Tag: travel

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Name That Church: Port au Port

I was amazed how quickly I got response to my mystery church post last week that I thought I’d through the challenge out to the Newfoundland blogging community again, this time with not one but two churches. They’re both on the Port au Port Peninsula, and were pretty enough to be snapped, but their identity it unknown to me. So, people of the west coast, history buffs and Newfoundland aficionados – can you help me out by naming either of these two churches? I’d love to know – leave it in the comments!

Of course the Port au Port Peninsula is a pretty and little area on the west coast, near Corner Brook. One of its points of distinction: an alpaca farm! 
That’s my daughter’s hand! And look below – I told you it was pretty!

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Oh! What a Night!

Murphy and I had the place to ourselves the other night – The Berry and Joe Friday both had to go to St. John’s to work. What a sunset we had – and what an excuse to kick back in silence and recuperate from lots of hard work, mental and physical. The waves just wash it all away.

I was happy, though, to take a break from the relaxing to set up floodlights and a cd player (for Newfoundland music, of course!) and bring down wood to the beach for our guests at The Blueberry – Veronica and Jim, and Mike and Patricia, from Kingston, Ontario. They invited me to have a beer and enjoy the night with them, and few offers have been more tempting! Work for a board meeting called me away, but I was there in spirit! (and here’s my last blurry night shot, I promise!  – I wanted to share this moment with you, but I’m getting used to my camera still …. Allison George has told me to turn up my ISO settings at night, so I hope that helps!)

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The Bays Are Alive (with the Sound of Music)

Meet The Sky Family, a wonderful, gifted family from PEI who share their Bible ministry with their Celtic music. They’re currently touring the island (this weekend will be their last show, in Corner Brook), and they stayed with us while doing a fundraiser in Green’s Harbour for the Acreman Elementary School and Community Playground. They all stayed in the Cranberry – squished would be an understatement, as it normally only  sleeps four, and their group, by the time they showed up, had grown to nine!

Beyond being a great family and their service to the community, they were a real treat to have around, because they kept spontaneously bursting into song and you could hear them everywhere. Thanks to this musical family, the bays were alive with the sound of music!

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Honeymooners’ Delight

You may remember Shauna and Geoff, a young couple from Kingston, who were our first guests to be screeched in by Joe Friday. They also have another distinction – our first honeymooners! Here they are happily displaying a Clifford George original – given at a discount for the occasion – in front of their cabin. They loved their stay – thanks in part to donated bikes from Whiteway’s own Lisa Day, and tea and a boat tour from Clifford and Shirley. Fresh fish helped, too!

If you watch our Youtube video, Geoff says he thinks “Ocean Delight chose us.”  That’s exactly how we felt when The Berry and I decided to buy these cottages. We’re thrilled that Geoff and Shauna enjoyed our place as much as we do (and wish them all the best!), and we hope we’ll have lots more happy, honeymooning couples to share it with in the future.

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Screeching In!

Well, we’re not experts yet, but this weekend we hosted our first Screech-In, and MC Joe Friday did a great job, if I do say so myself! Shauna and Geoff from Kingston were our first targets, followed by Ron and Sheryl from Toronto (apologies for the blurry photos – I’m still getting the hang of taking shots is low light!).Screech-Ins are of course a Newfoundland tradition that, if completed by Mainlanders (by, among other things, downing Screech and Newfoundland ‘steak’ and kissing a cod or cod-like substitute), confers upon them unofficial Newfoundlander status. It’s a rite of passage for any intrepid traveller to the island, and we were more than happy to share it with our guests (and Murphy, who wanted in on the action!). It was a lot of fun, and we’ll be doing another for guests later this week – who asked if they could pay for it, but that’s hardly the Ocean Delight way!Joe Friday, usually loathe to be the centre of attention, loves his new post as Master of Ceremonies!Geoff is now branded a Newfoundlander for life – gotta love it!

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Golfers’ Delight

I’m not a golfer, but I know beauty when I see it – and Whiteway’s own Pitcher’s Pond Golf more than hits the mark. I’d say I enjoy myself just sitting on the clubhouse deck and people-watching as much as I would if I were hitting the greens! That’s why we’re excited to be teaming up with Pitcher’s to offer a fall package deal – details soon!

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Tuesdays with Murphy: Statue Proposal

Why anyone would chose to leave the Wonderful World of Whiteway I don’t know, but Jerry and The Berry sometimes make trips to St. John’s to take care of ‘business’ (doing their business seems to mean something different to them than it does to me!). They’re often talking about their downtown hideaway, which I guess guests can rent, just like they do the cottages. And supposedly downtown there’s some bronze dog statues in beautiful Harbourside Park (all hearsay to me).

Anyway, if these dogs are immortalized in St. John’s, then maybe it’s time Whiteway makes a similar landmark. I think I cut a fine figure – here’s my pose. Any sculptors out there looking for a new job?

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Sunday Church Blogging: United Church in La Scie

I’ve been so excited about the food fishery and to have the A Wake at Last operational and at the service of our guests that I’ve been neglecting Sunday Church Blogging – but no more! Here’s Zion United Church in La Scie, part of the the most easterly conference of the United Church of Canada, and one of 5 churches in that community.

La Scie is a beautiful community on the Baie Verte Peninsula, with a long history with both the Basque and the French. ‘La Scie’ means ‘saw’ in French and refers to the jagged – and stunning – cliffs surrounding the area. I keep saying it – Newfoundland is a day trippers’ paradise (and Ocean Delight a great starting off point for those day trips!)

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Hidden City

A recent article in USA Today Travel calls Newfoundland a “rugged, remote, and yes, strange land,” and that’s so true. Even when you’re at the height of our biggest city – this picture was taken at famous Signal Hill – you can feel like you’re all alone, an explorer in a new world. And then maybe the fog will lift, and you’ll see that you’re actually in a pretty place filled with friendly people – these two pictures were taken on the same day!And just as a friendly reminder, along with our outside-the-overpass cottages, we also have a Downtown Hideaway for rent, conveniently located near all the hotspots of historic St. John’s, if you’re planning on spending a few days in that old, beautiful city. We’re very proud to be able to offer our guests the best of all that Newfoundland can offer – city and country!

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Ready for My Close Up

Usually I’m the one taking pictures of my guests – but yesterday I got some great shots from Jim and Judy, a couple we had out on the A Wake at Last about a month ago. They were very kind to pass them along, and now I’m passing them along to you!I especially like the shot they got of our Berry cottages – the ones in Whiteway. What great photographers!