After coffee, laundry was the first thing on the agenda. We found a laundromat less than 2 miles from the campground, and it turned out to be a pleasant experience, like most things here. We were greeted by a woman who immediately explained how things worked, which machines were best, and which dryers would be most economical to use. She was very friendly and chatted with us between her own laundry duties. We did two loads of wash, each costing $5 CAD. We went to a nearby Tim Hortons (there were three) for some coffee and a donut while we waited. It’s hard to believe, but there may be more Tim Hortons per capita here in Canada than there are Starbucks in the U.S. We got back to the laundromat just as the washers were finished, and our new laundry friend told us to put both loads in one of the giant dryers they had. I was skeptical that it would all get dry in just 32 minutes, but she was right. We appreciated the tip! When we were done, she wished us safe travels and to stop by if we are ever in Newfoundland again. I might just do that!
From there we went back to the RV. Steve prepped the outside for travel tomorrow, and I cleaned the inside. Once all that was done, we jumped in the truck to go exploring. We had heard of the Irish Loop drive and thought we’d do part of that. It is supposed to be a scenic drive that goes south from St. John’s and loops around the lower part of the island. We weren’t up for the whole thing as it’s a 4 hour drive, but decided to do some of it. On the map the road looked like it hugs the coast, but in actuality you have to drive down unmarked side roads to get to some of the fishing villages and views. Since we didn’t know where those were, most of the drive was just trees. Steve commented that the Irish Loop must have been invented by the chamber of commerce to attract road traffic. The places where we did get a view were spectacular, but we didn’t see as much as we had expected.
We did stop at a little restaurant/bar called the Squid Jigger for a beer and were treated to a beautiful view out the back deck. We were even able to each lose $5 in their lottery-style slot machines. It was a nice little break before continuing down the road.
We drove a little further, stopped at a gift shop, then turned around and headed back. When we reached a place called Ferryland (and there are no ferries there) we drove up a gravel road towards a lighthouse we could see in the distance. The road was blocked a mile or so up the road, but there was a parking area, so we got out and walked around. The views really were spectacular, and the cliffs where we walked were quite steep. The Atlantic coastline here is so rugged and beautiful. Pictures truly don’t do it justice.
We got back to the RV park about 5:50 and I quick made us a salad and stir fried chicken. In the meantime, our caravan leaders were setting up an evening event next to our RV as we have an end spot with a large grassy area. Penny and Tom planned a ‘biscuit on a stick’ get together. Neither Steve nor I knew what this was. Turns out, you take a can of those Pillsbury Grandes dough, tear one off, and squoosh it onto the end of a stick with a fat dowel at the end of it. You then roast/toast/cook that thing over a propane firepit. 😳 Once it is browned (and I use that term lightly as there were levels of doneness from raw and cold inside to incinerated) you put a big ole spoonful of pie filling on it along with whipped cream. There were three flavors of that canned filling. Options, don’t ya know? Anywho, we were entertained by it but chose not to partake. They had three fire pits going. One of our caravaners is a musician and for fun he likes to take tunes from songs and write new lyrics. He has written a few about our trip so far, and he sang a funny one about the awful bus tour we took a few days ago. We were having a nice time, but it didn’t take long for a security guy to come by and nicely tell us that province-wide, no fires are allowed from now until Sept. 7th. Even propane fires and camp stoves are off limits. There is currently a wildfire north of us that has resulted in evacuations and they have decided to ban all forms of fire. Our friend Ken even put out his cigar. That pretty much broke up the group, but a few of us gathered by our RV for a little more socializing and some lemon cookies I had on hand.
The mosquitoes finally chased us all back into our RVs, and Steve is currently chasing down the one that followed us in! Hopefully it gets caught before bed… they are huge here and make pretty big welts! I guess I’m sleeping with my head under the blankets tonight! See you tomorrow!