Labrador/Newfoundland…The After Thoughts!

Sunday Aug 4, 2013
One of the last things we did before leaving on our little jaunt was to welcome home Jerry D Rouleau from a successful career in the United States Army. Jerry’s retirement party was a wonderful way to start our journey.
What is remarkable about “Jerry” was, on our return, the first persons for us to recognize coming into town was Jerry and his wife Cathy. They were going to Old Orchard Beach to meet with his sister, Ann. It was like a welcoming home party for us!

The Eye is on You!

Our travels took us to places that we could not have imagined! The road block in Relais Gabriel was not a stumbling block, but an opportunity to meet many locals, to experience a full fledged staging area for a forest fire that lasted one month.
The decision to turn around and back track 200 miles was the right one. We followed the fire scene closely online and on TV. Using my old line of “being in a canoe, going down stream, without a paddle,” worked! Our original plans did not include visiting the entire “Gaspésie” peninsular. It turned out to be very fruitful. The people both local and 

Carvings in Stone

travelers like us, were what we enjoyed. Stopping at whatever caught our fancy usually brought a story. As an example, the little shop, along the road, with many wooden model ships.The wood carver sitting with his girl friend and mother. Of course, French was the language here. He explained how he cut the trees, dried the wood for two to three years…to prevent wood checking. He said he worked on a ship’s body and didn’t put the masts and sails until the following year. These little stops are the cherished moments that will last for some time to come.

Manipulation...What's inside that cave!

My next challenge is to sort about 1200 pictures that we took. Helen is getting good at taking pictures of me taking pictures of other things. I definitely have some that will be printed and framed. When I return from these trips, I always get energized with Photo Shop and my mind explodes with ideas for the photos. Everything from watermarks to manipulating the images to a different format.
This summer’s trip totaled over 4,800 miles! An average of $130 a day for gas, a $1,000.00 was spent on ferries. Was it worth the expense? The answer for me was certainly! For others maybe not. The enjoyment, for me, will last a long time. Every time I write a blog, look and work on a picture, will bring back that special moment when we were at that location.
That is what we did and saw!