Luxury getaways to the ocean's edge
I was thrilled yesterday to be able to talk The Berry out of a few hours of work (no easy feat!) and get her to join me, Alf and his wife, Hilda, out on the water. The weather was great, the fishing better, the company the best! It was real fun. But …… the women kicked our butts!
Oh well. I guess what they didn’t realize is we let them catch the biggest fish so that they would want to come out with us again! It’s always nice to have women aboard! 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZUA47YzPv4&feature=plcp]
That’s the way you do it! Here’s Alf, filleting a fresh catch for our guests. He’s not even trying to go fast!
My humans are nice but sometimes I wonder about them. Jerry is a great guy but driving with him is like being on a Disney ride. Accelerating, decelerating, twisting and turning – he makes me feel like a giant bobble-head doll. So I decided to take charge – I’m going to do all the driving!
Either that, or The Berry is going to have to become my prime chauffeur – she’s much more sensible. Now they just need to name this SUV after me!
I may be jinxing Murphy’s Law by saying this (and hey, Murphy’s our sweet golden retriever now so maybe he won’t mind!), but sometimes, everything that can go right, will go right. Last week we were lucky to welcome Melora Koepke, a food writer from Montreal, her husband, PJ, a cook, and their young son Louis to The Gannet. Of course we took them fishing, and then shared a meal after – with all the stars aligning to make it one of the most pleasant evenings we’ve spent at the cottages so far (and we think/hope those feelings were shared by our guests, too!).
Melora and PJ didn’t arrive until the late evening, so we set straight out on the Atlantic with my Guardian Angel (and perfect Newfoundland ambassador) Alf to catch some cod. As you can see, we were successful, and Melora was more than ready to pucker up! We got our quota in less than half an hour, in part thanks to the steady guidance from Alf. If you’d like to see some video of them reeling in their catch, check it out here!
After fishing, it was time to relax and hopefully share with Melora and PJ what they wanted most – an authentic Newfoundland dining experience. With two ‘foodie’ professionals that was a tall order! But kicking back with Iceberg beer and The Berry’s ultra-popular crab dip started things off on the right foot. 
The sun was setting and the weather was beautiful, just what we needed to sit outside and enjoy the fruits of of Joe Friday’s labour. And what fruits they were: cod au gratin, fish stew made with our just-caught fish cooked old-fashioned on the fire, fresh homemade bread (of course, no authentic Newfoundland meal is complete without it!), and The Berry’s more-than-lovely partridgeberry bread pudding, topped with both scalded and whipped cream. Coupled with wine, Newfoundland music, the ocean view, and warm company, I don’t know how to describe the experience as anything less than magical.
Joe Friday really outdid himself, and we couldn’t have been more grateful. Melora and PJ said it was the best meal they’d had in Newfoundland, and this after eating at some of the best restaurants in St. John’s. Food professionals, they told us that a good meal consists of not only the food but the company and setting as well, and that we had it all. Now that’s a compliment we’ll take!
Here’s Julie, from Newfoundland, and Donal, an honest-to-goodness Irishmen, who stayed at our cottages a few weeks ago (we Newfoundlanders are quite proud of our Irish roots, and it was great to have a ‘native’ stay with us!). Donal couldn’t believe I blog everyday – but yes, Donal, I do, and I have so much to write about that I can’t keep up with it, which is why your post is so belated!
It’s always fun to take young couples out on the boat and help them have a good time. Julie and Donal were great – our guests are constantly reminding us how lucky we are to have this new ‘job’ (‘job’ in quotes because I don’t know if it’s fair to call something you love this much ‘work’!).
I hope everyone is enjoying Whiteway Days – and if you’d like to know what’s coming up this weekend, find out here. Here’s two of my favourite things about this community – Clifford George, and Shag Rock!
And yes, this painting is a Clifford George original. He painted it, picked out the best spot in our place for it, and even helped hang it. Now, if I sit at the table and glance just to the right, it’s Cliff’s painting. If I glance to the left, there’s the real Shag Rock. I can’t lose! And I know I’ll especially love it this winter, when it starts to get dark early and I can’t see my muse at night anymore!
Now here is a sight that, once so common, is now quite rare – salted fish being dried on a clothesline! I am loving this period of the food fishery around the bay. Fresh cod is everywhere! And salt fish is one of my favourites, and a Newfoundland specialty. In fact, it was salt cod that drove the fishing trade so many hundreds of years ago.
As I’ve been writing, we’ve been out on the A Wake at Last fishing until our Heart’s Delight (or is that, until our daily quota is filled!). We are giving our catch to guests. We package it up in a baggie with flour so that all the guest has to do is to add salt and pepper, shake the fish in the flour, and fry it in butter or margarine.
Of course, it’s a big hit to eat fresh fish within hours of catching it. And talk about ‘local’ – our guests can look out their front window and see where we caught it!
Here’s LeighAnne and Brandon (BJ), guests we’ve enjoyed hosting so many times that they’re starting to feel like family. We always look forward to their visits, and, as their feedback shows, so do they! Their last email to us was so touching, that I asked if I could share on our blog as our first testimonial. Here it is (written by LeighAnne):
“It was so true what I said about (Ocean Delight) being our Oasis. We absolutely LOVE it there. If it wasn’t for going broke in the process, I would be out there every weekend! I tell everyone about it all the time. We can’t wait to spend our 5 year anniversary weekend out there. We have traveled around to many cottages in this province and never once have we experienced the hospitality that we experience EVERY time we’re there with you. We love your cottages, we love the hospitality, we love you guys… we love everything about the entire experience. I guess that’s why we keep coming back again, and again and again… and will continue to do so!
Thanks so much, we both really, REALLY needed that on Thursday evening.
LeighAnne and BJ”
My humans insist on taking me to Jimmy Rowe’s Walking Trail whenever they get the chance. I still don’t know who Jimmy is, but I don’t complain – the trail is pretty and involves a lake, so what’s not to like? Plus, Jerry and The Berry get so happy when they get a bit of “free time” (I don’t know what that means, either – I’m always free to play, even on my leash!) that we have lots of fun.
They also find it so funny when I stop at this, ahem, fire hydrant to do my business. They had to take a picture of me next to it, calling it Murphy’s Rock. I have no idea why – can you enlighten me?
If you look closely above, you can see little boats circling Shag Rock – there’s lots out there because the recreational, three-week food fishery has begun. People out here in the the Wonderful World of Whiteway have been looking forward to this chance to fish for weeks – nearly everyone with a boat, or with a friend with a boat, will be out to catch their 5 fish limit, I’d say. There’s certainly lots more activity on our bay, as I’m sure there is across the island.
Of course, we went out with friend and neighbour, Alf, who also, of course, helped me pick out all the gear we needed. We also brought some guests out – including an 8-month pregnant woman. I’d had to drive out to St. John’s earlier to pick them up, since they’d had a hard time getting a car rental (note to future guests: make sure to book yours early, and feel free to let us know if you’re having trouble!). We filleted the fish for them, too. What can I say – I like to be a good host, and I like to fillet fish!
Lying in bed Sunday morning and hearing all the activity offshore certainly brought back memories, and I’m sure it would for anyone in my generation. I remember when Torbay (my hometown) was covered with “The Little Boats of Newfoundland” and you could virtually walk across the bay going from boat to boat. You could hear the “putt-putt” of the single cylinder engines early in the morning as almost everyone in the town was involved in the fishery. That has all changed now, of course, but this morning was reflective of days gone by. It made me feel very grateful to be living near the water, so I could experience the excitement again. 
And clearly Joe Friday could barely contain his excitement either!