Goodbye Meat Cove!

Monday, July 8, 2013


We were sorry to leave Meat Cove on Monday morning. It was truly a highlight of our journey, a place we would not hesitate to return to. The sun was shining off the water as we watched one last lobster boat pull up it's traps in preparation for the end of the lobster season. On our way down the packed dirt road we stopped for a few last photos of our incredible campsite from across the way. Then we took a short detour out to visit Bay St. Lawrence and see the lobster boats in the harbor that we had watched motoring into Meat Cove every day.

Pulling traps for the season

Looking back at Meat Cove campground

Bay St. Lawrence

Back on the Cabot Trail we continued the circuit south along the east coast. We stopped at the Dancing Moose for lunch and had pannekoeks, Dutch crepes that incorporated bacon and gouda cheese. The owner is a marvelous baker and we couldn't resist picking up a few fresh baked cookies for later. We watched his free range chickens and rooster through the window while we lunched.

Back on Cabot Trail, East side

Dancing Moose cafe

Rental Cabin in Back, comes with free alarm rooster

Bacon, gouda AND Maple Syrup!

The Englishtown ferry took us off the Trail and the very short distance (maybe 400 feet) across St. Anne's Harbor. They hardly had time to collect everyone's toll! We drove a few miles to the Englishtown Ridge Campground. It was time to start the laundry marathon. At least three weeks had gone by since we did laundry in Louisbourg and we wanted to start Newfoundland with a clean load of clothes and linens, so we can stretch our clothes as long as possible there. The campground advertised a laundry and there was no commercial laundry nearby so we decided to stay there. It took five hours to do four loads in two washers and dryers! I won't go on about the crummy machines, none of which worked well or not at all, and were expensive. In between Greg and I squeezed in showers and I finally got dinner made by 8 pm. Phew! Well, one big job was done!

Road signs in English and Gaelic

Englishtown Ferry, note guide cable to help with fast currents

The next morning we headed for Sydney. We found a Sobey's food store, and a WalMart. On the way we visited an RV business. I woke early to hear Greg banging around and muttering - a circuit breaker in the rig had gone bad and we needed to replace it. The outlets in the kitchen and bathroom, and the electric kettle are not working. Not a disaster, but an inconvenience. We couldn't find the circuit breaker we needed after four stops, so that is on hold until we get off of Newfoundland. We purchased an extension cord so we can run the kettle and the electric heater off of other outlets.



Sobey's took a long time. Greg got shopping fatigue and went out to the rig and ate lunch, while I took my time stocking up. We expect groceries to be more expensive on Newfoundland. This was our first visit to a Canadian WalMart, and it was laid out differently than the US stores. They had a much more efficient express checkout. They had an organized line with an automated system that announced the next open register. It went really fast and kept the people with the larger orders out of the 10 items or less lanes. The other cashiers allowed customers to take their time with the larger orders. It was so logical that I can't imagine why we are not using it in the US.



We finished the grocery marathon, fueled up and headed to North Sydney to the ferry dock. After checking at the port authority building we found out that we could check-in after the 10:30 pm boat left, and boondock in line for the night. We needed to be ready to board at 6:30 am. We found a waterfront park next to the dock, parked and walked to dinner at the Black Spoon. After a great meal in a surprisingly upscale restaurant for North Sydney, (Greg had lobster pot pie and I had pecan encrusted chicken), we walked back to the park to find the rig surrounded by cars. A country band had started playing in the bandshell. The parking lot was filled and cars continued to drive through. No one sat on the large grass lawn in front of the bandshell. Everyone stayed in their cars with the windows down, and honked their horns at the end of each song!

Giggle...

Lobster Pot Pie!

Local motorcycle gang

Free concert in North Sydney band shell

Blue Puttees loading for Newfoundland

Frolicking sea life

At first the band sounded pretty good. They played some contemporary country songs. Then they started having guest singers, locals, mostly older, singing Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. Unfortunately, shall we say, it got a little difficult to listen to at that point! Greg- after an hour of local guest singers with more enthusiasm than talent, the band switched to Celtic music that was much better. Greg and I spent the rest of the concert packing up our backpacks to take on the ferry the next day.


At 11 pm, we drove over to the dock, checked in and got in line behind a huge RV from Alberta, hauling a cargo trailer. There were quite a few trucks and RVs in line spending the night. We were asleep by midnight, in spite of the bright as daylight parking lot lights shining through the blinds.