Airstream Time

Exploring North America in an Airstream

Posts from the ‘Lockston Path Provincial Park’ category

Clarenville and Trinity

Saturday, August 24, 2019

We took our flat tire to Clarenville, about an hour from our camp at Lockston Path Provincial Park. There was a Goodyear place, but it was closed on this Saturday, so we went across the street to Canadian Tire. Their tire service was closed too, but the rest of the store was open. A nice lady took my information, and I left the tire for repair next week. We would pick it up on Wednesday on our way out. 

We went to Co-op Grocery to get a few things. On the way out I noticed a barber shop. I was looking pretty ratty, so I went in. Unlike any barber shop I have ever been in, I was gawking around when a big lady in her 30’s with bright crimson hair said, “Have a seat over there Love. I’ll be there in a minute”. I took a seat in the barber chair. A girl was under a dryer behind me, and a young man was probably waiting for here. I didn’t want to turn around and look around, but I did my best looking in the mirror. It looked like they sold an interesting variety of things as well as cutting hair. 

A wonderful, large picture hung on the wall to my right. It was a bar with James Dean behind the bar. Elvis sat at the bar, drinking a Coke, looking at Marilyn Monroe talking on the phone. Humphrey Bogart is reading the New York Times, but I couldn’t read the headline as my barber came over, apologizing for keeping me waiting.

Bar with Elvis Marilyn

We had an interesting conversation about living and working in Clarenville, Newfoundland. She had married and moved to Alberta for a while, but got divorced and returned with her son, who is now 12 and still gives her hugs. I was also trying to decipher her tattoos, but didn’t want to be too obvious, and the conversation never stopped. Her personality was somewhere between a veteran waitress and a pirate, not hesitant to tell it like it is. Before I knew it, she was done, but I kind of hated to leave. I went to the register to pay another big lady with darker hair and also tattoos. She said with a smile, “What did you do? She usually isn’t that nice.” I paid and left a nice tip, then talked to her for while. She had traveled around Canada before returning to Clarenville. She had a dentist friend who works in Virginia, but couldn’t come up with her name, searching contacts on her phone. She also had married and had a son, but had died at 15. She showed me a picture in front of her barber chair. He was a handsome kid, hugging his then attractive mom. So sad, I wanted to give her a hug, but patted her on the shoulder and told her how sorry I was. What a terrible thing to lose a child, especially an only child. We said our goodbyes, but I wanted to somehow come back for another haircut in a few weeks. Like any good barbershop this is a place you could just drop in to talk and hear the local news with these cool ladies. 

There was a farmer’s market today, and Martha loves a farmer’s market. It was a little place, but the people were pouring in. Right on the TCH, it has a great location. Like most, there was jewelry, handmade products, jams, cakes, pies, paintings and vegetables. Homemade ice cream was my first stop. Then I talked to a lady whose paintings of Newfoundland I liked. Meanwhile, Martha collected some things.

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It was a cool, blustery day that kept changing all day. It got cloudy and rained a bit. Then it looked like it would clear up, but 5 minutes later it would rain again. At 61 degrees with a 15-20 mph wind, Newfies were wearing shorts and T-shirts, but then people were wearing all kinds of things up to big jackets and hats.

We went to Trinity, a pretty, little town on Trinity Bay. We started to walk the cute streets when the rains started again, so we went to Dock Marina Restaurant and Gallery for lunch. It was busy with locals and tourists. Martha had a seafood chowder and I had cod fish and a salad instead of the usual chips. 

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Root cellar

Mussel farm

Mussel farm

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We thought about going for a hike, but the weather was too unpredictable, so we went home for a hot shower and a fire. We cooked hamburgers, corn and beet leaves over the fire. 

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Coals are just right

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Move to Lockston Path Provincial Park

 

Friday, August 23, 2019

We drove 4 hours to the middle of the Bonavista Peninsula. It is a 3-4 km drive on a gravel road to get to the park. We were a bit early, so Martha chatted with the people moving out of the campsite.

Just as we were getting settled, we noticed a flat tire on the trailer. Changing the tire and found a screw stuck in it, probably picking it up on that gravel road, or maybe even in the campsite. I was surprised my tire monitor hadn’t warned me. 

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Everywhere we go lately, there is a boil water warning for fresh water hookups. We are carrying plenty of drinking water, but it is surprising in a land with so much water to see a boil warning. I think they are being over-cautious, but I boil it before making coffee, and we are drinking bottled water. Water – maybe the biggest problem for the next generation. I think of Diego and his family in Mexico City, where their huge water supply is being rapidly depleted.

I had a couple of other projects I wanted to get done, but after changing the tire and unloading bikes so I could get the tire in the back, I was done. My solar charger keeps reading battery voltage too high, thus cutting off before it should. I have to keep cutting it off and back on to reset the voltage. Yesterday I read an article suggesting it may be a loose connection, so I checked those and found nothing. I will check it in the middle of the day and see if there is a hot wire anywhere. They also said to measure resistance. I have never done that, but might have to learn to do it. 

I read a bit more of Patton in bed. What a luxury it is, and such a cozy spot. The war is ending now. It is all a political battle now, as Roosevelt has played up to Russia for control of Europe. Truman tries to gain leverage by telling Stalin the US has developed a powerful bomb, but Stalin has been playing Roosevelt and Churchill for a while now. He has spies in very important places. Wild Bill Donovan is also struggling to keep his power of spy network in what will become the CIA, but Stalin has a double agent, Duncan Lee, who is Donovan’s executive secretary. They have known about the atom bomb for years.

Truman hates Patton, as he is the polar opposite of Truman. He is flamboyant, outspoken, pompous and dresses with a flair. Eisenhower wants Patton out of the way. The Russians want him dead, as he has their number and knows the US is being played. A Ukranian general warns that Patton is at the top of NKVD (Stalin’s secret police) kill list. The warning is ignored by Donovan.

Patton is depressed as he will never fight another battle. He has asked to be transferred to the Pacific, but McArthur denies him. Patton is upset that Truman has allowed 20,000 American POW’s to remain in Russian hands, a political play for the future United Nations. 

Patton knows the only he can speak freely is to leave the military, but with top secret knowledge and a defiant attitude, “George Patton has made himself a target – and he knows it.” He visits his daughters in Washington and tells them, “Well, I guess this is goodbye. I won’t be seeing you again.”