Guest Spotlight: Serendipity by Marianne Edwards
Serendipity: when you accidentally find something good.
Serendipity can happen at any time but we specifically invite it whenever we travel without a schedule and have the freedom to go wherever the wind or whim blows us. Most RVers would argue that’s easier said than done. True - unless you’re open to boondocking - something that most RVs are built for but many RVers are reluctant to try.
We love boondocking (camping for free without hookups outside of traditional campgrounds); it opens up so many more possibilities. It has also saved us thousands of dollars in campground fees over the years. How and where is this possible? I’ll explain below. But first, a prime example of serendipity on our recent trip to Newfoundland.
We recently spent two months exploring “The Rock” (Newfoundland) and visited a few small islands off its northern coast. One of them, Fogo Island, delivered the most unexpected and fun weekend of the trip.
Féile Tilting
Our first stop off the ferry was the visitor center where we were told we had arrived just in time for Féile Tilting - a four-day festival. We had no idea what that meant or what a treat we were in for.
The 100% Irish Catholic village of Tilting annually offers a line-up of music, food, and dancing events on this reunion weekend in mid September. Many families who left the small fishing village to move to the city (Saint John’s) or elsewhere return “home” for the event. We were among only a handful of CFAs (Come From Away) guests. The main gist of the festival is participation in live radio broadcasts during the event, which are shared in Ireland and other Irish or Irish-in-spirit communities who are doing the same thing around the world. In Tilting, all proceeds benefit St Patrick’s parish hall, which is also party-central for all events.
We arrived on Friday, in time to attend the church supper. A fish fry of course. Next up, the Shed Crawl. A $10 ticket allowed us to participate. There would be alcohol involved so the first order of the day was to find suitable camping within walking distance.There’s no campground in the area but, immediately, a local person suggested several nearby boondocking options, each with a scenic ocean view. (This type of hospitality is commonplace across the province.)
The view from our boondocking site
A shed-crawl is like a pub crawl, but more in the “kitchen party” style of Newfoundland, and we would be walking from one local shed to the next with five stops in all. There were featured entertainers in each shed, and members of each walking group were invited to participate, sing a song, play an instrument, or tell a story. All 200 ticket holders met at the parish hall where we were divided into five groups of 40 people who would walk together from one shed to the next, moving every half hour. We walked the quiet streets, beverages in hand. Pretty civilized fun, really! At each stop, we were entertained by a variety of talent. Newfoundlanders are a talented bunch so none of this was surprising.
During the course of the evening, we were warmly greeted by everyone we met and, since we were with the same group all evening, it was easy to form connections and friendships with several people who we then continued to see at other events the rest of the weekend. We were even invited to visit a few of them in St John's where we were heading the next week.
Although the organized shed crawl is in conjunction with the festival, one of the stops (Foley’s Shed) is considered a Tilting landmark. The exclusive Fogo Island Inn often sends their guests there for a taste of local culture.During the festival, the Foleys hosted impromptu jam sessions every afternoon and evening. Even as CFAs, we were soon being greeted by name as regulars.
Various other festival events, meals, hikes, and dances rounded out the weekend, which culminated with a St Patrick’s day parade that saw everyone march to the parish hall for a final farewell Irish pub party.
When we weren’t attending an event or socializing, we enjoyed a coastal hike on Turpin’s Trail and a guided tour of the Fogo Island Inn.
If we had not happened upon this festival, we might have hiked that trail and taken a few photos in the quiet village before moving on. But it’s unlikely we would have discovered the regular jam sessions at Foleys’ Shed (it’s private property and unadvertised) or known how to arrange a free tour of the inn.
Fogo Island Inn
Fogo Island Inn is a most unique place with an amazing woman behind it - Zita Cobb, a Fogo Island native who moved away to earn her fortunes. Rich and often famous guests from all over the world are frequent guests at the inn. With rooms starting at $1900 per night, it provides a remote retreat on one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere on the continent. All proceeds go to Zita’s non-profit organization, Shore Fast, to benefit the residents of Fogo Island. At Féile Tilting, we met some of the gals she went to school with. It’s quite evident Zita is much loved on the island for her dedication and generosity toward its people.
Fogo Island Inn
We’ve been RVing for 20 years so I have many similar serendipity stories. Like this one, most include an unplanned detour or an extended stay in a location we had no intention of spending more than a few hours. But what if we had expensive campground reservations somewhere that we’d have to rush to or forfeit? For us, boondocking is definitely the key.
Finding legal free boondocking
So, how and where do we find places where boondocking is allowed? We use the following platforms and resources. In fact, the first two on this list, are ones that we created and own ourselves.
Nervous to try boondocking?
Most people think they’ll require a generator or solar before they can try boondocking but RVs are built for it. If you’re nervous to “unplug” from power and water, start by trying it out for a day or two at a time. If you can survive without using air conditioning or your microwave oven, you don’t even need a generator. If you learn to conserve your resources, you can usually go longer. Start in your own back yard or a campground without hookups. There are many Youtube videos to help you get started. Such an experiment won’t require any investment. Once you discover the increased freedom and opportunities for serendipity you’ll have, you may never want to travel with a hard and fast schedule again.
Author Bio
When not on the road, Marianne Edwards and her spouse, Randy, make their home in southern Ontario, Canada. Marianne can be reached through her two websites boondockerswelcome.com and frugal-rv-travel.com.