My Mom and Aunt arrived in July after roadtripping from Ontario. It took a lot for me not to fly to Toronto Pearson and join them for the journey, but there was a consolation Northern Peninsula road trip during their visit.

I found accommodations for four adults and a dog in the form of a whole lodge at Mountain Waters Resort near Portland Creek. This was incredibly only $200/night, but we also caught a break in that they usually require you to stay for three nights minimum.

Kingsley was in love with all of the taxidermy.

To the point that we had to utilize the closet space and the baby crib. It's a good thing a baby wasn't with us, because they would have needed to bunk with Mr. Lynx. That could have maybe been traumatic.

Checking out the upstairs and what do we have here? Sweet wood grain bar?

Isy pointed out how awesome this place would be to book with another couple or two. I don't know how much I'd want to spend my birthday in Portland Creek, but hanging out at this bar would have been pretty cool during those Grand Falls, Baie Verte or Gander times.

Peering behind the bar, I was now certain that this was my kind of place.

An empty 40 of Labatt 50 would lead me to believe that some Quebecers may have come down from the North Shore (or some Newfoundlanders/Labradoreans made a stop in Fermont, QC for supplies).

In addition to the lodge, the entire property of cabins, tent sites and RV sites, is all set on a fine lake, backed by the Long Range Mountains.

It was too bad that it was a bit chilly for a swim (there was also a big dead fish that was ruining the vibe).

We went to Port au Choix and L'Anse-aux-Meadows. It had been a while since I'd been to the Point Riche Lighthouse in Port au Choix, so that was fun.

Having only explored around the lighthouse and keeper's ruins previously, I enjoyed discovering the sprawling, rocky coastline down to the ocean's waves.

I made sure to mix it up on this trip and stay in different places than usual, so this night we ended up in the village of Raleigh, near the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland.

I've always been taken aback by the bleakness of Raleigh's Wikipedia page, "Recently with the collapse of the fisheries the town has been in a downhill economic spiral and most younger people have moved away searching for jobs. In 2006 there were less than five school age children - all of whom go to school in St. Anthony as the local school has long closed. The population is aging and often after somebody dies another house is boarded up and abandoned."

From that description, you'd think Raleigh would be right up my alley, but I never found the village to be anymore wildly abandoned or empty than most other Newfoundland towns. Today though, I think the weather was setting the right tone, as the walk was matching the Wikipedia description.

I loved walking along the foggy shore and having buildings appear up over the bank. To the point that I resisted board games back at the cabin and went back out after dinner into the pitch black night.

It's then that a big hawk or owl flew ten feet in front of me and quickly disappeared back into the fog over the harbour. I cursed not being good enough at birds to have picked out what it was in those two seconds.

While I loved walking in the foggy Raleigh night, I didn't love when we rode the Mill Whistler back in Corner Brook, haha. This is a little electric train that does a loop of downtown. Kids love it, but I didn't realize that when you're on it, everyone wants you to wave and smile like you're on a parade float.

I dreamt of being back in Raleigh.