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.
