A Whirlwind Trip

Had a fun week this week. I went to Newfoundland between two snowstorms. I got there on Sunday afternoon, the day after they'd received a royal dumping of over 70 cm. I left on Wednesday morning, just before they received a further 30 cm! Lucky me! Didn't get caught in any of it. Almost didn't get on the plane to get there though. There were people everywhere at the airport. It took me a while to figure out that they were "leftovers" from the previous day, when flights to St. John's had been cancelled. I did manage to get on my flight though, and even got bumped up to first class! Now THAT was nice. I'd almost be willing to pay out of my own pocket it upgrade to first class when I fly.

The hotel I stayed in in St. John's was the Spa at the Monastery and Suites. An akward name for a very nice hotel. I had a big jacuzzi tub right in my suite! There was a gas fireplace too, but I couldn't get any flames to happen. The jacuzzi was great. I only used it the first night though. The second night I got back late, and it takes at least an hour and a quarter to fill up and enjoy the thing, so I didn't bother. The third night I decided I better avoid the jacuzzi, as I'd forgotten my blood pressure meds at home and had a feeling that sitting in hot water for an extended length of time wouldn't be in my best interest.

I confess I wasn't well prepared for the trip, but it all worked out okay. People were more interested in talking to me than in listening to me talk, and that was fine.

My host couldn't spend much time with me that day. Being in his own environment meant that he was constantly being called on for stuff and leaving me to fend for myself. It worked out okay though. We did have some time together to talk about a project that he's really excited about, so that was fun.

The hotel didn't have an on-site restaurant, so I had to order in from Don Cherry's for the second night in a row. I wasn't impressed. I thought Don Cherry's was supposed to have good food. The third night, I didn't even bother with supper, just went to bed really early, as I'd had to get up at 4:30 am to catch a plane across the island.

That was Tuesday. My host picked me up at the hotel at 5:45 and we went to the airport and caught a plane to Deer Lake, on the west side of Newfoundland. That was an interesting experience. One of those small, propeller-driven planes that only holds about 30 people. Caught a rental car for the drive from Deer Lake to Corner Brook and started taking pictures like a damn tourist.


The pic of the mountain is Marble Mountain, Newfoundland's most popular ski resort (supposed to be the best skiing west of the Rockies). The second pic is entering Corner Brook. That big smoke is their paper mill.

Had a similar experience in Corner Brook as I'd had in St. John's with the committee. People seem very receptive and interested. They liked the samples I showed them. As in St. John's, one guy pulled me aside with a "let me tell you what the situation here is..." and a long spiel about how he's trying to make changes, but it's really hard and there are so many obstacles.

It seems to be the same everywhere I go.

The drives to and from Corner Brook were nice opportunities to chat with my host. We get along really well. Both Librans. He thinks I'm great. LOL. When we talk, we come up with all kinds of great ideas. What a great team we'd make! LOL...anyway, when we got back to St. John's he took me for lunch at a nice place called the Press & Bean, and then dropped me at my hotel, where I went to sleep for four hours and then chatted online till I went back to bed for the night. (I'm SO glad to have this laptop!!)

Flying back to Halifax was regular "coach," so obviously the first classs thing was a fluke. I took the rest of the day off and went to work on Thursday and Friday as usual. Didn't bother buying a bus pass this month, as I'll be away too much.

This coming Monday, I'm flying to Saskatoon with Dave. We'll be going from there to Prince Albert to visit our office there all day Tuesday and half the day Wednesday. Then we drive to Moose Jaw on Wednesday and spend Thursday there. Fly back to Halifax on Friday. Whew!! I'll be glad to have a few "regular" weeks at the office after that. (But I think I'll need to be visiting Cape Breton and PEI soonish too.)

THEN on the 13th, I'm flying back to St. John's to spend the week there working with my host on a special project of his. I won't be staying at the Monastery place again. No on-site restaurant and too far away to walk to any shops and stuff. I'll be at the Delta next time, right downtown St. John's, so maybe I'll get a chance to wander around a bit. More blog pics! :-)

So, I'm just taking it easy this weekend. Gotta do some laundry tomorrow, but that's the only pressing thing I've got on my agenda before packing for Saskatchewan.

Here's another pic, taken on the ferry on Thursday evening, upclose of a container ship... Doesn't give you a very good idea of the size, but it's kinda like seeing an entire apartment building tipped over and floating on the water. Crazy!