Newfoundland : Part 1.

We decided to break the Newfoundland post into a few different blogs, as we are planning to spend  about three weeks here, and figured that it would make one awfully long post if we did it all in  one go. So to begin....

 Lets start on the ferry!! We left Cape Breton on a sunny Friday evening, headed for Argentia, Newfoundland. Taking the long ferry, its about a 14 hour ferry ride.... and its amazing. The ferry is quite big, spacious, with cabins for sleeping , ( at $ 180 for a cabin, we decided against that one... ), lounge chairs for sleeping, a couple of restaurants and a snack bar, and a lounge and bar. ( for drinking, socializing, listening to live music, and also for sleeping on the couches. Which is exactly where we slept. ) While on the ferry, we met lots of locals, found out about some great free camping spots, listened to local bands, and even met Steve  from Surrey B.C. coming over to St. Johns for work, and who also knows a friend of ours, James Crape! ( Small world indeed!!! )  Watched the sun set and rise again over the ocean, and though sleepy in the morning, couldn't contain our excitement when we finally landed on the rock.

 Our first stop in Newfoundland, was at Cape Marys.( This is along the Avalon Peninsula. ) This is an ecological reserve, and home to thousands of Garnets and other sea birds that make their home all along the cliffs at the oceans edge. It's amazing to be able to get within meters of their nesting sites, watching them fly and dive amongst the rocks, and the landscape was hard to beat. Barren and craggy, high cliffs jutting out with the waves crashing thirty feet in the air... it feels like an interesting combination of B.C. and Scotland here.  Stopped for groceries in Conception Bay South, and then settled in for the night at ButterPot provincial park. 


The next night, we made our way out to one of the free campsites we were told about, out at Cape Race. A very long, somewhat harrowing drive up and down steep hills, over gravel roads and small bridges, but at the end of the drive, totally worth it. We spent the night beside a lighthouse, and watched a pod of humpback whales spouting water into the air and slapping their fins in the ocean. It was here as well, we got to watch the sunrise out of the Atlantic in the morning fog... coffee's in hand, we head out to La Manche provincial park.


This park is lovely. It has a great swimming pond, and tonnes of hiking you can do. One trail leads you up to a small falls area, and the other leads you up to the remains of a village that was destroyed in the late 60's by storm. The path to the village also has a suspension bridge, ( For those of you who know me, you know my fear of heights, but after some cajoling from Rob, I managed to make it across with assistance, and back, though running halfway, by myself. lol ) which gives quite the view of the river and bay below.

Next up? Cape Spear. The most Eastern point of Canada!!! , and from there we went up to Signal Hill in St. Johns, place of Cabbot tower, and the first wireless transmission across the Atlantic. St. Johns is a really great town. Good food, cool architecture, and great people. As I write this, I am sitting in the living room of my friend Leisha, who was very generous in lending us her apartment during our stay . A million thankyous to you, Leisha, for giving us a home base, making us feel so comfortable, and the marvelous snuggles of your cat. 


Tune in  next time for more adventures from the rock,

          Until then, C & R.   xoxo

P. E. I and all things Anne...

P.E.I.   Land of potatoes ( pronounced " B-day-does" in some parts of the province, ) and mead. ( Beware the mead... delicious, and dangerous when consumed in large quantities...) " Are  you from away? " they ask,  Yes, we reply, from away... and so our adventure begins.

 P.E.I. is small. A very small, but pretty island, full of farmlands, small towns, and more fantastic beaches than you can shake a stick at. From red sands to golden, its easy to catch some well deserved r & r away from the crowds...

We started our tour with a four day rest at the northern part of the island, at Jaque Cartier provincial park. The red sands there kind of make you feel as though you are visiting Mars...
Caught up on some reading and sleep, and then we made our way down to Stanhope for a two day stint of touristy looking about.

First up, was Charlottetown. A quaint university town, it has just the right amount of hustle and bustle that it keeps one occupied without getting too exhausting. Some really great architecture and beautiful heritage homes and churches, and as always good seafood. From there, we visited Cavendish to pay our respects to Lucy Maud Montgomery at her final resting place in Cavendish cemetary. We decided not to check out Ann of Green Gables village.... a bit too touristy, and we decided it wasn't really worth the price of admission. Instead, we took the time to explore some of the small towns along the coast, and discovering some really great used bookstores along the way.

Our last night spent on P.E.I, was perhaps one of our nicest and most fun. We ended up spending the night in Georgetown with our friend Andrew, who was there with his daughter visiting his family. Beers were shared,we got a great walking and history tour of the town, and finally got a chance to try the infamous P.E.I. mead. Thanks to Andrew, for allowing us to crash in your driveway, showing us a great time in Georgetown, and feeding us some much needed morning coffees.


  Tune in  next time for a taste of Newfoundland,

             Until then, with love, C, R, and Sir. V. 

Canada Day and the debut of Sexy Democratic.

Ah, Canada Day. A  bright sunny day, a sea of red and white, and an evening sky filled with the musical renderings of Mother Mother and fireworks. What better way to spend Canada's birthday?  Halifax, you throw a good party.  While we stayed in Halifax, we were camped out at the Shubie campground in Dartmouth. Close to transit and the five minute ferry across the water to Halifax, it makes it both easy to sightsee, and also lends the oppertunity to make new friends. Thanks to Nadeen, Julie and Tony for sharing in our Canada Day adventures, beers, and lots of laughs!!!, and to Mr. Cat, ( Nadeens awsome pet, ) for being the most chill and laid back camping cat in the world.

Post partying, we decided to give ourselves ( and livers) a rest, and headed off to Nimrod's campsite just outside of Sherbrook villiage. There, we ended up spending the evening with Lynn, Mike, Cori and Jamie, two couples camping with their kids from Antigonish. Needless to say... livers didn't get a break that night, and neither did our laughter. Thanks to you all, for sharing your fire, and for having us witness one of the most spectacular mustard fights of all time!

Post Nimrods... it's off to Taylor Bay provincial park for an afternoon of white sand and clear ocean laziness, before we made our way to Murphy's Bay to partake in mussel boils, community campfires, and catch up on  the weeks adventures with Nadeen and Mr. Cat. ( She was the person who told us about this little jem of a place, and with our campsite on a hill overlooking the ocean, we're very grateful she shared this location with us!!! ) We got to spend two very relaxing , lazy days here before heading back to Halifax for Rob's 15 minute gig.

The gig :   The band got their name, Sexy Democratic, in the same way the band itself was formed. Pull two words out of a hat, put them together, and there, you have  your name. Hence, Sexy Democratic was born. The whole night was high entertainment, and it was amazing to see what some of the bands came up with in the short time they had to jam together. Some good, some bad, all fun. Sexy Democratic practiced for all of 3  hours or so, and came up with three different songs for the nights set. Various and eclectic, it was a challenging mix, with three widly varied musicians, ( both in age and genre, ) but all in all a fun set. Lots of people met, and with parking right out front of the venue, it allowed us a night of free camping. ( Yay! )

From Halifax, we jumped our touring selves around Peggy's cove, Annapolis, ( Digby scallops....oh how I love thee..... ) spent two glorious scallop digesting nights with a beautiful view at Blomidon park, and then tucked in for  a night at the Five Islands provincial park, high on a hilltop, watching the sun go down on another day.

In so few words, how does one describe Nova Scotia?  Busy citys, quaint villages, colorful cottages aside, its the landscape that really blows us away. Maybe its the artist in me coming out here, but from electric green rolling fields, to windswept golden hills, terracotta red cliffs and deep blue ocean, the contrast is amazing. Words fail me here... the color speaks for itself. (As does the seafood..... )

Until the next blog, PEI and all things Anne....

C, R, and Sir. V.