Aug 9, 2011 - Argentia ferry to Sydney, Nova Scotia

Well not much to tell, we got our laundry done and headed down to Argentia, we checked out the archaeological site and a few walking trails up to the old French Fort. The ferry left at 6:30 but you have to be there early if you have a reservation at least 2 hours prior to 6:00 so we didn't have a lot of time to do stuff. It was on and off rain all day so there wasn't a lot we could have done anyway. The Atlantic Vision ferry is big and relatively new, lots of people and quite different to the BC ferry we're use to and a lot more expensive....

Jul 26, 2011 - Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada

We started out the day with breakfast in St John's. Then we drove 85 miles to Argentia to catch the 15 hour ferry to Nova Scotia. We got on and the ferry left about 6 PM. We arrived in North Sydney, Nova Scotia about 9 AM the next morning. We had a nice cabin aboard the ferry and we had the buffet for dinner. In the morning at 7 AM we had the breakfast buffet aboard the ship before we drove off the ferry.

Jul 9, 2011 - Newfoundland, at Last

Today we landed in Newfoundland!!! Henceforth to be referred to as NFLD, It’s a beautiful day, after a great smooth crossing on the largest ferry I’ve ever seen. Our group of 20 Coaches was just the start, a bunch of large trucks, school busses, various types of campers, and a bunch of cars, made quite a load. Our group all had state rooms for the night; the boat had a couple of good restaurants, for dinner, and a large lounge! The crossing took about 17 hours, and we all had a lot of fun. Today we took a trip to Cape St Mary’s Ecological...

Sep 5, 2010 - Sunday Argentia NL

The 43 bicyclists packed up and cycled out of the park heading to St John’s. The manager said that a lot of the camping gear was damaged by the winds and left behind. The cyclists were on a coast-to-coast journey from Vancouver to St John’s and their day’s ride would get them to St. John’s to complete their 2 month journey. The tents and camping gear would be traded in for a hotel and probably partying on the famous George Street. We relaxed for awhile and then drove into Placentia for gas, Sunday paper, and bread. The Sunday paper doesn’t...

Sep 4, 2010 - Saturday Argentia NL

We woke up in our gravel parking lot to heavy fog. Luckily, the foggy driving only lasted 15 minutes as we rounded the peninsula and headed north hoping to find a telephone signal. We didn’t have a reservation for this long holiday weekend and we were hoping to find a RV park that wasn’t full. The telephone signal didn’t cooperate in the small villages, and we didn’t reach a strong signal until we reached the first town in Placentia. The 4 RV parks that we called said “sorry – all full up”. Bob thought the Argentia RV park next to the ferry...

Aug 21, 2010 - The Ferry Adventure

There wasn't much to do to get ready for breakfast since we slept in our clothes. A trip to the bathroom and we were good to go. We slept on deck seven and had to go to deck five for the cafeteria. Meals on board were reasonable and not bad. Spent the morning reading yesterday's Globe and Mail. At 11:00 AM the onboard entertainment started in the bar. Two guys and a drum machine and they sang (well) all types of songs. They would play for an hour and then take an hour rest. This pattern continued until 6:30 PM. A great way to pass the time....

Jul 17, 2009 - Arriving in Newfoundland

After a wonderful day of riding the Cabot Trail we arrived in North Sydney, Nova Scotia for a 9 p.m. departure on the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood Ferry to Argentia, Newfoundland. The ride was scheduled to be 12-14 hours in length. To our dismay not only was this trip going to be 17 hours; but it also left the port an hour and a half late. The ship has four engines (one of the engines was down and the crew was waiting on a part from Germany). Since the part did not arrive before our departure the trip time was longer. The ship itself was...

Sep 14, 2008 - Bird Rock revisited

A morning trek to see the gannets one more time - Sunday, September 14 We woke to an overcast morning but by 10:00 the cloud cover was breaking up, so we headed back out to Cape St. Mary’s to take one last look at Bird Rock and see the gannets. Madolyn’s camera batteries went dead yesterday so she was only able to get one movie, and I wanted to take some more pictures too. The sun was out when we got there and it stayed out for most of the walk out. The lighting was quite different than yesterday, and it made for better pictures of the...

Aug 30, 2008 - 70 Argentia

For the most part the ferry ride was uneventful. Everyone was quite tired and seemed to get some sleep. The tour had reserved reclining chairs for all of us, but some people had upgraded to bunks in a dormitory style room. In retrospect that would have been the right choice. The seas were relatively calm and there was so much fog that there was really nothing much to see. This was our second day in a row with essentially no pedaling, something that hadn't happened since we started the tour. A few riders were quite uncomfortable with sea...

Aug 13, 2008 - Ferry to Argentia, Newfoundland

We had to be at the ferry dock in North Sydney by 6:30 a.m. for our 8:00 a.m. departure on the ‘Joseph and Clara Smallwood’. This is the same ferry we took over in 1995! It’s showing its age, too. One of the four engines was broken down, so the normally 14 hour trip took 17 hours. It was a looooong day. The ferry was fairly comfortable with two different lounges with movies and sitcoms playing. There are also areas with tables and chairs, a bar with live entertainers, ‘Robins’ coffee stand and cafeteria. We spent a fair bit of time in the...

Jul 2, 2008 - On to Newfoundland

The eastern edge of the new world On to Newfoundland & Labrador (the official name of this province!). Just getting the ferry was an experience – we had a reservation so we were guaranteed to get on but we were worried about a kennel for Toffee (kennels are first come, first served – no reservations). So our understanding was that we could line up at the ferry terminal the day before departure, sleep in the rv on the dock and then drive aboard the next morning. Well, ………….not quite! We got to the terminal about 8:45 am and they wouldn’t...

Jul 14, 2006 - Day 12 Argentia, NL

Day 12 - Ferry to NL: Woke up to a windy and foggy morning. Left around 10:30 and stayed in a Wal-Mart lot near the ferry station until time to line up, around twelve. Got checked in, unhooked the car and started our wait. The ferry was late, we were supposed to leave at 3:30, but we didn't get out until 6:30. Ate dinner on the ferry and about 10 we retired to our shared 4 bunk room with bath. Slept until 6:30 and went to breakfast. Uneventful night except for some ups and downs.