Sunday August 6th – Corner Brook, Newfoundland
The Plan:
Find a church and then explore the town.
In order to keep my posts as current as I can I will only be publishing images Only when I have good WiFi access. When I return homne, I plan to make all the photos I have taken during this cruise available on OneDrive, available by request – more about that later.
My Iconic digital image shared by this patriotic community is a tribute to their sons and daughters who have in the past fought and died so their families could continue living in a free country.
The Reality:
It was calm waters and soft moonlight that accompanied us on our journey through the night and we awoke to a brilliant sunrise as we continued our northerly course in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and entered the long channel to continue our track into the Port of Corner Brook. One gentleman with whom I have morning coffee with, shared that he met and married his first wife here. “Not such good memories, however” he said. He and his current wife are residents of Lake Havasu, Arizona. He has some fascinating life stories.
Our digital Navigator, which is new on this cruise, indicates that we will be arriving around (at) 8:00 am. As I gaze out our stateroom window it looks like the low thin layer of clouds will dissipate as the morning progress. This weather is so much like what we experience at home.
What is the digital Navigator? It is akin to what we used to call in the navy the “Plan of the Day”. We still get the paper version however the digital version (for iPad and iPhone) allows for the customization of your days itinerary. And pre-populates some of your daily activities like your dinner time and any excursions your have booked with HAL – very cool.
Since Corner Brook is not a tender port, we opted to have a leisurely breakfast and take our time getting to the waiting shuttle bus at the head of the very excellent pier. Our shuttle (school bus) was courtesy of several civic associations in the city with all the drivers and hosts serving as volunteers. This fact belies the character of the community and that spirit was present in everyone we met that day.
Our first goal was to attend a church service and since The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, was just across the street from the city square (where the shuttle bus deposited us), that seemed to be the logical choice. After a very warm welcome we settle in for the service entitled “The Transformation of the Lord” which also included “The Celebration of the Eucharist”. After the service we were invited to join the congregation for their monthly coffee/tea hour, which included some very nice snacks and deserts – we did not need to stop for lunch after that feast. We felt like honored guests. Before we departed I. was privileged to speak with the Archbishop and his wife, who were, incidentally, in charge of the coffee hour and cleanup. As we chatted I learned that he was a retired Canadian Navy Senior Command Chaplain with vast experiences ministering to troops in several war zones. It is alway great to feel such a kinship with other navy men and women, irregardless of where we served , we were so blessed to serve our countries
Friends who have visited this port highly recommended an easy walk along the Corner Brook Stream Trail. We decided to test our endurance and ended up walking almost all of the trail loop.Up stream we were treated to a pair of beautiful white swans preening themselves while and a flock of noisy mallard ducks cavorted in the still waters of the Glynmill Inn Pond, that had been created 50 years ago by the construction of a small downstream dam. In 2002, a fish ladder was constructed along side the dam and Atlantic salmon can now return upstream to spawn.
A lovely day, friendly people, and beautiful scenery makes Corner Brook one of our favorites. A definite 5 star community.
Jack W, Cummings, VOV 2017 – Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Cummings Family Adventures 