Wine-It’s Just My Opinion

   

Friday, February 20th, kicked off the 38th annual Winter Carnival here in Corner Brook.  It was the best opening ceremonies I have ever seen.  The park was filled with people of  all ages, waiting for Lief the Lucky to come out of the tunnel and offically open Winter Carnival.

There was a spectacular fireworks display, followed by great entertainment by Rex Goudie and Uncle Harry’s Bar Band.  The draw for Lief the Lucky’s Treasure Chest went over extremely well.  It was the first year and a lucky 14 year old girl walked away with some fantastic prizes, including a Wii System, Ipod, digital camera and much more.

 These opening ceremonies set the stage for 10 days of Winter fun.   If this is any indication of the level of entertainment, the people of Corner Brook are in for a great 10 days.  Tied in with the ECMA’s, Corner Brook is now a hot-bed of winter activity, entertainment and fun. 

Enjoy!

           

It’s been 26 years since my last visit, but this weekend I took a trip to the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland.  My mother is from the Northern Peninsula and although the occasion was sad, her sister died, and we went up for the funeral…. the visit, however, was fantastic.

I have never been up there in the winter, and the stark beauty captivated me.  Ice floes in the water, the snow drifts where it was so barren in places.  I can’t believe I didn’t bring my camera, so I got the above pictures from a website on the Northern Peninsula. 

It’s a popular spot in the summer, and I can see why.  The ocean is your driving partner as you drive along Route 430, and you see bogs and mountains.  We saw 1 moose and 5 caribou on the way up, and 1 moose on the way down, just curled up sitting watching the traffic on the side of the road.  He wasn’t moving. 

There wasn’t much traffic in the winter time, and with good reason.  Weather can change pretty quickly in Northern Newfoundland and we hit two separate snow storms on the return trip. 

We did however, get to enjoy the music and hospitality of the people.  They celebrate life like no others.  It was a joy to watch.  The funeral was packed, as people share everything with each other.  There aren’t much in the way of amenities, no shopping, no museums, no galleries.  There’s just people, music and laughter

What a great trip.  Thank you to every0ne who made it so enjoyable.  I can’t wait for the next trip.

Darlene

    Me On Vacation!

I would love to go on another trip to a destination I have never been!  So where are the deals?  Is it my imagination, or do there seem to be fewer deals this year than ever before?

I was thinking that with the economic recession around the world, and people all over Canada and the United States losing their jobs, that the travel industry would offer some good deals on vacations.   I think the statistic I heard was 598,000 people lost their jobs in January.   These people are trying to save their homes, probably not thinking about vacations.

I was talking to my travel agent in early January and she told me that people are waiting for ‘the deal’!  Well, where are they?  Normally in January, Air Canada offers a great seat sale.  If they did it this year it was the best kept un-advertised secret ever. 

I have been checking the regular websites, (Expedia, Travelocity, etc)   but nothing catches my attention as a great deal.  I usually take a vacation every year, usually a sunny destination.  6 months of winter each year will do that to you.   I know what I have paid in the past, and I’ll tell you, there aren’t any spectacular deals yet.

If anyone knows of  another website I can check out, please let me know.

Here’s to the sunshine in our minds!

Darlene

I had the pleasure of seeing the movie ‘Gran Torino’ on Friday evening, starring Clint Eastwood, and I gotta say ‘Clint Eastwood Rocks!’

There is a reason Eastwood is called a movie icon, and tough guy action here – And they are all evident in the movie Gran Torino.  It was excellent.  Not only did he star in the movie, he directed it as well.

As painful as some of the racial slurs were to hear, I do understand they were needed to understand the man Walt Kowalski, and the growth of his character.  As he unwilling, at first, begins to protect the Asian family living next door to him, and then becomes entwined with the family,  you can see his character develop and his racial prejudice melt away. 

Even if you have never been a fan of Clint Eastwood, go see this movie.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Darlene

I read the book first!  And I LOVED it.  I’m an avid reader, and was a while catching on to this one, because usually I don’t enjoy books about vampires.   So I was a little late picking it up.  But when people at work starting talking about, when I came across it in the book store, I grabbed it. 

This is a beautifully written love story.   A fascinating tale in that only Stephanie Meyer could have made all the vampire characters so real!  Mysterious but at the same time warm.  ( I know, strange words to use about ‘cold ones’)  But they were warm and likeable, and I cheered when these two misfits fell in love.

Then I went to see the movie!  And I LOVED it.  Nothing excites me more than when a great book is made into a great movie.  (well there may be one or two other things that excite me more, but that’s another Post)

The first thing I noticed is that the movie is well cast.  As Stehanie Meyer describes the characters in the book, that’s how they came alive on the big screen.  (Again, pardon the pun please).  And this relative unknown cast impressed me so much with great acting.  These are not easy characters to play but each actor and actress did a fantastic job.  This book was a best-seller and they had big shoes to fill.  And they were wonderful.

Go see it,,, fall in love.  It’s full of suspense, mystery, some comedy and a great love story. 

I can’t wait to get to the book store to buy the next book in the series, New Moon.   Enjoy!

Darlene