Holly HIKE!!! (Monday, July 10th)

It's a beautiful day to wake up by the ocean!  We have a jammed packed schedule today.  Another reminder that the time wasted with the truck really altered our plans.  We would love to spend more time here and would have had the luxury of time but right now we are squeezed for time.  We have a lot of things to do today and we want to be in St John's tonight (3 hours away).  Me and Gab take the time to go play by the ocean while Justin finishes to close up the trailer.  Our iceberg that we nicknamed the Twin Towers moved closer to us overnight.  The towers are not as big as they were when we first got here though.  Off we go! We head on through the beautiful village of Bonavista.  Justin really is in love with the beautiful houses.  We are really happy happy that the weather is so nice.  We are going to hike the Skerwink trail this morning.  A 5.3km moderate to difficult hike that has been rated in the top 25 hikes in North America and Europe by the ... .magazine.  We have prepped Gaby and she is ready to go and assures us she will do it without even 'chialer' (complaining)! As we get closer to Port Rexton, we are a little saddened because there is a good fog layer.  We stop at a gas station where we think we have to turn to get to the start of the trail and the attendant tells us we should leave our trailer here as there isn't much room.  So we unhook the trailer and head out.  Once we arrive, Justin realizes he forgot his hiking boots in the truck.  So he heads back with Bones and I start the trail with Gaby and James.  Within the first 2km we are blown away.   The fog is far enough and we are spoiled by the views.   Not only is the view beautiful but there are whales putting on a show for us!! We wait there for Justin to catch up to us and are entertained by the whales while we wait.  The entire hike is beautiful.  I wouldn't rate is as difficult but there are many steps and it is up and down a lot.  I decide to keep James on my back!  Training for the race in September!!  We are very proud of Gaby who does it all with no complaints! We came across a few people on the trail but it's a joy to share this beautiful site with everyone else who love it just as much as we do.  The free whale show is so much fun....we could sit there all day trying to spot them.  Once we are done, we stop at the trailer for a quick bite to eat and to the next village - Trinity.  First, we go to the lighthouse that we had a beautiful view of on our hike this morning.  James is sleeping and he hasn't napped all day so I let Justin and Gab go and explore.  Next, we go to Trinity.  I didn't really know what to expect and was imagining a real life Upper Canada Village but without people in character.  We went to the houses that we included with our Provincial park pass and skipped out on the others as it was already 4 and everything was closing at 5.  It was nice but I could have skipped it.  Justin on the other hand appreciated it.  We leave to pick up our trailer and I suggest we stop and eat on the way in order to break up the drive.  I promise Gab that we will grab an ice cream when we get the change.  We pass Clarenville and bad mistake on my part, there is nothing else along the way.  The kids are being really good.  Justin on the other hand is not a happy camper.  He is hangry!  About 60kms from St John's we pass a subway on the highway but this time he just drives by.  I think we just want to push through and get to St John's.  About 20mins away, James starts crying screaming but he passes out in no time.  Poor thing he is tired.  We arrive at Pippy Park in St John's.  The camping attendant is not pleasant and charges me 250+.  I question it after she has put my card through and she had us booked for 6 nights.  Her mistake as there were 2 Paquette's booked in.  Then we head to our site and it's too small.  Now, we are tired!  We go back, have our site changed for the pull through sites.  Setup and another snag.  They only have a 50amp plug and we don't have a converter.  We want to go pick up food anyways so we google Canadian Tire and are off.  None at Canadian Tire, none at Walmart across the road but we do pick up a chicken meal at Swiss Chalet.  Feed everyone and bedtime!

Rain (Saturday, July 8th)

Pouring rain this morning as the weather man predicted.  It's ok because our plan is to travel towards the Bonavista peninsula and might as well be driving when it's raining.  I wanted to go to a lookout as we travelled through Terra Nova Park but no sense on this gloomy day.  Justin had made the comment earlier in our travels that we had yet to see any milking farms.  Someone had told them that they were all on the eastern part of the island.  He just finishes saying that we are far east now and still no farms when we cross our first farm!  We would love to boondock tonight but I want a back up just in case so I look up campsites.  There are no campsites close to Cape Bonavista and there is one in Trinity.  By the time we arrive in Trinity it is downpouring.  We decide to go ask if they have a spot for us.  The man feels bad because there is no way we would can fit in their campsite.  He makes our decision easy...we turn around and head just a few kms away where we saw a spot to pull over on the small highway.  Of course, it is coming down hard when we set up the trailer.  Justin is soaked once he is finished.  We all strip down. Gaby even puts on her 'Meagan Trainor' giraffe onesie.  Turn up the heat and settle in for the afternoon.  We have a UNO Stanley cup playoff game! That's what we call it when we play first one to 4 :)  By late afternoon the rain slows down to a drizzle and we decide to take a drive out towards Bonavista.  I miss the turnoff towards Elliston but it's a loop so we start with Cape Bonavista instead of Elliston.  WOW!!! Cape Bonavista is breathtaking.  We didn't expect the village to be as big.  It's a 2000-2500 population.  I guess I should have noticed on the map but I never clued in.  We head towards the lighthouse.  As we are longing the coast we pass a sign that says 'free parking' with a fifth wheel parked there.  There is enough room for another 2-3 more trailers.  This spot is unbelievable.  We stop at the little ice cream shop across the road to inquire.  The kind lady says 'Welcome to Newfoundland boy'!  You come and park your trailer no problem!'.  Boy!! This spot is too sweet not to pass up, we will head back to our spot and bring the trailer up here.  I'm kind of upset that we didn't drive up here with the trailer but how were we to know.  On our way back we pass through Dungeon Provincial Park.  James is sleeping, so me and Gab take a sneak and confirm that we will stop in again tomorrow for everyone to enjoy.  On our way home we will stop in Elliston that is not only the root cellar capital of the world but where the Parks Canada lady told us it was a sure bet to spot puffins.  We see root cellars scattered here and there along the highway and then find 'THE' puffin viewing site.  We leave Bones in the truck.  Justin says he won't scare them away but once we get to the entrance of the site they of course don't allow dogs.  It's a small walk and we get excited thinking there is a puffin a few feet away from other tourists.  Jokes on us...it's someone with a camera big enough to see life on other planets that has a stuffed puffin!  Real puffins!!! Yes, now we see them!  There are hundreds of them if not thousands on the small island next to us.  Puffins are very small but we have a good view of them.  It's a wonder why they stay where they are.  It's almost like there is an imaginary line they won't cross but it is very cool to see them.  Gab was really excited to see them but I think it was anti-climactic for her.  Not sure why.  She may have thought they were bigger.  We head back to the trailer.  It's getting late, so we decide to feed the kids and get them ready for bed and travel after that.  James falls asleep on the way and miss Gaby stays up until we arrive.  We can't believe no one else has taken up the spots!  The turn to get in is tight and I don't know why I stress because Justin can always pull it off.  Kids in bed and all setup, Justin heads over the little ice cream shop across the road and grabs us supper.  We like to support the kind people who allow us to park for free and we really don't feel like cooking.  I love the name of the ice cream shop 'The little Dairy King'!  Cute.  We can't wait to enjoy the view when things clear up tomorrow morning!

Free view - amazing!