Septeber 15, 2025
We packed up everything into the car and had breakfast. The previous night, the car gave a warning that the right-front tire was losing air pressure. Despite putting air in last night, it was still showing as being low this morning. Not knowing how bad it might be, and given that garages here didn't seem to have pressure gauges, I decided to go to the local hardware store and buy one. When I checked the tire, it was quite low, so I filled it again and decided to monitor it in town before setting out.
We drove out to a part of the nearby airbase that was used by the USAF to store ammunition including, apparently, nukes. I had meant to stop here before, but hadn't found the opportunity. Now seemed the perfect time. By the time we arrived there, the tire was already 1 PSI lower. Not a good sign.
I went for a walk, took pictures and explored around the bunkers before returning to the car for another check. Down another pound. With a nearly 5-hour drive ahead, with little service along most of the route, I felt it was best to deal with this now. To that end, we visited the local Enterprise rental at the airport and was essentially informed it was my problem. Ok. I found a place in Happy Valley that could take me right away and charged $100 to install a patch. With this, we decided to drive around town for a while longer to ensure the patch was holding, and to get the wheel retorqued.
We explored the back streets of Happy Valley and then resumed our search for my elementary school. With no luck on that front, we had the wheel retorqued. I had also discovered that hotels in Port Hope Simpson were full and I didn't feel like driving further than that at this time of day, so we went back to the hotel in Goose Bay and checked back in for another night. Perhaps tomorrow will be better.
September 16, 2025
We checked out (again), had breakfast at the restaurant next door (again) and set out (again). We drove all the way to Red Bay were I wanted to check out the former Basques whaling station. I knew we would arrive too late, but I thought if we at least got accomodations nearby, it would give us the entire following day to explore.
Unfortunately, they had no vacancy there, and in fact, barely had a table for us for lunch as they hosted a bus tour complete with local entertainment from a enthusiastic, though not completely talented, singer. With lunch complete, we resigned ourselves to moving on.
The next few places we checked were all booked. Strange for being out of the normal tourist season, but perhaps these are new times for seniors that would otherwise have been going to Florida. Finally, at a bed and breakfast, the woman informed me that she too was full, but volunteered to call a friend who sometimes rented out their cottage. After a few minutes, she told us to go to the gas station and wait there to be picked up.
After some time, a black Sierra 2500 with a starlink dish on top pulled up and asked we were the ones looking for a place to stay. We confirmed and followed them out of town. Within minutes, we were at the Buckle's Cabin. It was amazing! Better than most of the other accomodations we'd had so far on this trip. We paid them, expressed our gratitude, and passed a comfortable, relaxing evening.
