Monday, September 28, 2020

Trip Report - Part 1

If I tell you I took very few pictures and read absolutely no books and wrote nothing and designed and knit absolutely nothing, you will know I was completely immersed in this wonderful trip the three of us took way up north, where the weather was magnificent throughout and the sights we saw and the meals we took and the people we met added to our enchantment.

Also laughter. I don't think we've ever laughed so much together, and the three of us have been travelling together for about 25 years, since Grandgirl was a baby. I believe the intensity was enhanced by Covid-19: the rarity of this opportunity for us to be together when so many can't. Grandgirl self-isolated for 2 weeks when she got here, an allowance of time not available to many. Her Big Important Job won't start until October and right now she is awaiting her security clearance. So she availed of this time to be with us.

Takeaways:
(1)because of my mobility issues and long hikes to see the Viking and Norwegian settlements, Grandgirl hunted out wheelchairs for me which took away the stress of "keeping up" and frequent breaks. She is enormously kind and caring to her old granny and constantly ensures I am comfortable in a very inobtrusive way. Without her I wouldn't have been able to appreciate the sights and sounds of such magnificent scenery and historical interest.
(2) Septemver is a fine month to travel as the tour guides are not as pressured. Particularly in the Viking Settlement where they answered many of our questions pertaining to the lives of the Vikings who were the first to come to North America in approximately the year 1000. Just looking at the boats with their heavy fleece sail would be to consider an impossible feat. Yet they made it. With their goats and seeds, iron and building skills ready to trade with the aboriginals.
Inside I didn't want to take pictures of the guides and thus distract everyone in that irritating way many picture takers have, not being present in the moment. They were all dressed authentically and the sleeping and kitchen areas and work areas were laid out expertly so one got a sense of the daily life. One group were making a canvas for a boat - an enormous project taking a couple of years on a primitive heavy loom. We were amazed to hear that a baby was born here - the first colonizer child that we know of.

(3) We nested in Hay Cove, a tiny community with 3 small inns and many artists and writers living there. We stayed at Wendy Nuttall's place. She is a famed photographer of the area. And her inn has an art gallery. Yes, we did buy some paintings, prints and cards. Gorgeous.

Edited (later) Photo is of Wendy Nuttall the artist. In winter. With an iceberg.

To be continued.........


29 comments:

  1. It sounds wonderful! I’m glad you had the opportunity to get out and about and see some interesting things.

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    1. I really had a bad case of cabin fever, Florence so it doubled the pleasure.

      XO
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  2. Thak you for this report. Keep it up, as it takes us out of our small selves, and shows us that the world is still big.

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    1. You're very welcome Charlotte and thank YOU for all the help with blogger lately.

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  3. I am so glad to were able to go on the trip! What a special time...

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  4. So glad you had a great time! I love to travel in September.
    Newfoundland was on my list for a summer trip this year and we all know what happened to those plans.
    I am pinning this for ideas for next year, fingers crossed!

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    1. Let's hope we get to see each other in Newfoundland next year Jackie.

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  5. Glad you enjoyed your trip, with the aid of a wheelchair or two. The Viking Settlement must have been very interesting. And it looks like the weather was excellent.

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    1. A marvelous trip Nick, and I am so grateful for those wheelchairs, one very special one was designed for tougher places with one wheel in the front. Briliant.

      XO
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  6. Is that you in the last picture? You look so happy! Glad to finally get to see the writer behind a blog I love so much!

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    1. No, not me Jean, I did an edit to make it clearly Wendy Nuttall's our host and artist.

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  7. HOW WONDERFUL.
    I am smiling all over my fat face just reading this.

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  8. Good to hear about your trip. Your daughter and grandgirl sound like wonderful women. Clearly Ms WWW, you've done something right! -Kate

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    1. They truly are, I often wonder where I got them as they are so kind and caring of me.

      XO
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  9. I am so glad you had such a good time and lucked out with the weather. When I visited the Viking site there were very few of us there so we got to interact with the re-enacters, who were positively a scream. Great fun. I did take some photos inside the longhouse (or whatever they call it) but they did not turn out well (back in the day of instamatics). Very good you got a wheelchair, makes life so much easier. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of the trip.

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    1. They were so interesting and knowledgeable, Annie and could answer all the difficult questions. A fascinating part of history and they are still uncovering a lot more of the settlement which is enormous. We had a look at a beginner dig. Painstaking work.

      XO
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  10. I am so pleased the trip went so well and how good that your granddaughter made it that much easier for you. I look forward to hearing more.

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  11. Wonderful! You have no idea how I loved telling people that once all the canvass of all the navies was hand spun and hand woven. Think about it...

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    1. I had no idea at all Joanne, that it was so effing heavy and awkward to maneuver. It made the feat of crossing the wild Atlantic just unimaginably more difficult.

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  12. I love that hut with the grass growing up the sides. What a great way to naturally insulate your home :)

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    1. I see more houses are planting grass on roofs now, a natural insulator.

      Those Vikings, so creative and inventive.

      XO
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  13. What a wonderful trip! I am glad that your grandgirl was able to get you into a wheelchair throughout the trip so that you would not miss anything.

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    1. It sure made a huge difference Gigi as there was so much walking through the interpretation centres.

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  15. I'm so glad you were able to take that trip, and we were invited along for a bit today, if only vicariously. My oldest granddaughter, at college and not self isolating, called and talked to me for almost two hours. She used to drop in frequently but is being careful for our sakes. Talking to her today was my getaway. Isn't wonderful how grandmothers and granddaughters can ask each others' opinions without the mother/daughter wariness creeping in?

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    1. I so agree Linda, I have spent much time one on one with Grandgirl and we share so much. She is back in TO now where the cases are going through the roof but she allows me to granny-worry about her which I did this morning in a text. As she and her friends are planning a "distancing birthday party" for her this week and I am stressed. But she has assured me all protocols will be observed. Her mother felt she couldn't voice her worries which is understandable. Grandma can.

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