Sandra and I hit the road early Friday morning headed West on a 7ish hour drive to Corner Brook. This weekend Sandra would be competing in a doubles billiards tournament, the prize a trip to Las Vegas to play in the world championships. Sandra began playing in the CPA NL East Pool League last summer, has put in a lot of time learning the game and has really enjoys the sport.

With a snowfall warning in effect on the East Coast for Friday afternoon we hit the road at 7am. This should allow us to beat the weather that was forecast to encompass an area from home Westward all the way to Grand Falls.

Our plan worked and we kept ahead of the worst of the weather all the way across the island!

Even on this cloudy overcast day the scenery was breathtaking! Its been awhile since I drove across the island in Winter, this was Sandra's first time across period.

Near Pasadena, our 2020 Nissan Murano rolled over 40k on the clock. This is our first extended road trip since purchasing it new and we're super happy with the vehicle, especially on the highway. Lots of room, comfy zero gravity seats and plenty of get up and go. The car is also respectable on fuel averaging 8 L/100km on the highway in this winter tire equipped all wheel drive SUV.

Our Air B&B had a spectacular view of the Bay.

It was a beautiful, well appointed basement apartment. The space was clean, bright and quite comfortable for our two-night stay.

Another benefit was the ability to prepare our own breakfast and snacks which worked out great, especially since we took most of it from home anyway.

Saturday, Sandra and her billiards partner Dennis played their doubles tournament at Union Bar & Billiards. This CPA event saw 23 teams complete from noon until well after midnight for the prize trip to Vegas. Sandra and Dennis went undefeated all day, the finals came down to the last few balls on the hell hill final rack. A lot of great shots were coupled with some luck & misfortune on both sides, in the end their opponent squeaked out a win just by the skin of their teeth. A well earned victory after a well matched, nail biter final!

Congrats to Sully and Darren (right) on their win, two absolute gentlemen and sportsmen.

Sunday we awoke to beautiful sunny skies for our drive back across the island to Torbay.

We poked around the city for a bit before hitting the highway around noon.

The drive was uneventful, we hit some snow in Terra Nova that persisted sporadically on and off for the rest of the drive, but not enough to accumulate on the road.

All in all it was a fantastic trip. Sandra always supports me in all my outdoor adventures without hesitation or complaint. It was an honour to be a part of this special trip, her first out of town tournament since joining the league!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith