SATURDAY 06 August
(There are no pictures for this post, sorry.)
Today was a repositioning day, taking us from the St. Barbe RV Park in St. Barbe, Newfoundland back to the Gros Morne – Norris Point KOA near Rocky Harbor, Newfoundland. Our energy level was low, so we took our time getting ready to leave. I took the F-150 to the Ultramar fuel station next door to the campground and topped up the tank. All of the RVs that were here overnight, as well as two tent campers, were gone before we pulled out around 10 AM. Some headed to the ferry terminal for the 8 AM ship to Blanc-Sablon, Quebec and the rest headed on down the road. One of the tents belonged to a couple traveling on bicycles. We passed them somewhere on Hwy-430 south.
Unlike the drive to St. Barbe on Wednesday, the weather was clear and we got to see the surrounding landscape and coastline, much of which was previously obscured by rain, mist, and fog. It was an easy drive of ~ 228 km (~ 141 mi) that took about 3 hours and we were checked in at the Gros Morne – Norris Point KOA shortly after 1 PM. We were assigned site 78, a pull-thru 3-services (30A electric) site (What3Words = ”conserved.gracefully.fearfully”). We were set up by 2 PM and then had Kimchi Ramen for lunch. At 2:30 PM we made a quick trip into Rocky Harbor, stopping at the PharmaCare (for more medications and tissues), the post office (to mail post cards), and the Irving fuel station (to top up the tank in the truck). When we got back to camp, we both took long naps.
As I had previously posted, I started to not feel well this past Tuesday evening after our boat tour of Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park. When we moved on Wednesday from Rocky Harbor to St. Barbe, Linda had also started to feel a bit off as well. In spite of that, we visited the Viking Settlement National Historic Site in L’Anse-aux-Meadows, one of our two main reasons for coming this far north in the western peninsula of Newfoundland. By Thursday evening we both suspected that our “really bad colds” were actually something else, and used some of the Rapid Antigen Tests we brought with us. Bingo, we were positive for COVID-19. For sure, we were not going to Labrador on Friday, but the St. Barbe RV Park turned out to be a wonderful place to just sit and rest before returning to the Gros Morne KOA today.
Linda looked at the Health Canada website and saw that all five of the currently active variants are present on the island (OMICRON BA.1 – BA.5). We don’t know for sure exactly where/when we came in contact with the virus, but it was not a complete surprise that we did. But it did surprise us that we finally succumbed to it. We had the original 2-dose Moderna vaccine followed by two booster shots, one not long before entering Canada. We have also used vitamin supplementation to support/boost immune system function. Indeed, we have been face-to-face with friends in the last 6 months who had it, and did not get sick ourselves. We didn’t think we were immune, and don’t mind that we finally “caught it” as we will now develop natural immunity, but suffering through the symptoms is the price we are paying.
The Health Canada website indicated that we needed to self-isolate, avoiding contact with others if possible, and wearing masks if not. We can do that, and were glad to see that there was not a reporting requirement. Changing our itinerary isn’t practical, however, as we have every night booked, especially our return passage to Nova Scotia on the Marine Atlantic ferry, but timing wise this will work out OK.
For our two nights at the Gros Morne KOA, we will just “stay home.” Our next two nights will be in South Brook. We don’t have any “must do” things planned for there and will keep to ourselves. After that we will be five nights in Gander. We definitely have things we want/need to do there, including grocery shopping, but we should be much healthier by then and, importantly, not infectious. We will also have the flexibility of sufficient time to work around the weather if necessary.
When Linda got up from her nap, she made macaroni salad and put it in the refrigerator to chill for tonight’s supper. I was feeling better by this evening; not great, but better. Linda is a day behind me, so still under the weather. After the discomfort fades, what remains is the overwhelming tiredness. Or perhaps it’s just the we are “retired,” as in “I was tired before and now I’m tired again.”
SUNDAY 07 August
I was in bed by 11 PM last night and was up a 6 AM this morning. Seven hours is about all I can spend lying down before I have to get and do something else, at least for a while. Linda turned a little earlier and got up a little later, but soon enough we were both having our morning coffee. Breakfast was bagels, the last of the ones we got at Panera before we left home. Linda had saved a cinnamon crunch for me so that was a treat.
Our plan for today was to stay in the trailer and rest while we continue to recover from “the virus.” Rain was also forecast. On its own, it would not have prevented us from going out, but we needed an “inside day” anyway, to take care of tasks on our computers. Linda needed to update our financial records and reconcile our credit card and cash receipts. She also needed to download and deal with e-mails, which she only does when her computer is on to do the finances.
My computer is on almost every day so I can process photos and work on the blog. If I have Internet access, I usually download e-mails and scan through them. If there is something important, I deal with it or mention it to Linda, but I rarely take the time to deal with all of them. That is to say, make a decision about what to do with each one: Delete it immediately, read it, reply to it, take some action based on it, or file it. I usually let this build up to the point that when I get around to it, it’s a time-consuming, tedious task, which is why I put off doing it in the first place. In other words, a perfect chore for a rainy day where I am not going to go anywhere or do anything else anyway.
And so, we worked until we were done, or at least tired and wanted to take a break and rest. Lunch was nuts and fruit and chips, easy to eat while we worked. Mid-afternoon we both laid down and took naps. In an unusual variation in her behavior, Juniper-the-Cat snuggled in next to me (instead of on top of one of us) and napped as well. We got up about 90 minutes later, but Juniper wasn’t done and went back to sleep. She does that a lot; she’s an older cat. We had hot tea. Linda checked in on the world (iPad). I worked on the blog for today, and decided to just append it yesterday’s a make a single, longer post.
For dinner, we had the rest of the macaroni salad Linda made yesterday, followed by more tea and some cookies. Hot liquid is soothing, and we are conscious of the need to stay hydrated. And cookies are, well, cookies, and you need something to make you feel good when you are sick. The evening was a time to use our iPads to read and play games or solve puzzles. I deferred creating blog posts in WordPress until morning, when our Wi-Fi access to the Internet will be usable enough to get it done.
Tomorrow will be another travel day for us. Our next stop, Goodyear’s Cove in South Brook, is only a 2-hour drive from here, so we will aim for a late morning departure. That will allow us to sleep in a bit, and still make for a relaxed morning and departure routine.
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