Prime Berth

 July 30, 2023

Peyton's Wood CG site 11

Twillingate, NL

"Dad, my paws are chilly.  Did you say 58 degrees?  This is the end of July. Don't you mean 85?  I agree, it is definitely a 'fireplace on' morning!"

Usually, the morning greets us with high 60's to low 70's, but it is a cloudy morning with rain during the night so it is a bit chillier.

Ah, Momma has the perfect solution.  Time to heat up the convection oven and make biscuits.  It's a win, win.  A bit of heat for the rig and hot biscuits to top off with some of those jams Momma picked up at the Craft Shop at Grand Codroy RV/tent CG.  Black Currant and Partridgeberry with Apple and Rubarb.  Can I have one, too?  Please!!  Maybe one of each?  At least I asked this time rather than helping myself like I did a couple of mornings ago when,  I confess, I just couldn't help myself.  You both turned your backs and left that cream cheese right on the island.  I know I got carried away and licked that wrapper clean after devouring the 1/4 of the package that was left in the wrapper. It was a good way to begin my day.  After all, if it is good for you, it must be even better for me...until you have to spoil it by reprimanding me.  That tends to give me just a touch of indigestion.  

Our campground is full.  That is probably because of the Fantasy Tour group who are here.

  Momma said there are only 58 sites and 25 are taken up with the tour group.  There is even a small pull behind parked by the gazebo.  I guess that's the overflow area??

I guess it's a good thing we made our reservations early.

It was still 59 at 10am and the beginnings of drizzle weather but the 2-legged didn't let it slow them down.  They headed out to do more exploring of the area.  

The Visitor's Center provided them with a nice map of Twillingate but it lists the streets, not the location of any attractions.  The young gentleman behind the desk was kind enough to mark our map for us.

Deciding to check out Prime Berth Museum, they headed down Rt 340. 

Uncle Steve said he could just picture how all this came about.  The wife said, 'Honey, get that stuff out of the garage!!"  So Captain Dave built some sheds.  Moved all the old treasures into it and began charging admission.   

Momma said she figured he got tired of fishing and cutting cod so he decided to make his living off the tourists.  He has boats he uses for iceberg tours or fishing tours in addition to his museum and gift shop.  The videos were a nice touch and made the tour more of a self-guided affair.  

Captain Dave decided to name his establishment Prime Berth in honor of all the fishermen.  Every year as fishing season would begin, the fishermen would gather in someone's kitchen and hold a drawing to see where the men would be fishing that season.  Of course every fisherman was hoping to draw the Prime Berth ~ best fishing location, so he would have a good income that season. 

We had asked the Visitor Staff Member where the 'locals eat' and he listed two choices.  We decided to give Annie's a try.

  Everyone was satisfied with their meal. Momma did say though she still hasn't found a seafood chowder that can match St. Martins delicious chowder.

They say you should never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, so after departing Annie's, it seemed to be the perfect time to shop.... with full bellies. Foodland was the next stop.  If you don't give a thought about brand or size, you can most likely find the item you are looking for.

Momma fed her bread starter this morning.  She had run out of potato flakes and all she could find at the previous co-op was a packet that surprised her.  It has herbs in it.  Today's store only offered that same brand...with herbs.

  Who knows, we may have accidentally discovered a real treat...or not??  Time will tell.

Maybe I'll get to eat the bread if the two-legged are disappointed in the outcome.  I'm really not that fussy an eater.

I'm Chloe

Twillingate

 July 29, 2023

Peyton's Wood RV Park site 11

Twillingate, NL

Dad said he can't understand why they didn't use the money they spent on signage stating 'potholes ahead' and just purchase filler and patch up those holes.  Some are quite deep and large!!  Then we would come upon a stretch of road that smoothed right out so you could sit back and enjoy the ride.  It was a mixture of pot holed sections and smooth traveling sections today.  Forget trying to even hold a camera steady on the rougher sections of road!!

We woke up to wet ground as it had rained during the night, but we were fortunate to travel without rain.

Dad made an observation as we traveled the highway lined with trees.  "There certainly isn't a shortage of Christmas trees here!"

There was also an abundance of white birch trees.

I know Dad was happy to see the Twillingate sign as he knew he would be getting out from behind the wheel.

But not quite as quickly as he had hoped....

It finally happened.  We were really building up our confidence in our latest/newest GPS when today it let us down.  For some reason, when we arrived in Twillingate, it had us turn on Rink Road and then it wanted us to take the second right. NO WAY!!  That road was loaded with cars, parked on both sides of the road, who were attending an event at the hockey rink.  People were carrying take out containers back to their cars.....maybe a dinner fun raising event??

After calling the campground and not getting a strong enough connection to get directions, we thought we were doomed but the gal could hear us and she called us back.  This time the connection allowed us to receive directions.  As we began to follow her instructions, that doggone GPS began to guide us the same way as the verbal directions the gal gave us.  Go figure that one out!!   No request to reroute us back to where we should never have been....just the correct routing directions.  Mind boggling!!  Just and extra challenge for the day.

We had set up, kicked back in our camp chairs, enjoyed some refreshments, and just finished cleaning the bugs off the nose of our rig when it began to rain.  It was time to go inside and make an early dinner anyway.

The weather had cleared by the time we had finished dinner so the two-legged decided to grab dessert at the place they had passed on the way into Twillingate.

  Yep, it was the perfect ending to the evening meal.

Now tell me, what's the first thing you do in a new location?  Go exploring of course.   So they rode down by the water.

As you can see, Twillingate is located on the water.  Our campground is not on the water.  It is back on the far side of this cove.

I was so tickled when they finally returned from their excursion in time for their nightly game and my nightly treats from Aunt Carol.  Yummy💞

I'm Chloe

Travel day to Robert's Arm

 July 27, 2023

Crescent Lake CG site 39

Robert's Arm, NL

Man oh man did Momma take pictures today.  She took so many on our travels here that her phone got hot.  She had to purchase more space for all the photos she has been gathering in her Google Photos App.  The views were once again enchanting.  Add Newfoundland to your bucket list. You have to view it first hand to really appreciate it.  Dad said he hasn't ever seen so many bodies of water as he did in our 4 hour drive today.

The ride began with that rocky, mountainous terrain that the western area of Newfoundland is known for.  Judy, the travel agent told us that those mountains are actually part of the Appalachian Mountains that we are familiar with in Tennessee.

As we began to head east into what is known as the Central Area, we saw more trees and bodies of water.  Loads of evergreens and white birch trees.

There are some long stretches of what appears to be unoccupied areas and then there are populated areas, especially around the larger bodies of water such as Deer Lake area.

Ski Resort

Can you make out the blue Walmart sign?

We found a convenient fuel station right along the highway in Deer Lake that was and easy in - easy out setup.

There even was a craft shop attached to the building.  It was obvious there is a talented painter in the area.  They also sold jams, pickles, and of course warm knitted items.

Our campground, Crescent Lake is 30amp and water only but we are just making an overnight stop on our way to Twillingate.  Actually, the water comes from the lake so the recommendation is to boil first before consuming.  Dad said we had enough water on board so he didn't even hook up our water hose.  Quick and easy set up!!

Uncle Steve found a chair to rest in at this campground.

Aunt Carol couldn't decide if she wanted to sit or dip her toes in the lake.

Dad decided the most comfortable place to take a nap was in his recliner in our rig.

There is only one major highway in Newfoundland, TCH 1 (Trans Canada Highway 1) which is the red line on the map.

We entered Newfoundland in the lower left corner at Port aux Basques.  We spent our first two nights in Doyles at Grand Codroy RV/Tent Camping Park.  Today we followed TCH 1 to South Brook where we turned onto route 380 and traveled to Robert's Arm.  Tomorrow's destination is Twillingate.

Momma is sure enjoying the scenery!!  I'm just along for the ride and enjoying new smells when we stop.  Momma said I won't smell any skunks, raccoons, porcupines or snakes.  She read a fact sheet that stated there are non living on the island of Newfoundland.

I'm Chloe

Day two: Checking out Port aux Basques and Margaree

 July 27, 2023

Grand Codroy RV and tent site 2

Doyle, NL

Today's focus was to do some preplanning for our August 16th ferry departure.  We are scheduled on the 6:30am ferry which means we need to be at the ticket booth/entrance gate in Port aux Basques between 2:30am and 4:30am.  Trying to avoid night driving, we were scouting out a nearby place to park from sundown until we enter the ferry gate.  

We were thinking we might be able to stay at the Visitor Center lot again, but that parking lot isn't level so no slides can be deployed.  The campground owner shared that some have parked at the mall.  Another camper had mentioned a service station. 

Now if you ask me, the REAL reason they were heading off to Port aux Basques was to stop in at the Canadian Tire store that was spotted when we arrived in Newfoundland.

The first route taken, was the route that would take us to the ferry gate.  Signage was excellent and it was decided, even in the dark, could be located without any mishaps or wrong turns.

Next stop was a large level parking lot at a train museum.  Seeing as we would be in the lot after the museum closed, it looked like it might be an option.  Aunt Carol went inside and had an enlightening conversation with the attendants.  Tickets can be awarded/given out to those who 'camp' in the store lots.  Well, we really aren't camping....we just need a place to 'hang out' for about 5 or 6 hours....from sunset to 2:30am.  We aren't spending the day and interfering with paying customers.

The service station might be okay for vans and truck campers, but not two rigs our size. 

And then the mall, which has two anchor stores: Foodland and a variety store with a bank, flower/gift shop, clothing boutique, restaurant, hair salon, fabric store and a couple of empty stores making up the rest of the mall.  The parking lot was large and after hours should be empty...but once again....there is that possible ticket issue....so........

Uncle Steve took us back to the ferry ticket booth to inquire if it would be possible to arrive early.  After chatting with the agent, it was decided that option 1 will be the ferry gate.  If there is room inside the loading lanes, they will let us in early.  If there is no room, we can park outside the gate, provided the space is open and not occupied by other ferry travelers.  Not an overwhelming amount of room there.   Option 2 will be to use museum lot and pay the fine if we get ticketed.  Options 3 and 4 will be the mall parking lot and the visitor center lot.   Mission accomplished!!

Of course the next stop was......Candian Tire

Taking the jeep today was a good decision as the parking lot was petite.  The store may not have had much square footage, but they had loads of inventory strategically stocked on the shelves.  And right next door....just walk right over....was the Home Hardware Store which didn't carry near the inventory of Canadian Tire but it did have an item Uncle Steve was shopping for.

Our check out gal, Tonya Harvey was a hoot.  She told the story about how she absolutely hated to shop at Canadian Tire with her husband, and now just look where she is employed!!

She said we just had to eat at Seashore Restaurant in nearby Margaree out on Route 470 before we leave the area.  "The food is the best you'll find around.  It's to die for!"   When Momma asked her what her favorite meal was, she said EVERYTHING is delicious...outstanding!!  And good sized portions.   It was quite a successful review/sales pitch.

Yep, the gang headed toward Margaree to check out Seashore Restaurant.  

 

They arrived just after the restaurant had opened for the day and there was only one gal on duty at that time, although two more arrived while they were there.  It was a very laid back, slow, casual atmosphere.  In other words, everyone was seated and left to study the menu.... for quite a while.  The waitress finally returned with a ...I did't forget about you.  

Cod for three and a burger for Dad. (There is something about fish that seems to bring back memories of hugging the porcelain bowl the night his meal disagreed with him.)

Now our review made us wonder if Tonya has a connection to this restaurant??  Maybe it is all in what you are used to.  It was average which means we have enjoyed better meals, but it wasn't over the top to us as Tonya had raved.  We enjoyed the meals, but they weren't really memorable.  

But we enjoyed touring Margaree and enjoyed driving the streets lined with houses and the views in the background.

It is a very different landscape that hasn't grown tiring yet.

As the gang headed back to me, they noticed that the Visitor Center was open.  Yesterday it was closed due to ongoing maintenance.  Not only were they open, but knowledgeable Judy was tending the counter

 and she shared loads of history as well as current info.  What a treat!!  She is definitely in the right job😉

The gang made a day of it but they did get back to me in time for a late afternoon game of ball.

Once again, Auntie Carol brought me my evening treats when she and Uncle Steve dropped in to play Swoop. 

Travel day tomorrow....

I'm Chloe