Two Days Down

Tuesday started from Gander, and took us out through the rain to beautiful Point Leamington and Leading Tickles (my personal favorite stop).

We had some mixed rain on the first stage, which was difficult and strewn with gravel, and then we headed on to the fast sweepers of Point Leamington and out into the Tickle. The stages there are beautiful, but tricky when wet. We actually stopped to check on a Mini Cooper that was off early in the stage, and it turns out that several other cars had incidents of varying degrees of seriousness on that stage.

Lunch in Leading Tickles is a treat, from the scenic seaside setting, to the local music, to the cornucopia of moose based dishes. I ate my fill of pan fried moose and dessert, so I was ready to go for the afternoon.

I'm sad to say that on the way back out of Leading Tickles, our friend Jim Kenzie crashed his beloved Mini heavily, undoing all the hard work he's put in over the years. He's been a great supporter of ours and we're overjoyed that he's okay, but also saddened that he's out of the race.

The afternoon brought a fun new stage called Bobby's Cove, and then the challenges of Gander. The second to last stage, Glenwood, was brutally rough, and many cars sustained minor damage, including multiple winner Bill Arnold. He's no quitter though, and I'm sure he'll be ready to go in the morning.

We picked up some time, but the car is still good and the crew checked it all over, so we're ready to go.

In other news, we're busily training our replacements for the future. Check out the picture of little Joey in the driver's seat. We may have to get her a phone book and some blocks for her feet, because she looks ready to drive to me.

What fun it is to share our passion with the equally passionate Newfoundlanders. It's truly the surprise of the event, having such a warm reception and enthusiastic participation from the people of each town we visit. We're lucky to be here and we couldn't do it without their help.

Thanks!