My husband and I are from Northern British Columbia. We met up in St. John's with three friends from Alberta to do a 19 day tour of Newfoundland in an RV. One of our friends, Harold, was originally from Buchans, NL. He would be our tour guide. One place he wanted to show us was his great grandfather's house in Payne's Cove, Change Islands. We were happy when we made it over, as there were some delays with the ferry.

We arrived late afternoon on June 21st, the first day of summer. The weather was clearing up nicely. We setup the RV on the road to Grand-dads house, next to the cemetery.

The next day showed up bright and beautiful. Harold's sister, Judy, arrived early to check out the house with us. She was going to stay for lunch, till she received a call that the ferry was on its last run, due to engine problems. She had to hurry to make it. We had planned to stay another night, so we settled in for another great evening.

We awoke Sunday to yet another glorious day. We visited the shops, Peter's museum, the Interpretive Centre and met many great folks. We had received an invitation for dinner this evening to the "White" house. President "Max" and First Lady "Violet" were charming hosts.

We found out that there may be a bit of a wait for the ferry. We have a few days to spare on our schedule, so no worries.

Monday morning arose hot and sunny again. We decided to walk the "Squid Jigger Trail." That was a two-hour hike up hills, along cliffs, over rock and marsh. It was well marked and had steps and bridges to help you over the tough areas. There was a lovely breeze to help cool us off. I phoned a friend on the west coast from the top of a ridge, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. What amazing technology we have.

We had planned to stay only two nights, which became four. We would not have had time to do all we did if we only stayed two days.

Sometimes the unexpected leads us to better places. So go there with an open mind.

We had a wonderful time on Change Islands and we say THANK YOU to all the wonderful people we met on this adventure. If we had to be stranded, this was a great place to be.

Happy Trails from Laura, Ray, Harold, Joyce and Ruth.

P.S. Harold is the great grandson of "Skipper Joe" Peckford.

  Submitted By: Laura MacKenzie