Home Sweet Home

Good evening all! We were away for a couple of days R&R in Bonavista, about 3 hours drive out of St. John's. The area is littered with cliffs, ocean vistas, quaint bays and forest-covered islands just off the coast. The history of the area dates back over 500 years.

There was an "ulterior motive" in the fact we wanted to check out a couple of cottages for sale in the hope of securing a week end getaway. Now, I know y'all are probably saying: "That Davidson must be loaded." Sorry, wish it was so but it ain't...the truth of the matter is that some fixer-upper properties (with amazing views) can still be got here for a pretty good price (ie. an average car payment), so we thought it was time to check it out before the next announcement of an oil find drives up the prices to match the rest of Canada.

As you drive into some of these small bay-side communities you can come across just about anything. Sometimes you see no sign of man or beast as you cruise the only street along the water. Often, you will see groups of men clutching their lunch-time bottles of beer grouped around an ATV or a rusty old car up on blocks. It's a bit unnerving when they give you the side-long glance and smile broadly, revealing their tooth...(Cue guitar: strum, strum, strum, strum, strum...cue banjo: doo dee doo da do da do da doo...). OK, so perhaps I exaggerated a bit...they had 3 or 4 teeth.

In one village the town-folk were out clutching their beer, watching the snowmobile competition. This is where brave young men rev-up their machines at one end of a pond and glide them across to the other side. Now I now that you're thinking "What's the big deal, it's Canada after all." True enough, but contrary to popular American belief we do not live in log cabin, or igloos, and we are not snow-bound all year around, eh? Winter only lasts for 8 months...

Some places just have a welcoming feeling and project a sense of community. People are out walking the dog (on a leash) or pushing babies in strollers. A man looks at you and gives you "the nod" in greeting. Children are playing in fields (that don't have rusty old ships or burned out pick-up trucks). It's a good sign when the tin-shack tavern is derelict but the church isn't (and not the other way around). Anyhow there were no concrete decisions made, so the hunt continues.