We're back home from Newfoundland but wanted to share our last amazing day. We started the day checking out a couple of parks - Cobb's Pond park and Heritage memorial park which was a memorial to the Newfoundlanders who died in war, a memorial to plane crashes in Gander and also a memorial to a Newfoundland dog named Gander. Gander the dog served with a unit in World War II and died saving his wounded men by carrying away a live grenade that had landed near them.
The rest of the day was Come From Away themed as we got a chance to be "Screeched in" at the legion just like they did in the show. In a true example of Newfoundland kindness they did a special screech in for us because kids are technically not allowed in the legion but they wanted to make sure that Coyle got a chance to do it. Being screeched in is a ceremony to become an honorary Newfoundlander that involves learning how to speak like a Newfie, trying Newfoundland food, drinking Screech (rum) or in Coyle's case Pepsi! And for the final test kissing the fish - a giant Cod named Todd! We were honored to be Screeched in by the real Oz and Beulah in "Hannah's Corner" - where the real Hannah from the musical stayed as she waited for word from her son, an NYC firefighter.
The town of Gander was originally built right next to the airport but after World War II the town leader were concerned that the town being that close to the airport was dangerous so they moved the town further away. The roads are still there and we were able to walk through the remains of the town.
We finished our day, and our trip, with the best part - going to see the show Come From Away. The show was the same script but the staging was reimagined. It was amazing to see it performed right where it happened! The most exciting part was that when I bought the tickets I posted on the fan page that I was bringing my 9 year old son who was a big fan and asking what to do in Gander. Well to my surprise the producer of the show reached out to me wanting to make it special for Coyle. He offered us a backstage tour and a chance for Coyle to meet some of the actors which was absolutely amazing. The fact that all of these people were just as kind and generous in real life was just amazing and they gave Coyle some memories that he will never forget. If you get a chance to see Come
From Away take it - you won't be disappointed
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