Vacation Installment#4: Marvellous Puffins & Magnificent Icebergs

Friday June 22nd had us driving from Glovertown to St. John's (Newfoundland's capital). First, we headed out on the TransCanada Highway (the only road!) through Terra Nova National Park. Not too long into the drive John said, "Sara there's a moose!" (everyone kept telling us we'd see tons of moose on our trip. Apparently there are more moose in Newfoundland than there are people. However, we had so far only seen the cow and calf mentioned in my earlier post...just specks in the distance).

John slowed right down and I started scrambling for my camera. Oh no! I didn't have the zoom lens on. But wait...the moose was just standing there. No movement. Ha! The joke was on us. It was a life size wooden cut out sign put at the side of the road as a warning. I should have taken a photo of it, because that was the only moose we ever saw up close.

We wanted to see more than the highway, so at the first opportunity we headed for the coast and onto the Bonavista Peninsula. We stopped and watched a tour boat out on the ocean. They were following a couple of whales (from a distance). We watched through the binoculars, but I didn't take any photos. They were too far away.

I had read about a town called Elliston...they are known as the "Root Cellar capital of the World" and have 134 documented root cellars, some dating back to the 1830's. I wanted to see them. John thought I was nuts "are you sure?" "are you really sure?". Well, I am a little weird I have to admit. Yes! I wanted to see those root cellars. Here's a double decker root cellar:

All things happen for a reason. My obstinate wish to see the root cellars led us to The Atlantic Puffin Site...one of the most accessible places in Newfoundland to view the puffins. There was a little tourist information booth located next to a modest home. A quick 5 minute walk along the bluffs took us out to the cliffs where the puffins were nesting. We were so very lucky to see them! Apparently they rarely come right onto the bluffs, but they were there in full force that day. There were only 6 other people there when we arrived (3 photographers, and 3 people just watching). I went camera crazy.Puffins live out on the ocean for 10 months of the year and don't come into land during that time.
When they are ready to nest, they come into land. They burrow into the side of the cliffs to make their nests. They have at least two chambers in their nest, one to raise their young, and one to defecate in. They use their excrement to reinforce the walls of the chambers.

They fly, but they also swim under water very well. They can stay under water for a minute or more.

The yellow spot at the side of their beak (one on each side) is for secreting salt from the water they drink.

They have a 20 year life expectancy. Sea gulls are one of their predators.

They spend the first 3 years of their life at sea, and then they come into shore to mate.

They mate for life.And...they are just too darned cute for words!

During my photo session with the puffins, all the other people left. I was having the time of my life! I was crawling around on my stomach trying to get as close as I could to the edge of the cliffs without scaring the puffins. I spent almost 2 hours taking photos. (I have more puffin photos than anyone could possible want!) John is just the perfect partner for me. He loved watching me take photos, and didn't begrudge a minute of the time we spent there.

Time to move on...

We drove further up the coast and stopped in Bonavista for lunch at a tea shop. John, as is his habit, talked to most of the people there. It was at this tea shop that we discovered that native Newfoundlanders really do talk differently when they talk to each other! (faster, with heavier accents) One of the locals told us we should head out to Newman's Cove if we wanted to see some icebergs, so that's what we did.

I had to stop to take this photo...lacy doilies hanging on a laundry line with an iceberg in the background.

To get a feel for the size of some of the icebergs, compare the size of the fishing boat to the iceberg above.

There were over 25 icebergs along this little bay. How nice of the man in the tea shop to tell us about them. We never would have gone that way without talking to him.

A self portrait taken with my remote control.

We were late arriving to St. John's (I had called the B&B owner to let her know so she wasn't sitting around waiting for us). We stayed at Cantwell House in downtown St. John's...by far the best B&B on our trip.

We went down to the infamous George Street for a late dinner. George Street is closed to vehicles and is absolutely packed with people on weekend nights. Mostly young people...wow, did I feel old. More bars, bands, and people than you can imagine. It was quite cool...about 10 C, and all the young women were walking around with sleeveless dresses on! It made me cold just watching them. (but, I really don't think most of them could feel a thing) We found a quieter bar at the end of the street and had some great fish and chips. Even better was the entertainment...Con O'Brien and the Rum Demons. This is the alter ego name of The Irish Descendants...one of Newfoundland's better known groups. How lucky we were to hear them play!

What a day!

Next: the colorful houses of St. John's & a true YEHAW experience

Vacation Installment #3: Icebergs & Cemetaries

Wednesday June 20th had us driving from Badger to Twillingate...up "The Road to the Isles".
A bit of history for you...in the 19th century, Twillingate was a stop over point for the floater fishery, the term applied to fishermen from eastern Newfoundland who sailed to Labrador each summer to catch and cure cod. They were called floaters because they often lived aboard their boats for the whole summer. Twillingate's economic importance gradually faded during the 20th century, but rose again with tourism after the causeways were built. Tour boats take visitors from the town to see icebergs.

We tried to get out on a boat tour on Wednesday (and Thursday as well) but we couldn't. We thought the tour boats weren't going out because of the fog, but it was actually because the ocean was too rough. The waves were 20 feet high! We had some very interesting conversations with both tour boat operators...love their accents.

Here is a photo of our first iceberg siting from shore...a little foggy:

We drove out to the lighthouse, which is located on huge cliffs, but it was so foggy, we couldn't even see down to the water!

We enjoyed the Twillingate Dinner Theatre...7 talented people who cook and serve dinner, and then perform a 90 minute show filled with songs and skits. We stayed for the night at the Hillside Bed & Breakfast...hosted by the very friendy Wynston & Wavey.

I'd love to get back to Twillingate again sometime...and see it without fog! I was extremely disappointed that we couldn't get out in a boat tour to see the icebergs, but it worked out for the best. You'll read about our zodiac adventure in a later post...something we wouldn't have done if we had already gone out in a standard boat tour.

Next day, we checked with the boat operators again but they weren't going out. They had been docked for 3 days because of weather...a big loss of business for a business that only operates 90 days each year.

So, we headed off to our next destination....Glovertown. This was an easy drive, and we arrived at our bed & breakfast at 3pm. A lovely place run by Keith (originally from England) called The Lilac Inn.

I loved this old house...maintained and restored beautifully and filled with antiques from England. There was even a full sized rocking horse in the hall. (maybe five feet high by six feet long...the rocking horse, not the hall!)

Here's a photo from inside the house. Isn't this painting beautiful? And it's painted right on the stairwell...it's not a framed painting!

Keith suggested we take a tour down to Salvage, a 20 minute drive out to the coast. So, we were off.

Once we arrived in Salvage, a little fishing town, we parked the car and hiked up to the lookout. This was quite a steep climb...one that had us both pausing a couple of times to "take in the view" (aka "take a break"). Here are a couple of views from the top:

On the left, out to the ocean (with an iceberg in the background). On the right, the view into Salvage. (the hills are shrouded in fog)

At the lookout, there was a sign posted:

What else is there to do but climb up this round knob to look out over the harbour for incoming boats and ice? This lookout also provides a view of Burden's Point, Doctor's Pond, and the oldest cemetary in Salvage.

Settlers first came to Burden's Point as it was a good area for drying fish and had favourable wind blowing down the harbour. The fish flakes are no longer here but you can still see the cemetary dating back to the 1700s and the heritage house currently not occupied.

Then some words that couldn't be read, ending with:

were the last to leave Burden's Point in 1971. Today, a boardwalk around Doctor's Pond provides access to the Point. The famous Dr. Mac who was know for his dedication to outport medicine as much as he was known for his strong liking to a drop of scotch is the namesake of Doctor's Pond.

So I decided that I had to go take a look at the cemetary dating back to the 1700s. John didn't want to take another hike, so he stayed at the lookout. I had to trek back down the hill from the lookout, and then take these trails to get to the cemetary (marked by me with white arrows)

Maybe not the best decision for 4:30pm. I started off and hiked for 5 minutes. I reached a clearing and looked out. The cemetary seemed miles and miles away! I debated with myself, but decided to go on. I really wanted to see this old cemetary. I hiked for another 5 to 10 minutes and stumbled across a cemetary! Obviously not the one I had headed for, but it was tucked away on the hillside with no view to the ocean. It obviously hadn't been cared for in a while. I stopped to take a look. The oldest stone I could find was from the 1850s. The most recent was 1957. It was a very peaceful spot, and sad that it seemed forgotten.

I spent some time wondering about the people. I'm not a person who enjoys going to museums but I do spend a lot of time thinking about the people of the past and how they lived and died. Then it popped into my mind that John might be getting a little worried about his hiker, so I headed back. I stopped at the clearing to look up to the lookout to see if I could spot John (using the zoom lens on my camera). Just as I was about to yell I heard him yell across the valley "Sara, are you there?". We often have moments of mind communication like this...I guess it comes from spending so much time together. (13 years, 24 hours a day) So I waved my arms and yelled back "Can you see me?". He spotted me, and I carried on. When I reached the lookout he explained that he had been watching the boardwalk for me to come out and when I didn't he started to worry. (you can't see it, but it's in the centre of the photo on the right marked with the white arrow)

All's well that ends well, but I didn't get out to the old cemetary. It turns out that the hike went a different direction and was 6 kilometres long. I'm resolved...if we ever get back to Newfoundland...I'm going to Salvage in the morning so I have the time to make the trek out to the old cemetary and back.

We stopped at The Lounge in Salvage for a drink. Their tourist season doesn't begin until July, so we had the place to ourselves. John loves to talk and ask questions so we had a great talk with the bar tender and cook (both female). One of the interesting things we found out...Newfoundlanders slow down their speech when they talk to "mainlanders". They told us that we wouldn't be able to understand them if they spoke the same way with us that they speak to each other. We learned that this was quite true the next day when we stopped at a tea/coffee shop and talked with the locals. We could understand them completely when they talked with us, but when they had a conversation between themselves we couldn't understand a word! Yes, they were speaking English but they have quite heavy accents to our ears.

Anyway, the manager (also a worker at the fish plant) and a man came in and joined us and we talked to them for a while (well, John talked and I listened). It was all quite interesting. This is what we love to do...talk to the locals and go to the places they go to. We would have stayed longer, but had to leave to find some dinner before things shut down for the night.

Next: puffins and lots of icebergs heading for St. John's

Vacation Installment #2: Gross Morne Park

Tuesday June 19th: our first full day in Newfoundland.

We left Cornerbrook and stopped at a lookout. There's snow in them thar hills! (seems strange after leaving 30C degree weather in Ontario)

and headed towards Gross Morne Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was here that geologists discovered proof that the continents drift. Our hiking destination - a gigantic fjord with sides 2,000 feet high (no, we didn't climb them!)

Here are some sites from the hike:

The board walk starting off the hike

The peat bogAccording to the sign: dead plants have piled up here for over 8000 years. Bog water is cold and acidic and contains almost no oxygen. Decay stops. Stems,leaves, and pollen become pickled in the peat. There are 4 metres of peat here!

Finally, arrival at Western Brook Pond (what we would call a lake):

We couldn't go on the boat tour through the fjord...they only took cash and we didn't have enough cash with us (not used to carrying cash). But we had a great hike in and back out again.

And we spotted some moose just before we got to our car: (yes, there really are 2 moose in this photo!)

Back to the car, and back down the highway out to TransCanada Hwy 1 to Badger. We stopped at the Three Rivers Country Inn - a B&B run by Maria...a lovely woman! After dinner at a local restaurant (well, the only local restaurant!) Maria supplied us with some wine and we had a lovely evening chatting.

Tommorrow: Twillingate

Vacation Installment #1: Nova Scotia & Ferry Ride

June 14th had us up and leaving early (4 am!) from Kemptville, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We do this drive a couple times a year...a very long driving day (15 hours) but worth it because we get to see our lovely granddaughter at the end of the trip (oh, and of course John's son & daughter in law!).
June 15th and 16th were family time. On Saturday John & I took Miss M out for a day with her "Baba and Bama". We went to the beach
and to Peggy's Cove and then for fish and chips at a road side stand (yum!) As the nursery rhyme goes: "When she was good, she was very very good. But when she was bad, she was horrid". We had a lovely day. She's never horrid for her Baba and Bama, but she does have her moments with her parents!

Sunday morning we were off for our Newfoundland vacation...we drove from Halifax to North Sydney. Ten years ago we vacationed at a rented cottage in Port Hood (Cape Breton). I loved it and to this day consider it one of my best vacations. We had some time, so we took the long way to North Sydney and stopped by Port Hood. We took a drive by the cottage we had rented 10 years ago and IT WAS FOR SALE! I was so excited. We stopped at the cottage and the owner was there. She just arrived the day before and was only there for 2 weeks. We told her we were there 10 years ago (their first year of ownership) so she showed us around. They have a brand new kitchen, bathroom, and roof. Perfect! We asked the price...not so perfect. A little out of our league. But, oh, how I would love to have that cottage.

From there, we walked the Port Hood boardwalk and beach.
After stopping by the road side ice cream stand (more memories from 10 years ago), we drove up to North Sydney to spend the night.


June 18th was spent on the ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland.
Here's a shot of North Sydney while we were leaving the harbour.

The ocean was rough, and we were amongst the handful of people that braved the open decks for a couple of hours. Brrrrr!

The crossing took longer than expected...7 hours. We arrived to Port Aux Basques at around 5 pm in the fog. Here's a shot of part of the town from the harbour. Not very appealing for our first view of Newfoundland!

From here, it was a 2 hour drive to our stop for the night: Bell's Bed & Breakfast in Cornerbrook. We ate at a fabulous restaurant recommended by the B&B owner...13 West. It was scrumptious!

Next: touring Gross Morne Park - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Cat button pins and t-shirts are here!

One of the things that arrived in the mail for me while I was off in Newfoundland was my new cat button pins. These pins are made with the cat image from my new catnip labels (they'll be introduced to my stores in the fall). I had asked you for your ideas a while back, but to be honest with you, there wasn't enough room on these little pins to put anything other than my web site (a must for marketing!). I'll be sending a pin to those of you who gave me your ideas: Allyson, Lauren, Angelique & Jen. Thanks for your input! For anyone else who wants a pin, send me an email. Blog special: $1 per pin (plus $1 postage to Canada, $2 shipping everywhere else. Sorry! That's what Canada Post charges)

I previously ordered my Barking Biscuit and Paws for Charity button pins from a company in Canada called Six Cent Press since I had a large order to put through. However, I decided to order the cat button pins from an Etsy business since I wanted a smaller amount. (the problem with large orders through a US company is the fact that we have to pay customs and broker fees on anything over $25 Canadian). I'm really happy with the results! They are just as professional looking, and work out to be less expensive even with the dollar exchange and shipping. If you're looking for button pins, or promotional items I recommend thepromoshop.etsy.com

And look what else arrived in the mail while I was away!

Our funky cat is available on Cafe Press tee shirts in this format or also with "Cat Crazy" around the image. I decided to order one to see what the quality of the shirts and the printing is...I'm really happy with the result.

Now...what to do with the shirt? It's a ladies tee...size Large. Should I keep it for myself, give it away in a contest, use it as a promotional item for my retail stores, donation....

Let me know what you think!

Happy Canada Day & cookie jar contest result

Happy Canada Day!

This afternoon, we'll be out in a little town called Oxford Mills to enjoy a concert of various local talented people. Later today, off to Kemptville to see a parade and then to a steak and dinner dance at our local college. Some good, old fashioned fun.

This photo is from a couple of years ago...back in our "3 dog" life. From left to right: Our mixed breed Mulligan, Siberian Husky Bailey (she always hated to wear her Canada Day hat!), and Giant Schnauzer Cinder.

Since tomorrow is a holiday, I'm hoping to get my Newfoundland vacation photos organized so I can post some for you.

An update on the cookie jar contest...

My "Guess the Number of Dog Cookies in the Cookie Jar" contest had 5 guesses: 158, 216, 120, 419, 123. Believe it or not, 419 was the closest guess. Actual number of cookies: 399.
Winner of a little something is....Christine!

The guessing game was inspired by a donation I made to the Canines with a Cause garage & bake sale, so the little gift will be a few notecards from CWAC. These notecards are prints made from an original pencil drawing by Miriam Mas, founder of CWAC. The image is our dog Bailey (as a pup), who passed away in September 2005. I asked Miriam to use prints of the drawing as an ongoing CWAC fundraiser. Even though the prints aren't a Giant Schnauzer...hope you enjoy them Christine!

Back from Newfoundland - not an upalong anymore

We're back from Newfoundland! What a trip. So much to share with you...I'll have to organize my photos and I'll do a few postings about our trip.

An "Upalong" is a person "from away". The word is actually used...I read it in a St John's newspaper. (more on that later)

This photo seems a fitting one for my first post since it has dogs in it...the statues overlook the St. John's harbour (St. John's is the capital of Newfoundland). There is a statue of a Labrador and a Newfoundland dog. Did you know that a Lab is a descendant of a Newfoundland? I didn't know that!

Well, I didn't get "screeched in" so I didn't have to kiss a cod. But I ate lots of cod (delicious!) and even tried the screech (rum). Lots of stories to tell in the next week.