A Newfie
The moment you lose your faith in people, I recommend you save up your pennies and take a trip to Newfoundland. Meet the Newfies and your faith will be restored. You will meet total strangers and they will become friends. You will walk in as an unknown soul and come out with buddies who’ll stand up for you in any fight. You will hear them laugh at themselves, sing songs and tell tales. They will take life’s curves with grace and know that being alive is a whole lot better than being dead. They will treat you for who you are and not put on phony airs. If you need a hand, you get an army. They will take you in, buy you a round, make you part of the family and by the time you leave the Rock, you’ll fall in love with the place. You see, Newfies are Newfies where ever they go. After all, as John Crosbie once said, you can always tell the Newfies in Heaven, they’re the ones who want to go back home.
If your faith is sagging, hug a Newfie.
Rick Bell, Calgary Sun
Trip Thoughts
Barney…. It was a great trip that we started and finished a little too early. We wanted a little more cool weather. Two weeks later would have done the trick. Camping in so many nice places was a real plus. We found our van to be very comfortable in all situations except when it was raining.
Diane…. We thought that this trip would never equal the one we took last year, but we were wrong. Each trip we take is so special, and this one was no different. Again, the van and the way we have equipped it was the perfect vehicle for us. So much of our satisfaction is due to our physical ability and desire to make it work.
Personal Opinions
Trip best:
Barney
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Getting engaged to Diane in the Purple Thistle Dining Room at the Keltic Lodge |
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Cod fish and chips |
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Lobster |
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Ribeyes at The Beefmastor Inn |
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Staying with Betsy and Anne on Deer Isle, Maine |
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The wonderful people we met along the way |
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Newfoundland |
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New friends John and Dorothy Maidment (B&B) |
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New friends Ron and Verna Eisner (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) |
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Old Quebec City |
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Two lovely Potomac boat rides and meals with Bev and Jeff |
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Wonderful weather and health for most of 82 days |
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Montreal |
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Completing the cycle to all 50 states |
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Spotting the bull moose along the road in Newfoundland |
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Witnessing huge tide ranges in Nova Scotia |
Diane
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Keltic Lodge on Cabot Trail |
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The Canadian people |
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Incredible beauty of Newfoundland |
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Vast expanse of Labrador |
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Gros Morne National Park |
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Beautiful Campsites |
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Visiting old friends and making new ones |
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Mount Washington |
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Fall colors |
Trip worst
Barney
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Hearing about the tragedy in NY, DC, and Pa. |
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Black flies in Labrador |
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Heat on Prince Edward Island |
Diane
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Shock of attack by terrorists |
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Black flies in Labrador campsite |
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Recurrence of vertigo |
Health and Safety
Thankfully, we had no significant problems at all. We were never in danger of having an accident, or even a close call. We did have a few allergy problems, a few ear aches, and vertigo.
Things we missed but want to do next time
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Martha’s Vineyard |
Stats for the van and trip
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MPG 14.985 | ||||||
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Total van miles 11605 (about a 400 miles by ferry) | ||||||
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Total cost of fuel $1252 | ||||||
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The highest price per gallon was $2.209 (converted Canadian to US dollars and liters to gallons) in Port aux Basques, NF, Canada. The lowest price was $1.299 in King George, VA. | ||||||
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Lodging for the trip:
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Stats for the web site: (Sojourn only)
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Total bytes = 18.4 megabytes |
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Number of hits = 387 to date |
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Number of pictures 235 |
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Number of files = 1800 |
Whoopsies!
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Left TV remote at home |
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The van ran over two campfire rings |
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Gazebo turned over in the wind |