So, did I mention before the smell of the forest in Gros Morne. We stopped at one of those places you stop at to take pictures, got out of the car and then just smelled. It was something I don't remember smelling before. Joel describes it as smelling like cotton candy. I can see how he would say that. I would add a hint of pine to it though. But, if someone could accurately bottle it, wow, I think it would sell!!
We got up this morning--a little late again--and had breakfast and got moving. We thought we could spend some time in Twillingate puttering around and seeing what there was to see. We thought about taking one of those boat tours that promise icebergs and/or whales. We asked at the front desk about the number of icebergs and heard that there weren't too many around. We also saw that there was a cod cutting up demonstration and we thought we would go see if we could see any of that. We couldn't quite find the right place. Oh well, no cod guts for us today.
We headed out to the mouth of Twillingate Harbour to see the lighthouse out there. As we came down one of the hills, I saw out the window, in the distance--an iceberg!!! Yay!! We could see them really well from the area around the lighthouse. They were way out there. We could see three, and then later we could see a couple more. We took tons of pictures. Hopefully they turn out. There were a bunch of little fishing boats off shore and around the islands. In town there is a fish factory(??)--I imagine it's where they bring the catch and prepare it to send to market. There is lots of fresh fish available to eat around there.
After the lighthouse we pealed out because the tour bus full of old people (or smurfs as Joel likes to call them) was beginning to move. We talked to one lady on the tour who had been to Costa Rica and had been stung by a sting ray. Apparently it hurts for 12 hours and stops. I have never met anyone stung by a sting ray before. Reason number 2 for no Costa Rica. Reason number 1 = the fer de lance. Bad snake. But, I digress.
We headed to the other side of the harbour and ended up in the n
ext one over and there were iceberg-lets right in the harbour. We climbed up this little mountain. I am a good climber-upper. Down is another issue altogether. At that point you realize exactly how high you are and take stock of the fact that you have no knees and a bum ankle and your balance is shot. However, with the grace of a drunk mountain goat, I made it down. Lots more pics.
On the return trip we stopped at Auk Island Winery. You could sample as many wines as you wanted for $2.00. That was lunch!! (just kidding) But, we did sample a number of wines made of blueberries, partridgeberries, bakeapples and rhubarb. We bought a few interesting ones to take home--and to Dad at the cottage. We also got our trip mascot--Twilly the Puffin. She will go everywhere with us from now on.
We also stopped in the centre of town. Walked around a bit. We went into a small art gallery. This guy is a really good artist and does paintings of things around Twillingate and the way things used to be. I bought a small print of a wharf that used to be in the Twillingate Harbour. And, he told us the story of moving houses. Earlier in the 20th century there were a number of people who lived on islands around Twillingate and they were all fairly isolated. The government was having trouble providing services like health and education and figured it was cheaper to give the people a cash payout if they were willing to move to the mainland. Some people decided to stay on the islands but a number of people took the payout. So they moved. And took their houses with them. It turns out, people would take their houses off their foundations drag them down to the water, put a bunch of barrels or whatever would keep them afloat underneath and pull them across to the mainland, drag them up onto the shore and begin life again. The artist told the story of his father's house. It was moved in the winter across the ice--and part of it went through the ice. It took 500 men to pull the house out of the ice, across the harbour and onto the land. Later, they moved it again. The house was just up the street. We went and took a picture of it. He has a painting that has a whole row of men just towing this house across the ice. Very cool.
It was time to leave Twillingate so off we went. On our way to Gander. Not much to see along the way. I think the distances given on the tourist maps are wrong. The trips are way longer.
We got to Gander and got to our hotel. Nothing is really too hard to find around here. It's pretty nice. A Comfort Inn I think. I have decided I like motels where you can just back the car up to the door. I went across the street to the tourist information place to see what there was to do. No movie theatre. But there was bowling. Joel and I went to the memorial to the plane of US soldiers coming back from Egypt that crashed just off the airport. Some 265 or so were killed so there is a memorial there to them. After that, we went to some pond that had a boardwalk and walked around a little bit there.
Back to the hotel. Time to order pizza. I wanted to call my dad. Just to check in, you know. We have no cell service until we get to St. John's. I thought I'd call collect. You know how they have the little voice that tells you to leave your name. I did that. It called dad and told him if he wanted to accept the charges, press 1. Dad has a rotary phone and he kept telling the voice that he can't press 1 because he has the wrong phone. The voice didn't understand. I got cut off :(
So, I tried again with a phone card. Dad answered. All is good.
Now, having had pizza and Rice Krispie Squares I am all good. Tomorrow we will eventually end up in St. John's. Maybe go to Bonavista. Unsure at this point. Will keep you posted!!
We got up this morning--a little late again--and had breakfast and got moving. We thought we could spend some time in Twillingate puttering around and seeing what there was to see. We thought about taking one of those boat tours that promise icebergs and/or whales. We asked at the front desk about the number of icebergs and heard that there weren't too many around. We also saw that there was a cod cutting up demonstration and we thought we would go see if we could see any of that. We couldn't quite find the right place. Oh well, no cod guts for us today.
We headed out to the mouth of Twillingate Harbour to see the lighthouse out there. As we came down one of the hills, I saw out the window, in the distance--an iceberg!!! Yay!! We could see them really well from the area around the lighthouse. They were way out there. We could see three, and then later we could see a couple more. We took tons of pictures. Hopefully they turn out. There were a bunch of little fishing boats off shore and around the islands. In town there is a fish factory(??)--I imagine it's where they bring the catch and prepare it to send to market. There is lots of fresh fish available to eat around there.
After the lighthouse we pealed out because the tour bus full of old people (or smurfs as Joel likes to call them) was beginning to move. We talked to one lady on the tour who had been to Costa Rica and had been stung by a sting ray. Apparently it hurts for 12 hours and stops. I have never met anyone stung by a sting ray before. Reason number 2 for no Costa Rica. Reason number 1 = the fer de lance. Bad snake. But, I digress.
We headed to the other side of the harbour and ended up in the n
ext one over and there were iceberg-lets right in the harbour. We climbed up this little mountain. I am a good climber-upper. Down is another issue altogether. At that point you realize exactly how high you are and take stock of the fact that you have no knees and a bum ankle and your balance is shot. However, with the grace of a drunk mountain goat, I made it down. Lots more pics.On the return trip we stopped at Auk Island Winery. You could sample as many wines as you wanted for $2.00. That was lunch!! (just kidding) But, we did sample a number of wines made of blueberries, partridgeberries, bakeapples and rhubarb. We bought a few interesting ones to take home--and to Dad at the cottage. We also got our trip mascot--Twilly the Puffin. She will go everywhere with us from now on.
We also stopped in the centre of town. Walked around a bit. We went into a small art gallery. This guy is a really good artist and does paintings of things around Twillingate and the way things used to be. I bought a small print of a wharf that used to be in the Twillingate Harbour. And, he told us the story of moving houses. Earlier in the 20th century there were a number of people who lived on islands around Twillingate and they were all fairly isolated. The government was having trouble providing services like health and education and figured it was cheaper to give the people a cash payout if they were willing to move to the mainland. Some people decided to stay on the islands but a number of people took the payout. So they moved. And took their houses with them. It turns out, people would take their houses off their foundations drag them down to the water, put a bunch of barrels or whatever would keep them afloat underneath and pull them across to the mainland, drag them up onto the shore and begin life again. The artist told the story of his father's house. It was moved in the winter across the ice--and part of it went through the ice. It took 500 men to pull the house out of the ice, across the harbour and onto the land. Later, they moved it again. The house was just up the street. We went and took a picture of it. He has a painting that has a whole row of men just towing this house across the ice. Very cool.
It was time to leave Twillingate so off we went. On our way to Gander. Not much to see along the way. I think the distances given on the tourist maps are wrong. The trips are way longer.
We got to Gander and got to our hotel. Nothing is really too hard to find around here. It's pretty nice. A Comfort Inn I think. I have decided I like motels where you can just back the car up to the door. I went across the street to the tourist information place to see what there was to do. No movie theatre. But there was bowling. Joel and I went to the memorial to the plane of US soldiers coming back from Egypt that crashed just off the airport. Some 265 or so were killed so there is a memorial there to them. After that, we went to some pond that had a boardwalk and walked around a little bit there.
Back to the hotel. Time to order pizza. I wanted to call my dad. Just to check in, you know. We have no cell service until we get to St. John's. I thought I'd call collect. You know how they have the little voice that tells you to leave your name. I did that. It called dad and told him if he wanted to accept the charges, press 1. Dad has a rotary phone and he kept telling the voice that he can't press 1 because he has the wrong phone. The voice didn't understand. I got cut off :(
So, I tried again with a phone card. Dad answered. All is good.
Now, having had pizza and Rice Krispie Squares I am all good. Tomorrow we will eventually end up in St. John's. Maybe go to Bonavista. Unsure at this point. Will keep you posted!!
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1 comment:
Sounds like a fantastic trip so far - lots of driving and trees but you can do what you want when you want to!
Keep up the great blogs!
Liza
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