Miss Vyvyanne races again at Woodbine!

I found out late on Friday night, Miss Vyvyanne was racing at Woodbine on Saturday at 12 noon Vancouver time.  We went to The Derby to watch the race and check this out!

At the end of the race in the winners circle on the far right is Richard's brother Gordon who lives in Toronto.   

WestJet strike!   It's always good to know your rights as a passenger in Canada.  I follow Gabor Lukacs, on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/AirPassengerRights/   

If you have any questions, he is a great advocate for everyone. 

Gábor Lukács, PhD

President (Founder and Coordinator)

Gábor is a Canadian air passenger rights advocate, who volunteers his time and expertise for the benefit of the travelling public.

 

Since 2008, Gábor has filed more than two dozen successful complaints with the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency), challenging the terms, conditions, and practices of air carriers, resulting in orders directing them to amend their conditions of carriage and offer better protection to passengers. He has also appeared before courts across Canada, including the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, and successfully challenged the Agency's lack of transparancy and the reasonableness of the Agency's decisions.

In 2013, the Consumers' Association of Canada awarded Gábor its Order of Merit for singlehandedly initiating legal action resulting in the revision of Air Canada's unfair practices regarding overbooking. His advocacy in the public interest and expertise in the area of air passenger rights have been recognized by the transportation bar, the academic community, the judiciary, and the legislature.

CBC Interview re: WestJet Strike

 

Paul Harvey's Letter to his grandchildren

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches.. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.

And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy / girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it... And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he/she is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

End of trip blog

 

Yesterday day we flew home.  Our tickets home were on WestJet.  Of course the threat of a strike, lockout and cancellation of flights gave us a lot of worry.  We got up at 3:30 AM Newfoundland time, caught a 7 AM WestJet flight to Calgary.  Our flight was late getting into Calgary and WestJet rebooked Cec and I on a flight 90 minutes later, and Donna another three hours later!  We travelled together all the way and now we are split up.  I got a middle seat in economy and Donna was given a seat in Premium Economy.  However, her flight went mechanical and she had an even longer time in Calgary.  She did make it home, exhausted!

Last year we decided to go to Newfoundland.  I thought about renting a car and doing an independent trip.  Then I looked at the map figuring most days I would drive a lot.  That's not a vacation.  I checked all the coach companies and most start in Deer Lake and end in St. John's.  Maritime Travel's tour started in Halifax, did the overnight ferry and included Labrador.  They spent nights in Trinity and Twillingate.  No other tour did.

Nicole Hersey, tour conductor, was born in Deer Lake, Newfoundland and worked for Maritime Travel for 25 years.  She conducts other tours in the east and gets great reviews.  Nicole phoned everyone on the tour before we left.  We had a great conversation.  She asked about us, what we expected and if we had any questions.  There are 23 passengers on this tour and she called everyone.  I like small groups as you get to know your fellow passengers.  I've never had a tour operator call before a tour!  

Nicole has conducted this tour once a year for 17 years.  June is the best month to go.  You need to be prepared for any type of weather.  I packed a rain coat, umbrella, scarf, gloves, toque and very warm coat.  When preparing for her trips, Nicole would talk to her grandmother and great-grandmother about their experiences in Newfoundland.  Her talks about life in Newfoundland in the early days were very interesting.  Her extensive knowledge in Canadian history was wonderful.  She knew all about the explorers, settlers and stories about the early days in history.  I loved her talks about Joey Smallwood and Danny Williams who were very colourful Newfoundland politicians!  I knew some of it but as west coasters, we got the true story from a resident.

If you were born in Newfoundland before 1949 your country of birth was Newfoundland.  It was a country.  I guess I never really thought about that.  The history between the Government of Canada and Newfoundland/Quebec was very informative. 

I've done bus tours before and never had a host and driver spent so much time with their clients.  Nicole would start at the front of the bus and never go far as she spent so much time talking with everyone.  The next trip, she would start where she left and keep coming down the bus.  Gary would walk around at meals making sure our food was good and hot and we were happy. Gary was our bus driver.  Never before has a bus driver interacted with the passengers on any coach trip I've been on.  Nicole and Gary have been married for 23 years and are true professionals.

At the end of our city tour, Gary told us we travelled 3,058 KM!  A fabulous holiday with an all Canadian passengers!  We have each other's email addresses and I'm sure we will keep in touch.  

St. John's Day 2

We woke up to normal St. John's weather, fog. We boarded our coach at 8:30 with a local guide.  She did a wonderful job in giving us history and pointing out important spots.  Our first stop was Mile 0, Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope.

Our next stop was Signal Hill.  In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless transmission here!   It was foggy so the pictures aren't worth showing.  

We then went to the Governor's House in St. John's. Their July 1st ceremonies will be without Princess Anne this year who had an unfortunate accident.  She would have stayed in this house.  In the lobby was the Assistant to the Lieutenant Governor who let me take his picture.

This has been the official residence of Newfoundland's governors and lieutenant governors since 1829.  

It was difficult taking a picture of the exterior of the building as it was so large.  The gardens were lovely!

The Living Tree, carved with everything found in Newfoundland

After travelling through the city we proceeded to Cape Spear, the easternmost place in Canada and home to the first sunrise in Canada.  

It was foggy so I didn't get a good picture of the lighthouse. 

We enjoyed a great morning with an afternoon on our own.  We had a nice lunch in a pub on George Street.  Donna and Cec enjoyed the fish and chips!

Blue sky showed up in the afternoon and the fog is gone.  We are staying at the Delta Hotel by the waterfront and George Street where the 80 bars are.  It's a delightful hotel with a huge room, lots of TV channels and great internet speed.

My last lobster roll in the Delta Hotel and it was the best one yet!!!!

St. John's

Yesterday, we left Trinity and drove to St. John's.  The weather certainly changed and it's Newfoundland weather for sure.  It was pouring rain.  Fresh and felt good.  We went on a 2 hour boat trip to Witless Bay Ecological Reserve where puffins are in their natural habitat.  It's protected.  On our way to the Reserve, we saw humpback whales!

These pictures were taken through a steamed up window!  It was far too wet to go to the upper deck.

After the boat tour, we went to Christians Bar for a Newfoundland welcome.  

Last night we had our final dinner.  We had a room with a beautiful buffet.  

Our bus driver, Gary was the entertainment!

We finished our dinner and entertainment around 9.  Some went to the bar.  Because we enjoyed the beer, screech and wine we decided to have an early night!

This land is your land......

🎼  

This land is your land, 

this land is my land,

from Bonavista to Vancouver Island

Yesterday we travelled through Gander to Bonavista.  It was Discovery Day in Newfoundland.  It was the day John Cabot set foot on the shores of Bonavista, Newfoundland in 1497!  A provincial holiday.  What a great coincidence.  

While travelling through Gander, Nicole told us they have six runways at the airport.  The Space Shuttle could land there if they needed to!  

We finally got true Newfoundland weather.  Fog and drizzle and it smelled so fresh.  This picture was taken at the Bonavista lighthouse.  They had scaffolding around it so I didn't take a picture.  It was a lovely spot.  When I turned around, a lovely rock full of puffins!

t

I had to zoom in but the rock was full of puffins!

From Bonavista we travelled to the quaint historic town of Trinity.  In 2016 there were 169 residents.  Everyone we met was so friendly.  We did the historic walk and loved the Green Family Forge.

St. Paul's Anglican Church was beautiful.  Very large and the stained glass windows were exquisite.  

The waterfront was lovely, even on a cloudy day.

The Trinity Post Office

We stayed at Eriksen Premises, a heritage B & B and had dinner at their restaurant.

From Cow Head to Twillingate

We really enjoyed our three nights in Cow Head.  A lovely place with a quaint family run hotel.  We boarded our coach and our first stop was Grand Falls-Windsor where we saw our very first traffic light!  There are very few cars on the road.  They tell you not to drive at night because of the moose.  There are traffic signs on the highway that tell you how many moose have hit cars!

We had a lovely scenic drive to Twillingate.  Our first stop was the Twillingate Museum.

I wore the same Brownie uniform!  I loved the Girl Guide Exhibit.

Obviously before they joined Canada in 1949. 
In March they had their 75th Anniversary of being a province in Canada.

The stove in the kitchen

After the museum we went to a winery to sample the wine.  I didn't buy any because taking it home would be a pain, but I did take pictures.  I loved all the names, but this one really caught my eye:

After the winery we drove to Long Point Lighthouse.  The scenery never ends and it's so beautiful.  The weather was 26C at 6 PM last night!  Today we expect our first rain.  I came well prepared as I live in Vancouver and I am very familiar with good rain gear.

Twillingate is known as the Iceberg Capital of the World, however, this year they've taken a different route!  We were told this in St. Anthony.  They break off the ice cap in Baffin Island, Greenland.  We were told they move 17 KM/10 Miles a day.  I'm so happy we saw so many in St. Anthony.

 

Day 3 at Gros Morne National Park

There are three other tours at our hotel.  I met a lady who said they were only here for one day.  Maritime Travel is the only tour company that stays in Gros Morne for three nights!  The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering 1, 805 sq. km.  It takes a few days to see the sights.

We started the day at a pier in Bonne Bay where we boarded a lovely boat with another two hour tour around the bay and shoreline.  The speaker ?? was a hoot.  He gave us lots of laughs and his accent was lovely.

We then went to the Discovery Center at the park where a lunch was ready for us.  Every day Nicole our tour guide hands out a meal option.  You choose what you want.  We decided on Vegetable Soup and Moose meat on a hoagie!  It was my first taste of moose and it was delicious!  After our lunch we had a tour of the center and then watched an excellent film from Parks Canada about the park.

This map showed how the glaciers formed the park!

It was much larger than this one picture.  Very informative!

Trout River

View from the balcony of the Center.

We stopped at Trout River on our way back to Cow Head.  They had an ice cream shop and almost everyone had an ice cream.  The town has 522 residents and the ice cream shop offered 25 different flavors!

An unexpected stop at a camp site in Gros Morne, where our tour guide Nicole and bus driver Gary took out some boxes and we had a wine and cheese party!

We returned to our hotel for lobster dinner!

Last night's sunset

What an ending to a wonderful day!

Another lovely day at Gros Morne!

We started our day at Shallow Beach.  It's a beautiful sandy beach, however the North Atlantic is so cold, it's not used for swimming, even in the summer!

From Shallow Beach, we went to the Broom Point Fishing Exhibit to learn of the fishery of the past, present and future.  

The Mudge Family used this small house as their summer home from 1941 to 1975.  They brought their children and all worked together to salt cod and in later years, can lobster.

We then proceeded to Lobster Cove Lighthouse that marks the approach to Rocky Harbour and the entrance of Bonne Bay since 1897.

We drove to Rocky Harbour where Cec and I ordered another lobster roll.  In Nova Scotia, lobster season is year round, but in Newfoundland it's only in June.  The lobster we are eating is fresh and delicious!

We boarded the coach and drove to the area in the park where you board a boat for a two hour tour of the fjords of Bonne Bay.  The weather is so warm and sunny and the fjords were magnificent.  The walk to the pier is 3 KM each way.  They had a golf cart and for $10 they would take in people who had mobility issues.

This mountains are so high, From the boat, you can't get the entire mountain in your picture.

We went a long way up the fjord.  It was a view I will never forget.  We are had dinner at our hotel and food is very good.  Most people went to the pub to see the hockey game.  At least this game we have TV and the pub has a huge screen.  I'm sure our fellow Alberta passengers will be happy at the results.  We turned the TV off at 11:30 PM at the end of the second period.  

Another wonderful day!