We left around 9:30 AM under a warm cloudy sky. We headed East on TCH 1 and stopped in Badger for breakfast. The road was mainly the same as yesterday and eventually, we turned north on 340 and headed for Twillingate. We topped up in fuel along the way @$1.41/litre. The drive got interesting as we neared the Coast. We drove through a couple villages and eventually reached Twillingate where we got rained on (it had been forecasted). What a quaint, pretty coastal village, one of the better one we’ve seen so far! The town is actually situated on an Island which is joined to the Mainland by a series of causeways (there are 3 Islands joined by causeways). We found our Park, Peyton Wood RV, paid $23/night cash only for full hook-up and $5 for the internet for the two days we will be here.
After setting up, we drove to town and explored, we saw a really neat little cemetery where folks buried their pets with names and dates on the crosses; there was a young boy hanging around so we talked to him for a while. I think he was pleased that we paid attention to him. We then went to “Cow Head” further up the road to find a theatre we want to attend tomorrow. We had phone earlier and made reservations. This will be a dinner and live theatre performance. Looking forward seeing it! We explored some more but it was so rainy that we decided to come home. We have a wonderful view of the Bay and the Ocean here.
We drove 120 miles (185 Km) in 2.5 hrs @ 48 MPH
average. We stopped for an hour total.
N 49*
39.563W 054* 47.017
Alt: 51 ft
Well, after a downpour last night and strong winds, this morning was greeted by a beautiful sunshine and calm winds. This campground is much bigger than it appears; I went for a walk this morning and found a road leading into the woods which had more tenting and RV parking.
We went for a drive around and ended up in Musgrave Harbour. We first stopped at a Beothuck Indian display in Boyd Bay and walked 3 km return. They were extinct back in the late 1800’s due to small pox and other white sickness. The display was really interesting but the excavation grounds were a disappointment; there was nothing there to see except a statue and some trinkets in a tree and numbers in the ground. Anyway, we did enjoy the hike! We had lunch in Musgrave then came back, visiting Carmanville along the way. We stopped not far from Twillingate at a road side display which was on cod fishing on the Coast, named “Prime Berth”. It was very informative and our guide was very knowledgeable. We got back in time for a beer and a short rest and topping up in fuel @1.41 before heading out again to a play in Cow Head, about 8 km from here. It consisted of a full course meal, choice of cod, salmon or chicken (we chose the cod) and our seating was already pre-arranged. We met wonderful people from Ontario and Nova Scotia at our table. After the meal, the play began which was put on by the waiters and waitresses who served us earlier. It was 3 hrs of laughs and good Newfoundland sing-along music. We had fun and it cost only $30 for both of us, what a deal.
Sunny with cloudy periods and it was a warm night! We left around 9:20 AM and headed South and East to Gander. Somewhere along the way, I wasn’t watching and I missed our turn for Hwy 331 to Gander so ended up going all the way to Lewisport on Hwy 340. We stopped in Lewisport at TIM HORTON for coffee and breakfast then made our turn on TCH 1 East. We eventually turned on Hwy 310 for Eastport on a very rough road. Obviously, it is NOT a major destination. In Eastport, we turned right and went down to Happy Adventure, a small coastal village. Geoff’s brother, Eugene, came out to meet us and guided us to Geoff’s place (they left for St-John’s and will be back later in the afternoon). We were all set up by 1 PM. I went into town to get bread, eggs and wine and filled up the truck @ $1.36; the cheapest so far! Right now the sky is covering and the forecast is for rain overnight and strong wind which are picking up in strength now. Geoff and Donna are people we met at our park; they own a lot and Park Model and are related to Ruth and Dennis, our neighbours up the hill from us. Val did a couple loads of laundry and I washed the truck’s windshield in and out and checked all the tires pressure; all is good! Geoff and Donna arrived around 5 pm with their grandson, Jacobs, so we had a happy reunion.
We had dinner together, fried cod fish, delicious! Then it was an evening filled with good conversations and remembering “the good old days”! We finally made it to bed by 11 pm after a couple bottles of wine and phoning Ruth and Dennis back in BC.
We
drove 146 miles (237 Km) in 3 hrs at an average 49MPH.
N 48* 38.246’W 053* 45.639’
Alt: 81 feet
It rained overnight but now we have some blue sky and the sun is shining through! We had coffee with Donna and Geoff and grand-son Jacobs. They were going fishing today with Jacobs and we drove around the area for some sightseeing. We went to the oldest fishing village in NFLD called Salvage. Not only was a very scenic drive, the village was wonderfully well maintained and quaint. We stopped at a small pub here and had a beer and lunch but had to wait almost 45 minutes for our lunch as there was a bus tour just ahead of us. We didn’t mind as we enjoyed the Atlantic Ocean view from the outside porch. We drove through Eastport and headed for two other villages on the opposite peninsula; St-Chads and Bayside Bakers. From here, we drove to Gambo, the birth place of Joey Smallwood who was instrumental in bringing NFLD into the Confederation of Canada and also became NFLD first Prime Minister. By this time, it was time to return home and we stopped at grocery store along the way to buy some vegetables and bread then at the Eastport liquor store where Geoff and Donna caught up to us. They were just returning from their fishing trip; they caught lots of trout but kept 17 of the bigger ones. We came home and had HH on the deck and Eugene (Geoff’s brother) and his wife, Beulah, joined us. We had a marvellous dinner of chicken, potatoes, carrots, yam, a vegetable salad from Beulah and a salad from Val. It was a feast and good conversation all around the table. In the evening, we sat outside on the deck under the gazebo and Geoff started the little propane fireplace which is situated in the middle of the glass table. It kept us warm! We finally went to bed around 11 PM.
Another beautiful sunny day but it is windy and cool! Donna, Geoff and Jacobs left early afternoon for a family wedding and won’t be back until Saturday. In the meantime, I decided to wash the BEAR and the BEAST which are both overdue big time and Val did a load of laundry. I also made reservations for Charleston for Sept 2 & 3 and in St-John’s for Sept 4 to 6 inclusive. I forgot that this was a long week-end so in Charleston, we will have to spend one night in the overflow at the Park. One forgets these little things once one is retired: all days look the same!
We went to visit our friend Dennis’ mom here locally and spent over a good half hour with her. We had a downpour around 5 pm but at least both rigs are clean now. Donna had given us some of the trout they caught yesterday so we had them for dinner with salad and rice/broccoli; they were delicious!
AUG 31, Friday, Newton
The day began with sunshine but it soon clouded
over. Geoff had offered us his jeep instead
of running around in the truck so we took him up on his offer and decided to
drive to a small village called Newton which is known as “NFLD Venice look
alike” as it is built on a series of small Island connected by either bridges
or causeways. It was quaint and very beautiful. We even saw a gondola like in Venice but
unfortunately it was raining so the place looked pretty desolate. We had lunch in a building that used to be a
store/warehouse. We drove
back in pouring rain but it did stop by the time we got home. I called my daughter and son in law and
chatted with them for a while, they are in Tofino on the West Coast of
Vancouver Island. I also got a text from
my son with a picture of his new boat, a 28’ motorboat. He was on his way to the Shuswap for the
week-end. We also got a call from our
friend Donna who was worried because I hadn’t posted any blog in the last 5
days so...Here you have it Donna!! Val’s
cousin, Linda, from Chwk also called; it was our day for phone calls. I BBQ steaks for dinner and now we are
listening to CBC radio, “just like the good old days”!!!
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