A couple of weeks ago we traveled to Newfoundland! Todd was getting married so we decided to go early and make our family vacation out of it.
Look how happy we are waiting to board the ferry! We had to be there two hours early so there was a lot of waiting in the parking lot, then waiting on the boat, then waiting while they pulled the ferry out, turned it around, and backed into the dock so they could load some wide vehicles or something. Finally we got moving and then… the 6 hour boat ride started. Phew. We were a little more frazzled at the end of the boat ride than we look in this pic.


Ferry boat pics: sane and silly!
Go fish helped pass the time, as did chasing around a nearly-two-year-old, coloring, watching videos, snacking, going to the sun deck, going to the side decks… each for 10 mins at a time (excepting chasing the nearly-two-year-old, which was pretty much constant).
We stayed in Pasadena, between Deer Lake and Cornerbrook. The only good pic of the lovely cabins includes this lovely model.
One afternoon we traveled a long and winding road from Cornerbrook to Blow Me Down Provincial Park.

The hiking trail was not long but it had a LOT of stairs.

The view of the Blow Me Down mountains was well worth it, despite the rain. And for the record, the mountains are aptly named (it was soooo windy up there!).





On the way down we took a slightly different trail that led to the Governor’s Showcase, a really cool bunch of rocks that overhang the staircase. 

On the next day we spent the day in Gros Morne National Park. The last time Brian and I were here we hiked THE Gros Morne (and someday we will again) but this time we did family-friendly activities. We hiked the Berry Hill trail first. 
We looked on the map and picked a picnic table to have a BBQ lunch at. Little did we know we would be pulling into this beauty of a spot (near one end of the Coastal Trail)!
It was a great spot for a quick lunch!
It was a great spot for throwing rocks and combing for treasures, too.
After that, we headed to Norris Point, another beautiful spot with mountains towering all around.
Here they have a little research marine center where they have a touch tank and all sorts of ocean life that you can check out in their aquariums.
I have to say that the boys are both curious, but Emery is the braver of the two when it comes to this stuff (hence Oliver chewing on his knuckles).
We saw all sorts of crazy things but this lobster was BLUE! Apparently one in 3 million are born without the pigments that make their shells red. Who knew.
This is another shot on the way down to Norris Point. This would be a really fun place to kayak. And check out the snow still in the mountains!
On the way out of the park, we did a quick hike to Southeast Brook Falls. The falls were impressive but you couldn’t really see much from the trail.

So many pictures… more to come!