Inner Journey: family

It has been a summer of celebrations: 1 family get together, 3 weddings, 2 anniversaries and 1 memorial service. We have enjoyed them all.

In May, my cousin Wendy hosted a family get together at her beautiful house near Perth. It was great chatting with all the cousins. Of course the food and drink were awesome. Thank you Wendy for hosting us all.

Wendy's Home

Another Great Day

Cousins Wendy and Brian

Cousins Larry, Tom, Cheryl and Sister Kim

Cousin Barbara

Cousins Bob, Brian and Larry

Cheryl and Wendy

Tom and his Wife

On July 6 we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. We had a mass and dinner at Galilee with 24 friends. Fr. Tom Riopelle was our Celebrant. We adjourned for a party at our house. A great time was had by all.

July 6, 1984

July 6, 2014

Fr. Tom

Galilee Hospitality

With Friends

Kitchen Party

Our Happy Day

Next we attended Gerry and Jane's wedding in Braeside with the reception at St. John Chrysostom hall in Arnprior. It was a deeply religious affair as both Gerry and Jane who lost their first spouses to death, are deeply spiritual people.

At Our Lady of Perpetual Hope

Sharron, Christine and Marie

Gerry and Jane

Then it was down East for the wedding of Marie's nephew Andrew to Samantha in St. John's. They were married at Corpus Christi Church followed by a large reception at t.he Holiday Inn. It was a very happy wedding with lot's of smiling, good feelings and shooters!

Saying Their Vows

Party Bus is Ready

The Happy Couple Arrives

Cheers to a Happy Marriage

Head Table Fun

Next we were invited to Ron and Joan's 50th Wedding Anniversary back in Ottawa. It was a classy affair staring with Mass at St. Patrick's Basilica. We then enjoyed a scrumptious catered meal in their backyard by the pool. It was a wonderful celebration with their friends and family. Thanks for inviting us!

At St. Patrick's

It was Allan G. the Chef

Congrats Ron and Joan

Poolside Party

A wonderful wedding of my step niece Ashley and Andrew followed. They are teachers and had spent several years abroad in London and Tokyo teaching overseas before returning to Ottawa. Sadly, Ashley's dad, my step brother Alan, passed away in the Spring from pancreatic cancer. Alan had given his approval and was very present in the service. His memory caused quite a few tear ups during the speeches.

Ashley was given away by her god father, retired fireman Bruce Foster. Cindy, Allan's widow, held up very well through it all. We had a great reception at Strathmere not far from Michelle and Tim's in North Gower. Ashely nd Andrew were married at the Church of the Ascension in Ottawa. Thanks for including us in your special day.

Ashley and Bruce

The Handsome Couple

Ashley and Andrew

Michelle, Jackson, Wyatt and Jordan

Cindy on the Right

Their Wedding Dance (Cindy on right again)

Ashley's sister Suzanne, Ashley and Andrew's sister

Al was a great Man

Thanks for Watching Over us Brother Al

Finally, we were invited to attend the memorial service for Gerry, the husband of our neighbour Kay's sister Lorraine. It was a big extended family celebration that went on for a week. We met people there from Vancouver Island to Florida to Newfoundland. It was another memorable time. Thanks Gene, Kay and Lorraine for your hospitality.

It was a wonderful setting

Lorraine Honours Gerry

Marie Places a Flower

What a Beautiful Day

Some Family

Even More Family

Gene in Line

Kay chats with a Grand Niece

The Aftermath!

It's safe to say that we were now all partied out until the next time.

Well Marie and I just returned from a fab trip to Newfoundland. It was to attend Andrew (Marie's nephew) and Samantha's wedding. It was my 5th or 6th trip to the Rock.

We had a swell time at the wedding- a big affair at the Holiday Inn in St. John's. They were married at Corpus Christie RC Church on Waterford Road. A happy affair - everything went well. Both are recent grads in Pharmacy from Memorial University and are off to a great start with a house in St John's and jobs at Lawton Drugs.

Well that was just the start or trimmings if you like. Both Kyle (Winnipeg) and Michelle (Ottawa area) made the trip too. We all flew on the same plane and made a grand holiday of it.

There was the family visit to Placentia to visit Michelle's aunt and uncle. A kitchen party ensued followed by a great brunch the next a.m. at Philip's Cafe. While we didn't get to hike much, we did admire Castle Hill from a distance and read up on the long and sordid history of conflict between the French and English over its heights. We stopped by to visit a life long friend of Marie's in Freshwater her home town on Placentia Bay.

Another great (I mean really great by!) kitchen party ensued back in St John's the next night at Marie's sister's place, the mother of the groom. It pretty well knocked the screech out of us for a few days!

We then spent 3 wonderful nights in Petty Harbour at Caplin Cottage overlooking the harbour. Highlights included a short hike with Kyle along the East Coast Trail, picking some wild blueberries and making jam and the fireworks in the harbour the first night, celebrating local heritage. It only rained one of the three days!

After a trip by car ferry to Bell Island (spotted a whale in the distance) where Marie's mother comes from, we hit the road and did the "Irish Loop" down the east coast of the Avalon all the way around through Trepassey. Highlight was a beautiful hike from Mobile to Tinker point along the waterfront. Stayed a night in the The Wilds Golf Resort which we highly recommend. Spotted a moose on the 3rd tee!

Continuing back North we hit the Baccalieu Trail and stopped at Bay Roberts for a nice hike and lunch. Spent that night over on Trinity Bay in Whiteway after a nice feed of fish and brews and some local after dinner entertainment.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP: Woody Island Resort in upper Placentia Bay.

Went there for one night. Marie had been there 6 years ago and raved about the experience. We were boated in with 24 strangers and then fed pea soup, toutons (fried dough) and lassie (molasses) for lunch. After a hike and nap in our comfortable main lodge room, we returned for the fab dinner of pan fried cod, fresh bread, potatoes, veg and cottage pudding, all you can eat, YUM! That night we were treated to 3 hrs plus of music with Richard Withrow on guitar, accordion and singing local, country and pop songs by the dozen. Got roped into dancing the Virginia Reel - we were strangers no more. The ugly stick came out for a few rhythmic songs along with a blown up garbage bag, go figure. The mummers soon arrived and I was swept away to the dance floor. The next day after a big breckie, we circled the island by boat and stopped for a "boil-up" lunch of soup, sandwiches and date squares. You get the idea! Finally returning to Garden Cove, we all hugged and said our goodbyes. Our skipper, Gary Pomeroy, one of the co-owners was the most hospitable, caring and gentle soul that I have ever met - and he has been doing this for 25 years on a daily basis!

Up to Gander for short visit with Marie's brother Greg and then back to St John's. We stopped at Bidgoods food store in The Goulds for some yummy cod au gratin. We had time to visit Cape Spear the eastern most point in N. America, on a sunny day. Then Marie's sister Chris and husband Jack hosted us to a wonderful jigs dinner complete with turkey, salt meat, figgy duff, wine and a delicious blueberry cobbler made by brother Rick. Needless to say we were overweight on the flight home!

Things have changed and they haven't. St John's is now an extremely active place with traffic jams, expensive accommodations, pricey rental cars and jammed airport. Out in the bays, things are still quiet - it can be very difficult to find accommodations or a restaurant by just driving around. The Newfoundlanders I met are still good natured and generous people. A bayman told me that things have changed though. Years ago, if you had a flat tire, the first car would stop and the driver would offer you his spare - "here take mine by". Now with all that oil, some changes are inevitably happening, some good, some not so good. But the spirit and traditions live on, particularly at Woody Island.

A smattering of pics:

On Our Way