Goose Bay to Blanc Sablon... no, make that Plum Point

5AM came on time.  With over 9 hours sleep Al was up as soon as I flushed the toilet!  By 5:45AM we had the bikes packed and were sitting in the lobby of the Hotel North 2 waiting for Jungle Jims to open so we could get breakfast!

I saw fishcakes on the breakfast menu and got excited... Al suggested that I find out of they are frozen - as I would no doubt be disappointed if I got them and they were... I asked... they were... I ordered bacon and eggs instead!

We were on the road by 7:15AM with 500+ kilometers of gravel road ahead of us.  The road was in great shape... by great I mean in better conditions than some towns in Nova Scotia - one in particular with a men's prison in it by the same name - but I won't mention any names...  Ann Murray was born there but won't come back for fear of ruining the suspension on her Escalade...  figure it out yet!?!

 There is not much to write about 500+ KM of gravel road.  The scenery was breath taking - rocks and trees and trees and rocks and old stunted trees and more rocks... barren and oh so beautiful.  Perhaps I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.  You can see the pictures here.

When I wasn't watching the road in front of me I was looking at the clear blue sky and noticing the contrails stretching overhead: planes carrying many people from many places to many different places over the Labrador sky...

A journey such as this gives a mind time to think - think about the bumps in the road, the wrongs turns taken and places one has been and hopes to go...  I got to thinking about the conversation Al and I had last evening - he asked me how I came to be at Springhill, in prison ministry.  I told him the story of John Tonks seeking me out and how things unfolded from there... but as I drove today and thought some more I realized there is more to that story and it has to do with Lowell Vessey seeing goodness, seeing potential in me, and encouraging me to consider ministry... and I think that is why I am so connected to the work at Springhill - claiming the goodness in myself and seeking to help others see the same in themselves...  big thoughts for a big land...

With a stop in Port Hope Simpson for gas we reach Red Bay at 3PM.  We had completed the Trans Labrador Highway!!
No more gravel on this trip!!
We arrived in in Blanc Sablon in time to catch the 6PM Dangerous Goods crossing... seemed to fit... we were feeling kind of dangerous!!  On the board the Apollo we enjoyed a roast beef dinner and conversation with a guy from Newfoundland who works on a blasting crew in Labrador... he's going fishing on his four days off!  Nice and quiet he said!!


10 minutes off the boat we found ourselves in the Plum Point Motel where we met Sandy who was wondering around the parking lot with a beer in hand looking for a conversation.  We had a good chat with Sandy and found our more than he likely planned to share with us about the tragedy in his life and the toll it is taking on his current relationships.  Wish you well Sandy and hope things get better for you and those you love!

Al enjoyed a shot or two of Captain Morgan Premium and I had a couple of India Beers - another Newfoundland staple!

On the Rock!

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