Blogs

Four days with Writers at Woody Point, and I’m more inspired than I’ve been my whole life. As Canadian travel journalist Lucy Izon said one evening while taking the water taxi to Woody Point, there’s a sense of community here. Like Banff, I’m so awed by the overwhelming hospitality from everyone...

“Ed and Ed’s B and B — Where you are a Stranger but Once” is the third play in this series. Since we hadn’t seen any of the previous “Ed and Ed” plays we were not certain what to expect, other than that the programme billed it as a comedy. Many of the plays at Theatre Newfoundland Labrador’s Gros Morne Theatre Festival deal with local themes, so this play fits right in since the Bed and Breakfast that Ed and Ed are opening is  in Cow Head.

At 7:30 am on Sunday August 13, 2011, I peered out the window at the Hotel North in St. Anthony and the fog was so thick I couldn’t see across the parking lot. “I guess our 9:00 am boat trip is going to be scrubbed,” I told my wife Heather. But a few minutes later she pulled back the curtains and said she could see across the harbour.

Who would have guessed that an event in Greenland a little over a year ago would bring tourists flooding to the St. Anthony area this summer? On August 5, 2010, a large piece of the Petermann Glacier broke off and became an “ice island” measuring 280 square km in size.  A year later it has worked its way south and is now off of St. Anthony at the tip of the Northern Peninsula. 

The hikers from TrailPeak.com have started their trek from western Newfoundland to the south coast of Labrador. Read about their journey through Gros Morne in the first blog.

“Winter” is a new play for Theatre Newfoundland Labrador for the 2011 season and was written by Nell Leyshon, who has the reputation of being the first female playwright to be commissioned and produced by the Globe Theatre in London, England.

“Yesterday we had 6 women from the Corner Brook area come out for a fishing tour—they were in their 60-70’s and they had a great time. Not only did they catch a lot of cod but we saw an eagle for each person.” Darren told me over the phone on Tuesday night (August 2)

When I recently mentioned to Gaylene Buckle that we were heading to Cow Head to see some plays for the weekend, she suggested we try out the hiking trail that traverses the “Head”. As Theatre Newfoundland Labrador’s (TNL) general manager, she has spent many days in Cow Head and knows the area’s nooks and crannies.

Some plays suit a location because they mimic what is happening in real life. Cow Head, at the northern tip of Gros Morne National Park, is pretty quiet during the winter but every spring and summer they get invaded by Theatre Newfoundland Labrador (TNL) who put on plays that are often about life in Newfoundland.

Nurse Bennett was a true Newfoundland hero who was dedicated to serving the health care needs along Newfoundland’s rugged Northern Peninsula for over 50 years beginning in 1921. She was known as the “Florence Nightingale of the North”, delivered more than 700 babies and amazingly reattached logger’s foot that had been severed in an accident!

Corner Brook, Newfoundland is well located for all kinds of outdoor activities. Recently we took part in 2 that are certainly noteworthy....

The island of Newfoundland's west coast is bursting with culture of all kinds – created by both humans and nature alike. A great way to soak it all up is to visit one of the many festivals in the region, which celebrate everything from music and performance to hiking and icebergs…

On the May 24th weekend, our family took a trip to the Port au Port Peninsula. We spent the night in Stephenville and then started our adventure looking at the petrified forest just outside the town....

Fall is at its peak in Western Newfoundland right now (from the end of September to mid-October) and there are several great reasons to make the trek in this direction from anywhere in the Atlantic region.

In late August, my sons Ronan, Cormac and I took a visit to the Port au Choix, Hawke's Bay area of the Great Northern Peninsula. We started our day with a visit to Parks Canada's National Historic Site at Point Riche. The visitor center there contains many artefacts dating back over the past 5000 years. After learning about the cultural history we set out for the point's light house to take in some of the area's natural history. The shoreline at Point Riche is littered with fossils and the lads had a great time playing palaeontologist "discovering" many different kinds of petrified life forms.

The first thing you notice is the air, scrubbed by a thousand miles of ocean and a hundred miles of evergreen forest. The spruce-scented breeze wafts along the shores of western Newfoundland filling the billowing sails of our tall ship, Concordia, and simultaneously purging our lungs of city smog. Even the tap water in Newfoundland (affectionately known as "the Rock" by locals) is so pristine you can fill your car battery with it.

Last August my wife ran the “Race to the Sea”. Of course I did a video. It is a day long relay race from Cape Anguille to Rose Blance. There is some beautiful scenery along the way including Wreckhouse.....

Steady Brook Falls is worth the hike anytime of the year, but early spring is definitely the best. Located about six kilometres east of Corner Brook and just off the Trans Canada Highway, the falls are very accessible and a great place to stretch you legs. We took the short hike to the falls on April 17th. Warm sunny days melting high country snow followed by rain brought the falls up to an impressive level the day of our hike. The falls can be seen from the Trans Canada Highway but one should really pull off at Steady Brook (Exit 8) and experience it fully. The trailhead is behind the Tim Horton's at the base of Marble Mountain and there are two viewing platforms providing excellent photo opportunities.

The Anchors Aweigh Band keep the nightlife exciting at Ocean View Hotel's Anchor Pub in Newfoundland and Labrador. Join the band and their fans, as they enjoy an evening of music, dancing, socializing and humor.

The west coast of Newfoundland has no shortage of winter activities to keep a recreation generalist like me occupied. Its not that I get tired of doing one thing, I just want to experience as much as possible in this life. Over the St. Patricks Day weekend, I did just that by engaging in four different snow sports in a four day period.