Great evening in Barachois Provincial Park... with two air mattresses that didn't deflate and a lovely breeze through the overnight hours. Our tent, one of those funky "One Piece" jobbies from Canadian Tire, has turned out to be the perfect size, as we get two double air mattresses down and still have walking room to get out. Beyond that, lots of windows to keep the air flowing through.

First thing was an excursion for Janie and I on Erin Mountain Trail (recommended by the girl at the registration kiosk) with the trail head being just a puddle away from our campsite. We had a lovely hour and fifteen minute walk, not going to the very top but stopping at a midway look off. We already began finding the mostly uphill trek warm at that point. Then back down, with Janie getting some pics of a local "wabbit" and from the bridge that crosses the lake. Nice way to start the day.

From there we packed up the site, cleaning it up quite nicely, and headed out for Stephenville in search of coffee and a light breakfast. We found a great little Coffee Shop, the Boardwalk Cafe, at the end of Main Street and enjoyed homemade style breakfast sandwiches. We also, after hearing of an accidental grounding of the HV Blue Puttees, decided to check in on our reservation with Marine Atlantic to make sure there had been no changes. That was worthwhile, as our previously scheduled 4:30 PM crossing time on the HV Highlanders had been changed to 7:00 PM. So indeed we had a few extra hours of which we could take advantage.

Of note, we wanted to get some coastal photos and decided that the French Ancestors Route, which begins and ends at Stephenville, would be a great opportunity (see header above). Shortly after we set out I glanced at the gas gauge... hmmm, quarter of a tank and dropping. We decided to press on, imagining there must be a station somewhere close by. It was when the quarter of a tank was half gone that I began to assume we should turn back. However, our lucky day, as we stumbled by a Western Petroleum station just before Lourdes!! We filled, bought some candy, and finished the very scenic loop. I have a vision, although I've never been, of what Ireland looks like, and I think the coastal areas I saw here would connect quite nicely.

After a nice trip around the loop, we continued on to our destination to Port aux Basques, with the small exception of a tour through Codroy Valley. Pretty area, and we saw one of the only long sandy beaches of the entire trip, at Codroy Valley Provincial Park. Then into Port aux Basques for supplies before embarking on the last leg of our journey home.

Every good trip always has a snag. I wasn't completely keen on the service offered through Marine Atlantic. Now I understand we had only a small sampling of ferry service in our return excursion and that the company had the unfortunate circumstance of running a vessel aground while we were on the island, but I saw some things that didn't jive. For starters, neither the ferry to or from North Sydney departed on time. For instance, we ended up getting off the estimated 6-8 hr ferry (for an originally scheduled 4:30 PM ) at close to 4:00 AM Atlantic time. And to add insult, our car's positioning on Deck 4 (elevated deck) made us the last off. I know it's picky, but we eventually decided to book a room in Sydney as it would have been dangerous to drive home... and their lateness added to our overall budget line!!!

Another irk was that although wi-fi access is offered, no one could connect. This would have made the wait time more purposeful and give the kids some options. Janie likened it to the Titanic not having enough life boats (I thought that was pretty cute). Further, the pricing feels steep for the service and on board amenities that are offered... so on the way back we were loaded with goodies!!!

But enough of that... we had an excellent waters across in both directions, got some free-bee headphones and good seats that allowed us to watch one of three flat screen TV's (I got the History Channel - Yippee). A lot of the disturbance may have been related to the Puttees adding extra stress to the whole system, and not the norm!!!

Anyway, after a few hours sleep in North Sydney (great late check out at the Cambridge Suites which was great in this case) we set out for home at noon via Highway 4. We considered this trip a great "first pass" look at Newfoundland... but knew there is so much more to see and do. All things said... we were very glad to have visited and would definitely do it again!!!