Thursday 3 August 2017

Holly HIKE!!! (Monday, July 10th)

It's a beautiful day to wake up by the ocean!  We have a jammed packed schedule today.  Another reminder that the time wasted with the truck really altered our plans.  We would love to spend more time here and would have had the luxury of time but right now we are squeezed for time.  We have a lot of things to do today and we want to be in St John's tonight (3 hours away).  Me and Gab take the time to go play by the ocean while Justin finishes to close up the trailer.  Our iceberg that we nicknamed the Twin Towers moved closer to us overnight.  The towers are not as big as they were when we first got here though.  Off we go! We head on through the beautiful village of Bonavista.  Justin really is in love with the beautiful houses.  We are really happy happy that the weather is so nice.  We are going to hike the Skerwink trail this morning.  A 5.3km moderate to difficult hike that has been rated in the top 25 hikes in North America and Europe by the ... .magazine.  We have prepped Gaby and she is ready to go and assures us she will do it without even 'chialer' (complaining)! As we get closer to Port Rexton, we are a little saddened because there is a good fog layer.  We stop at a gas station where we think we have to turn to get to the start of the trail and the attendant tells us we should leave our trailer here as there isn't much room.  So we unhook the trailer and head out.  Once we arrive, Justin realizes he forgot his hiking boots in the truck.  So he heads back with Bones and I start the trail with Gaby and James.  Within the first 2km we are blown away.   The fog is far enough and we are spoiled by the views.   Not only is the view beautiful but there are whales putting on a show for us!! We wait there for Justin to catch up to us and are entertained by the whales while we wait.  The entire hike is beautiful.  I wouldn't rate is as difficult but there are many steps and it is up and down a lot.  I decide to keep James on my back!  Training for the race in September!!  We are very proud of Gaby who does it all with no complaints! We came across a few people on the trail but it's a joy to share this beautiful site with everyone else who love it just as much as we do.  The free whale show is so much fun....we could sit there all day trying to spot them.  Once we are done, we stop at the trailer for a quick bite to eat and to the next village - Trinity.  First, we go to the lighthouse that we had a beautiful view of on our hike this morning.  James is sleeping and he hasn't napped all day so I let Justin and Gab go and explore.  Next, we go to Trinity.  I didn't really know what to expect and was imagining a real life Upper Canada Village but without people in character.  We went to the houses that we included with our Provincial park pass and skipped out on the others as it was already 4 and everything was closing at 5.  It was nice but I could have skipped it.  Justin on the other hand appreciated it.  We leave to pick up our trailer and I suggest we stop and eat on the way in order to break up the drive.  I promise Gab that we will grab an ice cream when we get the change.  We pass Clarenville and bad mistake on my part, there is nothing else along the way.  The kids are being really good.  Justin on the other hand is not a happy camper.  He is hangry!  About 60kms from St John's we pass a subway on the highway but this time he just drives by.  I think we just want to push through and get to St John's.  About 20mins away, James starts crying screaming but he passes out in no time.  Poor thing he is tired.  We arrive at Pippy Park in St John's.  The camping attendant is not pleasant and charges me 250+.  I question it after she has put my card through and she had us booked for 6 nights.  Her mistake as there were 2 Paquette's booked in.  Then we head to our site and it's too small.  Now, we are tired!  We go back, have our site changed for the pull through sites.  Setup and another snag.  They only have a 50amp plug and we don't have a converter.  We want to go pick up food anyways so we google Canadian Tire and are off.  None at Canadian Tire, none at Walmart across the road but we do pick up a chicken meal at Swiss Chalet.  Feed everyone and bedtime!








Tuesday 1 August 2017

Rain (Saturday, July 8th)

Pouring rain this morning as the weather man predicted.  It's ok because our plan is to travel towards the Bonavista peninsula and might as well be driving when it's raining.  I wanted to go to a lookout as we travelled through Terra Nova Park but no sense on this gloomy day.  Justin had made the comment earlier in our travels that we had yet to see any milking farms.  Someone had told them that they were all on the eastern part of the island.  He just finishes saying that we are far east now and still no farms when we cross our first farm!  We would love to boondock tonight but I want a back up just in case so I look up campsites.  There are no campsites close to Cape Bonavista and there is one in Trinity.  By the time we arrive in Trinity it is downpouring.  We decide to go ask if they have a spot for us.  The man feels bad because there is no way we would can fit in their campsite.  He makes our decision easy...we turn around and head just a few kms away where we saw a spot to pull over on the small highway.  Of course, it is coming down hard when we set up the trailer.  Justin is soaked once he is finished.  We all strip down. Gaby even puts on her 'Meagan Trainor' giraffe onesie.  Turn up the heat and settle in for the afternoon.  We have a UNO Stanley cup playoff game! That's what we call it when we play first one to 4 :)  By late afternoon the rain slows down to a drizzle and we decide to take a drive out towards Bonavista.  I miss the turnoff towards Elliston but it's a loop so we start with Cape Bonavista instead of Elliston.  WOW!!! Cape Bonavista is breathtaking.  We didn't expect the village to be as big.  It's a 2000-2500 population.  I guess I should have noticed on the map but I never clued in.  We head towards the lighthouse.  As we are longing the coast we pass a sign that says 'free parking' with a fifth wheel parked there.  There is enough room for another 2-3 more trailers.  This spot is unbelievable.  We stop at the little ice cream shop across the road to inquire.  The kind lady says 'Welcome to Newfoundland boy'!  You come and park your trailer no problem!'.  Boy!! This spot is too sweet not to pass up, we will head back to our spot and bring the trailer up here.  I'm kind of upset that we didn't drive up here with the trailer but how were we to know.  On our way back we pass through Dungeon Provincial Park.  James is sleeping, so me and Gab take a sneak and confirm that we will stop in again tomorrow for everyone to enjoy.  On our way home we will stop in Elliston that is not only the root cellar capital of the world but where the Parks Canada lady told us it was a sure bet to spot puffins.  We see root cellars scattered here and there along the highway and then find 'THE' puffin viewing site.  We leave Bones in the truck.  Justin says he won't scare them away but once we get to the entrance of the site they of course don't allow dogs.  It's a small walk and we get excited thinking there is a puffin a few feet away from other tourists.  Jokes on us...it's someone with a camera big enough to see life on other planets that has a stuffed puffin!  Real puffins!!! Yes, now we see them!  There are hundreds of them if not thousands on the small island next to us.  Puffins are very small but we have a good view of them.  It's a wonder why they stay where they are.  It's almost like there is an imaginary line they won't cross but it is very cool to see them.  Gab was really excited to see them but I think it was anti-climactic for her.  Not sure why.  She may have thought they were bigger.  We head back to the trailer.  It's getting late, so we decide to feed the kids and get them ready for bed and travel after that.  James falls asleep on the way and miss Gaby stays up until we arrive.  We can't believe no one else has taken up the spots!  The turn to get in is tight and I don't know why I stress because Justin can always pull it off.  Kids in bed and all setup, Justin heads over the little ice cream shop across the road and grabs us supper.  We like to support the kind people who allow us to park for free and we really don't feel like cooking.  I love the name of the ice cream shop 'The little Dairy King'!  Cute.  We can't wait to enjoy the view when things clear up tomorrow morning!


Free view - amazing!

Saturday 29 July 2017

TERRA NOVA - Friday, July 7th

Eager to go this morning.  It's back to tourist mode and Justin is scared that I will be worst than usual with all the time we wasted.  I'm not that bad.  We get going and are the visitor centre for 9:45.  I am really surprised with their hours of operation.  They only open at 10.  While we are waiting to go in, I hear the boat tour operator speaking about icebergs and puffins.  PUFFINS???!!! Gaby has been talking about puffins since day 1.  It's the one big thing we have not seen yet.  Gaby is convinced they are in St Johns but I keep telling her that I don't know where to see them.  Well, this tour operator promises me that we can see them located besides the park.  There are no French tours and we prefer to visit the park so we head inside and are surprised by another touch tank.  Gab loves touching everything she can in the tank. 

We take a bit of a detour to go take a picture in the red chairs.  Next we head to Ochre Hill and climb up the communication tower to see amazing views of the park.  Gaby rarely backs out but she doesn't climb all the way up.  She waits for us at a smaller lookout below.  There is a lady there that chats up a storm with Gab.  It is so windy at the top of the lookout....we have lots of fun up there.






We then head to Sandy Pond for a small hike around - you guessed it! - a pond!  Tons of pitcher plants and beautiful flowers.  We have an encounter with a Grouse.  It literally scared me and I got a great gopro video ;)    Bones has a great swim and we head back for lunch.

Next stop is the East Port Beaches.  Gaby wants to swim but the water is WAY too cold!
Back to the trailer for supper and Justin and Gab play shuffleboard.

Then we have another uno stanley cup playoff - mel is champ tonight...gab better at loosing.




mom, dad, jack and lynda facetime
anthony call

Thursday 27 July 2017

Anger & Euphoria! (Thursday, July 6th)

We never heard from 'Tony our Saviour' (that's how his number shows up on my phone!).  Justin gives him a call at 8 and he tells him that he will be coming by this morning.  It's a long waiting game.  Justin hangs out with James while I get the trailer cleaned up!  The wait for Tony is killing both of us slowly!   He finally shows up and tells us that his boss is having him fly out to Halifax on a last minute trip.  He has to go check out tractors at an auction.  We are beyond discouraged.  He feels extremely bad and tells us to not change the injectors without verifying them first.  He tried calling around for someone to see us but hasn't been able to find someone.  He leaves and feels horrible and tells us he will come and see us on his return if we are not gone.

We have only one option left.  We have an appointment at Goobies tomorrow morning but I tell Justin to just drive out there and beg!  If we need a part, finding out on a Friday afternoon will do us no good especially here in the middle of the ROCK. 

I am left behind stressing out like crazy.  At least james is sleeping and Gaby is playing with the girls.
She goes to get ice cream with the girls grandparents in the top down Mustang.  At least our kids are having fun. 

Tony calls with another idea.  Nice man to feel so bad for us and try to help us as much as he can.

Justin tells me that they will plug the truck after lunch.  He calls me back and says that they are calling the engineers....  LONGEST WAIT EVER!!!

HE ARRIVES AND WE HEAR THE DISTINCT LOUD SOUND OF THE TRUCK.  CALL ME CRAZY BUT SHE SOUNDS LIKE HER SWEET OLD SELF!!  YES THE TRUCK IS RUNNING!!! AND IT SOUNDS PERFECT!!!!

Notes for today...
Ready to pack up
anger.... (can't believe we were stuck for so long...and for nearly nothing)
bike rack not working
campsite gives me a break on camping fees
someone waiting for our site
head out!!!
call mom and dad, mrs w, jord, my sister and liane - SO HAPPY
call to eastport because neighboors said it was nice.
the drive feels fast for me..not justin.
campsite is hideous but who cares.
you know we are tired....pulls away with cables on.
Talk to copain...he got the job, they called for reference..so happy for him
talk to kevin and Brandy!! congrats!!!
we call kuz, graham, jamie, all to explain the BS


Wednesday 26 July 2017

(Wednesday, July 5th)

Wake up and hoping today is the day.  Tony calls and says he has to finish the job but he will work on our truck at the latest tomorrow. We head into town to pick up our parts at the shipping depot and stop at the grocery store.  Justin drops off Gab and I at the grocery store while he goes with James to NAPA to pick up some screws that Tony wanted him to have.  He calls me and says the truck is running REALLY rough so he heads back to the camper.  Our neighbor had told us that we could borrow her car so he asks if he can borrow it to come pick us up. It's a beautiful day at the campsite.  We cook up a pizza and have lunch outside.  James is everywhere!!! Justin decides to fix our bike rack because we are convinced that we will be ready to hit the road soon.  James plays with the tool kit.  It keeps him busy for a while.  He is always wanting to climb on something, escape under the trailer or eat rocks!

We don't hear from Tony.  By 1845, Justin calls him up and gets his voicemail.  We leave him a message asking if his job went well today and if he thinks he will be able to work on the truck tomorrow.  We don't hear back from him.  At least Gaby has found friends.  There has been two older girls at the trailer across from us and as much as Gab has tried to play with them they seemed shy.  Finally today,  they have clicked and played tons.  So much that Gab didn't stop till 830.  We gave her a quick bite to eat before she headed to bed.  We had been trying to get in at a garage called Goobys and they could only see us on Friday...worried about our faith in Tony, I ask Justin if we still have that appointment. He does!!! At least we have that to count on!!! Let's hope Tony pulls through tomorrow!!! Good night and say a little prayer for us!!!

Tuesday 25 July 2017

Independance day...not for us (July 4th)

FML!!!!!!!!!  Justin is up bright and early to head into town to pick up the bike rack we took to the shop to alter so that it would be above the tailgate of the truck. On his way back he calls Good Sams, our roadside assistance. Everything should be ready to go as we set it all up this weekend when we called and spoke to them.  But what would you know, the B!^*&* who dispatched us last week put a note on our file that said we could not request another tow because she couldn't get confirmation from the service provider that they would accept us.  There was no other option...NOTHING is open in Newfoundland on a Sunday.  There is no way she would have gotten a response from anyone.  When Justin returns to the trailer and tells me that, I pretty much lose my mind.  I get on the phone even though I am pretty sure it won't change a thing but losing my mind on someone might make me feel better.  Of course, the dispatcher tells me right away that my husband just called and that she can't tow us.  I ask to speak with the supervisor and Micheal, the supposedly supervisor, gives me the same run around.  I explain to him how on our first tow, they didn't even send a truck that was capable of towing our trailer and that it was a single cab that couldn't take the kids.  AND NOW!!! You won't even tow me after we arranged everything on the weekend.  He says that we have to talk to customer service...oh wait...it's the 4th of July.  It's closed.  Why were we not towed on the weekend?  Because it was July 1st, our National holiday.  I am losing my mind and explain to him that I know he has no clue where Newfoundland is (first time they sent the tow they though they would have to send us by boat and mentioned PEI - ignorant people!!! I am so angry! Can you tell!!!) but to draw him a picture it is like we are in the most northern part of Alaska and make that part an ISLAND!  There is no getting through to him.  His 'computer' tells him he can't tow us so M. Supervisor, who has no power, can't do anything for me!  Well, let me tell you Good Sams will hear from us.

So now what do we do?  Pay for our own tow.  Let's sit, relax and analyze the situation.  There is an older couple on the campsite who ask us everyday how things are going.   Last night when we told them that we were getting towed to Gander, the man told us his son has a tow company there.  We didn't know.  He then makes phone calls and his sons gave Justin a few names to call.  One son actually said that the dealership in Gander had a great Diesel mechanic.  Justin calls the Gander dealership - can't see us for THREE weeks.  Oh boy!  They refer us to another garage - Husseys.  We call them up and they can squeeze us in this afternoon (now does Justin take the chance and try to drive the truck the 100kms on HWY1).  We also call a local guy who tells us he will call us back in an hour.  In the meantime, Justin calls Smithy's who was so kind to help us out last week.  He says that he thinks the 'Husseys' garage should be good.  We have to return the rental to the dealership.  We head out and Tony, the guy who said was going to call us back tells us he can swing by the campsite in 10mins.  We turn around and meet Tony at the trailer.  He listens to the truck and is pretty sure we have some injectors that are out. He pulls out a Dewalt drill and removes the cover for the injectors.  Within 10mins he tells us that 2 injectors are out.  Gives us a few shops that could have them for us and he can probably fix it for us.  I am a bit worries...this man out of his truck is going to fix our problem after the dealership has had our truck for a week!  Justin is convinced that this man knows what he is doing.  So, again, phone calls to find the parts.  Pat at Active Green & Ross helps us out but the parts store the man recommended has the parts in St Johns and for a good price.  Order them up and they will be shipped overnight.  We decide to buy 6 injectors.  Hoping we will only use 2 but better be safe than sorry.  By this time, James is sleeping so Justin decides to return the rental and ride is bike back home.  He comes back with a small victory.  They had the balls to hand him a nearly 500$ bill.  He used his calm voice and explained to 'Sonya' that he was not paying.  I wish I could have seen him in action.  He repeatedly used her first name and tells her how nothing that the dealership has done has even come close to fixing our problem after we are out 3000$.  She cuts the bill in half because they had quoted him 2hrs to change the main injector pump.  He still refuses to pay.  Story is. he is so good that she is the one yelling and she rips up the invoice.  Small victory but really there was no doubt we were ever paying for zero services rendered. We had the keys to our broken truck anyways.  Back at the trailer we are pretty discouraged.  Not super nice out.  We make it through the day and have nothing left to do but to laugh at the situation.  Gab and Justin play a game of shuffleboard.  We both don't have it in us to make supper but yet nothing is calling our name.  I think we are pretty much 'écoeuré!'.  We whip up some guac (James loves Guac) and Gaby requests quinoa  (what a kid!).  UNO tournament for the 3 of us.  Gab loses bad.  She is such a sore loser.  We are trying to fix that but not sure what way to handle it.  I am happy she wants to win but we try to explain to her that in order to have a winner, there has to be a loser and sometimes that might be you. Tony gives us a call and says that he has to finish a job tomorrow and that he will do his best to get to us afterwards.  He also makes sure that Justin gets some extra bolts in case he can't re-torque them (this gives Justin more confidence that he knows what he's doing).  This afternoon, Justin made a call to Chrysler Canada.  The customer service agent on the other end was in disbelief and felt bad for our situation.  Her answer in the end...."dealerships are independently owned Sir, there is nothing we can do!".  This is so upsetting.  We don't understand how they have no control over their "brand".  Graham put out some phone calls as well.  Time will tell if they look into the situation.

Sunday 23 July 2017

GIANT SQUIDS (Monday, July 3rd)

I wake up thinking that we should get towed today so that we are ready for the garage to work on the truck Tuesday morning.  Justin, brings me back to reality and makes me realize that we have our rental that needs to be returned tomorrow.  Ah! I just want to get things going.  At least today we can also continue our exploration - Leading Tickles here we come.  We drive up Route 350 and make our first stop in Glover's Harbour where they have the Giant Squid Interpretation Site.  They have a life-sized replica of a 55-foot giant squid caught along the shore here in 1878.  There is a cute small building with history and information on giant squids along with a gift shop.  Two youngers girls are running the site for the summer.



Next, we continue north to Leading Tickles.  I guess that it will be just as or even more beautiful than Twillingate as it doesn't looked geared towards tourism as all. Good guess! It's a quaint little village with high cliffs overlooking the seas. There are a few icebergs left which once again get us excited.  I don't think they will ever get 'old' to us.  We first head out to OceanView Park.  It's a campsite and they charge us 5$ admission to come in and walk the trails.  We decide to brave Bear Head Lookout.  It takes you to a 200-foot lookout to view the ocean!  You know it's a steep climb when they put skidoo tracks to help you out walking up!



Gaby climbs to the top and tells us to go faster, wish I could bottle up her energy.  Meanwhile, James thinks Justin is his donkey.  He is kicking and laughing the whole way up.  He is really loving his backpack ride today.  We are rewarded with a stunning 360 degree view. The scenery doesn't get old.  Once back down, we walk to the rock beach and it's finally nice enough to put our feet in the water.  Gaby convinces me that the water is not that cold and she's actually right.  Refreshing!  Gab wants to stop at the playground so we let her play while we check out the view from the other side of the peninsula.  There are a few more hikes we could do and Gaby notices them all!  We just don't have it in us.



The weather changed quickly and it starting raining a bit so we decided to drive around the little village and grab a few more iceberg pictures.  There are 3 young guys playing on a seadoo.... too bad the thing is smoking so much, or else I would have asked if they could drive me out to the iceberg.  We would have stopped for food but there is nothing around here so we head back south and pass through Point Leamington.  The one restaurant is closed so we keep going and think we can grab some food beside the river on the other side of the village.  It has a beautiful waterfall and many fishermen were trying to fish salmon.  The small museum/kitchenette there only has tea, coffee, muffins and cookies.  Too bad because it would have been a good spot for a picnic.  The little old ladies in there tell me the restaurants in the village are closed on Mondays.


It's only 20kms to Botwood and the lady tells me there is a Mary Browns there.  They have this fast food joint everywhere on the island.  We think it's a fried chicken place and we aren't in the mood for that so we stop at foodland and grab some ready made wraps!  Head down by the ocean and park to enjoy the view while we eat.  Catch up with a little facetime with Nanny and Mami & Pepere.  If it wasn't for the truck problems, this is an area we would have not seen.  At least these last 3 days were not lost.


The plan is to call the tow truck early tomorrow morning so I head into town with gab to find a laundromat so that we can get it all done in one shot.  We can't find it so we make a stop at the grocery store and head back.  I start the laundry at the campsite facilities and Justin cooks up some yummy steaks for supper.

Justin gets all our stuff outside ready to go and I have stuff hanging all over the trailer trying to dry our clothes as the dryers are not great.  Justin called the tow truck place we saw in Gander again to tell them that we would call our roadside in the morning and confirms again that they can work on our truck.  We also ask if they can park our trailer next to their shop and they say they will figure something out.  Off to bed confident that tomorrow will be a better day and we will soon be moving.

Saturday 22 July 2017

Gander (Sunday, July 2nd)

Off to Gander we go.  About a 50min drive from our campsite today.  Both Justin and I are excited to go visit the Gander Aviation museum.  When we pass it on the highway we both look at each other and chuckle.  I am not sure why but we were both expecting this fancy looking museum.  As we drive past it, it looks like an old garage.  We want to drive by the dealership and have a look to see if they have many diesel vehicles on the lot.  It might give us insight as to whether someone can work on our truck here.  We drive by a towing and repair shop that advertised Gas & Diesel repair.  They also have a four door tow truck that could take the truck, trailer and all of us to Gander. We might give them a call and see if they have the software to work on the truck.  We decide to go to the grocery store and pick up and eat lunch there.  A nice couple stops us and asks about Bones.  Airedale lovers!  Bones is often been mistaken for a labra-doodle on this trip.  We've never really had that in the past but we think it's because of the growing popularity of that breed.  Rarely does someone know what an Airedale is.  Nice to meet fellow Airedale owners.  Justin gives that tow truck company a call.
I figured since they were a tow truck company they would answer on a Sunday and given our situation, I felt it was ok to try and set things up in advance and see if they could help us out with our truck.  The man is pretty confident that they have the capabilities so we might try and get towed there.  We head back to the museum.  We were wrong to judge a book by its cover.  We both really enjoyed the museum.  I feel like it only scratched the surface and could have gone into more detail but really well done.  Gander is known as an airport town.  It was chosen in 1935 for its location close to the northeast tip of North America.  During the war, the population grew to as many as 10000.  Following the wars, it was used as a refueling stop for transatlantic flights hence its nickname 'Cross-roads of the world'.   The museum didn't really cover how Gander recovered from the airline industry no longer needing refueling points but the city seems to be doing well.  One section of  the museum is dedicated to the people of Gander and their actions during 911.  42 flights were diverted here when the US closed their airspace and 6600 passengers were stranded here for 4 days.  One part that I really enjoyed was the section on ATC (air traffic control) and the volume they handled that day.  Oh how I miss my old job!



Just like my old work station! Strips for miles!





Our next destination was the Silent Witnesses Memorial.  It is a very beautiful homage to the horrific air accident of 1985 where 256 individuals lost their lives.  The plane was a charter returning peacekeepers from the 101st Air-born Division Screaming Eagles from the Sinai Peninsula.

On our way back through town, I suggested we check out the Gander campsite.  Worth the detour to assure ourselves that we definitely do not want to be stranded there.  We decide that it will be much better to park at Wal-Mart than to stay here.  Not a nice campground at all.  We head further north to Jonathan's pond campground and decide against this campground as well.  It is too far and there is no cell service which will make our difficult situation unmanageable.  Justin has a great idea to visit the MP section (military police) followed by maybe the RCMP.  He's hoping to be
greeted by a Bagotville type dispatcher (a dodoll, a M. Noel or a M. Turgeon).  These were some of his dispatchers in Bagotville and they would know their town and know where to send us for help.  Well, what do you know! Our luck just keeps getting better.  He is greeted by a young lad, just graduated from the academy, who has been here less than 3 months! And to top it off, the dispatcher is an older lady who has no clue but to suggest the dealership.  His second idea of the RCMP is also a flop - Sunday afternoon - offices are closed.  We have nothing left to do but to laugh at our luck and head back to the campsite.  Justin cooks us up some delicious ribs, accompanied by our left overs from lunch!

(did we call good sams today or last night?) looking for a sign like kelly and paul pic (mon oncle moe)

Friday 21 July 2017

Happy 150th CANADA!!!! (Saturday, July 1st)

This morning, I take the time to sign up with uship.com.  In case it comes to this, I just want to see how much it would be to ship the trailer home.  Not dwelling on it this morning though because we are heading out.  Wow! It's like nothing ever happened.  We are on the road continuing our adventure.  We are on our way to Twillingate this morning.  It is a very touristy part of the island.  Famous for its icebergs and whales. We've seen our fare share so we are not convinced that it will be that spectacular but today will be a good day and we will have a great day!  After all it is Canada Day.  I must be out of practice because we miss a turn and make it all the way to Little Burnt Bay (where we see a burnt house....not funny but fitting).  Mom also calls and tells us that she called Good Sams describing our situation and she tells us that they say they would tow us all the way home.  Seems a little unbelievable but it could work to get us towed to another city.  We will give that a try later on tonight.

Today is also memorial day in Newfoundland.  In Lewisporte there is a ceremony and when I mention to Justin that I had heard on the radio that it is important to not forget that it is also Memorial day here (it is overshadowed by Canada Day), he knows right away what I am referring to.  My military history buff knows all of this.  We arrive in Twillingate and there are still a few icebergs to see.  Nothing like what we saw on the Northern peninsula but we still think they are beautiful.  Our first stop is at the supposedly most photographed lighthouse of Newfoundland.  We both don't understand because it is probably our least favorite.  It's unfortunate because the area is more of a tourist trap than anything.  Sure the shore line is beautiful but the area looks very much like a tourist trap and it is not charming like most other areas we visited.  We do a small hike. It's a rugged path and not stroller friendly so we decide to head back.

We drive through town and visit the campsite we had planned on staying at.  Boy, they have a way of making things look much nicer online.  From their site map online, a good portion of the sites look like they are right on the water.  Not at all.  Some sites have a view of the ocean and the campsite looks ok but far from what you expect when you look at their site map.  This is all good information for me to pass along to my parents as they are planning their Newfoundland trip for next year.  I'll be able to be their private holiday planner!  There is a winery in Twillingate and they have the cutest names for their wines.  They first got my attention when we were at the liquor store with their wine 'Fifty shades of Bay'.  I love play on words and I bought it just because of the name.  I told the cashier that and he said so many people do.  We stop in at the winery and decide to have lunch.  Unfortunately, James is not a happy camper and the service was terribly slow.  Justin ordered some seafood appetizers and we both had the fish and chips.  Unsure whether to get the pan or deep fried we ordered one of each and swapped.  I was surprised, but I liked the pan fried whereas Justin prefered the deep fried.  They offered a wine tour and tasting so we did that and then grabbed a few bottle of wines!  It will be a great thing to share with friends and family back home.  Again, so many cute names for their wine (12 gauge, Jellybean row (has the typical multicolored houses of St. John's on its label), moose joose, crooked cod, 3 sheets to the wind etc...)  Time to head back to the campsite.  On our way back we see 3 caribou running through a field along the Hwy.  We make a stop at the grocery store to pick up a ready made chicken. James is sleeping so Gaby and I head on in to pick it up.  I stop in at the camping office to ask where we could watch the fireworks.  The attendant has tons of Canada day stuff she is trying to get rid of.  I grab a bunch of Maple leaf tattoos.  Gaby has a blast with those.  We all put on tattoos and then we have a mini photo shoot!
 
 At around 9 we decide to head to the park for the fireworks.  When we get close to the park, we are amazed at the great spot we got to park.  We walk up a hill and are at the park. Joke is on us.  We could have parked way closer but for us this was like parking at the civic.  We find a nice spot on the hill and wait for the fireworks.  James falls asleep right before the start.  He doesn't move at all once they start.  We are spoiled as the fireworks are amazing.  They are really nice and it lasted a long time!  Miss Gaby is like Justin and really enjoys the show!  All in all, today was a great day as we did our best to forget our misfortune.

Moose count = 19 caribou = 9 whales= 2 Black Bears =  2


Monday 10 July 2017

Dodge has no clue... (Friday, June 30th)

Another day for Justin spent at the garage. Justin talks with the mechanic from Ottawa.  He truly believes the pump is not the issue but what else can we do.  I'm praying that this new pump will be the answer to all our problems.  Long story short - Big fat NO. The mechanic is useless and has no idea what to do next.  At 430 they pretty much tell Justin that they don't know what else to do for him.  They called around to garages in the area for advice.  Are you kidding me...the dealership can't figure things out. Now they have a vehicle for us.  No, you would think after everything they could just lend us a car from their lot seeing as there are tons just sitting there.  Oh no - We have to pay to rent the vehicle! This place is such a joke that it is hard to grasp that this isn't a dream.  At any rate, we now have a vehicle and we will be able to go and do some sightseeing this weekend.  Once Justin gets here with the car, I just want to get in it and go!  We have no where to go but I have cabin fever and want to be anywhere but at the campsite.  We head out and grab some groceries.  The long weekend is here.  The goal is to forget our woes and get as much sightseeing done while we can.

Everyone is helping!! (Thursday, June 29th)

We get a call from the Dodge dealership from Cornwall this morning.  Justin had called them yesterday just to get a little guidance.  The mechanic says he would be really surprised if it was the main injector pump and offers all the help he can to Justin.  Very nice of them.  Justin heads to the dealership to drop off the truck and comes back on his pedal bike.  They are calling the engineering departement at 10 so Justin heads back at 11.  The verdict now is that they still think it is the Main injector pump and could also be the Injectors!!! OMG!!! Not good.  But no way to tell! The pump has not arrived from Cornwall yet.  It's on the truck for delivery.  Justin is debating what  to do...but we have no choice.  We have to take the gamble and get it fixed.  While he is waiting for the part to arrive he decides to go to another garage he spoke to the other day and see if they can help out in any way.  The garage is in Bishop's Falls about 10kms away.  The owner is super and tries his best to help Justin.  He works on the truck all afternoon and tries to make sure that the problem really is the pump.  Unfortunately, they work on big trucks and they are not able to connect their computer to our truck.  He is able to check some stuff the old school way and checks this one part that our trusty mechanic back home really wanted to confirm.  The man feels bad for charging Justin 20$ for the springs he changed and gives him a t-shirt.  Wow!!! Now this is the Newfoundland we had been told about.  Smithy's garage! You guys are the best!!!  You meet the nicest people here..that's why the treatment at the Dodge dealer is so hard to swallow.  I guess we have no choice but to go back to the dealership in the morning and pray that somehow they are right and that it is the main injection pump!  Anyhow, I did my best at entertaining the kids.  We went to the park!  James is a little 'Maniac' like Gabers.  He climbs up the stairs to the slide and is all over the playground!  Both kids have a great time!  Justin is back at 5 with food in hand because I can't bring myself to cook.  After supper we take a walk to the park to show Justin how James has so much fun on the slide.  Then Gaby convinces us to do the hike to the nice falls.  We talk with Jamie from the campsite after supper.


He has a connection for us.  He knows one of the best Dodge Diesel mechanics in Ottawa so he tells us to call him in the morning.  It is so heart warming to see how everyone back home is trying to help.  Justin is in a mood!  He is off to bed before Gab even is.  So I use the time to clean up and reconnect with my girls!  Sex and the City movie for me!!!  Mon oncle Adrien calls us.  He also tries to see if he can help but as much as everyone back home is trying to do their best, we have no solution in sight.  Now let's hope tomorrow is a great day!  Uncle Moe!! I'm still counting on you! xox


Sunday 9 July 2017

Dealership - Stealership! (Wednesday, June 28th)

Please! today is the day we are set free and on our way.  The part is not expected before 11-noon, so I get up with the kiddos and Justin can sleep in.  Gab made some friends yesterday so she is having fun playing with them.  Justin heads into town, picks up the part and goes to the garage.  They are installing the actuator today - 500$ plus part.  He calls by 2:45 to tell me that it's bad news and that he is going to talk to the service manager and try to get some news.  At 4pm I am still impatiently waiting to see what is happening.  It started to rain at 3ish but Gab is playing with the girls in their trailer, and I am writing this as James just went down for a nap.  Really hope that we will know what is going on soon.  At any rate, we couldn't leave today because we have to wait for the other part that was sent to us at the garage that will arrive tomorrow morning.  We were hoping that we wouldn't need it but the way it stands now and the information that I have....it's not looking pretty.  At this point, we just want the truck to be fixed.  The cost is no longer a factor.  We have no choice.  We both feel that the garage knows that we are at their mercy.  At least if they were being nice and considerate while they give it to us sideways.  Hopefully, they make things right today and Justin will give me good news when he returns. Bad News - Justin returns at 5.  He finally talked to the service manager explaining our frustration.  We just changed a 500$ part and it needs to be unplugged in order for the truck to start.  Now, they want us to change a 2600$ part without knowing for sure if that is the root of our problem.  There are tests that could be done but for some unknown reason they can't do it(pretty sure they don't know how).  She says that they will call the engineering department in Toronto tomorrow but not before 10 because of the time change.  That upsets Justin even more because they won't call now as it's 430 here and they close at 5 (you think they would have called already!)   He then mentions how he is stranded here with his family with no vehicle (enterprise doesn't have any vehicles available) and she finally suggests that they can rent him a vehicle.  He has asked for the the last two days if a vehicle was available and now they decide to mention that they can offer us a rental! Why wouldn't they lend us one after all this time is besides me but that's something else to add to their lack of customer service.  We understand that anyone would be upset in this situation because of the expense but what puts us over the top is that they really don't seem to care, are incompetent, and have no empathy at all.  And they want us to change a part without being certain that it will fix the problem.  But what are we to do....we are at their mercy!  A little facetime with Liane puts a smile on my face.  Gaby's report card is in! Gab has been anxiously awaiting it!  Liane reads us the LONG report card and we are all so proud of our baby big girl!!! We now have a first grader!!!

Justin picks up a DVD player at walmart and we watch a little 'Sex and the city!'.  I'm praying to uncle Moe so he can help us out! Let's hope he can work magic from up there!

Bonne Fête James!!! (Tuesday, June 27th)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES.  NOT THE DAY WE HAD PLANNED FOR HIM BUT WE'LL MAKE THE BEST OF IT!




Nanny is the first one to facetime with a yummy donut for James' bday!
Facetime with Nanny

At 830 when the garage opens.  Justin calls to get picked up.  He doesn't get anywhere with the garage.  They don't have any pressure readings nothing to help us make our decision easier.  Justin decides to take the truck as it is working (sounds rough but he assures me it's ok).  We order the 500$ fuel actuator from NAPA.  It will be here in the morning and Pat located us a main injection pump for half the price and we decide to have it shipped to us.  It will be here Thursday.  We hope to not need it and we can bring it back to the shop but in case we do need to change it...it will be better to have it here ready for Thursday.  Justin stops at the grocery store.  I had packed everything to make the cake for James with Gaby.  I am short eggs and really don't have it in me today to bake a cake.  I am pretty much in the dumps this morning. Pretty bummed about this truck situation and my baby turning the big ONE makes me nostalgic!!! no more babies for us.  I quickly turn my frown upside down because I have to remember that things could be sooo much worst.  Justin picked up the cutest frog cupcake for James along with a few more groceries.  We had called for a rental car and non were available so we will use the truck. I am a little worried but Justin seems ok about it. James is a happy birthday boy!!!  He is rocking out in the truck!




First we stop at a fab shop to fix our bike rack which has been causing a lot of damage to our tailgate (not to mention it bent the rim on my bike).  On our way to the next stop, Gaby spots beautiful flowers.  We take a picture and send them off to Kim.  Turns out they are her favorite - Lupine.


Lupine
  We then head out to Salmonid Interpretation Centre.   Located on the Exploits River, at the 'Grand Falls', the centre has exhibits on the history, biology, ecology and habitat of the Atlantic Salmon.  We got to see salmon through the underwater windows as they travel upstream to their spawning habitat and also got to take in the view of the Falls.  It was pretty cool but I thought we would be there longer and really thought there was more walking to be done.




It is beautiful out.  The thermometer at the centre says 30 degrees but a nice and confortable 30 so I suggest we take the kids to the splash pad.  We come and grab our stuff and head out to the splash pad nearby! Oh MY!!! Cornwall should take lessons from this very small town of barely 2500.  They have a BEAUTIFUL park.  We didn't think of chairs so Justin goes back to grab some, Gab goes wild and I have fun with James as he adventures slowly towards the water.  He hates bathtime so I don't imagine he will love this. But slowly he starts to play a little.  We spent a good 2 hours there before coming back.




Justin cooks us up a yummy steak dinner in honor of our bay boy turning 1!  Supper is late and James is getting fussy so we hurry out with the cake.  His mood changed quickly and he had a good time eating up that buttercream icing.  He would head plant his head in the cake at times to get some big bites in...pretty cute.  We tried to facetime as many people as we could to share our little excitement.









Now came the poor job of washing James.  Given the choice, I am pretty sure he would have skipped the cake if he would have known how bad the shower/bath combo coming his way was.  In no time after his bath he is sound asleep in my arms.  And just like that my baby boy is 1!!!  Kids in bed, Justin went and had a drink with our neighbor (he found out he was a hunting guide! Oh my the excitement) and I went and worked on the blog a bit.









Saturday 8 July 2017

Monday morning BLUES (Monday, June 26th)

This morning the truck is a no go.  None of the little tricks that have previously worked are doing the trick.  We call back the tow truck company.  I'm pretty upset that they charge us 58$ to tow us 4kms when I am certain they made a killing yesterday from the roadside assistance coming back empty.


 The dealership takes the truck right away so that is nice and a good sign.   Justin stays there all morning.  At around 11 he asks if they would have a courtesy car to lend us given the situation and they don't have one so they shuttle him back to the campsite.  Meanwhile me and the kids walked to the waterfront.  We hiked a trail that runs along the water.  It was very beautiful but it may have been too much for Gaby this time.  Actually, I think it's because of the heat.  It's very warm and we have to acclimatize I guess.   We spend a good part of the afternoon playing games.  On s'amuse à jouer 'Ou est Charlie? (Where's Waldo) et quelques parties d'Uno.  At 4:45 we have not heard anything so Justin calls the dealership and they come pick him up.  They would not have called if we didn't.  They tell Justin that they THINK he needs a 2600$ part - main injection pump.  To add to that, he can't even give him a labor estimate.  Justin tells him he surely can look it up on his computer but he won't turn it back on.  The report for the 7 hours of labor to diagnose at at Dodge dealership (important to mention!) doesn't even include any readings that would need to be verified to conclude that the part is needed!  Ok...breaking down sucks but you get the repairs done and you move on.  What we don't understand is the 'they THINK' we need that part.  If the dealership orders the part, it won't be in till sometime next week.   They make Justin pay the near 700$ bill and leave him out in the rain.  No ride back.  He walks back (he managed to pickup a few strongbow on the way)  We are pretty much at the dealership's mercy.... what are we to do.... the fastest they can get the pump in is next Monday.  Justin takes the truck to fill it with up with diesel and sees how it runs as they didn't even do that when our first guess is that there has been water in the fuel.  Yesterday the engine light came on with the water in fuel indicator.    No  changes, so he parks the truck at the dealership and walks back to the trailer as we don't want to pay for another tow.  Justin talks with Kevin, Pat and Anthony.  The part from dodge included both the actuator and the pump.  We decide to order a fuel control actuator from NAPA which will be here on Wednesday.  We also order the main injector pump from Kevin's garage and they will ship it purolator and we will get it on Thursday (2 days instead of the 10 days from the dealership oh and more than half the price - THANK YOU ACTIVE GREEN & ROSS!)  With everything up in the air we cross our fingers that things will look up.  To be honest, not much faith in the dealership after today's events.

Wednesday 5 July 2017

Westport HIGHs and LOWs (Saturday, Sunday, June 24-25th)

Saturday
We have to decide what to do.  Justin gets the truck going once again and heads into Baie Verte to research online what the problem with the truck could be.  He thinks that the pump wasn't primed properly.  All seems to be working fine now so we head into town to grab some groceries and call Sherry to tell her that we will prepare them supper tonight.  She is heading into town so we will head over and park the trailer beside the house.  Once again Rob is finished fishing early, he pulls in about 30 mins after we have arrived.  We get the trailer setup and all the food ready and head over to get cooking on the BBQ.  Maple Carrots, potatoes and some venison!  They all seemed to enjoy it!  Out of all nights, James is really hard to put down but he finally goes down and with the kids in bed in the trailer, we can spend our first adult night! We spent a nice evening learning more about each other! Justin loves everything about Rob.  He lives off the land.  Fisherman, hunter, trapper, lumberjack, can fix anything kind of guy!  A little facetime with Will and Liane during 'lunch'.  One of the things we learnt is that the Newfies have breakfast, dinner, supper and  lunch.  They actually set the table at 10ish to have what they call lunch.  This conversation came about when we were asking about Jiggs dinner.  There are many restaurants who advertise to come in for their Jiggs dinner and we told them we wanted to try it out one night for supper.  That's when we learnt that if we went in for supper we would have been too late - dinner in Newfoundland is lunch!  Tonight they made crab and surprise dip!  Great snacks to accompany our beer, wine and coolers!!! We also learned a little bit more about the fishing industry and how it works.  Rob for example has a fishing permit for crab.  He has a licence for 9000lbs.  On retirement, he can sell that permit to someone and it is a form of a retirement plan I guess.  A licence came up last year for example and sold for two hundred thousand plus. We don't know the details but that's an example.  We spent a super evening and are super happy that we bumped back our departure to spend more time here.

Sunday
Justin is outside with Bones and Rob tells him that they will have Jiggs dinner for us at 1130.  Wow! How kind!  Almost everyone in Newfoundland has Jiggs dinner on Sundays.  It's a one pot meal consisting of salt beef, potatoes, turnip, cabbage, peas pudding and bread pudding.  They have special bags for the peas and bread pudding that is added to the pot and everything cooks together.  Justin LOVED it.  I had a bit of a harder time because they also served Turr.  Turr is a type of duck they eat here in Newfoundland.  The gravy was made with the drippings of the turr.  It was pretty fishy tasting for me.  Very happy to have tried out this traditional meal.  After lunch, or should I say 'dinner', we pack up the trailer.  We don't want to over extend our stay.  Here we go AGAIN.  Truck won't start.  Foolish of us, we also pulled in the driveway because we wanted the doors to the trailer facing their house.  We soon decide that this is enough and we need to call Good Sams Roadside to get towed to Grand-Falls Windsor.  It's 2 hours away but it's the closest town with a dealership.  Not many people on the island fix diesel trucks.  Justin is on the phone for almost an hour trying to explain that a tow to Baie Verte will accomplish nothing.  That is after trying to explain that the tow truck does not have to come by boat to get us (for some reason, even in this day and age with google and everything, the B%!!! dispatcher thinks that we have to be towed to PEI???!!!).  Long story short, we finally get approval for a tow truck - it will arrive at 1813 - that is exactly what the lovely (insert sarcasm) dispatcher tells us.  By this time, Sherry has called everyone in town she knows that could help out.  After a couple of hours, the truck now starts.  The tow truck arrives.  Oh boy! We know right away that he can't take us.  It's a 3 seater.  Second of all, he doesn't have the right ball to tow the trailer.  Justin takes control and tells the guy that we will drive our truck and trailer and that he will follow us in case something happens.  We are 2 hours away from our destination and no reception for 90% of the way.  Well, what do you know - the truck runs smoothly the entire way.  We call a campsite in Grand-Falls Windsor and setup for the night.  Justin gets the info off of the tow truck driver 'in case' we need him in the morning.  Fingers crossed!  The dealership is less than 4kms away so this is a perfect spot for us.  Once we are settled in, I tell Justin to go and relax and check out the Legion in town.  The Legion here has a War museum and it is opened from 2pm to 12am daily.  What better de-stresser for Justin. Not so much.  He gets there at 1040 and on Sundays they close at 11!  The nice gentlemen still serves him a drink and lets him look around.  Then, of course to top off the day, the truck once again won't start.  Justin does his magic and gets it going to come back to the campsite.  Here we go again......

At least we have beautiful memories of Westport!




Sunday 2 July 2017

Freedom! Off to Westport! (Friday, June 23rd)

The part is supposed to be at NAPA for 11am.  I let Justin sleep in this morning and at 1045, Greg, comes over to the site.  Someone has already been in town and has the part for us.  Time for the boys to get to work.  A few hours later we are sooooo happy to hear the loud engine of our truck making its way back to our campsite.  Me and Gaby greet him with hauler and applause.  We pack up a diaper bag for James and head towards Westport.  I guess we aren't very smart because in the excitement we forget that we don't even have an address for Rob & Sherry.  They are Will and Liane's family friends that we are going to visit.  Oh well, small town, we will figure it out.  We drive all the way down to the wharf and the first person we ask tells us they live by the gas station.  We both remember seeing a closed down gas station at the beginning of town.  Head back that way but now which house is it? We stop at another house where two men are building a shed, they tell us just up the road.  Stop for another hint and this man nails it by telling us it's the house with the pink brick! Bingo!!  I knock at the door and I am greeted by Shania, their daughter.  I didn't know but they have 2 daughters.  It's weird because we have never met and only stopped in because we wanted to see where Will is from. Will and Liane usually come to this village every fall.  Pops passed away at Christmas last year.  We are terribly sad that we didn't get to meet him.  Everyone has great things to say about Pop.  We feel bad arriving at around supper time and tell them that we would like to go to the lighthouse if they can tell us how to get there.  They offer to walk there with us.  So Sherry and Shania join us and we leave their house to walk to the lighthouse.  You have to know it's there because you can't see it from the harbour.  Beautiful!!! I understand why Liane loves this spot so much.  We head back down towards the wharf and Rob is just getting off his boat!  We are lucky because he could have been on the boat till passed 11 but they got their quota for the day so they are back on shore.  Gab got to hold a lobster...not much from the sea she won't have touched!  Back at their house we plan on heading back to the campsite but they won't hear of it and have us over for a FEAST!!! Fresh Lobster and Crab from todays catch! And TONS of it!!! On top of that, Rob is gracious enough to do all the hard work and break the meat out of the shells for us!  James loves the crab legs, it keeps him busy while we feast.  Rob and Sherry thought we would be here for a few days.  With our truck problems, the plan was to leave tomorrow and be in Twillingate for Sunday night but we figure that maybe we can change our plans. We will call them tomorrow and let them know.  On our way home in the middle of nowhere again, the truck stalls.  Oh MY!!! Somehow, Justin gets her going and we make to the
campsite.  Hard to get a good night sleep after that!!!

Excited the truck is fixed!

Gab in front of Pop's house

Crab lovers!

FEAST!!!

Westport's lighthouse!!!  xox

The waiting game (Wednesday - Thursday, June 21-22)


Wednesday
First thing first.  Let's look at the truck and see what is going on.  It doesn't start.  Justin plays around with it and somehow gets it to start.  Greg, the owner of the campsite, deduce that we need a new lift pump.  Figure out the best way to get it.  Kevin's garage back home can get it for us but it would only arrive on Friday.  We order the part from NAPA and it should be here by 11ish Friday morning.  It is beautiful outside but I have spent the day inside with the kids.  The black flies are unbelievable.  Me and Gab brave it and walk to the beach to try and find the bouncy castle.  We found it but we just can't stay outside...the bugs will soon carry us alive!!  It's too bad that we can't enjoy the nice weather as it would make our waiting game more enjoyable.  At least we have some great MOOSE burgers for supper.  We have a theme song for the day! If you get a chance, look it up, or Gab will be able to sing it for you when we return - Lisa Leblanc 'Aujourd'hui, ma vie c'est d'la marde!'

Our lovely view (surprised we can see it through the MILLIONS of black flies)

Moose Burgers!


Thursday
Bonne Fête Dad!!!  We walk to the front of the campsite to brave the outside and call dad for his bday.  The only spot you can get a smidge of reception is in front of the owners house.  We are being eaten alive trying to talk to Mami & Pépère on the phone.  Me and Gab bought dad a singing card but forgot to drop it off at their house before we left.  Mom was supposed to go pick it up and she hasn't yet so we will come back and call in a bit so that Gab can have a dance party with Pépère.  We bought Pépère a dancing card when we were in California with them and it is still a hit today so we thought it would be a good idea to get him another dancing/singing card.  Take advantage of being stranded to get the laundry done and I finish my book - 13 reasons (the Netflix hit - good book!) Our drawers in the kitchen broke when we drove in Labrador, so Justin fixes that along with puts a hook on our screen door to prevent James from falling out of the trailer!  Can't wait for the part to be here tomorrow!  We have still so much to see of the island!

Bonne Fête au meilleur papa et pépère au MONDE!

Nothing else to do but to fix all the <little problems<