L'Hotel Robert Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

... within a year or two will achieve that richly deserved recognition.

We drive on toward St John’s, stopping in the settlement of Branch for gas having been warned not to get too low on fuel because availability is not dependable. George goes into the little store to pay before pumping and the woman tells him to just go ahead and pump what you need then come in and tell me how much you owe, the honor ...

... br>
The first little town was Placentia where we stopped for some fresh produce having depleted our supply before boarding the ferry. The store was well stocked and we found all that we needed. Next stop the liquor store conveniently across the street. It too was well stocked for such a small town and the gentleman stocking shelves was very helpful and chatty. He had just visited a relative in Victoria so was ...

... were sorry we would miss him.

We left shortly before 1 pm for the two hour drive to Argentia, the ferry’s port. As luck (?) would have it, we didn't drive aboard until 5 pm and the ferry left shortly thereafter.

After a not-so-memorable cafeteria meal, we went to our cabin and went to bed early so we could be ready to disembark at the posted arrival time of 6 a.m. in Sydney, NS.

bonjour! arrived here a bit later than anticipated and thus lost good daytime hours and light for some photo'ing. plus everything was closed.

went to check out the bar scene at night. there are 4 bars. they are all filled with guys. everywhere is either borderline 16 or above 50. um... great. even the live ...

... 2:45 ferry, only to find out that
a) the ferry was busted and the replacement doesn't leave until 3:30
b) there's nothing to see or do in fortune
c) the 3:30 ferry was really expected around 4:30
d) 4:30 was a stretch and really it would leave after 5:00

and to top it off, mary brown's undercooked her taters!

... visit a different penisula of Newfoundland that I hadn't expected to have time for. Visited the set where they filmed the miniseries "Random Passages". It was a recreated Newfoundland remote cod fishing village. Then went to Trinity where they filmed "The Shipping News" with Kevin Spacey and Judith Dench.

Miles traveled today 689
Total for trip 2591 plus 400 miles 150 yards by ferry

... I stopped at the Burnt Berry Inn. When I was researching my trip, I had read about the place in a book but apparently it has been closed for a year and a half and just re-opened a week ago.

The place was empty but I stopped to eat anyway. I met the chef and his fiancee, the waitress. They are the ones who re-opened the resturaunt. We talked quite a bit, I think they were bored and glad someone was there.

They sat down with ...

... perfect. Even luckier for me, I met a very nice couple (the Maclellans) on the plane who invited me to stay with their family in Sydney til I got my bus the next morning. They were wonderful, we went to the beach with all the kids, had a fire in the backyard and took me to my bus in the morning. I don't think I will ever be able to repay hospitality like that! merci mille fois!