Tuesdays with Murphy – Let Me Kayak!

golden retriever and a kayaker on the beach in Newfoundland

Mike Crane has done lots over the past many months to help Jerry and The Berry with their many endeavors. And he likes to kayak after work – Whiteway is a great spot for it. I just don’t know why he won’t let me come along for the ride – I always comes down to the shore to try to beg one!

Shag It Joe

Shag It Joe

Anyone who had been to the cottages (or reads this blog regularly, for that matter), knows the many faces of Joe. He’s a service manager extraordinaire, doing any odd jobs you can think of, always going above and beyond, always anticipating our guests’ needs before they do. What can we say, we wouldn’t make it without Joe Friday!

And now that we’re running the Shag It Cafe and Gift Shop, that couldn’t be more true. It’s been crazy opening up this new venture (which is at our Whiteway cottages location), we have lots of great new staff, and we’re busy working on our kinks and getting it right. And we couldn’t have done that without Shag It Joe. Or is that Joe Shag It? Hm, not sure if either of those sounds right!

Either way, don’t forget – today’s the last day to enter our Facebook contest – the winner of the draw gets a $50 gift certificate towards the Shag It, or a Shag It tee shirt or apron. Should you enter? Shag It – why not?

Newfoundland Vacation

Ocean Delight CottagesWe have our like-family guests, Mike and Gloria, to thank for these great shots of their Newfoundland vacation. After their time with us, they set us this email – it’s exactly the kind of feedback that makes us love our job, and keep creating new ways to help visitors enjoy the Baccalieu Trail. Below are their pictures of Brigus, another beautiful community on the Baccalieu Trail. Thanks again, Mike and Gloria, and we hope to see you back!

Hello,

Mike and I would like to thank you again for our enjoyable holiday at Whiteway. We met and enjoyed talking to a lot of wonderful people and have made some new friends.

Wished that the cafe had been open when we were there and could have enjoyed some of the home cooked treats.

Thank you Jerry for the boat tour of Shag Rock and the beautiful coast line of Trinity Bay. I got some great pictures of Shag Rock and also a long distance one of the eagles.

We will certainly recommend the cottages and the gorgeous Doctor’s House Inn and Spa.

I have enclosed some photos from our tours, not bad for a cheap camera.

Thanks again and all the best,

Mike and Gloria

 

Brigus, NL

Brigus Harbour

Day Trips: Wooden Boat Museum

Boat Museum on the Avalon Peninsula In Newfoundland

Since we’re trying to spend our downtime exploring the area a little bit (it’s always a treat getting more acquainted with the Baccalieu Trail), The Berry reccomended we check out the Wooden Boat Museum in nearby Winterton. She’d been before and loved it, and we’ve blogged before about their great workshops and exhibits, dedicated to the history and context of traditional Newfoundland boats and boat building. So I was excited to see it with my own eyes. I was not disappointed. We saw lots, learned lots, and really enjoyed ourselves. I can’t say I’ve been in tons of museums, but it was definitely one of my favourites. Traditinal Wooden Boat Building on display in a museum in Newfoundland

Visiting guests, if you’re interested in your own day trips, there’s lots to do! Please feel free to ask for recommendations, or check out our Things to Do page to learn more.

Shag It Guests

Guests at our Shag It Cafe and Gift shop outside St. John's, NewfoundlandPlease forgive me if my posts are a little Shag It-centric lately – it’s a brand new endeavor we’re excited about, and it’s taking up a lot of our time as we get it running. If this blog is about my daily life in Whiteway, well, this is my daily life in Whiteway! We’re enjoying ourselves, working like dogs, making some mistakes and learning from them. Thankfully, we’ve had lots of happy customers, which inspires us to keep going and growing.

And if you believe it or not, I’ve even donned an apron to pitch in. Above are my first customers. These 4 are from Ontario (have I told you how much I love Ontarians?). Being my first customers, I made some mistakes – and they helped me laugh at myself. They enjoyed themselves so much they all bought our beautiful tee-shirts – how sweet is that?

And below are two sisters, who are repeat customers! They tell us they love everything about the place. We tell them we’re thrilled they came back!Guests at our cafe and gift shop in Whiteway, near St. John's, Newfoundland

Red Hat Ladies at The Doctor’s House!

Guests at our Newfoundland spa resort

You know I like using this blog to share special stories from our guests – well, get ready to start seeing some guests from The Doctor’s House now, too! I don’t spend quite as much time there (I hold down the fort at Ocean Delight most days!), so Rosemary got this picture and told me about the wonderful ladies who make up the Red Had Edison Club. I’m told it was one of the friends’ birthdays, so they surprised her with a night at The Doctor’s House. They said it was important to spend time with your girlfriends because they are the ones who will always be there for you. Judging by the stories my daughters tell me, I think they’re right!

Sunset Sunday: A Wake at Last

Boating and the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean in Newfoundland, Canada

I’ve always dreamed of having a boat and feel so blessed to have one now. Our boat honors that dream – truly, I am thrilled to have a wake at last. Especially when I can enjoy peaceful evenings with The lovely Berry on the ocean, watching the setting sun – my favourite!

Day Trips: Grow Dat Farms

Sustainable agriculture in Newfoundland

I took this picture on a recent day trip to Grow Dat Farms. I’m always talking up the great day trips you can take on the Baccalieu Trail, so this summer, in our very limited free time, The Berry and I are trying to practice what we preach. Grow Dat Farms in nearby Heart’s Delight was a great place to start. They’ve got fruit, flowers, vegetables, and herbs, all organic and fresh. And of course, chickens! We love their hen house – makes me wonder if it’s something I could replicate at The Doctor’s House. Regardless, it’s a fun place to visit, and just a reminder to guests – we love giving recommendations if you’re looking for fun things to do in the area, and we have a list of local activities here.

The Berry Blogs!

The Berry, Boating

Turns out I’m not the only one with a hand for blogging – please check out this wonderful piece, written by The Berry! Laurelyn was happy to guest post for the Newfoundand and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs, an organization I know she is proud to be a member of and support. With an extensive network they help women start, grow and advance leading-edge businesses (remind you of anyone?). Writing And Now for Our Next Act, Laurelyn outlines our journey from clueless about the hospitality industry to now operating three unique ventures. It’s a great read!