Wandering WenDal

Oh my it was chilly in the camper last night. Even with the furnace on it just never seemed to get warm. But, this morning dawned bright and sunny. Since we were parked close to an A&W we decided to try their new coffee for $1.00. It was excellent!! Usually when we come to Moncton it's all about shopping but today was quite relaxing (with a little bit of shopping, lol). We got to have lunch with two of our favs at Mexi's. It was so good, probably the best pollo taco (chicken) I have ever had! Some interesting artwork during a drive around the city and of course lots to see at Bass Pro Shops. Settled in for the night probably going to watch a movie or two. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena!

So this will be our last outing before putting WenDal in storage for the winter. The leaves are really starting to get their fall colors and in a couple of weeks they will be gorgeous. It sure was cold in Bathurst this morning - 2C, brrrr. It's a bit warmer in Moncton but raining like crazy. It's a good day for some Wendy's chilli, yum. Not going to far tonight, just staying dry and warm. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena!

So we are home again. I have to say it is always nice to come home but I don't think I have ever felt like I was tired of traveling. Hopefully Covid 19 will get better soon and we will be able to hit the road again. Thank you to everyone who watered our tomato plants, they survived and we'll have quite the feast tomorrow. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena! Das Leben ist schön!

Today we got to visit one of my favorite attractions, Ikea!!!! Oh it has been way too long since I have been there. The big problem with going to Ikea is that it makes me want to throw out everything in my ho and start over. Lol I did pick up a few things and I am excited to get home and unpack them. At the start of this month wearing masks in all public buildings has become mandatory in Nova Scotia and everyone seems to be following the rules. It was early when we finished o...ur shopping in Dartmouth so anticipating a long wait at the New Brunswick border we decided to head to Moncton for the night. We were surprised and maybe a bit confused when we reached the NS/NB border and found that they weren't checking anyone, we rolled right through. Both NS and NL required us to show ID upon entering, so we expected at least that for NB but nope nothing at all. Although when you think about it we are all one bubble so we should be able to go from one province to another without any problems. Anyway we will be spending tonight in Moncton. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena! Das Leben ist schön See more

It was so nice to wake up to the sound of the waves hitting the shore and the view from the camper was wonderful., but we didn't have time to lollygag around because we had a ferry to catch. We packed up some snacks, no, we will not be hungry, and headed for the boat to the mainland. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Newfoundland, if you are thinking of going, do it, but wait until Covid no longer is affecting travel and all the excursions are available for you. We would also suggest that you take the ferry from Argenta, one way, (it's closed this summer because of Covid) but it would save the entire drive back across the province. Smooth sailing to Nova Scotia and we are spending the night in Port Hawksbury before heading to Halifax in the morning. Life is good. La vie est belle! La vida es buena! Das Leben ist schön!

Today was the day we were waiting for! Mind you, it was cold enough this morning 6C, that we had to turn the furnace on before we could get up. But by the time we arrived in Stephenville it was gorgeous day. We found a gorgeous free campground right on the beach, who could ask for anything more. Dale got to wax the truck and I was left to read my book. Going to be a beautiful sunset tonight, first one we've had in Newfoundland. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena!

So after yesterday's beautiful sun we are back to rain and fog. The scenery is still beautiful and even a bit mysterious but oh I would love a couple of days of sun. Lol. Our big adventure for today was related to fuel, or lack thereof. Anyone who knows Dale, also knows that the halfway mark is empty, I, on the other hand have had to call roadside assistance on more than one occasion. . So imagine my surprise when the gaslight came on announcing that we only had 80 kms unti...l empty. Now we had just driven up to a gas station and one of us (not me) decided that 114.09 was too much to pay for gas. The next gas station according to the GPS was 26 kms away, no problem. Right? Except it was "closed for the season!" why were we not surprised. We finally found one about 25 kms ahead with gas $107.09 so "alls well that ends well." But I have to say, I did enjoy his squirming, probably a little more than I should have. Back in Corner Brook for tonight. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena! See more

The sun was shining all day!!! Yay! On the advice of Paula Doucet and Myrna Good, we stopped at the Silent Witness Memorial on our way out of Gander, it is a beautiful memorial to the Arrow Air plane crash in 1985. The view of Gander lake is exquisite. The park itself is very well maintained., very peaceful and quite moving when you think about all the soldiers who died in the crash. We took the TCH towards St John's and stopped at Joey's lookout, named after Joey Smallwood, again beautiful views. In St John's we visited Signal Hill , now those are incredible views. Sure is nice to see the sun. Life is good. La vie est belle! La vida es buena!

Today we visited Twillingate, can you guess how many times I sang I's the b'y that builds the boats. Too many to count or as Dale would say just, too many. Lol Another beautiful little town but between the rain and the closed for the season, our activities are limited. We were very excited to see that the Titanic exhibit at Long Point Lighthouse was open. Yay!! I learned a couple of cool things, that I felt I should have already known, so maybe I just forgot??? 1. The ship was only about half full and 2. The fourth stack was only for decoration. We looked for whales and icebergs but the fog would have hidden them. Tonight we are in Gander, Dale cooked a delicious supper. And, I almost forgot, I switched my song to When they built the ship Titanic Dale is so much happier now. Lol Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena!

Today we walked where the vikings walked, about 3000 years ago. It felt kind of cool when we stopped to think about it. But once again most, if not all, of the attractions were closed. That being said, we can't get enough of the scenery. And there is still snow on the mountains! We were very hopeful this morning that we were in for a clear day but then the rain came. Not a terrible day for a drive. Spending tonight in Grand Falls and heading to Twilingate tomorrow. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena!

The pitter patter of rain on the roof of the camper had us looking for something to do inside this morning. We headed to Newfoundland Emporium in downtown Corner Brook. It was quite a spot, books, antiques, souvenirs, handicrafts and just about anything else you could imagine. When we were finished the rain had stopped and we headed for Gros Morne National Park. Just about everything in the park is closed except for the campgrounds and the trails. On the advice of @Paula Douc...et we took a short detour into Norris Point, and are very happy we did. It is a beautiful little fishing /tourist village. The only problem was that everything, tours, restaurants, etc are closed for the season. I was able to get some reading done while Dale did some repairs to our airbags. Our next stop was Lobster Head Lighthouse, again the building was closed but the trail was lovely and the rain stayed away until we were done. Settled in at the Shallow Bay Campground for the night. Life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena! See more

Well everyone who said Newfoundland was beautiful is absolutely right. It is so green, the coast is stunning and the mountains are beautiful. Today we drove the Acadian ancestral route around the Port au Port Peninsula, what a beautiful drive and so many picturesque stops, we had lunch at Hidden Falls where, again today, the sun came out just in time for us to enjoy it. We also stopped at Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, which was built in 1987. Such a beautifully kept place, with... plants, a fountain, rosary beads made from old buoys and granite stations of the cross. Tonight we are in Corner Brook, it is so busy here, hardly anyone is wearing a mask and even if the stores are encouraging social distancing, it was not evident. Very different from home and NS. We are pretty much by ourselves and have our masks and sanitizer so life is good! La vie est belle! La vida es buena! See more

Packed a bunch of food and snacks and headed for the ferry. I know some people take less to climb Mount Everest than we did for the 6 hour ferry trip. The good thing is that we didn't eat it all. Lol We have docked safely on The Rock, visited the visitor center and are wild camping with a lovely couple from Alberta. Settling in for a quiet night and will start exploring tomorrow. Life is good. La vie est belle! La vida es buena!