Should We Stay or Should We Go - Our Travel Journal

I'd been to L'Anse aux Meadows once before, but I was just as excited to go back as I was the first time.   I remembered bits and pieces, but it had been long enough that it almost felt like seeing it for the first time again. L'Anse aux Meadows is the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Archaeologists believe Norse explorers arrived here around the year 1000, making it the earliest known European settlement in North America - nearly 500 years before Columbus. It's believed the Vikings used this as a temporary base while exploring farther south. They built a small settlement where they repaired their ships, gathered timber, and prepared for future voyages. Although they only stayed for a relatively short time, 10 years,  their visit forever changed what we know about the history of North America. This boggy, barren land is what the Vikings would have seen when they landed Our first stop was the visitor centre. We spen...

  St. Anthony sits near the northern tip of Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula. To get there we knew that it would be a long drive day, but we were motivated. The plan was to just take our time, and enjoy the journey. During the first part of the drive, we slowed to enjoy each small fishing village we passed through. But the farther north we drove up the peninsula, the quieter things became. The villages became farther apart, stretches of wilderness seemed to go on forever, and there were times when it felt like we had the road entirely to ourselves. We began to realize just how remote this part of Newfoundland is. . St. Anthony is the largest community in the Northern Peninsula but "largest" is definitely relative. It's still a quiet fishing town, surrounded by rugged coastline and endless ocean. It also serves as the gateway to L'Anse aux Meadows, the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America. And as it was the reason for making the trip that far north, I...

  Photo by Sergey Tarasov on Unsplash There's something special about a road trip. Unlike flying, the journey becomes part of the vacation. You discover places you never planned to visit, stop for unexpected photo opportunities, and create memories that would never happen if you were simply trying to get from Point A to Point B. After many road trips over the years I've learned that a little planning goes a long way. You don't need to schedule every minute, but a few good habits can make the difference between an exhausting drive and an enjoyable adventure. Here are some of the things that have worked well for us. Have a Plan...But Don't Overplan I like having an outline of where we'll be each night and the major things we want to see. Beyond that, I prefer to leave plenty of room for spontaneity. Some of our favourite stops have been the ones we never planned. A scenic lookout, a roadside bakery, a walking trail we spotted on a sign, or a conversation with a ...

  One of the things that makes Newfoundland such a special place to visit is its wildlife. Along with puffins, moose, and icebergs, whales are one of the biggest reasons people travel to the province every summer. This time around, we didn't have much luck. Other than spotting a couple of minke whales off in the distance the whales just weren't cooperating while we were there. That's wildlife for you - you can plan your trip around it, but Mother Nature always has the final say. That said, I certainly can't complain because we've been lucky enough to see some incredible whale activity on previous trips to Newfoundland. One of my favourite memories is from Twillingate. We would drive up to Long Point Lighthouse, find a spot overlooking the ocean, and simply sit and watch. Below us, humpback whales were feeding in the water. Every few minutes another one would surface, its enormous back breaking through the water before disappearing beneath the waves again. There...