We spent a week
At Dildo Run,
And everyday
There was much sun.

The water was cold
Frigid but clear
And wherever we turned,
There was an old fishing pier.

There were animals on the ground
And birds in the sky
But unfortunately this was
A favorite spot of the fly.

There were broken houses
Lying in a heap
But there was pretty sea glass
Sea glass to keep.

The cliffs might be steep
And the beaches few
But I love this place
I really do.

We stayed at Dildo Run Provincial Park and drove down Bowl-Me-Down and Stuckless Lane. I think Newfoundland has the strangest place names ever! But despite the odd names, these places were beautiful. There were endless towering cliffs with seaweed covered rocks at the bottom and hidden coves with pebble beaches. In some places, there were four foot gaps between the shore and the little rocky islands. Waves would roar through these canyons, colliding in the middle and sending water flying back out. When the water wasn’t being torn apart by these waves, it was the same color blue as a geyser pond in Yellowstone. But the temperature of the water was slightly different: It was freezing!  But that didn’t stop me from swimming!

The people in Twillingate were so friendly! One day, we hiked to see where a little village used to be until the 1960s, when Canada gave $700 to anyone who moved to a main road (you can google the Newfoundland resettlement project). When we got back to the main road, we met a family who had actually floated their house across the bay to the main road. We met their 95 year old dad who showed us around his little workshop where he makes wooden crafts. We were given armfuls of amazing crafts. Then we were invited in the house to see some of the old things they had. They had lots of things, including their great-great-great-grandpa’s staff from London, a kerosene lamp from the 1800s, and a picture of the village before the resettlement. They told us stories about making their own seal skin boots and walking across the frozen bay to school.

The area was very amazing and we were sad to leave, but we are excited for Fogo Island.

The ferry ride over to Newfoundland was almost seven hours, but it was very pretty. Well, it was pretty until the fog came in and then we couldn’t see anything.

After the ferry, we drove to a little town named King’s Point and spent about four nights there. There were three big icebergs in the inlet, and they were all beautiful.

We spent one day at Nicky’s Nose Beach (weirdest name ever), right by a few different icebergs. A few little pieces of ice (called bergy bits) had broken off and I actually swam out to one piece twice. I was so cold afterwards that the cold stream there actually felt warm. My swim really woke me up though!

One day we walked to Rattling Brook Falls, which were very pretty. The top part of the trail was closed because of a rockslide, so we hung out at the stream for awhile. There were a lot of rocks, and I crossed the stream and explored around. Ma even went swimming! In the afternoon, we hiked the Alexander Murray trail. It had a lot of steps – 2200 to be exact! I gave Little Kid a lot of piggy back rides along the way, and I was exhausted afterwards.

Another day we hiked a very pretty trail along the cliffs. The water was very clear. When we got to the end and saw there was no way down to the beach, we had a picnic lunch before heading back to the car and driving to a different beach. At the beach, I started building a house in the cliffs before I got bored and threw the logs down to make a raft instead. I was amazed when the raft actually floated, and I went exploring our little cove by boat. I didn’t go far from shore because I didn’t trust my paddle, which was really just a long stick I used to push myself.

In King’s Point we also had fun chatting with locals, checking out a humpback whale skeleton, and eating partridge pie.

We spent eight days on the island of Grand Manan in New Brunswick, so we did a lot of things. One of my favorites was hiking around Ross Island. At low tide, we walked across the wet mud flats to Ross Island. The road was filled with huge puddles that were up to our knees. At first we tryed to stay dry by walking on the sides or on side paths that were slightly less wet, but soon I gave up and just waded straight through the puddles. Ma and Pa (with Little Kid on his back) eventually decided to just wade too. When the trail wasn’t a huge muddy puddle, it was a route along the beach or a confusing trail through the woods that was impossible to follow. On the beach part, I picked up a huge inflatable buoy that I carried for the rest of the hike.

Another day, we drove out to one of the lighthouses on the island named Swallow Tail. After walking down to it and having a picnic lunch, we returned to the car and drove to a rocky beach. From there hiked to Hole in the Wall, which was a hole in a rock wall down by the ocean. You probably could have paddled through it at high tide, which would have been awesome. When we got back to the car, we drove to Deep Cove Beach. I made a raft from a board and did a little swimming and rafting on a little creek there.

We liked Deep Cove Beach so much that a few nights later we went back and had a picnic there. This time, I used some boards and logs to make a bridge across the creek. It was a bit wobbly, but it got the family across dry, so I think it was a pretty good bridge.

We also took a ferry to White Head island, and we had an amazing time exploring it. We had lunch on a rock that was pretty close to turning into an island, and played at a sandy beach.

One day, we explored Dark Harbor, which was pretty dark because of all the fog. We walked way out on a spit of land between the harbor and the main ocean, occasionally stopping to look at old broken houses or bits of debris. Once we saw a house with only a floor, a sink, and a stove left. We turned back when there were so many bits of driftwood that we would have been wading in it.

The ferry back to the main land was very pretty. Little Kid got a blanket as well as knitting lessons. I got knitting lessons too, and now I am getting ready to knit!

Today was awesome! The fun started with riding on a barrel on a greased pole, trying to grab the Canadian flag at the end, and then falling into the ice cold water below. After drying off and warming up, we headed to the beach with Canadian flags in our hair. In case you are wondering about all the Canadian flags, today was Canada Day, the Canadian Independence Day. At the beach, I did the money dig, which was really a crazed bunch of kids crowded in a small area digging furiously in the sand for money. Little Kid joined the 3-6 year old money dig, but he was more interested in the sand than the money.

When the activities slowed down, we started back to the campground for the slip and slide that was set up close to our campsite. In fact, it was so close that kids would have hit the RV if the slip and slide was a bit longer! Little Kid and I went to the top of the hill, and slid down, getting washed on the way. The slip and slide was kind of like a mini carwash, with the sprinklers and soap on it. Unfortunately, there were no warm blowers at the end, which would have been nice since the water was ice and it was only 60 degrees out. Once Little Kid and I were frozen solid, we got some cake and ice cream hoping that the sugar would keep Little Kid awake, since he missed nap. It worked well, and soon Little Kid was running around, kicking balls and releasing balloons.

Pretty soon, the sugar buzz wore off and Little Kid was in bed by seven o’clock. Hopefully, he will not be awake for the ten o’clock fireworks, but I sure hope I will!