Hi all!
I’ve been pretty busy picking at my website over the past few weeks. I have finally gotten it to this point and hopefully in the next few day my gallery will be nicely integrated with the blog page. There’s a lot of plans I have in my head and hopefully they will all come together soon.
I hope you enjoy!
Rene
P.S. Nicholas is still pooping in the toilet!
After a weeklong camping trip we are all home tucked back into our house.
It was a good trip with some rocky beginnings. First of all we were an hour late leaving home so we ended up being a little late for a planned family boat tour in Twillingate.
Once we got off the boat we headed to our campground. Peyton’s Wood’s RV park. We weren’t overly impressed. There was just enough room between our camper and the next to squeeze our truck in. There was’t even that much space on the other side of us. Nowhere for a campfire. Just us in our camper. The site did have unserviced lots. But they were small and mostly unkept. The next time we will be staying at the Dildo Run Provincial Park and bringing our generator.
There’s a lot to do in the Twillingate are and we plan on heading there again. We only really had one day to explore the area and the wind and weather was bad that morning. I did manage to find one Geocache with Nicholas (160 meters from our campsite) before he had his nap.
That afternoon the wind settled down and we headed out to the lighthouse and some really steep cliffs. We found another geocache near the lighthouse and Nicholas snacked on some blueberries. We drove around the area a little and found a fun 4×4 road. There were a few steep hills and I had to take off the hitch as we almost brought up trying to get up one hill and the hitch brought up solid. Once we got to the end we took in the beautiful views and Nicholas once again snacked on some more blueberries.
While Siobhan prepared supper I headed out to fill up and found another Geocache. After supper we all headed up near the water tower where there is a beautiful walking trail around a pond and we found yet another Geocache. From there we headed up a road towards Durrell. We saw a sign pointing out French’s Beach so we headed out on a fairly rough dirt road until we finally got to a beautiful rocky beach tucked into a cove. We spent a half hour or so there with Nicholas pointing at all the birds and making funny faces after sucking on salty rocks.
The next morning we packed up and headed East along the Kittiwake coast.
We were all hungry and Nicholas was starting to make a lot of noise near Musgrave Harbour so we headed into town to find somewhere to eat. After a bit of digging around we found a cute little restaurant with a three unit hotel attached. It wasn’t exactly the finest dining, but the hosts were very friendly and the food was good and quick!
Our next stop was Centerville to see if we could get a site at the campgrounds listed in the Travel Guide. After asking around and then realizing that the mailing address is in one town and the campgrounds are in another we finally reached our destination… only to find out it hadn’t opened this summer (or last summer by the looks of the campsites!) We then turned back to the guide to find the closest campsite. 17 Islands Bed and Breakfast, about 40 kilometers back on the road we had just travelled. It was listed as a Bed and Breakfast with 4 serviced sites. We were curious as to what we would be getting as a site but we were getting desperate and we wanted to explore that area a bit more so we headed back. Once we pulled into Newtown we saw the B&B and started getting nervous. Right smack in the middle of town was a B&B with four 4×4 posts out front with power and water hook-ups. Not what we wanted, but again we were desperate at this time.
We paid for our hookups and set up camp. No where here to have a fire as I’m sure it would be frowned upon to light a fire in a parking lot in the middle of town. I went across the road to take a picture and a mean looking dog decided to try and make a meal out of me (at least that’s how it seemed to me.) I shouted out to Siobhan to grab Nicholas and put him in the camper.
After we finished setting up we headed north to Cape Freels. Wow! What a beautiful place. Soft fine beach sand, dunes, and low tide. I had fun in the truck and Nicholas had fun walking around on the flat beach. He really didn’t like the sand on his hands though. We will be back here in the future!
From Cape Freels we decided to head to Windmill Bight, I thought I had seen a sign advertising a RV park and it was only a few kms from Cape Freels. We found Windmill Bight RV Park on the main highway, pulled in and asked the owner if we could have a look around. He said sure and once we got in we were cursing on ourselves for setting up at the B&B. Just 10 kms further back and we could have spent a few days here.
The next morning we got up, ate and were on the road before 9am. I didn’t want to stay in the parking lot any longer then we had to. Our next stop was the island of Greenspond. Siobhan’s Godmothers husband died here in a Kayaking accident. He was a lighthouse keeper and used his Kayak as a method of transportation to and from the lighthouse. It was pretty Somber for us at first as we took in the area and thought about Larry.
We visited the Courthouse which was full of old artifacts and then found the walking trail around the back of the island. We found an easy Geocache and then worked our way back to the truck and camper as Nicholas was getting tired and hungry around this time. Once we got some food in his belly we headed back to our next campground.
We called Square Pond Park to try and get a serviced site the night before but the best they could do was to move us around each of three nights we planned on staying due to previous bookings. We were desperate to have a campfire so we were going to do it anyways. On our way there we passed through Gambo and noticed a sign advertising the David Smallwood Municipal Park. We passed the entrance, had a few quick thoughts and did a U-turn and went in.
We spoke with the owners to see if we could go in to have a look (we didn’t want to have another open parking lot!) and they refused to let us in until we paid the $3 day use fee. This worried me a little at first as most park owners are more then willing to let you have a drive through to see if you like the park.
I went back to the truck and me and Siobhan discussed whether or not we would stay here or head to Square Pond. This place was definately wooded, though we couldn’t see the sites, and we would have serviced sites.
I went back to the owners and told them we would be staying, their attitudes changed totally. They took our money for two nights, led us to a site, and even loaned us a hose as ours was too short to reach the water hookup. The main person we dealth with was named Ingwald and he was probably the friendliest person I have met in my life. We ended up spending three nights here, celebrated Siobhan’s birthday, explored the area a little and actually had a campfire each night. The site was semi-private and the park was beautiful.
My brother Neil, his wife April and their two daughters spent one evening with us and we had a great time. The only real issue was the lack of a decent play area. There’s a swingset. but it’s a simple backyard setup. Not too far away is a beautiful swimming area in the town of Gambo. The kids all loved it!
The park has a Salmon River passing through which I brought Nicholas to see the morning we left. It is quite the river and if you come at the right time there’s lots of Salmon to see climbing the Salmon ladder.
From there we had to bring the camper into Gander for service so we ended our camping trip and stayed at Neil’s house for two nights. We took Nicholas to see Neil practicing flying a helicopter. Then we went swimming, geocaching, and visited the Aviation museum. That evening I broke out in sweats and got pretty achy. Siobhan checked me out and I had a temperature and my throat was getting sore.
Sunday I felt like crap. We unloaded the camper and left her in Gander as they have to replace the AC unit. Last night I slept like a baby. Today the aches are gone but my throat feels like there’s razor blades in it.
Next year the generator will definately be going with us! Unfortunately for us in Newfoundland the weather can be cool all year round. With a one year old travelling with us we had to keep the furnace running every night.
Rene
Camping at Twillingate. About to head out to find a geocache with Nicholas.
Wow, today marks ten years that Siobhan and I have been a couple. And we only remembered because I heard the date on the news and I thought about our planned wedding date next year being on our anniversary and then I realized that this was our anniversary! Once I wished Siobhan a Happy Anniversary she perked up and said, “wow, ten years.” It’s amazing how times flies. I hope we have a lot more of these milestones together in our life!
I love you girl!
Rene
I had a quick trip to Natuashish last weekend. It was quite interesting! The town is newly built and well laid out. The entire area is beautiful with lots to do if you like the outdoors. I was contracted to go up and figure out their networking setup and to help get everything working on a number of computer networks throughout the reserve.
I checked into the hotel and started working as soon as I got up there. Upon discovering some problems with Aliant’s configuration of the DSL connections I ended up spending quite a bit of time on the phone with their tech support. We quit at midnight and headed back to the hotel… only to discover that I had been locked out and everyone else had crashed for the night. While the hotel is nice and very clean, it is not run like your typical hotel as there are limited travellers in the area due to being so remote. You are given a key to the cookhouse (all meals included with your stay, and good meals at that!) and a key to your room. However at night once everyone goes to bed the cook locks up the cookhouse from the inside. I was glad that my Uncle didn’t pull out of the parking lot and I crashed at my cousin’s house for the night.
The next day I worked until early in the afternoon. We figured everythign out and got all the DSL connections running. For the next day or so my Uncle and I explored the area and did some fishing.
There’s a bit of road in Natuashish to be explored. The land is flat and the trees are nicely spaced. All I could think of was exploring the area on my dirt bike. It looks liek you could go anywhere! The flies weren’t that bad and the weather was fairly nice. I’d say the temperature was in the twenties the day I arrived and the day I left. The second day it probably only got to around ten degrees.
All in all it was a great trip. The kids in Natuashish were as happy and playful as any child anywhere. They all seem to love fishing and those without rods have managed to come up with quite an inventive way of fishing using a hook, line and a Pepsi Can. If I do get to go up again I’ll probably bring along a few fishing rods to give to some of the kids.
The plane ride up was great. I flew to Goose Bay where I boarded a twin engined Otter and flew to Nain for our first stop. From there I flew to Natuashish. On the way down there were three stops, Postville, Makkovik and Hopedale. All small isolated towns with dirt runways. The scenery was great with lots of iceburgs to see in the ocean. I then spent the night at a friend’s house in Goose Bay before heading back Home.
Rene
Looks like I got a little job in Natuashish thanks to my Uncle. Tomorrow I head North to the Big Land to do some network configuration in a bunch of the buildings up there. Should be interesting! Lots of pictures are sure to follow this trip!
Rene
We finally got out for a dirt bike ride! Last night me and Siobhan jumped on our dirtbikes and after about five minutes of lessons we headed off. We covered about 8 kilometers on her first trip on a dirt bike and she only crashed once. She was quite a sport about it and was quick to sing out “I’m O.K.!”
Now that the bike works and Siobhan is pretty sure she enjoys it I have to start dressing it up a little. My nephew racked her up pretty good, but it’s all cosmetic. I figure that after a couple hundred dollars are spent the bike will be like new.
Rene
The time has finally come. I sold my 1993 Honda del Sol last week to a guy from Corner Brook. The car was my baby for over nine years and I’m gonna miss hopping into her and cruising on a nice day with the roof in the trunk. I did get one last cruise, all the way to Gander with the roof off on a nice sunny day. The guy picked her up and got her inspected. She passed with flying colors except for the couple of rust spots that he simply had to cover up.
She was was about the most dependable automobile on the road… After nine years of driving (plus five before I owned her), I only had to replace some bushings, two front wheel bearings (I didn’t have to, but it seemed like I could hear them), brakes and I replaced the water pump and timing belt as preventative maintenance. Other then that it was oil changes and add-ons that I wanted to put on the car.
We will miss the car, but the guy who bought her told us he will keep us posted on his progress with her and let us know if he ever decides to sell her. No matter what, Me and Siobhan would always smile when we got behind the wheel.
Rene
P.S. Sorry for the lack of updates, life’s gotten really busy lately. In a nutshell, Nicholas is a handful and we are loving every minute of it. He still isn’t walking but is starting to get brave. He climbs up and down steps with a little assistance. He’s learning how to get off the couch and had teeth popping up every other day it seems. He’s wacko over any bike or quad… maybe a little too nuts. Siobhan’s dirtbike is running thanks to Cory Davis and his magic tools! We are looking at a new house. We can’t wait to get some camping in this summer!
I have to share this. Dell often have great sales and they are coming up again. Ths below image should update next week starting on Monday and if you come back you can either see the sales in the image below, or click on it to go to their website.
An example of a past deal is a Logitech Cordless Keyboard and Mouse for $39.00 with a regular price of $89.00.
Be sure to check it out!
Rene
I had some fun with a computer monitor a few years back. It was a great stress reliever! The video was shot with my old camera which only did short, low-resolution video clips, but the point still comes across pretty good.
Rene