Tag: tourism

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Oh! The Sunsets

I’ve already blogged about how my ‘church’ is Nature, specifically watching the sun set, specifically watching the sun set over the ocean. I think it’s the same for The Berry. I got this beautiful shot of her looking out at the sunset in wonder, awe and reflection. I thought it perfectly captured the moment – full of natural beauty (she gets that from her mother), strength and determination (which I hope I share with her). She puts me in mind of Mary from Random Passage (and, if you haven’t seen this movie, you must if you want to know who we Newfoundlanders are as a people).

We are grateful for all that the summer has brought and the lessons learned (we’re now rated number one in hotels in the province on TripAdvisor), but it’s been a lot of hard work. Hard work, and fun, too. We’re a little older, a lot wiser, and looking forward to things slowing down a bit so we can begin planning for our future. And continue enjoying our view every evening.

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Bogged Down

Since I rarely get the chance to use our ATV these days, I leave it at our Heart’s Delight cottages for guests to use to explore the back country (lots of it out this way). Many have enjoyed it. The most recent, maybe a bit too much – leading to another Ocean Delight adventure (I’m ALMOST getting too old for this!)

So the last person to use the ATV was Sean, visiting from Ontario. He went exploring after a night of heavy rain, and it wasn’t long before the bogs of Newfoundland wrapped themselves around the young man and held on tight.

Sean was alright of course, but what about the ATV? She had to be rescued from her muddy grave, so Sean’s Dad, Wayne, and his relative, Neville, set out with me, Murphy, and some ropes to do the job. We saved the day, and it if it looks like we’re having fun, it’s because we were – boys will be boys! Of course, we never would have managed if Murphy wasn’t there to supervise and bark out orders!

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Kayaking in Trinity Bay

We had two kayakers stay with us last week – Art and Don, both engineers, both from St. John’s. And they’re both my age or older, but you’d never think that looking at them – making me wonder if I should take up this sport! Anyway, they told us that this is a great place for kayaking – you can even go right through Shag Rock.

The Berry and I are thinking about getting canoes and kayaks to rent for next summer. Obviously I’ll let you know if we do!

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We Stand on Guard

Examine this picture closely – it’s not just a shot of Shag Rock. If you notice to the left of it, there’s what looks like smoke rising out of the water. And that’s just what our guest, Tim, saw on Thursday night while having a BBQ on the deck of The Blueberry, which overlooks Trinity Bay. Confirming it with binoculars, he realized a long liner was on fire.

Tim called me, I called Guardian Angel Alf, Alf called Clifford George (and told me to call the fire department). Alf and Clifford raced for Clifford’s boat to afford a rescue, if possible.

In minutes the smoke had turned to flame – from the shore we could see the inferno with our naked eyes. In no time, there were other boats coming from other closer communities, too. That’s what we do in Newfoundland – we can always rely on our neighbours in an emergency.

Alf and Clifford were second at the scene. They talked to the Skipper, who luckily (or by Divine Intervention) was towing a boat behind him (a standard safety precaution). He and the first mate (the only two people on board) barely had time to get in it before the flames completely overwhelmed their boat.

The fire started in the engine room, and the small crew only had time to get out one May Day before they were forced to abandon ship. The captain had to sit and watch his boat burn to the water’s edge.

Clifford came home and couldn’t get the scene out of his mind – so, as he is wont to do, he painted what he had seen to get some peace. He then brought the painting over to Alf as a memento of the near-tragic event.

Thank God no one was hurt. It makes us appreciate our view of the ocean even more – it allows us to take notice of what’s actually going on out there. And thankfully our guests can’t keep their eyes off it like we can’t. Since no one was injured, the story was just a little one on the news, but you can tell from Cliff’s picture below that it was a harrowing, unforgettable night for all involved. 

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Oh Sunny, Don’t Go Away

You can consider yourself an official Jerry by the Sea fan if you remember my first post about Sunny the Goat, way back in February. Sunny lives a happy life with Clifford and Shirley George, and must love this summer we’ve been having – all these sunny days, just like her namesake. She’s a cutie if ever there were one, and when Allison, the Georges’ daughter, sent me these shots, I knew I had to share them on my blog!Non-Newfoundlanders may not get the title of this post, a reference to one of the greatest songs by one of (if not the) greatest Newfoundland musicians, Ron Hynes. I got to see him perform live once, and it was so good it was almost life-changing – please take the opportunity if you ever get it. We learned this summer that Ron Hynes is battling throat cancer, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

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Family Brunch (and Then Some!)

What a soul-lifting treat last weekend turned out to be. This table was set for a sunny brunch. The setting was perfect, and our company even more so – so much so, in fact, that ‘brunch’ turned into lingering over drinks and coffee and conversation all afternoon (while I should have been working!), and then a salmon barbque for supper while we watched the sunset and enjoyed drinks long into the night. In fact, I think this ‘brunch’ turned out to be over 12 hours long!The reason we lingered so long was the company. Now, when we have guests stay with us at the cottages, for all intents and purposes they become my ‘family’ while they’re here, and I try to treat them as such. So when the guests are actual family, well, you know how that goes! Of course Joe Friday’s my brother and he’s always here, but added to the mix were our niece Lisa, and her friend, Bill (dubbed The Most Handsome Man on the Planet), and our sister Maureen and her husband Pat.

It was a great night. We all stayed up past our bedtimes, and by the end of night were all noisily arguing politics – that’s almost the law when you’re part of a big Irish Catholic family! Of course, I have to make sure that I’m the on the opposing side of everyone else – I love the challenge! Our parents would have been proud!Overall, it was the perfect day, followed by the perfect evening, followed by the perfect night, with perfect company! Thanks, guys, for coming and spending the weekend with us!

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Molly Monday

I hope that everyone is enjoying the long weekend. I am, but boy are we busy (are you getting sick of me saying that yet? Can’t help it – it’s true!). So today’s post is a quick one, of Molly, our (mostly) sweet Devon Rex. She enjoys our oceanfront view of Shag Rock, too! Don’t you wish you knew what she was thinking – what does an animal see when it sees the ocean??

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My Church

I’ve been having fun with our Sunday Church Blogging series, so today I’m featuring my church! That’s right – my church is Nature herself, and more specifically, watching the sun set over the ocean. I can’t begin to put into words the amount of inspiration, encouragement, strength and soul-lifting I’ve received just from watching the sun disappear under the waves each night. I was lucky enough to spend several years of my life in Virginia, near a beach where I could watch the natural majesty daily – and I never missed it. And I can say the same thing now, about how truly blessed I am to be able to watch the sun set over over the Atlantic Ocean, right from my back deck. It’s been a busy summer, and after every busy day, watching the ‘fire show’ resets my energy and my passion, and I can fall asleep rested and happy knowing tomorrow will bring more work, more life, more sunsets. I hope that our guests are enjoying their nightly ‘church’ sessions as much as I am, and I hope that you’ve checked out our coming September special so that you can enjoy it, too – maybe with me (as long as you don’t mind sitting in awe and silence!)Special thanks to resident photographer and all-around good guy, Albert Legge, for these photos (he’s given us lots of great ones to use on this blog over the months). These are ‘framers’ for sure. And please, let me know in the comments if any part of Nature has special resonance for you!

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Saturday Boiling Up

I’m looking forward to a busy but fun long weekend, especially since we have family coming to stay with us. But not much tonight could match the Saturday we had last week, right on the beach in front of our new home (still hard to believe we live here!). We had a traditional Newfoundland boil-up on the beach, complete with not only Joe Friday’s famous cod-au-gratin, Laurelyn’s beautiful partridgeberry bread pudding and a deep-fried turkey from yours truly, but also a truly great assortment of our new friends and neighbours. I think there was at least 18 of us, and we sat listening to the waves and each others’ laughter until midnight. It was the perfect ending to what had been a busy day.

I hope that our guests, and you, dear readers, will have an equally fun long weekend, and will stay safe. One last hurrah for the summer!

Gotta love Lisa Day and her shenanigans (I know we do!) ….

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Sharing the Wheel

Summer may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean our boat trips are – not if Alf can help it! Last week we got to take out a great group of people from Ontario (and, as a side note, we get some many guests for that province!), Veronica, Dick, Patricia and Mike. They spent two weeks at The Blueberry and loved it – and we loved having them! Always fun to see the appreciative smiles when people get to see Shag Rock up close and personal.

Alf of course was our intrepid captain – except when the women took the wheel!