Newfoundland - 2024

We started the day driving along the old Highway 2 which follows the St. Lawrence Seaway.  It is very scenic here and the road is excellent.  We stopped for coffee in a little town and then joined the 401 again shortly after Cornwall.  We stopped at a mall in Kingston for lunch and were going to do some shopping, but the call of home was too strong.  Around 2 we were on the road again.  We took the 407 which was wonderful and then hit the 410 at 5:10 p.m.  Unbelievably, we never stopped moving, although is was congested, and arrived home at 7:10 p.m.  It was good to be home.  Even Michael was glad to see us.  I think he was sick of watering our flowers.  

 This morning, we left Mactaquac at 8 a.m. and stopped for breakfast at McDonald's about an hour down the road in Woodstock, NB. We continued driving until stopping for lunch at a rest stop near Riviere du Loup. We then switched drivers and continued driving. We found Quebec and Ontario to be extremely busy after the quiet roads of the east coast. We stopped at Glengarry Campground, which is a park in the St. Lawrence Park System. We are back in Ontario! We will be home for sure on Thursday. We are going to slow down a little now.

 This morning we ate, showered and packed up.  It was the last night that the National Park in PEI was going to be open for 2024.  Hard to believe that summer is pretty much over.  We parked at the campground office and had coffee and then unloaded our bikes.  We biked all along the coast from Cavendish to North Rustico and then to Green Gables and the Green Gables Gold Course and back again.  It was a mostly paved path, but otherwise stonedust or boardwalk.  We didn't do every trail, but we completed about 35 km.  We had lunch when we got back to the van and then hit the road for home.  We drove to about 4 p.m. and stopped for the night in Mactaquac again which is near Fredericton.  A good day. This is Cavendish Beach.  So sandy and lovely!                     This is at North Rustico and is damage from Hurricane Fiona in September 2022.  

 This morning we headed to Charlottetown to the CRC there.  There service started at 10 and we had about a 40 minute drive.  The service was excellent.  The minister was a retired Presbyterian minister who gave a sermon on Genesis that was great.  The music was also very good and there were lots of young people in church.  Always a good sign.  In the fellowship hall we were not left alone and had several really nice conversations with people there.  A good morning of fellowship in the body of Christ. We then headed downtown as we heard at church that a very large cruise ship was in the harbour and when we got there there were actually 2 of them.  It made a very busy downtown, but nice.  We had a nice walk around and then had lunch.  In the afternoon we changed our clothes in the van and unloaded our bikes.  We went about 45 km on the Confederation Trail which is the rail trail that goes across PEI.  It was a great ride. We...

This morning, we left our campground at 9 a.m. and headed to Port aux Basques to catch the 11:45 a.m. ferry. We arrived in line at 9:30 and were loaded onto the ferry by 11. However, the ferry didn't depart until 12:30. The crossing was smooth with sunny weather and calm seas. The ferry is massive, measuring over 600 feet long and accommodating about 1,000 passengers. The ferry was called the Blue Puttees after a Newfoundland regiment in the first WW.   There are 3 levels for vehicles. We enjoyed a delightful lunch on board and spent time both inside and outside during the crossing. We arrived on time at 6 p.m., and by the time we drove off, it was probably 6:30. We decided to stay at the same campground as before, which was about 30 minutes away. This worked out well as it was just starting to get dark. 

 This morning we hit the road by 9:30 and headed to the Confederation Bridge and PEI.  We arrived around 2:30 p.m. and visited the tourist information to get some cycling maps.  Since we didn't get to use our bikes much in Newfoundland, we thought we might do a few days of biking here.  We haven't been to PEI since 1998 with the kids.  We are currently camped in the PEI National Park at Cadendish.  It features a 40 km sand beach and we had a nice walk along it.  It is only open for 1 more day, so we thought we would enjoy it before it closes for the season.  Tomorrow we will hit the biking trail.

 This morning, we left Kippen and drove further west on the Trans Canada, taking a couple of scenic driving routes off the highway. We ended up in the Codroy Valley, which is surrounded by the Long Range Mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. This area is known for its farming. It's incredibly beautiful here. We hiked through some wetlands and then had lunch at a local diner. After that, we did a driving loop that included the Codroy Valley Provincial Park, which has the first truly sandy beach we've seen here. We walked up and down the beach and then continued on to the Codroy Valley RV Park. Originally a Provincial Park started on land donated by the Downes family, in the 60s the province wanted to sell it and they sold it back to the Downes family, who still run it today. It's a really nice park and the closest park to the ferry with services. We are leaving the island tomorrow. 😞

 We started the day by catching up on some shopping and other errands.  We enjoyed our morning coffee at Tim Hortons in Corner Brook.  Then we hit the road going South to Port au Port.  We had lunch in a parking lot on the ocean and then hiked a trail along the coast.  It was a lovely trail with very interesting rock formations.   We then visited the largest wooden church in the province called Our Lady of Mercy.  It is currently undergoing renovations in order to look her best for her 100th birthday next year.  We spoke to one of the workmen there about the renovations.  He came out of retirement in order to get the work done.  He said it is very difficult to find people to work in Newfoundland.  It is the same story everywhere. We found a campground close by and checked in around 4 p.m.  We had a lovely supper and are now enjoying a quiet evening.  

 This morning we left our campsite at Green Point and headed to Gros Morne Mountain.  We had coffee in the parking lot and then did the 9 km hike which is the Approach Trail to Gros Morne Summit Trail.  If you do the summit it is an additional 8 km but it is rated difficult and it adds 3 to 5 hours to the hike.  The first part of the summit trail is climbing straight up a skree field and then you hike on the summit for a bit and then you have a harrowing decent on the backside.  We elected to skip that part.  We then drove to Corner Brook and checked in to Kinsman Prince Edward RV Park.  Here we started 2 loads of laundry, but the machines failed to spin and our laundry was left extremely wet, so had to go in the dryer for twice the normal time for our sheets and 3 times the normal time for our clothes.  It was ridiculous.  When that was all done, we went to Boston Pizza for supper.  Now we are back at the campground and enjoying good wi...

Today, we visited the Visitors' Centre at L'Anse aux Meadows. We watched an excellent documentary about the discovery of the site and the uncovering of the living area of the Vikings. After that, we hiked to the site and saw the recreated village. Along the way, park interpreters explained each part. The houses were built from peat and timber, some as thick as 6 feet, and they were very snug and warm. It was a windy day, and the houses were put to the test. We also saw another cruise ship in the bay, and its passengers were being ferried to the shore in orange lifeboats to tour the site. Our next stop was the Norstead Village, a recreation village created by locals. It is staffed by actors dressed in period costumes and is home to the Norse recreation ship 'Snorri,' which was built in Maine in 1997 and sailed from Greenland to L'Anse aux Meadows with only 9 crew members. The Vikings typically sailed a ship of this size with 20 or 25 people. It took the crew 47 days ...

 This morning, we started our day by exploring the beach at our camping site. It was an interesting solid rock formation that resembled lava and had the appearance of rough concrete. After that, we drove to the National Historic Site in Port aux Choix, which is situated on a limestone barrens. The landscape looked like gravel due to the easily breakable limestone. This area is home to a herd of caribou and was used as seal hunting grounds by the Groswater Palaeo Inuit from 2000 to 2800 BC. They discovered a habitation site with many hunting-related artifacts and also found a burial site containing at least 117 bodies buried with various artifacts and sprinkled with red ochre. There was a lighthouse on the site and another really interesting beach area of flat rock. We went hiking on some of the trails and saw 2 caribou chewing their cud right at the archaeological dig site of the habitation. Although it made it difficult to see the site clearly, it was a unique experience. Later, w...

 Today, we began our day with a hike along the coast trail, starting at Green Point Park. We walked a few kilometers.  We then stopped for coffee at the shipwreck of the SS Ethie, which ran aground in 1919 during a severe storm. All 92 crew and passengers were safely guided to shore, including a baby who was sent in a mail bag. The remains of the ship can still be seen on the beach. Afterward, we drove to the parking lot for Western Brook Pond and hiked 3 kilometers to reach the pond for our boat tour. Along with 98 other people, we boarded two boats for a lovely 2-hour tour that began at 12:30. Despite the chilly weather, we enjoyed the experience, although we were quite cold by the end. The 3-kilometer hike back warmed us up. We then made our way to Ocean Side RV Park, operated by the Lion's Club of Port Aux Choix. The park, located right by the ocean, was truly beautiful..