I had plans to wake up early because I had to drive back to St. John’s. I woke up later than I had planned (this was starting to become a trend lol) and quickly packed my stuff to leave. Heiko was downstairs and offered me breakfast, but given that I had an 8-hour drive ahead of me, I didn’t stay for breakfast, but thanked him enormously for his hospitality, and left.
The drive back was more like an endurance test for me. I got enough food and gas before I left Stephenville so I could stop as little as possible for the drive. The weather got more grey and rainy as I drove, and just like the drive there, it wasn’t particularly interesting. I was on a bit of a time crunch too, since I had dinner plans with Yannick that I didn’t want to be late for (remember him?).
Well where was Yannick? Well, he had spent the past few days walking close to 200km in the wind and the rain, pitching his tent to sleep wherever he went. He also did an interview with ICI Acadie and had a few more lined up next week talking about his trek across the country. He knew that I was heading back to St. John’s and that our paths would cross, so he messaged me asking to meet for dinner. He was walking through the forest on a gravel road somewhere west of Whitbourne, and I offered to grab him and then drive somewhere for dinner. He had no idea where he was, which took us quite some time to figure out, and then I had to find a safe spot off the side of the Trans-Canada highway to pull over. I found him next to a broken wooden sign and he hopped in, dripping wet but in high spirits.
Since we were in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t much open, but I found this restaurant/inn 15 minutes away in Arnold’s Cove that was still open so we ate there. We caught up on our lives, making great conversation, and enjoyed a hearty meal. I ordered my fries with dressing and gravy, and was able to make this delicious concoction out of it.
After dinner, Yannick had to figure out where he was going to sleep. He wanted to get a room at the inn to give his body a break, but it was all booked up. He ended up pitching his tent right behind the inn instead (in the cold pouring rain unfortunately) and restart his hike the next morning. We said our goodbyes, wished each other well, and I headed back on the road.
The goal was to make it to Cape Spear for the night so I could (hopefully) see the sunrise the next morning. The entire drive to Cape Spear was rainy, windy and foggy, and I could barely see the road lines in front of me. I made it there a lot later than I thought because I was driving so slowly, and fell asleep quickly after the long day.
