watched the sun go down and a billion stars come out. All I could see where stars and the light from a lighthouse on the point. Almost no light pollution from Rocky Harbor. Looked at the stars until the fog started to obscure them. Put out my fire and went to bed.

I woke up late at 8. I had a hard time falling asleep. It is very windy here and the waves are loud crashing on the shore. I ate some cereal and drove over to the mountain Gras Morne and hiked up it. They say the climb takes 6- 8 hours so i load up lot’s of water and lunch and head out. They approach is quite easy but then there is a warning sign and the trail goes straight up the side of the mountain about 1500 feet in a gully full of loose rock. That section is very difficult but the sun is shining and in fact it’s verging on hot. glad i have my sun hat! I have to stop a few times to catch my breath. But finally I am at the top. I can see for miles though it’s a little misty. I have a sesame bagel with cheddar and cold cuts for lunch and a granola bar. After a nice break I head down the back side of the mountain which a much gentler climb down than the up. It’s beautiful on the back side of the mountain. Lots of purple asters and other flowers blooming. It reminds me of the Green gardens trail. This path winds down past 7 mile lake where there e is a beautiful backcounry campground. The trail winds around the base of the mountain and connects with the approach trail right at the base of the gully. I walk back and am glad i brought all the water as it’s gone by the time I get back to the car.

Climbing Gros Morne Mt.

I get in and drive back to Rocky Harbor where there is an Olympic indoor pool. I pay $3 and spend a couple of hours in the pool and then take a hot shower. The pool is great except for my old nemesis chlorine. I came out feeling cool and clean but with my sinuses plugged and itchy eyes. Oh well. it will pass in a couple of days. I drive down to the harbor where I saw a picnic pavilion and cook pasta with jar sauce and the rest of the cold cuts and a salad. I took a walk in the local cemetery and tried to photograph the ravens resting on the headstones but they were shy and flew away. I drove to the visitor’s center too use the bathroom and ask how long a drive to the Viking archeological site at the North tip of the peninsula. Then I drove back to my little spot and it’s empty so i park and try sleeping in the car. It’s cramped but okay if I take the back seats down and the bike out of the trunk I have room to stretch out my legs. The sky is clear and the wind is blowing hard again tonight. Good night!

As always there are new pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd

onto Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

From Cape North and Meat Cove, NS

Well spell check got me again. It changed most of my spellings of Kathadin to Katherine. I was really talking about the Kathadin Stream Campground and CLimbing Mt. Kathadin! And my Panorama Shot was the Kathadin Bowl!

Anywhere I am in Canada now so I am working in Metric. 1.6 km = 1 mile, 1 gallon = 3.8 liters, 70 ºF = 21.1ºC and humidity is humidex. Once I crossed the border Interstate 95 became Transcanada 2. So I travel about 110 kph (65 mph) now. It gives one the illusion you are getting places much faster!

When I woke up I took a nice hot shower. It felt really nice on my sore muscles. Good to be clean. Stream baths only work for so long! I eat a granola bar and hot tea for breakfast. I spent the morning straightening up BEYOND. Getting rid of lots of brochures. Putting all the dirty clothes in my laundry bag under the back deck. Washing the kitchen. Then I found a water spigot and filled BEYOND’s water tank. SHe holds 12 gallons. Then I spoke to guy from Quebec who had questions about BEYOND. He was telling me to go to PEI (Prince Edward Island) and then take the ferry further out to the Madeline Islands. I spent so much time in ME that I think I will save them for another trip. I drive into Fredericton which is about 10 km from the Mactaquac. On the way I stop at a farmstead for local green beans, cucumbers and tomatoes. THe man give me directions to a propane place. There I fill my tank. (4 gallons) At the bank $100 US gets me $99.94 Canadian so almost 1to1. Then off to the supermarket where I buy produce, Mooselips (Muselix), milk, cream and some local smoked Atlantic Salmon, raisin bagels etc. When I get to BEYOND I make a peanut butter , raisin bagel and drive East on Route 2.

I am in Canada so I am listening to Bruce Cockburn, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and the Crashtest Dummies. Soon I am getting sleepy. I am tired from my climb. I see a sign for Fundy Provincial Park and turn South. I find a pretty lake and stop for a swim. Then I drive down an autopath (Canadian for one-way gravel road) It was lined with lots of blooming wildflowers and peeks of the Bay of Fundy.

I got a campsite and made a creamed salmon pasta, steamed green beans and big salad and an English Imp Ale for din. I ride my bike around and look at the Bay. The tide is high. Alma, NB at the bottom of the hill has the worlds highest tides, at 15 ft. I ride of to the outdoor amphitheater to see the evening show on the endangered Leopard Frog but it is in French tonight. In Canada everything is written in French and English. I was listening to Canada Radio one and Quebec is still trying to become an independent country and they were debating the pros and cons. Anyone want to comment? I personally enjoy the mix of French and English that I hear and see all around. I know the issues are much more complex but as a visitor I enjoy the mix. I tried to understand the Frog lecture but I wasn’t getting much and she wasn’t showing many visuals. SO I rode around more and watched fireworks down in Alma. One of the rangers tells me that mostly people drink and shoot fireworks at night in Alma. Not much else going on. I visited the Nature Center which has very nice exhibits of locally flora and fauna.

I ride to the community fire pit. No individual fires in this campground. There are a bunch of people there singing and playing guitar. I join in and we sing Counting Crows, Green Day, then an old one Hotel California ( they were much younger than I)Turns out The Eagles are playing on Sat, night down the road in Moncton. People are very excited. I heard on the radio one guy spent $10,000 in tickets and food, booze etc. for himself and 18 of his friends. The other folks are from Moncton and some have been to Mt. Kathadin and we talk about the climb and The States. Then the rain comes pouring down and we scramble to put out the fire and I ride back to camp. After I dry off I crawl into bed and fall asleep to the rain.

In the morning I have another hot shower. Glorious! I am usually a night shower person but it was raining hard last night and I was tired. After Mooselips with leftover cream and hot tea I pack up and drive through Alma and into Moncton. It’s pretty big and seems to have a lot going on. Lot’s of peel in all the outdoor cafes eating lunch in the sun. There is free WIFI in downtown but I can send out! Dang. I try a few places around town but no luck. All the other signals I see are password protected. So I find a gas station and fill the tank at 1.26.3 a liter. Instead of $75 it was $89. So I find my way back to Route 2 and drive to Amherst and now I am in Nova Scotia. THe internet says there is a disc golf course just outside of town. I follow the directions into a farm driveway and behind the barn. No sign of a course. The farmer comes over and says the course was taken down and moved to a competition last weekend and the guy is coming later to put it back up. Can I come back tomorrow. I really like Canada because most people are very polite and friendly. The enjoy having a conversation and are always happy to give directions or recommend a place to eat. I mention that I am going to Cape Breton to see how the logging is going on my stepmother’s property and he says that mills have stopped buying logs. The market is really down.

I thank him and call to tell Pippa about the log price. My father answers and we go over details of his joining me next week in Newfoundland and the sailing trip in the Virgin Island he and my brother’s family just finished. Sounds like they had a great time. They even sailed to Anagada, an island I haven’t visited. I would have enjoyed that trip as well. Sounds like it was warmer than our Christmas sail from St. Pete to Key West. And the return trip in the teeth of a big cold front!
I pass Pugsley’s Pharmacy which makes me laugh at the thought of getting medicine from a member of the Adams Family! I am traveling on a small coast highway called the Sunrise trail. It’s very pretty and winds along the coast. I stop in the village of Pugwash. NS at at the Atlantic Jewel Cafe that has WIFI and good seafood chowder. I spend the afternoon eating chowder, drinking tea and updating my travelog and loading photos. I am still sore from Katadhin and the owner has climbed it and wants to see my pics. We have a great conversation about climbing and Newfoundland as he as spent lots of time there and gives me some good hints of places to see and stay. They are setting up for a music night and I drag myself away because I have a ways to drive and it’s Friday night of a three day weekend.

I cruise along the coast through scattered rain stopping once at a liquor commission store for some locally brewed Propellor Pale Ale from Halifax, NS. I finally find the campground just before dark and they are full but then they decide they can squeeze me beside a picnic shelter! I told you folks were nice up here. THe campground is totally full but unlike the US there are no radios blasting. Everyone is walking around or riding bikes and I get a few funny looks as I am not in a campsite, as I make a big salad, more green beans, salmon pasta and the last of the Imp beer. Then the rain comes again and I get caught up in organizing the music on my computer. I have about 6000 songs and I run the computer down to nothing working on it! Then I curl up with Anywhere but Here. It’s an interesting book about a restless mother and daughter and their struggles to create a life for themselves. I realize that the decaffeinated tea I had was not decaffeinated and now it’s midnight and I am wide awake. I will read until I sleep! I often wake up still holding a book. Told you I was hooked.

I wake up to more rain. The forecast was way wrong! I am beginning to worry that I am being loved and showered by the rain god! This morning I go back to bed for another half hour and then have Mooselips with almonds n milk and hot chocolate. I dump my waste water. Then I drive out to the beach. Because of the ocean currents the water here is as warm as North Carolina. I was going to swim but it’s raining and the water is a thick red color but quite warm. It doesn't appeal to me so I take some pics, talk to some folks form Montreal and pick a few raspberries. I drive into the town of Pictou which is very Scottish looking with tartans everywhere and old brick and stone buildings. There is a Sat Craft Market and I have a conversation with a couple of artists and am really drawn to some framed “pebble art” They are very minimal. The artist uses found stones to create simple scenes. They had a very chinese feel to them. I was tempted to buy one but it’s a long road home! Maybe I will buy one form home on the internet She has a web site at: www.pebbleart.ca


Check out her work. I think you will like it. I wandered through the rain along the waterfront to a reproduction sailing ship The Hector and on to a Lighthouse and Maritime Museum. THey had a wonderful series of information panels that where made like sails and set in little brightly painted dories. THey were really great. I spoke to Bill who was building cabinets in the museum and he told all about their plans and showed me what they had so far. He sent me across the way to see the lobster hatchery. It was really cool. THey had huge tanks full of baby lobsters that they give the fishermen to release over the lobster beds. It’s a great program. I wish they would do the same in FL for the lobsters and stone crabs! Maybe the grouper as well! Bill tells me that the tourist bureau can book me a campsite down the road. I drive over there as I am worried about it filing up before I get there. They say it’s an extra $6 ouch! THey check and the campsite has lots of open sites so I chance it. I drive back and find a pub. I have fried pepperoni and a Keith’s lager draft. Followed by fish and chips. The pepperoni is a local favorite and it mild and served with a hot sweet mustard. It’s very good and goes great with the lager. The fried Haddock is really great! Very fresh and the chips have the skin on the way I like them. An excellent lunch!

Alma, New Brunswick and Pictou, Nova Scotia

I stop on my way out of town at a road stand for a pint of raspberries and then drive on to Cape Breton. I stop at the Whycocomaugh Provincial Park and there are plenty of sites. They give a site by myself way up at the top of the hill with a nice view. THe rain has stopped but it’s very overcast. I ask about Caleighs or Kitchen parties but the lady says there are none this weekend. Hard to believe on a Sat holiday night! Too bad as I was hoping to hear some fiddle music and maybe dance a bit. I was here once with my mother and father and my mother got us an invitation and directions to a Caleigh and it was great fun. They are community dances with a fiddle band and people dancing contras and traditional Irish and Scottish folk dances. There is a huge tradition of music here. I see from the literature that there was a huge Caleigh all last weekend. Oh well. Next visit! I make salmon risotto and a salad for dinner and drink at Propeller Pale Ale from Halifax, NS. It’s better than the Keith’s I had at lunch. Much more flavor. I am listening to the song Famous Blue Raincoat. Chris and Patrick put at least 4 different versions on my hard rive. Thanks guys. It’s a nice sad song. They gave me lots of single songs. I had fun cataloging them all.

I am listening to music on my hard rive and put on Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting and sure enough it’s a tribute to WIllhelm Reich. It begins “I still dream of Orgonon. I wake up crying. Your making rain, and your just in reach.” I never realized that. Pretty cool!

In the morning the sky is gray and it’s drizzling rain so I go back to sleep. I wake up late and eat the rest of the risotto with a cup of tea. I walk down to take a shower and it’s just cold water. And too cold for me. I shave and do my teeth then drive west and north to Inverness where there is an Art Center. It’s Sunday at noon and the Arts Center opens at 1 pm but they are having an opening this afternoon starting at 2 pm and please come. Cool! I go down t the beach and take a long walk. The rain has stopped but the sky is gray. There is one person swimming and the water is pretty warm but I collect stone and sea glass. There is a huge variety in the colors and patterns of the stones. Lots of sea glass. More than I have seen in years. I also pickup some driftwood. There is been so much rain that I am thinking I might want a campfire one of these nights. I haul my finds back to BEYOND and have the rest of the salmon with cheddar, triscuits and cucumber for lunch. Tomorrow is a holiday so I stop at the supermarket for a few things and then go to the Art Center for the opening. The show is Rock, Paper, Scissors and the is a nice variety of work. Quilts, Paper dolls, paintings, stone sculpture, hooked rugs, rock and paper sculptures. It is a very good show and I enjoy and watching all the people.

Art shows are always good places for people watching. There is one woman who is of Native (Eskimo) descent who comes in with a flock of kids. She sets down a cube and places an almost teen age girl with an elaborately painted face on it and puts a fancy head net, hat and stole on her. I guess she must be part of the show. The woman is very attractive and wearing very high platform sandal that maybe bring up to 5 feet. She is tiny but full of energy, with all these beautiful kids orbiting around her and the gallery. Then I see what looks like a couple of aunts and a grandmother and it’s a one woman circus. The kids are energetic but very well behaved and it’s a great fun to watch then interact with the art and the people. Everyone seems to know them, except me. After a while I drive North and then realize that I have passed the area where my stepmother’s property is located so I turn around and head south. I stop in Inverness again and ask two local character if they know Melrose Hill. They don’t seem to exactly but one is try to be helpful and says he will help me find it. He gets in the van and asks for a favor. He is pretty drunk and I realize he wants me to buy him booze. They obviously won’t sell to him. He has the money and has been trying to help me so I get him his bottle of Bacardi. He pops the cap and has a slag and then tells me to drive south. We stop at a store and go in and the owner looks at my map and give me an idea of where I need to go. It’s a ways south so I give the drunk his bottle and thank him for his help and drive south to Mabou.

I have a faint scan of a topographical map of the area that my stepmother has marked the location of her property. I can almost read the place names. I find the first road and then see a sign for one of the places named. I am looking for a turn that goes to the top of the mountain and a radio tower. It soon starts to rain and the clouds obscure everything high. I try a dirt road and come across two farmers who send me to Melrose Road. I am looking for Melrose Hill so it makes sense. Only there are a few side roads but none are named. I try one road but it gets too muddy. I don’t want to get stuck way out on a Sunday night. Tomorrow is a holiday too. SO I drive back to the main road and I can see a sign for the town at the other side of the mountain so I decide to try form that side. I get over there and it’s getting dark , none of the roads over here are marked either and my fuel is getting low. I have spare fuel on top but now I am back on the road to Inverness so I drive in and get more fuel. $100 to fill up, Ouch! I ask the gas station owner but he doesn’t know how to get to Melrose Hill. He suggests I park down by the beach for the night and try in the morning. That makes sense to me. Plus I can go to the pub! There are some campers there from Sydney. They tell me a good place to camp Tuesday night before I catch the ferry. The wife grew up here but can’t remember how to get to Melrose Hill. They are having haddock and chips and it smells great so I have an order and a couple of their own brews. The owners wife comes in with a parrot on her shoulder and some Staties and we all have a conversation. Then the owner announces closing and tells me to just drive to the end of the road by the pub and there is the beach and a camper there already. I park on the other side and listen to the wind is whistling in the straps on top. The van is rocking a bit. It’s getting windy enough that I decide to keep the top down. I finish Anywhere but Here. It was a good read. I fall asleep to the van rocking in the wind.

I wake up t the sound of rain and go back to sleep. I finally get up at 8:30 and drive to the other beach to see if the washroom (canadian for bathroom) is open. Nope. So I eat the raspberries I bought the other day and make a cup of hot chocolate. Still nobody to open up so I drive up the hill to the tourist bureau and it’s open. The young man in attendance has no idea of Melrose Hill but his map shows a few more road than mine. He does not sell them though. On my way out I turn on my computer and there is a wireless signal so I put in my email. Then I put Steely Dan on the box and drive off in search of Melrose Hill and I get on one road that soon turns to soup so I back out and go around to where ai was last night. I find a road that is going up in the right directions and is even with more rain falling and lots of water running down I am able to get up it. It’s too narrow to turn around so I keep going and finally I hit an intersection with a string of power lines that should go to the radio tower. I have been looking with my binoculars from the bottom but no sign of it in the clouds. I turn and there is a sign on a fence for a blueberry farm. YES! The next property to my stepmother’s is a blueberry farm. I drive up to the top of the hill and there is the radio tower and the abandoned house that are right next to her property! I have arrived.

I try my cellphone and get a signal so I call Pippa and tell her I found it. She says to look for the remains of a fallen schoolhouse that is on her property. I walk down the road and it’s very still. There the rain is misting and the trees are covered with moss in all colors of green. I walk back into the trees and I can see where the logger is going to bring his road in. It goes just above a clearing that is full of knee deep grass and purple wildflowers. I am now soaked up to my knees and go back to the road and up the other side to where the last of the school house is rotting away. Then I walk into the blueberry field and it’s full of huge ripe blueberries. We all know how I love blueberries! I grab a handful and scoot back over the fence. I walk around some more and take pics then walk back up the road to BEYOND. I head down the other direction where the road is much better but about 4 times as long. Finally I reach the main road and now I can see which road those farmers where directing me too. Not named of course. I drive back towards Inverness and no w the sky is clearing and I can see the radio tower back on top. I stop and the Glenora Distillery. They are just about to give a tour. But the sky looks like it’s clearing and I took the tour last time I was here. I check the pub but no live music so I head north for Cape Breton Park. As I get to Cheticamp the wind really picks up and I hear it straining on of the windows in the van so I roll them all up tight. I am really hanging onto the steering wheel to keep her on the road. I can some motorcyclists who are struggling and finally pull off. The sky is almost clear now with clouds on the mountaintops. I can see cloud bows forming up high. It’s incredibly beautiful right now.

Inverness, NS my stepmother's property and Glenora Distillery

I drive into Cape Breton National Park and it very mountainous with very twisty roads. I stop and hike down the Skyline trail to where it overlooks the sea. But the wind is blowing too strong to go out on the point. When I walk out from the trees the wind almost blows me almost off my feet so I retreat. I walk back up to the van with a couple from Toronto. They see their first moose off by the side of the path. The I continue North. The rain starts again. I see a car stopped on the road ahead of me There is a big bull moose in the ditch and as I stop the other car pulls away and the moose crosses the road in front of my car. I drive to a waterfall and walk up to see it with a German couple from Boston. I wade up to the base of the falls and take pics looking up the falls and back at the others. They go back to their car and I decide to take a stream bath. The water is cold but I find a pool where I can get my whole body in and it feels good to scrub nd wash my hair. I run back to the van in my towel and rain coat. I think I startled a guy in another car! I put on clean clothes and drive North out of the park and on to Cape North. It’s pouring and gusting so hard I figure I should not have problem getting a campsite at Meat Cove. I drive out the gravel road until it ends. My campsite is amazing. Right on the cliff overlooking the sea! Too bad it’s so foggy. They were seeing whales everyday last week when it was clear and sun ny! I put my full rain gear on and there is just enough light to fun up to the top of Grass Mt. From there the wind tries to blow me off the cliff but I can my campsite down below and the sea is booming on the rocks and if it were clear I would be able to see for miles! I go back to BEYOND and keep the top down because the wind is blowing so hard. I make some hot pork and vietnamese noodle soup and it’s hot and wonderful. I start John Irving’s book The Fourth Hand and fall asleep to the wind rocking the van and the rain pounding on the roof.

Cape Breton National Park

Cape North and Meat Cove, NS

Tuesday Aug. 5
It’s still raining and very foggy. I make hot chocolate and then put on rain gear and and hike out to the lighthouse. I have a map and it’s an hour and a half walk. I am walking in the fog and there are a lot more side roads then the map indicates and I feel like I have missed a turn and have walked far enough. I go down one more very slippery hill and decide I have had enough. So I turn back. When I get back the camp owner tells me that another 10 minutes and I would have been there! Oh well. I am ready to head south anyway. I don’t want to miss the ferry to Newfoundland tomorrow morning. My tire is low again so i pump it up. Then I take a shower. 4 quarters for 12 minutes. There is no temp control but the water is hot enough to warm me up and now I am warm and clean. The fog is very thick and it’s drizzling. Perfect moose weather so I drive slowly and carefully out of Meat Cove and back to the main road which i take south. I stop in Ingonish, NS for a bowl of very tasty seafood chowder. Then I drive on in to North Sydney, NS. I find the ferry terminal at about 6 pm. They don’t have room to let me park before 2 am so I drive around until i find an internet signal. I look for a movie theater but it’s in Sunday and not showing a movie I want to see. I have the rest of the pork noodle soup for dinner with a Propeller Ale and then drive around until I find a Laundromat. It’s just closing. Drat!

I find a Tim Horton's/ Wendy’s combination. Tim’s is the donut stand of Canada. They are everywhere! I have a couple of donuts and a hot chocolate and watch lots of people coming into drink coffee and chat with friends. it’s like a small town coffee shop. Then I go out the van and read then sleep until 2 am. I drive back to the ferry and I check in but they are way behind schedule and still not room but the attendant points to a place on the side of the road just outside the gate and says I should be okay there. He will wake me if I oversleep. There are lots of trucks coming up but soon they are stacked up with their engines hut down waiting like me and I sleep until 6:30. When I wake they are letting cars in so I get in line and make hot chocolate and a peanut butter raisin bagel. I eat it and drink my cocoa while the ferry is loading. I end up on the second level and grab my pack with clothes and my book and head for the passenger deck. This is a big ship. 15,000 tons. You are not allowed to stay at your car so I have bought a recliner. They have cabins, bunk and recliners. It’s line an airplane sea but it has a footrest that comes out.

North Sydney, NS

I try to sleep a bit but there are some noisy kids. The ship wa supposed to leave at 8 but at 10:30 it begins to move so I take some foggy pics and speak with a Newfie who now leaves in Ontario and is a solicitor ( lawyer) for the Canadian army. He was posted at MacDIll at one point. We have a nice conversation oft interrupted by calls fro his office. They now he will be out of contact for about 6 hours and are calling about everything. I have left both phone and laptop in the van. He tell me about some good spots to visit in Newfoundland. The ship is moving finally and it gets too windy cold to stand on deck. We go down and talk some more. Then he goes off to take a last call and I walk around. I discover they have showers and free towels. I take a very long hot shower and really scrub up. It feels heavenly and I eat a meatball sub and watch the Newfie husband and wife entertainers in the bar. He is an excellent on fiddle, guitar and mandolin. She has a nice voice and he tells a ot of good jokes. I am getting sleepy so I go back to my recliner and it’s quiet so I sleep for about 3 hours. Then I walk around and they are showing movies.

I watch something called Evening which is good and then some of Spiderman 3. I don’t care for Toby Mcguire much. Then I got to the dining hall and have poutine. It’s a Quebec favorite. French fries covered in shredded cheese and gravy. It’s pretty good. I go to the bar and the same duo is playing. I have a couple of beers and god conversation with a young policeman Dillon and his girlfriend from Ontario. Then with the bartenders who are all from Newfoundland. One shows me some pics of the Avalon Caribou Herd which is about 5000 strong and roams part o the island or “the rock” as they call Newfoundland. Another named Dean tells me to go to Ces’s Fish and Chips for great food and to Trapper John’s Pub and get “screeched in” Screech is a favorite liquor in Newfoundland. It come from Jamaica. It’s the by product of rum and molasses. It too rum to be molasses and too molasses to be rum! My friend Eva’s family used to drink screech with lemon juice. Argh!
I’m not sleepy yet but don’t want to drink more. Due to the late departure and the fact that only 3 out of four engines are working the crossing is going to take 17 hours instead of 14.

I go back to the movie lounge and watch part of a stupid movie about two nerds inventing stuff for the government undercover agency. It’s bad so I go and take another shower. It’s noisy by my recliner despite the signs not to people are sleep on the floor. I find a quiet spot n the movie lounge and stretch out on the floor. I sleep for an hour. Then there is announcement that we are an hour out. I doze until the half hour warning. Then brush my teeth and watch us dock. Then we are called to our cars. Eventually we drive off and it’s 4 am pitch black and I am sleepy. I drive about a half mile find until I see place to pull off the road. I park and crash! Finally I am on THE ROCK! New territory! See you later.

I have loaded pics of New Brunswick and Nove Scotia.
http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd