Romantic Homes and Romantic Adventure Travel in Newfoundland Canada

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Three Cottagesan Adventure&

A longtime family home is the starting point for an incredible journey.B Y M E R Y L S C H O E N B A U M

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y D O N N A G R I F F I T H

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A longtime family home is the starting point for an incredible journey.BY M E R Y L S C H O E N B A U M

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y D O N N A G R I F F I T H

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Atlantic Canada province ofNewfoundland may not be thefirst place that comes to mindwhen planning a romantic,fun-filled adventure—but itshould be.

Ken Sooley knows the area well. Surveydocuments show his ancestors lived there asfar back as the 1850s, and subsequent genera-tions set down roots in the coastal communityas well. For decades, people came from allover the world to profit from the area’s prolificfishing grounds. Ken has fond memories ofthe family home his grandfather built in thetown of Heart’s Delight—which is alongsidetowns with the equally romantic names ofHeart’s Desire and Heart’s Content.

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ATLANTIC CANADA PROVINCE OFNEWFOUNDLAND MAY NOT BE THEFIRST PLACE THAT COMES TO MINDWHEN PLANNING A ROMANTIC,FUN-FILLED ADVENTURE—BUT ITSHOULD BE.

Ken Sooley knows the area well. Surveydocuments show his ancestors lived there as

far back as the 1850s, and subsequent genera-tions set down roots in the coastal communityas well. For decades, people came from allover the world to profit from the area's prolificfishing grounds. Ken has fond memories ofthe family home his grandfather built in thetown of Heart's Delight—which is alongsidetowns with the equally romantic names ofHeart's Desire and Heart's Content.

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But in 1994, the fishery closed due toan economic downturn, putting 40,000residents out of work. The landscape waschanging along with the population.There was an “outmigration” of peopleleaving the area in search of jobs. Historichomes were being torn down becausethey no longer had economic value. Kenfound the sight painful to watch, and heset out to find a way to combine theregion’s breathtaking splendor with hisfamily’s three cottages to attract tourismback to the area. His passion for adven-ture and his connection to Newfound-land’s coastal villages, homes andresidents, inspired him to form Cape-Race Cultural Adventures Inc., with hissister, Sharon Nisbet, serving as its direc-tor of operations. He restored three cot-tages and made them the home bases fora circuit tour. Staying in the romantichomes sets the stage for the play thatensues, with each guest meeting differentpeople and having a unique experience.

Ken describes his venture as a boutiquetravel company specializing in upbeat,self-guided travel experiences at Canada’smost eastern island of Newfoundland.“With spontaneity as your compass and

Opposite: On the counter of The Hare’s Earscottage kitchen are flowers called lupin,which are local to Newfoundland.

Top:The chandelier in the living room wasoriginal to the house. The windows overlookthe city’s downtown.

Left: The floors in the bedroom were newbut were finished to appear older.

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But in 1994, the fishery closed due toan economic downturn, putting 40,000residents out of work. The landscape waschanging along with the population.There was an "outmigration" of peopleleaving the area in search of jobs. Historichomes were being torn down becausethey no longer had economic value. Kenfound the sight painful to watch, and heset out to find a way to combine theregion's breathtaking splendor with hisfamily's three cottages to attract tourismback to the area. His passion for adven-ture and his connection to Newfound-

land's coastal villages, homes andresidents, inspired him to form Cape-Race Cultural Adventures Inc., with hissister, Sharon Nisbet, serving as its direc-tor of operations. He restored three cot-tages and made them the home bases fora circuit tour. Staying in the romantichomes sets the stage for the play thatensues, with each guest meeting differentpeople and having a unique experience.

Ken describes his venture as a boutiquetravel company specializing in upbeat,self-guided travel experiences at Canada'smost eastern island of Newfoundland.

"With spontaneity as your compass and

Opposite: On the counter of The Hare's Earscottage kitchen are flowers called lupin,which are local to Newfoundland.

Top: The chandelier in the living room wasoriginal to the house. The windows overlookthe city's downtown.

Left: The floors in the bedroom were newbut were finished to appear older.

M A R C H 2 0 1 3 6 3

"We send you on a scavenger hunt for interesting people and places in an cultural and natural environment unmatched anywhere in the world."


of stories he hears from guest travel-ers who have enjoyed interactingwith the locals on their journey.

In addition to the Newfoundlandbusinesspeople, who are an unbe-knownst cast of characters to enter-

touring company are the threeromantic cottages. Each gueststays in all three cottages as theyproceed on their scavenger hunt.“The cottages are located within athree-hour proximity of each other,and each cottage offers a differentmeasure of Newfoundland’s intrigu-ing cultural, scenic and sportingassets,” Ken explains.

Each house is unique and historic,overlooking the waters of New-foundland and representing a differ-ent aspect of the region’s lifestyle.“Allof the CapeRace cottages are authen-tic, renovated homes that housedfishermen’s families throughout theearly part of the 20th century,”Sharon says. “Ken and I were deter-mined to create a sense of historyand authenticity in a comfortable,simple way so that a stay in any oneof the houses sets our guests not only

Top: The EJ Sooley cottage is nestled alongHeart’s Delight harbor. It’s typical of PortNewfoundland residents to paint the gate adifferent color from the rest of the fence.The extension to the house is called a linney,used as an entryway.

Right: Pictures of Queen Elizabeth arecommonly found in outport homes becauseNewfoundland belonged to England until1949. The chairs, hutch and table wereoriginal to house; Ken’s father made the table.Turquoise walls are often seen in the outport.

of stories he hears from guest travel-ers who have enjoyed interactingwith the locals on their journey.

In addition to the Newfoundland

businesspeople, who are an unbe-knownst cast of characters to enter-

touring company are the threeromantic cottages. Each gueststays in all three cottages as theyproceed on their scavenger hunt."The cottages are located within athree-hour proximity of each other,and each cottage offers a differentmeasure of Newfoundland's intrigu-ing cultural, scenic and sportingassets," Ken explains.

Each house is unique and historic,overlooking the waters o f New-foundland and representing a differ-ent aspect of the region's lifestyle. "Allof the Cap eRace cottages are authen-tic, renovated homes that housedfishermen's families throughout theearly part o f the 20th century,"Sharon says. "Ken and I were deter-mined to create a sense of historyand authenticity in a comfortable,simple way so that a stay in any oneof the houses sets our guests not only

Top: The E.I Sooley cottage is nestled alongHeart's Delight harbor. It's typical of PortNewfoundland residents to paint the gate adifferent color from the rest of the fence.The extension to the house is called a linney,used as an entryway.

Right: Pictures of Queen Elizabeth arecommonly found in outport homes becauseNewfoundland belonged to England until1949.The chairs, hutch and table wereoriginal to house; Ken's father made the table.Turquoise walls are often seen in the outport.


energy as your limit we send you on a scavenger hunt for interesting people and places in a cultural and natural environment unmatched anywhere in the world", Ken says. He measures his companies success by the number

tain the guests the other stars of the

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in a real community but also gives them asense of history and place. We try to keep thehistoric houses intact, to ‘restore’ rather than‘renovate.’ Where we cannot restore, we use la-bor, materials and designs that reflect the historyof the house. With the atmosphere created byoriginal paint colors and vintage fixtures andfurnishings, we attempt to reflect the lives ofthe people who lived there…and to reveal alittle bit of Newfoundland’s charm.”

Hare’s Ears Cottage in St. John’s, the EJ Sooley

House in Heart’s Delight and the ThomasMouland House in Bonavista each had acomplete infrastructure overhaul, Sharon says.

The EJ Sooley House was Ken and Sharon’sgrandparents’ home, built in the late 1930s.“When we started renovating the EJ SooleyHouse, we had one goal: to put it back the wayit was when we were kids,” Sharon recalls.“When CapeRace took the house on as one ofits circuit-tour cottages, we realized that thecomfort of guests was paramount, and we

in a real community but also gives them asense of history and place. We try to keep thehistoric houses intact, to 'restore' rather than'renovate: Where we cannot restore, we use la-bor, materials and designs that reflect the historyof the house. With the atmosphere created byoriginal paint colors and vintage fixtures andfurnishings, we attempt to reflect the lives ofthe people who lived there.. .and to reveal alittle bit of Newfoundland's charm."

Hare's Ears Cottage in St. John's, the EJ Sooley

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House in Heart's Delight and the ThomasMouland House in Bonavista each had a

complete infrastructure overhaul, Sharon says.The EJ Sooley House was Ken and Sharon's

grandparents' home, built in the late 1930s."When we started renovating the EJ SooleyHouse, we had one goal: to put it back the wayit was when we were kids," Sharon recalls."When CapeRace took the house on as one ofits circuit-tour cottages, we realized that thecomfort o f guests was paramount, and we

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The EJ Sooley kitchen is filledwith vintage charm.The originalsink’s chipped surface addscharacter to the room.

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The EI Sooley kitchen is filledwith vintage charm. The originalsink's chipped surface addscharacter to the room.

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Top: The EJ Sooley bedroom features acharming blue nightstand with a harpcarving for hanging towels.

Left: Ken purchased the yellow-framed mirrorabove the nightstand as it was a similarcolor to the original cottage’s interior trim.

invested in new, expensive mattressesand box springs, new dishes and cut-lery, new bedding and soft furnish-ings; everything had to reflect the idealof our 1960s grandparents’ home, eventhough it might be brand new. Rottingwindows on the bay side were replacedwith new ones authentic to the origi-nal, wooden, double-hung windows. Itretains a lot of its original character:baseboards and trim, interior andexterior doors, floorboards, beadboardceilings. It is a simple fisherman’s familycottage, and its furnishings and fixturesreflect this. Most of the furnishings areauthentic to the house, purchased byour grandparents. The dressers, night-stands, cabinets, kitchen table, wringerwashing machine, etc., were from ourgrandparents. We scour secondhandstores, charity shops and antiquesstores for furniture, vintage curtains,framed pictures, dishes, teapots, etc.,for all our houses, but we were fortu-nate to inherit many of our grand-parents’ things. Our ancestors wereoriginally from the south country ofEngland, so we kept many pictures ofQueen Elizabeth and her family onthe walls.”

The site of the 110-year-old ThomasMouland house, in Mockbeggar,Bonavista, boasts a romantic pedigree.“Bonavista is the ‘landfall’ where JohnCabot discovered North America,” Kensays. The cottage’s architecture is called“Biscuit Box.” The décor of this housewas unplanned; it received the hand-me-downs from the other cottages.

Hare’s Ears Cottage, in St. John’s, hasthree bedrooms and an open-conceptkitchen on the second floor. There is a

LI invested in new, expensive mattressesand box springs, new dishes and cut-lery, new bedding and soft furnish-ings; everything had to reflect the idealof our 1960s grandparents' home, eventhough it might be brand new. Rottingwindows on the bay side were replacedwith new ones authentic to the origi-nal, wooden, double-hung windows. Itretains a lot of its original character:baseboards and tr im, interior andexterior doors, floorboards, beadboardceilings. It is a simple fisherman's familycottage, and its furnishings and fixturesreflect this. Most of the furnishings areauthentic to the house, purchased byour grandparents. The dressers, night-stands, cabinets, kitchen table, wringerwashing machine, etc., were from ourgrandparents. We scour secondhandstores, charity shops and antiquesstores for furniture, vintage curtains,framed pictures, dishes, teapots, etc.,for all our houses, but we were fortu-nate to inherit many of our grand-parents' things. Our ancestors wereoriginally from the south country ofEngland, so we kept many pictures ofQueen Elizabeth and her family onthe walls."

The site of the 110-year-old ThomasMouland house, in Mockbeggar,Bonavista, boasts a romantic pedigree."Bonavista is the 'landfall' where JohnCabot discovered North America," Kensays. The cottage's architecture is called"Biscuit Box." The decor of this house

was unplanned; i t received the hand-me-downs from the other cottages.

Hare's Ears Cottage, in St. John's, hasthree bedrooms and an open-conceptkitchen on the second floor. There is a

Top: The El Sooley bedroom features acharming blue nightstand with a harpcarving for hanging towels.

Left: Ken purchased the yellow-framed mirrorabove the nightstand as it was a similarcolor to the original cottage's interior trim.

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separate suite on the ground floor witha bathroom. This house was chosen forthe tour due to its location in the historicBattery Village of St. John’s. “Ken con-siders the two St. John’s Houses as the‘urban’ and ‘new’ of Newfoundland,”Sharon says.“While the furnishings andoverall design might be described asnautical, it is not that obvious. Thelinens, bedding, tea towels and wash-cloths are black, white or red—there’snothing frilly in the St. John’s houses.All the rooms are painted white; the colorcomes from the accessories—some arevintage finds, but most are interestingitems that reflect Newfoundland.”

The CapeRace circuit tour has receivedpraise from guests as well as travel maga-zines. National Geographic honored it asone of its “Top 50 Tours of a Lifetime” in2010. Guests have told Ken that their bestexperience was a conversation they hadwith someone along the way, not seeing aparticular site. “They hear stories andthey come back with stories, they will, inturn, tell and remember,” he says. “Theromance is being lost in people’s livesbecause they are too busy. The journeyis as important as the destination.”

S E E S H O P P I N G G U I D E , P A G E 9 4 .

Right: The cabinets in the Thomas Moulandcottage kitchen were handmade by a localcarpenter as were the windows. They werecrafted with 100-year-old glass to maintainthe effect of the original house. Ken boughtthe stove for $25 from a classified ad in thelocal Buy and Sell newspaper.

Below: Vintage glass bottles with localsoft-drink manufacturers’ labels werefound on the property.

Opposite: This unique staircase is a highlightof the Thomas Mouland house. The kitchenfloor was covered with large, colorful canvassheets. As they wore out, homeowners putnew pieces on top of older ones for layers ofinsulation. Several years later, there was aninch of spongy, damaged flooring. Ken putpieces of them on the staircase to displaythe history of the house, adhering them tothe steps with upholstery tacks.

Right: The cabinets in the Thomas Moulandcottage kitchen were handmade by a localcarpenter as were the windows. They werecrafted with 100-year-old glass to maintainthe effect of the original house. Ken boughtthe stove for $25 from a classified ad in thelocal Buy and Sell newspaper.

Below: Vintage glass bottles with localsoft-drink manufacturers' labels werefound on the property.

Opposite: This unique staircase is a highlightof the Thomas Mouland house. The kitchenfloor was covered with large, colorful canvassheets. As they wore out, homeowners putnew pieces on top of older ones for layers ofinsulation. Several years later, there was aninch of spongy, damaged flooring. Ken putpieces of them on the staircase to displaythe history of the house, adhering them tothe steps with upholstery tacks.

separate suite on the ground floor witha bathroom. This house was chosen forthe tour due to its location in the historic

Battery Village of St. John's. "Ken con-siders the two St. John's Houses as the'urban' and 'new' of Newfoundland,"Sharon says. "While the furnishings andoverall design might be described asnautical, i t is not that obvious. Thelinens, bedding, tea towels and wash-cloths are black, white or red—there'snothing frilly in the St. John's houses.All the rooms are painted white; the colorcomes from the accessories—some are

vintage finds, but most are interestingitems that reflect Newfoundland"

The CapeRace circuit tour has receivedpraise from guests as well as travel maga-zines. National Geographic honored it asone of its "Top 50 Tours of a Lifetime" in2010. Guests have told Ken that their bestexperience was a conversation they hadwith someone along the way, not seeing aparticular site. "They hear stories andthey come back with stories, they will, inturn, tell and remember," he says. "Theromance is being lost in people's livesbecause they are too busy. The journeyis as important as the destination."

SEE S H O P P I N G G U I D E , P A G E 9 4 .


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Thomas Mouland bedroom has ahand-painted canvas mat, whichwas common to the area’s homes.The handmade wooden barrelwas used for shipping fish fromthe outports to Europe and theCaribbean.The black ties aroundthe barrel are tree limbs.

Thomas Mouland bedroom has ahand-painted canvas mat, whichwas common to the area's homes.The handmade wooden barrelwas used for shipping fish fromthe outports to Europe and theCaribbean. The black ties aroundthe barrel are tree limbs.


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CapeRace Cultural Adventures Inc.38 Outer Battery Road

St. John’s NewfoundlandA1A 1A7

(709) [email protected] • www.caperace.com

In the turn of the century,Newfoundland homeownersused whatever wood wasavailable to them from thelocal area, Ken explains. Thisfloor in the Thomas Moulandcottage bathroom is likely asoft wood, painted brown.Ken found the tub via aclassified ad section in thelocal newspaper.

In the turn of the century,Newfoundland homeownersused whatever wood wasavailable to them from thelocal area, Ken explains. Thisfloor in the Thomas Moulandcottage bathroom is likely asoft wood, painted brown.Ken found the tub via aclassified ad section in thelocal newspaper.

CapeRace Cultural Adventures Inc.38 Outer Battery Road

St. John's NewfoundlandAlA 1A7

(709) [email protected] • www.caperace.com

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