Hunkering down for Irene

Those who have been following this blog will know it has been quiet for the last few days. Updates for this time will appear over the next day or so.
In the meantime we have been looking at the potential impact of Hurricane Irene – as of yesterday evening the New York City government decided to close its airports at Midday today, so our flight was cancelled.
Virgin managed to get around to e-mailing the confirmation of the flight cancellation at 11.00 a.m. UK time – 6.00 a.m. our time, but with no details of when we will be able to fly. We spent quite a lot of time yesterday (about 3.00 hours) on their US number but never got to the end of the queue. They did provide a website for us to provide our US contact details, but no news yet, I guess that might not happen until the airport reopens, which will not happen until Monday – we’ll see. Thankfully the great staff at the Hotel Bedford had no problem with us staying for as long as we need to, we didn't even need to move room.
We had breakfast at Blooms this morning, then spent the rest of the morning walking around town, seeing how many shops were already closed. As some of the photos reflect.

We also bought salads, sandwiches, bagels, fruit and drink as the advice is not to go out as the hurricane comes in (around 8.00 p.m. tonight).

The tropical storms in front of the hurricane are already here, with short sharp rain storms, so we got in-doors. The subway and buses all finished at Midday, so apart from popping around the corner for Mass this evening we will be inside from now until Monday morning. The hotel is likely to turn-off the lift when the storm hits, so that no one gets caught inside, so as we are on the 15th floor up we won’t be popping up and down any more times than we need.
Drew and I seem to have had a history of holiday events. In 2006, we flew out of Thailand 4 hours before a coup closed the airport, in 2008 we were hotel bound due to Hurricane Gustav (a category 5 hurricane) for a day. In 2010 we got stuck in Spain for a week due to the Iceland volcano. So here we are with an Earthquake four days ago and Irene on the way – exciting times. We didn’t have this problem in 2010 when we went to Yorkshire!!

Eating at the Ocean’s Edge

We picked the Ocean Edge Hotel in Belfast because of its attached restaurant with a wide range of fish focussed food. And what an excellent menu it had. The chef Justin Connor is well known in the region for the quality of his food.
Drew started with a lobster stew, that was on the specials list not the main menu. It was a great soup with large chunks of vegetables as well as large chunks of lobster. I opted for Potato skins, these, rather than being skins, were really half potatoes covered with pepper jack cheese and bacon.
For our main course Drew opted for Fresh Scallops with coleslaw, tarter sauce and fries. These were plump, sweet scallops, the best we have had so far this holiday. I went for the main dish – Boiled Maine Lobster. The people of Maine argue that Maine has the best lobster in the world. I would not dispute them. This specimen came out looking so brightly red, I was told that the redder they are when cooked the fresher they are, that it looked as if it had been painted. It was easy to peel (for easier than the last one I had in Prince Edward Island) and the meat was delicious. It was served with a backed potato and some courgettes and pumpkin – char-grilled. Drew decided to have a dessert and opted for Carrot Cake which was lightly spiced and had a sweet cream cheese topping – it went down really well.
The Ocean Edge is one of those hotels which does complimentary breakfast. In addition to the usual cereals, bagels and crumpets they also had sausage patties and eggs – so you could make your own sausage and egg muffin, or sausage and egg bagel – Drew had the first and I had the second. They also had a waffle iron – so we tried it out. The machine had clear instructions and even made a beep when the waffle was done.
After breakfast we made an early start (7.30) for our visit to Boston.

Back to the USA

So today is our last day in Canada, it has been a lovely place and we have been really lucky in having such a great time here.

Our route looks like this:

View Larger Map

We left the Future Inn, Moncton at 9.00 (Atlantic Time; 8.00 Eastern) with the temperature at 76 and headed along the TransCanada highway (which here is the NB2) for the last 19 miles on a road we have travelled on in four of Canada's provinces. We went on to the NB1 and headed for the border. We stopped in a little village called Petitcodiac and had breakfast in a Tim Horton's. Drew had his regular breakfast biscuit, with sausage, cheese and egg in a biscuit. I opted to try the breakfast bagel which was sausage, egg, cheese and tomato on a cheddar cheese bagel, very nice. We both had two large black coffees and left our last Tim Horton's in Canada.

The road took us past a place called Sussex and through the town of St John, this St John without the 's is not to be confused with the St. John's that is the capital of Newfoundland - a very important 's as the 2 towns are a long way apart.

Just before St. John it began to rain. For ten minutes around a place called Prince of Wales it became a deluge, making the driving a touch scary. Drew coped well and the conditions improved though it continued to rain until about 10 miles from the US border.

We arrived at the border at Midday (Eastern, the time zone we are now in) and the border guard was very pleasant, no hassle getting across, just a check of our passports and our rental agreement for the car and we were in. We then travelled along a road called the ME9 (ME = Maine) which was long and undulating travelling through lots of trees. Though noticeably these were not the trees we had become familiar with in Canada, these trees were from more temperate zones, someone may even be able to recognise them from the photos and tell us in the comments below. The temperature had again risen to the high 70's.

We stopped at one of the few roadside diners on this road, the Hillside Diner. Though it was a small place run by two people, the waitress and the chef, it had good food. Drew opted for a Cheeseburger with Onion Rings. The Onion rings were obviously chopped and fried fresh and had a lovely texture. I opted for liver and onions (as the menu described it) but it was in fact liver, bacon and onions, tasty and not a flavour I’ve had before in the US. I’m not allowed liver at home unless Drew is away, As offal it is banned from the house, so it was a special treat to have it. It was served with a baked potato and green beans – lovely.
Now we have moved from the land of Washrooms to the land of Rest Rooms there is a clear decline in toilet quality. Not that the US ones were dirty, but they aren’t as sparking clean and clearly well tended as the Canadian ones, they are always a bit rough and ready this side of the border.

We drove on through the trees of Maine and came over a spectacular bridge crossing the Passagassawakeag River at Verona Island.
A few miles later on the ME1 and we arrived at the Ocean’s Edge Comfort Inn in Belfast, Maine at 4.10 p.m.. The hotel really is at the ocean’s edge with lovely views over Penobscot Bay.
I’d read that Belfast had a lovely town centre, so after we settled in to the room, Drew went out onto the balcony to take in the sea views and I headed in to town. Downtown Belfast is a pretty place, well worth the visit, as you’ll see from the photos of the old town buildings and the harbor. I spent an hour there before returning to upload the photos and write this post.

Maps for the last two days

Just before leaving Moncton I noted that I had not included the maps and routes for the last two days. So here are the maps:

View Larger Map

View Larger Map
and here are the routes from Pouch Cove to Argentia and North Sydney to Moncton

Over the sea to Nova Scotia and on to New Brunswick

We boarded the ferry (the MV Atlantic Vision) at 2.15, our cabin was even more spacious than on the trip coming over. This one had a porthole. I must admit I thought long and hard about sleeping on a ferry crossing, but the accommodation in Marine Atlantic ships are of a much higher quality than I expected.
We had a buffet dinner with a wide selection of salads and soup, followed by chicken, roast beef (carved), pork, fish and a stir fry collection. Desserts included cheesecakes, gateaux, fruit salad and chocolate brownies. Drew was feeling hungry and had two plates of starter, one of mains and three of dessert, I had one of starters and two plates of main. I went to bed at 10.00 (NST), 9.30 (AT), and slept really well waking at 4.30 (AT which is now the time zone we are in). The shower facilities on board are also good, with the only flexible shower heads on the North American continent. Unlike in the UK most US and Canadian shower heads are fixed to the wall, you can move them a little up-down and right-left, but not take them off and get to the more challenging parts! Hence my pleasure at having a shower head that does come off the wall.

We left the ferry at 6.25 and headed to Tim Horton's for breakfast. Drew had the Hot Breakfast Biscuit - Sausage, egg and cheese in a biscuit. I had an onion bagel with cream cheese. We then headed along the NS105 which travels through Cape Breton island on the other side of Bras D'Or Lake from the NS4 we travelled up over a week ago. The lake is still as pretty as it was then, at times we can see the road we travelled on before across the wide expanse of the lake. The thing that struck us both most forcibly is how different Nova Scotia is from Newfoundland. No craggy outcrops, no ever present mountains, no forceful sea. A calmer area with a more temperate climate.
Rather than waiting in North Sydney for their 11.00 a.m. Mass, it being Sunday, I had spotted a stop further on the route that had Mass at 9.30, this was at the town of Antigonish so we headed there and arrived at 9.20.  There is a cairn park in Antigonish, Drew visited it while I was in Mass. Apparently the McDougal’s, the Chisholm’s and the McIntyre's are proud of their Scottish heritage or so it says on their cairns. The Chisholm’s have even gone as far as stealing some rocks from Scotland, on their visit, and putting it in a cairn in the park with a notice saying so.
The cathedral in Antigonish, dedicated to the Scottish saint, St Ninian, is a lovely building. Dark stone of the outside, but light and airy on the inside. It has the first stained glass windows I have seen which open and let in air. The West of Scotland heritage of which this region is so proud is not well known to me. Unlike the Irish influence in Newfoundland, similar to the large Irish influence in South Wales' Catholicism, Nova Scotia's heritage is of the Catholicism of Glasgow and the Scottish isles, the tartan of St. Ninian is everywhere to be seen in the church and the surrounding buildings.  The Mass was joyful and the priest very focussed on us celebrating the love if Jesus in a personal way. The sermon focussed on the gospel about Peter being asked 'who do you say I am' and saying 'you are the Christ the son of the living God'. We are invited to the joy of knowing Jesus is the Son of God, the one who loves us and wants us to love others in return. How nice to have such a powerful yet happy message this Sunday morning.
From Canso Causeway to New Glasgow we are on 80 miles of route we have travelled before. You will have noted we have avoided going back ourselves as far as possible, but there didn't seem to be any other way we could get back from Newfoundland to New Brunswick and on tomorrow to the USA. Still the sun is shining it is 75 degrees Fahrenheit outside, so we can enjoy the route even though it is somewhat familiar. 
After New Glasgow we were on new routes, including our first Canadian toll road, which was only $4, we stopped for lunch in a little village called Oxford in Nova Scotia, 50 miles from the New Brunswick border. Oxford is famous as the Blueberry capital of Canada, hence the photos of the Blueberry factory. We stopped at the Parkview Restaurant and both had their special of the day Digby Scallop Dinner. The scallops, we had 10 each, were lightly battered and deep fried, they were served with fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce and a bread roll. We realised that the 'dark' chips - with skin on and cooked to the point of burnt - was a Newfoundland thing, as these were the first we had seen of what we would call normal colour for a week. Given Oxford's blueberry production Drew felt obliged to test their quality by finishing the meal with a Blueberry pie which had soft pastry that didn't overpower the natural flavour of the blueberries.

After lunch we drove on through the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border and on to the town of Moncton, where we are stopping tonight at the Future Inn. The temperature this afternoon raised to 85 Fahrenheit. Though there is a Future Inn in Cardiff
We had our meal tonight in the restaurant attached to the hotel, called Mavericks. Unlike many restaurants attached to an hotel this was not a chain. Indeed it had a very personable feel. The menu focussed on steak and fish. Most of the guests, like many people in this area, were French speaking as were many of the staff. Noticeably the majority of those eating there were not staying in the hotel, but locals going out for a night.
I eat from the summer seasonal menu and started with the Chicken Wings, these were served in a light seasoned batter with carrots and celery sticks and two dips - hot pepper and blue cheese. Really meaty chicken and strong flavoured dips. I then went for the renegade ribs. Unbelievably, they were actually as big as the picture on the menu shows. A huge side of ribs in a barbecue sauce - another opportunity for meat excess. This was served with a baked potato and carrots and broccoli. I suddenly realised that the requirement to saute all vegetables was a Newfoundland thing, as these were boiled with no fat anywhere near them!
Drew opted for the main menu and had Golden Onion Soup, this was a trio of onions in a beef broth with garlic croutons and served au gratin. This tasted freshly made, in the kitchens we could see from the restaurant. Drew then moved on to Pork Chops with a maple apple chutney topping, those were also nicely cooked and flavoursome. We went back to the room and to bed at 10.00 p.m. Having now slept a night here, I would recommend Future Inns to anyone travelling in the future.

Leaving Pouch Cove

So our last day at Pouch Cove arrives, as usual I wake with the sun, and the cockerel, at 5.30, I loaded yesterday's photos onto Flickr, cleared my e-mails, showered, dressed and went out into the garden by about 7.00. Breakfast was at 8.00, we paid and had said our goodbyes by 8.40.

As the main object of today was to get to ferry in Argentia by 2.00 we looked to see where we might go en-route so as not to arrive to early. We had been told about the Cape St Mary's bird refuge, so decided it would be a nice place to visit. However about 30 miles away from the cape we came into fog. It wasn't the thickest fog we had seen, but when we turned into the small entrance road to the cape for the last 7 miles it got really foggy to the extent that we had to travel very slowly and rely on others doing the same. We got to the visitors centre to the sound of a fog-horn, so while we were able to read about the work they are doing there we were advised not to take the 1K walk out to the view area as it was dangerous in this weather. We took the advice and left.

We stopped for lunch at the Atlantica Inn in a pretty sea-side town of St Bride's. As ever while the place looked rough and ready, the food was good and the toilets were exceptionally clean. For lunch I had the 'Pork Chop Dinner' and Drew had the 'Turkey Dinner'. Both were really lovely and, like everywhere in Newfoundland, it was clear the food was being cooked from scratch and could not be rushed.  The dinners were the meat, fries and gravy, peas, broccoli and green beans, and cranberry sauce for Drew. Both meats were cooked to perfection and really tasty.

We went on to the ferry port and arrived at the terminal at 1.30 to check in.  

A warning to my vegetarian friends don't read to the end of this post

I know there are at least three vegetarians reading this post (Linda, Elaine and Robin), so look away before the end.

Friday was yet another lovely day, we drove to Torbay and I went to Mass at 10.00 while Drew went around taking pictures. When we got back to Pouch Cove Drew went on another of Elke's hikes, this one along the coast from Pouch Cove to Cape St. Francis. Drew has some brilliant photos of the walk, some I've added here others are on Flickr. I love the names of the places - Horrid Gulch, Anvil Rocks, Pigeon Island, Biscayne Islands etc.

The view from Points East

I sat in the garden of Points East enjoying the weather (with my hat on of course) and reading my novel - how blissful and relaxing. Drew got back at around 4.00. We showered and dressed-up for tonight and head out to treat ourselves to one of the real specialities of the island:

The Woodstock Colonial Restaurant, Paradise - as its logo goes: 'Come dine with us in Paradise'

The menu, though it had a range of 'normal' dishes, highlighted its Newfoundland specialities with the pink, white and green 'old' Newfoundland flag. We had travelled the 25 miles from Pouch Cove for the specialities, which Drew had read about even before we left home.

The meal started well, the bread rolls they brought were really small loaves, fresh and crusty on the outside, soft in the middle. We ended up having two each. I then started with Cod Tongues, only the second lot I've had but definitely my favourite Newfoundland delicacy, they were perfectly cooked here and the scrunchions were crisp and tasty, they were served with tartar sauce and a thai chilli sauce. Drew opted for another dish called a local delicacy: Cod au gratin, well the cod must be local, but I think the French would claim the gratin. Still he loved it and commented on the creamy cheesiness of it. The cheddar type cheese was melted over large flakes of cod in a cheesy sauce. 

The main courses were the star items. I had Seal Flipper Pie and Drew had Caribou Pie. Both of these local delicacies were delicious, the seal flipper had the bones in, so you needed a long pie dish for it to fit - hence the shape. The pies both had lovely flaky puff pastry on top, which helped mop up the gravy in the pies. Apparently cooking seal flipper is a real art, as all the blubber has to be rendered before it becomes in anyway edible. Interesting the flavour and texture were like some old stewing steak that had been left braising for 5 hours, rather than anything fishy. Nice, but a surprise to the palette  Again, I'm told that if the blubber is not extracted properly or the meat not cooked for long enough it can taste like rotted fish!! The Caribou tasted like horse meat, indeed the closest taste I could associate with it was some Zebra meat I had at the Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi back in 1985. Both pies had strong gravies (I could taste bay. rosemary and black pepper) made from the meat juices, they were served with roasted red potatoes, carrots, broccoli, red pepper, courgette and asparagus. And were delightful, as the final picture shows.

Elke of Points East

My last post talked about the musical experience of Points East, but our hostess, Elke, should also not go without a special mention. She organises and manages Trail Connections along the East Coast Trail. In this context Points East becomes the starting point for hikers wanting to walk the trail. Indeed we met a number during our stay doing just that (a particular mention to Marshall and Molly). Elke is direct and focussed with her guests, making clear to them the risk of losing the path and of not walking to close to the sea. Elke is a German native, and her and her two helpers - Timo and Inga - form a formidable team. I bet everyone does as they are told when on Elke's hikes.
But Elke is not just a guest house owner and hike coordinator, she is also a leading authority on Newfoundland Folklore and history. Having authored articles on folklore and published a book about Newfoundland and Labrador
We are so lucky to get a stay in a place with amazing views, Points East in name and pointing east in truth, so that there is only the sea between us and Europe (follow that trail of sunlight). Plus we get the bonus of meeting people with fascinating histories and stories to tell.

Music in Pouch Cove - Dan Rubin

Things have gone really well in the holiday so far, all we had planned has happened, and the things that we hadn’t planned which happened have made the holiday even more pleasant. Well tonight was an example of the latter. At no point did I think that we would be spending an evening in Newfoundland listening to the playing of one of the islands renowned musical producers who runs his own studio in Pouch Cove and lives next-door to Points East. I couldn’t have imagined it, but that is exactly what happened!

Karen and Lee

At breakfast this morning we met a lovely couple who had arrived late last night, they were called Karen and Lee Gazey and had frequented Points East for 11 years. They hail from Ontario, but also have a home in Heart’s Content, a village we had driven through the day before. Karen is Senior Vice President responsible for the Atlantic Provinces for Sheridan Nurseries. Her Dad and Grandad having been influential players in the development of the company as outlined in its history.
Well Lee likes to play guitar and two years earlier had been introduced to Elke’s next-door neighbour, so they played together, and Lee had arranged to do the same while they were at Points East this time.
Well it turns out that the next-door neighbour is Dan Rubin, who has produced and performed on numerous albums. He is the President of the St. John’s branch of the Canadian Federation of Musicians and here he was in the sitting room of Points East playing some tunes with Lee, with us as the audience. What a treat. Dan is not just interested in music though; he also chairs Pouch Cove’s Heritage Committee.

Dan Tuning for Lee

Lee and Dan

Though this was the third time Dan and Lee had played together you would have bet that they had been practicing for ages to achieve the quality of music they performed this evening. They started at about 8.30 p.m. and finished at around 12.30 what a wonderful evening.
Many of the songs, especially those Dan led were written by Dan and others were ones that he has produced in collaboration with friends. It was truly a virtuoso example of a musician in great form.Not only was he playing the guitar, but he moved to the viola and the violin at will, what an amazingly talented guy. I loved the live interactive nature of the songs, performed not in a studio, but by two men in their socks in the room outside our bedroom door.

 

For those of you not lucky enough to be there, above is the song Dan wrote at the death of his mother, and which he spoke about so personally to us this week at Points East. The video is from an earlier performance recorded by someone in St. John's and shared on You Tube. You can also hear some of the music Dan has produced for and with Atlantic Union.
I hope you can get the message that I was blown away by the unexpected, unusual, yet wonderful experience. Thanks Dan and Lee.

In and around Pouch Cove

Elke of Points East

e arrived in Points East at Pouch Cove on Tuesday evening and were shown to our room which is an en-suite downstairs room in the building which has three other bedrooms upstairs. It is semi-detached from the building where the guest house owner Elke lives. (Note the photo is not one of ours but sourced from http://www.pbase.com/w9788/nfl with compliments)  We were greeted by Timo, a German exchange student working here for a year, and had a lovely pot of tea before grabbing a snack (a bag of crisps) and heading to bed.

Our bed at Points East

Our room at Points East has a double bed (4 foot six inches), which is a surprise after the queen size (known as king size in the UK - 5 foot wide) and king size (Superkings in the UK - 6 foot wide) we have had on the stay to date. Our bed at home is also a superking, so we are at closer quarters than normal. Still that seemed to work out OK!



Wednesday was forecast to be rainy, but in fact the day was sunny with occasional showers – only two lasting five minutes each during the time Drew was on his walk/hike – certainly not enough to get very wet, though as I was in the car when they came I can’t really talk.

We had decided to have separate activities today, so after breakfast, which was a nice home-made granola, with fresh fruit, toast and a variety of jams, I went to Mass at 10.00 in the local church of St. Agnes, then down to St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, to a Laundrette (Laundromat as they are called here) called Mighty Whites to wash and dry our clothes, seven days since we last did this in Houlton. We needed two machines here at $2 each and also 2 dryers at £1.30 along with washing liquid 75c each, it turned out a little more expensive than in the US.

After the wash I walked around parts of St. John’s and found Gower Street which reminded me of home – I hope everyone is well there. And I returned stopping in Torbay at Mary Brown’s for a three piece meal, which was nice, lovely chicken well cooked.

Shoe Cove island

Drew opted to take one of the famous East Coast Trail hikes and had a great time additional pictures of the walk can be found on Flickr.

From the garden at Points East

I got back at about 1.30 and spent a pleasant hour or so sitting in the garden of Points East looking over the cliffs and sea. Drew returned at about 2.45 and we caught up with his trip and loaded the pictures onto flickr. We went out later in the afternoon to look around the village and at 6.30 went to the local fish and chip shop (or Take-Out) called the Water Witch. This was an interesting experience. We went in and ordered our cod (in batter) and chips and were told they would be ready in 20 minutes – cooking food from scratch seems to be the way here in Newfoundland, and so we went for a drive into the countryside while we waited and picked up our dinner when it was ready (which was actually 30 minutes later). I was amused to hear the lady in the Take-out answering the phone to a client and saying she would ring him or her back when the food was ready – now I know Pouch Cove is a small town, but what service!

We eat of fish and chips in the car looking out over the bay and returned to Points East for an exceptional evening of which more later.

Pouch Cove – A little history

Pouch Cove Sign

Pouch Cove Town Hall

Pouch Cove is a outport (the Newfoundland name for ports built often illegally at the edge of the sea, when the British Government banned such settlements in law) It is one of the oldest of the Newfoundland outports.
It is claimed that it is the first town in North America to see the sun - which there are other locations further east than Pouch Cove (e.g. Cape Spear) they are not a town community.
Though the early stories of Pouch Cove (note it is pronounced pooch like the alternative name for dog, not pouch as in somewhere a kangaroo keeps its babies) are oral history with little written down, the tradition is that Pouch Cove’s name came from a Frenchman called Pouche who travelled in these parts, and over time has lost the final e.
The town was settled in 1611 which is less than 30 years after Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of the island for the British Crown in 1583. This was before the naming of this part of Newfoundland as Avalon by George Calvert (the First Lord of Baltimore), though Calvert didn’t stay for long but moved south to set up the colony of Maryland, the location of the city named for him. The oral history indicates that Pouch Cove was selected because it had a difficult harbour to use. Thus the unregistered sailors could use it without interference from the British navy or others patrolling the waters.
The town saw the arrival of both English and Irish settlers and thrived on fishing and farming. One of the towns inhabitants was one of the people who signed the terms of union with Canada in 1949.

The harbour remains challenging today.

More on the history can be found here