So here we are, four weeks from our Big Day. Not too many things have changed in the last week. We are still on schedule, more or less, but I think the stresses of time are slowing starting to creep in.
The biggest step forward is that the Sidebar (my office/recording studio/music shrine, for those not in the know) is almost completely boxed up. All but the guitars that I am currently using have been taken to Amanda & Pat's for safekeeping and the rest of the closet is in boxes, out with the rest of Corrugation Station (coined by The Adge). I still need to take the stuff off the walls and box up a few more things but it's getting there. Moving the vinyl to Amanda's, which is already in boxes and crates, is a tough task that I am not quite looking forward to undertaking.
The other big step forward is that we now have health insurance for the trip. It's a fickle policy, as most travel policies are, but it will be there for us should something happen like we get attacked by a wild animal, fall down a crevice or crevasse, or slice our fingers open while in some kitchen somewhere.
I am still working on mapping out the last month of our trip. The most recent version of that leg has us taking several trips to various towns and outports on the southern coast of Newfoundland. The terrain down there is quite unforgiving and, as such, it is the least settled and populated part of the island. There are no roads that cross the island in the south, just the Trans Canada Highway, which crosses in the north. Then you just turn off and drive for hours til you get to the south. I have us taking three such detours on the way back across the island but I will probably take one of those off the itinerary and dole out the extra time elsewhere. Otherwise, it's a LOT of driving (3-4 hours each way from the highway to the coast and gas ain't cheap). The isolation of those areas will be comforting and I am sure the people who live there would be most welcoming, as it is far different from the rest of the island, which can be tourist-heavy in places. Going to St. Pierre et Miquelon is off the table now. It is a place that I would love love love to visit but that will just brutalize our budget, which will no doubt be tight by that stage of the journey. Would be much cheaper to camp for next to nothing in the remote south and the ferry to Ramea, for example, would cost us about 1/10 of the cost to get to St. Pierre.
So I think that we will skip the Burin Peninsula, which is where Fortune Bay and surrounding areas are, and instead visit the Connaigre Penisula, home of Harbour Breton as well as several smaller communities like St. Jacques and the enticingly-named Seal Cove. From Harbor Breton, we can take a passenger ferry to Gaultois and McCallum, which are small, quaint outport villages. We will probably visit Burgeo, also on the south coast, before we head off the island, as well.
Much of this trip is still a work in progress and will probably remain so until soon before it all happens. As much as I love to plan vacations down to the minute, there is also something to be said about flying by the seat of our pants. For this trip, we have plenty of time to do both.
So that's about it for now. The next few weeks will include much packing and sorting and physical moving and finalization of details, and squeezing in as much quality time with friends and family as possible. There will be some epic throwdowns in the coming weeks....
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