Luxury getaways to the ocean's edge
Boy oh boy, my humans sure need a lot of help! I’m not sure why, but Jerry keeps throwing sticks into the water. Someone has to retrieve them! Thankfully, ‘retriever’ is my middle name – literally – so I’m up to the challenge. Honestly, I don’t know what they’d do without me. 
Got it! And I love the Atlantic Ocean – I’m so lucky to get to play here every day!
The Berry here for a ‘guest blog’ – Jerry passed me the baton so I can share last weekend’s events. Jerry and Murphy had a ‘boys night’, while I hosted my ‘Book Club Ladies’ in the Heart’s Delight cottages (with lots of help from Joe Friday!).
I love my book club and was looking forward to having my friends pay a visit. With a moveable feast of courses, we started in the Osprey for cocktails and appies and book talk, then moved to the Gannet to dine on Joe’s famous cod au gratin. That was followed by a lovely baked salmon with pilaf rice and salad for the main course, and chocolate pavlova with raspberries and cream for dessert.
A great time was had by all, and the ladies all agreed the Long Point Cove cottages were the perfect back-drop for Cheryl Strayed’s powerful memoir, Wild, recounting her 1,100 mile solo hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.
And with lots of creature comforts and comfie beds, good food, wonderful wines and great conversation (and no need for designated drivers this time), it looks like our first ‘Book Club Road Trip’ will be the first of many more to come. Please let me know if you’ve read and enjoyed Wild, too, or if you’re part of your own book club – maybe we can help you arrange your own Book Club Road Trip, too!
Sunsets are wonderful in and of themselves, but the way they paint everything around them can be even more stunning. Look at how this one painted the living room. A reminder that every now and then it pays to take your eyes off the sunset to its magic all around.
A big thanks to my lawyer, Steve Marshall, for these pictures. I would have loved to have seen this first-hand! But I’m grateful he sent me the pictures, and excited that this whale was playing in Trinity Bay – maybe I’ll see him next year on the A Wake at Last!
For a little more info on these photos, here’s what Steve wrote me: “Photographer was Leslie (Hutton) Martin who was aboard Terry Daley’s and Rosemary Buckingham’s Lady Nora this past August. We were cruising from Trinity to Pope’s Harbour when we came upon the whales….we stayed there for over an hour…..” Lucky sighting and great shots!
You’ve heard us rave so much about Joe Friday that you’d be forgiven for thinking he can turn water into wine. Well, not quite, but almost – he’s set up a mean wine making station in the basement of The Gannet instead. Of course, when he’s tinkering away in Joe Friday’s Winery (see above), then we call him Joe Merlot. There’s lots of Joe’s to keep track of!
Many thanks to friend Alan for this great shot of Joe. Now, if you think this is one handsome fellow, or you like reading my blog in general, please vote for me for a TopBlog award. It’s easy – head to this link, and find my blog under the category ‘Best Business or Professional Life Blog’ on the bottom left. And if you have more time, check out some of the other categories and see if anything strikes your fancy. Joe Friday thanks you!
You may remember that recently I endeavoured to build my boat, The Awake at Last, a winter home – namely a 13 X 40 boat shed. And I was successful in this endeavour – or so I thought. Because recently several days of ferocious winds have sent me back to the drawing board. I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it – it’s nailed on to a heavy 6 X 6 plank, weighted down with iron stock and sand bags. But checking on it after the wind, I found out it had moved 6 inches! Fraction by fraction, a big bad wolf blew my house around!
So now it’s more work for Jerry! In the meantime, here’s Murphy looking quite pleased with the project – he is the manager of any undertaking here, of course. 
One more thing (especially if you pity me my extra work!): if you enjoy my blog, please consider voting me for Canadian TopBlog award – go to this link, and you can find Jerry by the Sea on the bottom left category called ‘Best Professional and Business Life Blog’, and you don’t have to register to vote. And a big thanks to all who have voted!
You never know what you are going to find in Newfoundland. Maybe you remember the two seater outhouse. Well, have a look here. The other day I went into Christopher’s Cafe (across from City Hall in St. John’s, it’s one of my favourite places to get soup and sandwiches downtown). I had to do a double take when I saw this – two toilets in the same tiny rest room!
It made me think of when I was a kid and we had a two seater in Torbay (why do we call them the ‘good old days,’ again??). We have come a long way! You can get the same thing in porcelain with heat, lights, and water; and it is inside, not two hundred feet from the house. We take it for granted but it was a luxury once!
Anyway, I burst out laughing and then took the picture. I am still smiling. Hardly something you’d share with your buddy, significant other, ANYONE?
Strange things in normal places!
If you are one of my many diehard fans then surely you’ll remember my friendly rivalry with my niece, Mabel, a sweet (if not slightly overrated, in my opinion) pit bull who owns Jerry’s daughter, Adrienne. They live in Virginia, and (the slightly spoiled, if you ask me) Mabel gets to go on big hikes multiple times each week. Really, I just don’t know what’s wrong with a simple stick thrown into the ocean.
Anyway, imagine my surprise when one of the latest batches of Mabel pictures came in, and I had to do a double-take. No, I have not been engaging in international travel behind Jerry and The Berry’s back! But you can clearly see that Mabel is playing with my doppelganger. My theory: she is so enamoured with all the reports of my daring feats and beatific gentleness that she had to find out for herself if we Goldens are as great as everyone says we are!
And here’s your proof that that’s really not me – no way I would ever lose a water race!
But in the end, who am I kidding? That Mabel sure is one cute puppy, isn’t she?
(And please consider heading over to the TopBlog site to give me a vote in the Best Business or Professional Life category on the bottom left – I could be the only four-legged to win!)
Maybe it’s because I had to spend last night alone as The Berry had a girls’ night at Heart’s Delight with some of her friends from town, but I’m in the mood to talk about romance. And maybe do a little promotion, too – hey, I am running a business here after all! We’ve had several guests now take advantage of our One Great Getaway special, and it’s so great when they do. I know I’m just at an old romantic at heart – I think I get more pleasure out of setting up their wine and cheese baskets than they do!
There’s only a few weeks left, so don’t miss out if you’re interested in a weekend filled with extra goodies. What I’m learning from being so busy in our first year running this business is that it’s so important to put your relationship first, and little things make a big difference. Plus, what could be more fun than watching the sunset in these baby blues with your loved one?
And finally (are you sick of it yet??), please consider voting me for the TopBlog awards if you enjoy reading my blog (click here, then find my category – Best Professional or Business Life Blog – on the bottom left, no log-in necessary). I write this mainly for pleasure, but what can I say – the positive feedback is nice!
Since this is Remembrance Day weekend, if ever there was a day to sit by the ocean and contemplate life and our many blessings and many struggles, this is it.
I remember a long time ago I was driving across Newfoundland on business on November 11 and this song came on. And you know me, I didn’t cry (at least not much; OK – maybe I did have to pull off the road for a few minutes; OK – maybe for more than a few minutes). I thought of my father who went over in 1939, a mere boy of 17 (who falsified his birth certificate). He came back 6 years later a much older and changed man. War has killed the boy in many a man. It is nasty business and we owe them so much.
So please, not that you need me to remind you – take a minute today to remember all those who have sacrificed so much.