Another “Misty” day and another beautiful, sunny day in Newfoundland! How did we get so lucky in these 2 weeks since I’ve arrived? We just left out of Deer Lake this morning after having 6 awesome Medal-Bearers. They brought out quite the little crowd to see us off as well. I discovered that the father of 2 of the Medal-Bearers was the cousin of Shaun Manual – my high school computer teacher and basketball coach from back in St. Thomas, Ontario. It really is a small world!
One of the Deer Lake Medal-Bearers from yesterday, “Junior”, came back this morning to give us a proper send off with a healthy selection of frozen moose meat. He produced 2 bags full of moose sausages, moose steaks, and even a big moose roast! Stay tuned for info about the Relay Team Parking Lot BBQ in Corner Brook! We’re leaving this moose meat out to thaw...
Just finished going through one of the most beautiful communities. It’s called Steady Brook “Ski capital of Newfoundland”. They had a huge contingent (well, huge for Steady Brook I’m sure) of folks awaiting our arrival at the Fire Hall. Just a quick 4 Medal-Bearers looping around what is essentially the only residential street in Steady Brook, but with the mountains in the background and the water right there, it made for a very picturesque scene. Did I get any pictures of this.....? Of course not! I told you, I’m new to this whole blogging thing and I forget I need to have my camera in my hip holster at all times to capture the shots that capture your attention. I’ll see if I can borrow some from my colleagues though.
STEADY BROOK!!
Just past Steady Brook, we had another EMT (Extraordinary Mode of Transport). We've already had a rower in St. John's and pilot in Gander take the Medal for rides, and here, just outside Steady Brook, the Medal was taken for a zipline ride by Medal-Bearer Ernesto! Through the trees, over a waterfall, and down through the mountains, over 9 different zip lines, Ernesto carried the Medal for his EMT segment. Bryn, our media guru and staff photographer made the trek as well to document the action. I believe some more of the staff may take another trip out here on the weekend for some fun.
The Zip Line execution team
Our arrival in Corner Brook was welcomed for a couple reasons. First, it is the largest city we’ve seen since leaving St. John’s (and its really still not that big), and secondly, because it is the weekend and we have 2 Non-Relay days ahead to spend catching up on emails, planning, and some relaxation. We’re staying at a very cool hotel called the Glynmill Inn. We were supposed to be staying in a different hotel, but about 3 months ago it burned down, so we moved to this one and it is beautiful. On the exterior, it looks like an old stone castle, on the inside it has been made to look very comfortable and homey. The rooms have the most amazingly comfortable beds. It’s fantastic to be able to sleep on these for 3 nights. It does make getting up tough to do, but when the weather is as beautiful as it has been, you can’t sleep away your days.
These are some 'Adirondak Loungers' by the water in Corner Brook following a successful day
Soooo, back to that moose meat BBQ I referenced above.... We travel with a Weber Grill on our 5 ton supply truck, so we hauled it down and fired it up and started slapping on some moose meat. I don’t think anyone has had moose meat before so we were all “game” to give it a try. There was plenty to go around, especially with all the salads we had made and in true potluck fashion, we had quite the feast in no time. We got the tunes pumping off the back of Pace, kicked on some spot lights, tossed the football around the parking lot, and had a really great Friday night together. The moose roast was pretty good. It was very similar to a roast of beef in texture but a slightly different taste. The sausages, however, were terrific. He made them with a little spice and they were so good!
Moose are all over Newfoundland and they are quite dangerous to those driving on the highways. There are more than 700 moose/vehicle collisions each year in Newfoundland, causing several serious injuries and even deaths.
I was scanning the highway pretty good when we were in “moose territory”. I spotted one dead one on the side of the road, but no living specimens. A co-worker who had driven out early the other morning actually encountered 8 moose on her 2 hour drive, including a couple babies with their mother. They are magnificent creatures, but due to their size and ability to dismantle a vehicle, quite nerve wracking to see on the side of the road when you’re driving. So stay alert out there!
Off to bed for now....we have an “Event Day” in Corner Brook tomorrow...should be fun!
Jonesy
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