*please forgive spelling errors caused by technology that doesn't make it easy to edit and correct
**I'm a little OCD about spelling, capitalization, and grammar, so posting this is causing some consternation, and I daresay once my lap top is up and running again, I'll feel the need to go into editor mode and fix all the mistakes. I can't even bold or italicizes on my tablet! (I know....the horror!)
July 22
Andrew fiddling with westy again this morning.....leaking oil via a cracked pipe. Always something. Despite this, made it through the mountains and fog of early morning in southern coastal Labrador and are at ferry terminal in Blanc Sablon one hour ahead to make our booking. Fingers crossed.
We are all hungry. Andrew promising coffee and breakfast but may have to wait until on ferry. We are planning....hoping?...to stay tonight in a hotel with a swimming pool. Deer lake. Or cornerbrook?
Fog horn sounds. Kids thrilled by it. Grace prefers to be out on deck. Settles her stomach. She isn't seasick exactly, but queasy with roll of the ship. Now here, playing hearts at tiny round tables in the front of the ship where the pub is when it's open. Not this morning. Had a bday party for Andrew for yesterday: the girls and I had fun finding gift store mini gifts in tribute (gourmet white chocolate and a small whale painting) and Anna drew Viking Daddy. So that was cute.
Stopped at the arches and again at Ss Ethie. Finally pulled into a valley to BBQ sausages for dinner beside a lake in middle of gros Morne. Andrew pulled out a red checkered cloth for the picnic table the way his grandmother would have. He even had clips to hold it down. Old school, baby.
July 23
No hotel rooms...with or without pools....available in Deer Lake or Cornerbrook. Then we found an online booking that reserved rooms at the Greenwood Inn and Suites for us. With pool. Yay. Swam and ordered room service and caught up on sleep. After sleeping in, Andrew hunted down westy road repairs, whole I took kids to pool, and now we wait under a shady tree fir Andrew. Boy, it has been hot, esp in cities. Record breaking heat this summer....but still cooler than ontario.
Turns out guy at welding shop thought Andrew's plan to fix oil leak ingenious and that Andrew should be a welder. Also turned out his son plays for Cornwall colts and he wishes he'd done road trip when his kids young. A got shop, material, welding and guy refused payment.. Another friendly, generous newf.
On way to port aux basques.
Dinner on a Sandy beach with powerful waves...you could feel tide pulling. Camping here in cheese an provincial park 7 km from ferry. Have to be there 430.
July 24
330: The adventure continues.....bom, bom, bom bom bom (cue LOTR)
I'm sure the young motorcyclists (early 20s, rode through Labrador in rein and thus, mud) were thrilled to be parked beside us in lane 2 while Grace blared the dance remix of My Heart Must Go On, the cheesy version of Happy Wanderer Andrew downloaded for this trip, and everyone's feel good hit: Let It Go from Frozen
5:30 and we are loading. We have cabins.
1230 (Nova Scotia time): great sleep in utter darkness. Kids cabin had a window overlooking the port side deck and ocean, of which I was envious until reflecting that we likely had the better sleep. Got up around 11 am and strolled on deck.....so warm and calm, it was hard to believe we were out on the Atlantic.
Through Bras D'Or in beauteous Cape Breton. We are now heading to Saint John where we are visiting with Julie and breaking trip up.
....and thats as good a place to leave it as any, with a romantic vision of the westy heading westward into the sunset towards New Brunswick and on to home....but of course it didn't happen that way
Life doesn't happen that way.
****
Smoke in Sussex, and finally wound up overheating on highway 30 mins to Julie. Had yo call in yow truck. Got to Julie's late. Spent half today (July 25) with Andrew trying yo fix it before giving up, having it towed to storage for a week or toe, and renting a mid-sized Chrysler to take us on what is likely to be a miserable overnight trip to Glengarry.
No comments:
Post a Comment