No cancer updates in this post – just a fun update on my recent trip back to Newfoundland!

I booked the trip in April, after some repeated encouragement from my oncology social worker / counsellor. Up to that point, it really wasn’t feasible, but by then most of the treatments’ effects had worn off or at least become manageable to the point where I thought I’d be able to enjoy the trip home, so I booked it!

I went on June 29 and came back on July 12. I even splurged and bought business class tickets!

I had a bunch of Aeroplan points that I was determined not to let go to waste. I planned on just using those so the trip would be free, but by the time all the extra things (seat selection, baggage, fees, and taxes) were added on, I would still have had to pay about $450 cash on top of the points. So much for free!

After doing some digging around, I calculated that I could get business class tickets if I used the points for everything in one direction and paid for the fare the other direction. I ended up paying about $750 for the whole trip, which was only about $300 more that I would have paid if I had used my points to fly economy. Let me tell you, it was $300 well spent!

It was a great way to start and end the trip, and everything in between was just as great!

On the flight down, I was treated to some lovely views as we headed towards and over Newfoundland, including flying over the Burin Peninsula and even specifically St. Lawrence, the town where I grew up.

The photos of St. Lawrence were too hazy to share (sorry!), but it was fun to fly over the whole area and recognize the places aerially.

My brother, Robert, and I went for a drive one day, where I did the standard visits to Cape Spear and Signal Hill. We didn’t stop long – it was more just to get out for a drive together and those sights are always lovely to visit.

While home I made sure I got to my favourite fish-and-chips place: By the Beach. Twice. The first time was the whole enchilada – fish and chips with dressing and gravy. The second time I just had fish. I love it so much because it’s such a light, crispy batter – almost see-through! It has spoiled me for all other fish and chips.

In addition to the great fish, there’s also a great view of Conception Bay, one of the big bays of the Avalon Peninsula, on the east of Newfoundland.

I crammed in as many visits with friends and family as I could while I was there. Most of my photos were of people and, since not everybody wants to have their faces plastered all over the Internet, I won’t post those shots here. Since you don’t know the people, it’s likely the pictures of the places you’d rather see, anyway!

One of the places I visited was Bryant’s Cove, where my good friend of mine lives. It’s on the other side of Conception Bay, about an hour and fifteen minutes from St. John’s.

The moon was just spectacular that evening. And there was hardly any wind. It’s genuinely crazy how little wind there was the whole time I was home. And, for that matter, when I spent two months in NL back in 2023. Normally you practically have to wear gravity boots not to get blown around, but not any more apparently!

I also took advantage of the good weather and my sister-in-law’s pool while I was home. It was very relaxing and definitely therapeutic.

In addition to that, I made sure to squeeze in some crafting, too. Before I left to go to NL, I used my Cricut Joy Xtra to cut out the pieces for a sunflower project. My sister-in-law loves all things sunflower and I thought that this would be a fun project for us to work on together while I was there. It really was a lot of fun. I was surprised at how big it turned out to be! She has hung it on the front door of the house, where it looks very cheerful indeed!

(To give credit where credit is due, this project was from Jennifer Maker. I’ve linked it so you can check it out if you are interested. She has LOADS of fun projects on her site.)

It was a very busy two weeks, but they were filled with friends and family. People who have been in my life for…shoot…35 years and longer! It was balm to the soul!

It was so wonderful to see everyone. Everybody was very understanding of my slower pace and need for afternoon lie-downs and to accommodate for the pain I have now. There were only a couple of people that I would have really liked to see, but wasn’t able to, so I count that as a success, since people were the whole point of this trip.

The flight leaving Newfoundland did not disappoint on the amazing views, either. Interestingly enough, we flew over the south coast of the island. I have always wanted to go there, but it’s pretty remote and out of the way, so I’ve never seen it.

Thanks to this flight, though, I was able to! The whole long stretch of it from Fortune Bay all the way over to Channel-Port-aux-Basques. It’s spectacular. There was one spot that was lined with, what looked from our height, to be beautiful, long, sandy beaches even.

When I got back to Ottawa, I tried to line up the pictures I took with Google Maps, but it doesn’t look like Google has done much specific mapping in that area, so I couldn’t really do it. I was able to confirm the locations in the second shot, but that’s it. However, I can at least say I have seen the south coast now!

I don’t know if I’ll get back to NL again or not. But I made sure I enjoyed it while I was there. I soaked up all the goodness and love and friendship that I could.

A couple of years ago, my friend Brenda G told me about a conversation she had had with someone about taking pictures of people we care about and then they are gone. So I’ve been very intentional since then, including during this trip, to be sure to take as many pictures of the people I saw as I could.

Some of them are people who are still a regular part of my life now and some are people I haven’t seen in years. But they have all touched my life in different ways and I wanted to make sure I captured these new moments with them. I’ll be making a photo book out of the pictures, too. Not just leaving them on my phone or laptop. I want to keep them handy and close by.

Because I was very aware that this might be my last trip home, it had the potential to become a bit maudlin or even morose. But it didn’t. It for sure impacted how I looked at the trip, but I think it was in a very positive way.

You know how sometimes if you are on a trip, you might run around trying to make sure you see and do ‘everything’, but you don’t really live in the moments?

I made sure to live in the moments. I sat back and watched and listened.

It was such a joy and a blessing to see these people whom I’ve known for years and even decades talking and laughing with each other. Sharing those inside jokes and memories. Sharing challenges and frustrations, too.

I felt so blessed that I was a part of their lives and that those lives and moments will continue on after I’m gone. I didn’t have a single, solitary moment where I thought, “I wish it could continue longer for me, too.” Not one.

I realized that it is truly enough that I have had the moments I have already had with them. If I get more time with them, great. I will enjoy that, too. But if I don’t – it has been enough. My life has been enriched and made all the better for the moments we have already shared together.

I don’t mean to imply that I haven’t appreciated other times I’ve shared with them. I for sure have. This was a different perspective on it, though, somehow.

I don’t know if any of that makes any sense, but it was definitely the best gift that I came back with.

Anyway…it was a great trip. I thoroughly enjoyed it – every single moment of it!

I’d love to hear about any trips that you have had that have given you a different perspective on something in your life – please feel free to share in the comments!

---

If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more, don’t forget to follow!