At Our Own Pace

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. Because of our travel, we’re fortunate to celebrate two Thanksgivings a year usually with family or friends. This year we celebrated on our own in Ottawa.

While our mini-turkey cooked I reflected on Thanksgiving/turkey dinners in the past. I made my first turkey dinner when I was 14. My mother had a turkey thawing in the sink and had a heart attack. After the paramedics left with Mom, I was left alone with the turkey which needed to be cooked. So I did. My dad said the dinner was good but he couldn’t taste anything.

We’ve had many dinners with our girls. Both Tracy and I love stuffing and I had to make lots. We’re pretty specific how the stuffing is to be prepared, lots of sage and no celery.

One Thanksgiving Tracy came home from school and complained of a “zit” on her shoulder where her backpack hit. She had been on a trip to Peru the previous summer and spent time in the jungle. The zit looked like she had a boil Later she went to Kim’s apartment to hang out. She had a shower and looked over her shoulder into the mirror and saw a little head pop out of her zit. The girls phoned us and we met them at the walk-in clinic. On the way I pictured scenes from the Alien movie. The young doctor who drew on on-call Thanksgiving weekend straw was thrilled to have something interesting. After consulting with a tropical disease specialist, he explained something had bit her and laid an egg which had hatched. It shouldn’t be removed as it would resist and break off. He liberally applied Vaseline and covered it with a bandage so it would smother. Once we got home the shock wore off and we were joking a bit about Tracy’s jungle bug. We returned the next day. The bug was groggy but still alive. The girls decided the doctor was cute. The Vaseline and bandage was refreshed and we waited another day. Tracy had lots of friend visiting and her little Peruvian friend was the highlight of conversation (along with referrals about the cute doctor). On the third visit Tracy went with an entourage (to check out the doctor) and her was able to extract the bug which she brought home in a vial of formaldehyde.

Our friend, LJ, would host fabulous Thanksgiving dinners for those who had no family to celebrate with. Usually there were about 20 people. She made all the food. It was a labour of love to her friends.

We’ve had many American Thanksgivings, many with Jerry’s sister Tricia and her husband, Tom. Tom and I occasionally cook together. Our methods are polar opposites. He measures carefully and I use the pitch and chuck method. Surprisingly we work well together. When we lived in the States we usually shared Thanksgiving dinner. I had a fall themed table cloth that had to adorn the table whether it was at our home or theirs. One Thanksgiving afternoon we got into the wine and played cards. The time got away from us and we got pretty inebriated as the afternoon went on. All of a sudden then turkey was ready and nothing else. It was all hands on deck in a panic and great to see super organized Tom rattled. (Not to mention, he makes Stove Top Stuffing with apples in it outside the turkey – BLASPHEMY!)

I’ve also had stuffing disagreements with our buddy, Bill when we visited him and his wife, Maggie’s place in Hawaii. Bill likes his Mom’s stuffing. I think one end of the turkey had Bill’s stuffing and the other had mine.

We’ve spent many Thanksgivings in BC at Kim’s as her birthday falls on that weekend and we plan to spend time there on our way south. Kim made her own cider and she and Dana would host a cider press party for her birthday. Their friends would come and chop and press the hundreds of pounds of apples that Kim had picked from local orchards. Needless to say they were rewarded with a fabulous meal.

As I type this, the tryptophan and wine are kicking in and I smile at all the great memories we’ve had. We’re on our on this year, but not alone. I’m sure you’ve had great memories too, please share them in the comments.

After being in small costal towns, it was a surprise to discover what a large bustling city Halifax was. It reminded me of Calgary.

North Atlantic Maritime Museum

Our first stop was the maritime museum which featured hundreds of model ships built to scale with incredible detail. There were dioramas and artifacts. Jerry was most interested in the 1917 disaster in which a ship loaded with arms exploded in the harbour killing thousands and levelling a good portion of the town as he had recently read the book. I was more interested in the Titanic exhibit as my grandmother was on the docks when they brought survivors in.

Peggy’s Cove

Peggy’s Cove is a must see when you go to Halifax and being the “tourists” we are, it was our next stop. There is a small town surrounding the lighthouse with lots of gift shops and places to eat.

Oktoberfest

The BG (Beer Gardens) on the waterfront celebrates Octoberfest every third Saturday in September. Along with a polka band, they had weiner dog races, weiner dog fashion shows and weiner dog watermelon eating contest. We strolled along the waterfront and encountered lots of people walking their dashounds. We had lunch at the restaurant next to the BG (the lineup at the BG was way too long) and were treated to reggae music coming from the stage on the beach and oom-pa-pa from the BG. A new kind of fusion. It was a great afternoon.

Our last few days were veg out days. I did manage to recreate the lobster linguine which was a success.

We departed the ferry from Newfoundland at 10 am and checked into the Arm of Gold Campground about 15 minutes down the road. It was the same campground we stayed at when waiting to board the ferry a few weeks ago. The site they gave us had great views of the harbour.

Everything needed recharging, our phones, tablets and us. We plugged the phones in, and recharged ourselves with a nap, a shower and some scrambled eggs. By early afternoon, we were ready to go.

Our friend, Irene, is on a quest to ride her motorcycle around Alberta and take pictures of the “World’s Largest” everything that’s in Alberta. Keeping that in mind, we went to the Sydney waterfront to see “The World’s Largest Fiddle”. The fiddle sits adjacent to a cruise ship port and there was a Princess cruise in at the time. We strolled along the waterfront path and enjoyed the sunshine and some ice cream.

Upon returning late afternoon, I parked myself with a glass of wine in an Adirondack chair near our site and enjoyed the view. Jerry had a date with the NFL but came out later with a refill for my glass and a plate of cheese and crackers. Good husband!

Fortress of St Louisbourg

A national historical site, St Louisbourg is a recreation of the original town and fortress built by the French in the 1700’s. St. Louisbourg existed a little over 50 years. It was a trading hub and a strategic military point. Eventually it was captured by the British who destroyed it. We spent several hours there. It amazed me what the French had built in such a short amount of time considering the landscape (mostly rock) and the crude tools they had.

Cape Breton

We drove the Cabot Trail around Cape Breton Island and enjoyed beautiful views of coves and inlets. The trees are continuing to change and there are more shades of red in the leaves.

We stopped at the Lobster Galley for a late lunch and asked if we could have Rocky on the patio with us. They said “oh sure” and the waitress brought out a bowl of water for him along with our menus. The lobster linguine was amazing and determined to try and duplicate it.

Then it was back home to pack up and get ready to go to Halifax.

We’ve enjoyed our time on “The Rock” and are waiting to board the ferry at Argentia to Sydney. It’s a 17 hour journey overnight. We’ll camp out in lounge chairs and Rocky is booked into a kennel. We’ll be able to check on him throughout the trip.

Newfoundland’s landscape is rugged; lots of rock, ponds and trees that have been sculpted by the wind. There are countless coves and harbours. The ditches were lined with wildflowers and there is just a slight hint of yellow in the leaves.

Many of the houses are bright and colourful. In the past, the houses were painted brightly so the fishermen could see them in the fog and the tradition has continued to this day.

Gander

After Twillingate we stayed in Gander for a few days and visited the North Atlantic Aviation Museum. Gander has strong connections to the aviation industry. The airport was built in the 1930’s and is where trans-Atlantic flights originated. During World War II many troops were deployed from Gander. Gander also housed and fed 6,700 displaced airline passengers during 911. Pretty good for a community of 10,000.

The campground we were at recommended Lily’s Landing for great fish and chips. They were excellent!

St John’s

St John’s can compete with San Francisco for the steepest streets and I think Ms. Google Maps sent us down all of them. It was great to see the old houses and townhouses and the enormous stone churches.

Water Street had lots of restaurants and shops (a quilt shop – yay!) and we enjoyed a nice lunch.

Jerry ran into Dan and Rhonda on one of his walks through the campground. We got together and Jerry went hiking with them near Cape Spear. I joined him later and we toured the original lighthouse. Cape Spear is the most eastern point in North America. Having been to Tofino, BC we’ve been to both ends of the country.

George Street was a great area for live music and we spent an evening there.

We Didn’t Get Screeched

You can become an honorary Newfoundlander by getting Screeched In. To get Screeched you must recite a poem, shoot a shot of Screech and kiss the cod. We thought about it but decided to hang onto our $30. It’s a great money maker for the bars.

We’re now settled on the ferry. Rocky, to his dismay has been tucked in his kennel and we’ve found some comfy chairs. It’s onto Cape Breton Island tomorrow.

Twillingate is a quaint coastal town famous for iceberg viewing and whale watching. The icebergs pass by in June and July so we arrived in shoulder season and many things were closed. We still enjoyed sunshine, the boats, the colourful houses and the many yards with laundry on the line. We stopped by Pier 39 (a restaurant, not a pier) and enjoyed lobster rolls. They were delicious, big chunks of lobster on a fresh, warm croissant.

Thursday night football starts tonight so Jerry has his feet up in front of the TV.

We’re heading to Gander tomorrow.

We’re travelling to Twillingate today and had another flat tire on the trailer. There are pressure sensors on our tires and they let us know when there’s an issue. I don’t know if the extra weight from the new car, the rough roads or if it is just their time, but it’s a pain, especially as we have a longer trip today. Some great soul noticed us and turned his truck around and is giving Jerry a hand with the tire change. You have to love Newfoundlanders. He recommended a tire shop in Grand Falls and we were in and out in about 10 minutes.

We’re getting pretty good at packing up and getting ready to roll. Because of the rough roads I took extra care with the fridge. The Phaeton has a big domestic fridge with double doors and a pull out freezer on the bottom. Condiments and small items are placed in carousels and I set a damp rag under the carousels to ensure they don’t slide. It works pretty well and I have the added bonus of being able to find things easily. Anything that looks like it might slide out goes in the crispers and meat drawer. Even then, I’ve learned to open the fridge doors carefully.

I refuse to drink wine out of acrylic glasses so we have a set of stemmed wine glasses. I don’t mind “roughing it” but you have to draw the line somewhere. To protect them when we’re moving, I pull our fuzzy socks over them and place them in a bin.

We pulled into Twillingate around 5. It looks charming and I’m looking forward to exploring tomorrow. While walking Rocky, Jerry met a couple of who were sitting close to us on the ferry. They recognized our rig. Our trip itineraries are similar so Jerry exchanged phone numbers. I think we made some new friends.