Expecting, Eweness?

Sheep on our Newfoudland farmHere’s sweet Eweness, one our favourite four-leggeds at The Doctor’s House (who are we kidding – they’re all our favourites!). We rescued her about a year ago, and at the time we thought she was pregnant.

Well she wasn’t pregnant then …. but she might be now! Perry Oliver, our animal whisperer extraordinaire, says there’s a 90%+ chance we’ll be hearing the pitter patter of little hooves soon.  He said he will know for sure in about two or three weeks when her milk comes through, and he’s expecting a May baby. Or should be was babies – Perry thinks it might be twins!

So stay tuned to the blog – especially since we’ll be looking for help naming the new lambs! With (potential) babies on the way, and even more flowers expected this year given the amount of bulbs we planted last Fall, we’re expecting a very Spring-y Spring this year!

Sunset Sunday: Our Back View

Sunset in NewfoundlandYes – this is the view that we share with all 4 of our Whiteway cottages (including The Cranberry, our honeymoon suite). The evenings where we can take the time to sit back, relax and enjoy the view are just magical – especially when the sky lights up like this. Who knew Mother Nature had such bright colours in her palette – and how blessed are we that she shares them with us?

Budding Saturday: March

Chopped WoodOur good friend, big fan, and renowned Newfoundland artist Bud Vincent recently shared this picture on our Facebook page (check out a fun slideshow of his work here).  And, given this scene he captured, he wondered if we could believe it’s March! Thankfully, this picture was NOT taken in the Wonderful World of Whiteway where, despite a tough winter, we actually haven’t been hit too badly with snow. Just another reason to come take advantage of our Winter Specials while you still can!

Cruise Ship WWW

Whiteway Newfoundland

I blog a lot about sunsets. Not enough about our beautiful sunrises here in Newfoundland. Because in early morning as the sun climbs over Whiteway Mountain and shines on Shag Rock I take my pew in front of the big window and look out the bay.  Ever grateful for having found this place of places.

Sometimes, looking out over the bay, I feel like I am on some great cruise as I hear the waves and see only the ocean stretch in front of me.  Although I have not left the shore it feels that I am on some great journey. And I’m happy to share this view with the 4 cabins besides me.

 I was never one to be tied up in some safe harbour – it has always been the high seas for me.  Where this Cruise Ship WWW will take me I know not.  We’ve had our share of storms with no doubt many more to come.  For mine is not to rest but to explore and find new things trying to find myself. Anchors away!

Future Chapel

Wedding chapel in NewfoundlandWe have big plans for The Doctor’s House and the Baccalieu Trail. We’ve been blessed with this amazing natural resource created by Nature and Dr. and Mrs. Boddie (our namesakes). And we’re continuing to grow, bringing in human resources to match our natural ones.

One of our plans is to convert this barn into a wedding chapel. Our vision: a bride will arrive at this chapel on a horse drawn carriage (currently available), get married in the chapel – or the bridal garden – or the house – or the Barn Loft – and then celebrate her reception here, too.

So here is the pony barn slated for conversion. We’ll be modelling it after a beautiful one a friend found in Scotland.  Stay tuned as we unveil more and more of our plans – including our Fine Dining plans for this year. We’re opening soon, and we can’t wait!

Devotion Show a Success

New booth for our wedding showWhat an amazing day we had at the Devotion Bridal Show. All said, 509 brides attended this annual event, and it’s possible Jerry talked to all of them! We know he gave out all our lovely brochures, met some other vendors and, most importantly, had a wonderful time meeting so many happy brides. Looks like the word is getting out about Weddings at The Doctor’s House, and we couldn’t be happier!

Manning our booth at the wedding show in Mount Pearl

Destination Development Plan‏

Seminar on NL tourism development

You may remember that I am the Director of the Legendary Coast of Eastern Newfoundland. Well, late last week I met with other directors, as well as people from Tourism Culture and Recreation, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, Business Culture Tourism and Rural Development, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. We identified tourism priorities  for the province and worked on our Destination Development Plan.  It was a very productive day with some very intelligent, motivated individuals.

Over the years Laurelyn and I have become very passionate about developing tourism in a sustainable way and sharing this beautiful province we have with the world. People come to Newfoundland and Labrador for our Culture and People, for Nature and Wilderness, and History and Heritage.

So we spent the day trying to figure out how to best to deliver on all of this and how to engage all the stakeholders such that our visitors’ experiences and expectations are not only met, but exceeded.

One of the themes that stuck with me was based on the quotation by C.S. Lewis: “ You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”  I think he wrote that for me. Working in the tourism industry has been a new learning experience that I value highly.

As Thomas Watson said, “To be successful you have to have your heart in your business and your business in your heart.”  And the Wonderful World of Whiteway and The Doctor’s House are most certainly in the my heart. Please stay tuned to the blog here, as I’ll be sure to keep sharing more about how we are helping develop tourism for our wonderful province.

tourism seminar in newfoundland

Budding Saturday: Trinity East

Newfoundland photographyIf you’re not following Bud Vincent on Facebook, you should be. We’ve been sharing his images on this blog for years now (you’ll also find many of his pictures on this website, too), and we’re still constantly amazed as his eye. This is a home in Trinity East that he apparently enjoys photographing a lot. We can see why, and we’re sure you can see why we wanted to share it on this Saturday. Enjoy!

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