I was duped, when I bought this place, by a seller who lied on her disclosure documents. That meant I had no water - zero - in this place from mid-July until the last week of October. It was a nightmare, as I could not invite people to stay at OCEANVIEW WRITERS RETREAT under those conditions. When I realized the water was not returning to my well in mid-October, I had no choice but to arrange for an artesian well to be drilled. They found water, some of the best on the planet, at 320 feet, all but 7 or 8 feet of that drilling going through solid rock. My only issue now is paying off my Line of Credit, as it was maxed out in order to pay for this well. Little did I know that my hot water tank would also need to be replaced, as it died two days after I got the well, flooding my basement. That added another bill to the cost of opening OCEANVIEW WRITERS RETREAT, but the good news is that we now have an uninterrupted supply of water and it is once again possible to shower and enjoy this home with fresh water from deep under the rock that is guaranteed to be uncontaminated in the way that surface water might be.
I have been running a Raffle as a fund-raiser to help with paying for this well, and I have to say that I have been deeply touched by the tremendous support I have received from writers - some of whom are long time friends, others who are Facebook acquaintances, and others whose names I don't recognize at all. You are all so generous. I cannot wait to meet the person who is awarded a free week in the retreat at the end of the Raffle. They will be asked to book their stay between the end of May and beginning of September 2022 to take full advantage of our location within Terra Nova National Park.
I want to say that I am uplifted by that support from fellow authors because it tells me other authors see this place as I do, and they really do want to visit my Writers Retreat. Charlottetown is a lovely, quiet hamlet, and life here is so peaceful it is a perfect place to seclude yourself to write. But it is also close to the many hiking trails in Terra Nova Park (closed between September and May for the winter months) and dozens of other tourist sites within driving distance. You can also walk around this hamlet and take in lots of beautiful scenery.
The draw for the Raffle for a ONE WEEK FREE stay at OCEANVIEW WRITERS RETREAT will take place on November 30th, 2021 at noon NL time. That means there are just 26 days left to buy your tickets. The Post Mistress of our beautiful hamlet has agreed to draw the winning ticket, so be sure that you have yours. They are $10 each or 3 for $25. You can either mail in a cheque (postmarked by November 25th) to 95 Main Street, Charlottetown, NL, A0C 1L0 or send an e-transfer to: sharonberg.author@gmail.com
Included in that free week are three meals a day and two site-seeing excursions, one being a half day and the other being a full day.
People are asking how they can get to Charlottetown, NL. There are two ways. One, arrange for me to pick you up at Gander airport, which is about an hour from here. Two, you can take the ferry to Port aux Basque, NL, with your car. If you do take the ferry, I advise you to take the night ferry and book a cabin to sleep as it is approximately a 7 hour journey. Then you simply drive the TransCanada highway across the province (another 7 hours). After you enter Terra Nova Park, which is clearly marked, you will drive for many miles. Look for the turn off for Charlottetown at the bottom of a big hill, and follow that road through the hamlet. Just after you pass the one store here, you will drive up a small hill and see my place surrounded by hedges on the left side. If you reach the church, you have gone too far.