Saturday July 7, 2007

Woke up to a rainy and foggy day. Won't be much good for our trip around the Cabot Trail nor whale watching, but we'll manage. The Conrads won't be able to make the trip as Clair has a gas leak problem (his stove). The carpool left the campground in fine fashion and headed out. Soon we were stretched out and pretty much doing and seeing what we wanted. The fog prevented us from seeing a lot of the coast line but when we dropped down to sealevel, the view was quite intriguing. A couple of us stopped at a Woodsmith shop and browsed around. A lot of beautiful pieces but no room in the RV. Neil's Harbour was a little out of the way but well worth the sidetrip. A sleepy little fishing village with, of course, a chowder house. A lobster boat came in with only a dozen small lobsters on it. The end of the season is near.
On up to Pleasant Bay for the whale watching boat ride. Still pretty much a foggy day with small patches of sunshine coming through. By the time we got on the boat, the fog rolled back in. 8 of our caravan went in a Zodiac while the rest of us went on the regular boat. Watching the 8 get dressed in their suits was quite a treat. They could have been ready to walk on the moon. Our tour guide, Jessica, informed us on what we could expect. After about a half hour of wave walloping, we arrived on site and waited. We didn't have to wait long, a pod of pilot whales came by to show their stuff. There were several pods around so it didn't take much to find them. Jessica let out a squeal and pointed out the flute of a humpback going under. The photo is what we saw. Fantastic!! That was our last close up but those in the Zodiac said they were much closer and a got a better show. We could see a humpback off in the distance putting on a show by breaching and slapping its tail but it was too foggy for us to get a good view. The two hour tour was soon over and back to port.
We ate lunch at a local resturant and continued down the Cabot Trail. There were several places to stop and sight see as the fog was starting to lift. On the way back, the Brundiges took the short ferry ride from Elizabethtown. A 5 minute ride on a cable pulled ferry highlighted their trip. By the time we got back to the camp, the sun was out and a wonderful day, what was left of it. Free day tomorrow, can't believe the official caravan is almost over. Where did the time go!