Canadian Provinces: Gander, Newfoundland - July 2025 - Gander Golf Club

Thanks to the amazing opportunity to see the show "Come From Away" performed in Gander, Newfoundland, we found our way to Gander! And so glad we did. It was a nourishing and fulfilling experience!

We stayed at one of the four hotels in Gander run by Steele Hotels, Sinbad's Hotel and Suites, which offered packages with a round of golf at the Gander Golf Course and tickets to see "Come From Away". The package included a hearty breakfast every morning too. The staff was super friendly and helpful, the rooms were clean and roomy. While not a Marriott, it was great!

It is a very small town, but we found a gem of a restaurant called Rosie's Restaurant and Bakery. If you get to Gander, be sure to enjoy a home cooked meal there! Just about every store is within 5-10 minutes of wherever you are!

We took a wonderful and very long day trip to see more of Newfoundland and enjoyed spectacular views of nature, trees, lakes and thankfully one Gas Station with super clean bathrooms! We made it to Crow Head and the Long Point Lighthouse, which was "the end" and basked at views of Greenland in the far far far distance. At times pieces of glacier ice from Greenland float on by, but we missed that sight. Grateful for a strategically placed giftshop and Ice Cream parlor at least!

OKAY, time to get on to our Golf experience. The Gander Golf Course was very welcoming and relaxed. Really friendly staff and volunteers! We met Roger, a volunteer and local, who was an Air Traffic Controller during the 9/11 events in Gander (of which the story Come From Aways tells). He shared his memories and experiences of that week. As well we met Travis, the Starter and Marshall. He was only in the 3rd grade at the time and his memory during 9/11 week of the "plane-people visitors" was that he had to clear the classroom of desks and help put out cots, and then he had the rest of the week off from school!

The golf course is made up of two very different 9's and we were told part of the course was built by locals and volunteers, and then the rest by a company that invested in the course. We usually walk when golfing, but we were thankful that the staff at the proshop suggested we take a cart - boy were they right! It is a very, very hilly course - there is not one flat area of land! There are spectacular views of Gander Lake on holes 2 and 15 .

The fairways were very dry and hard from limited rain in July and often yellow, but amazingly the greens were very bright and lush green. There were an abundance of trees and shrubs with no rough to speak of - you were either on the fairway or your ball was probably lost!

If you are looking for a good workout while golfing, walk this course! There are a few blind shots, it was challenging but fun! Even the greens were not flat - just about every one had "something", either upside down bowls or right side up bowls or undulations and multiple levels. Accuracy is helpful!

Thank you for the warm welcome and conversations! Golf and travels is all about meeting fellow golfers, learning about local cultures and expanding our perspectives - and we did all that when we came from away here!

That evening we had the honor to see the performance of "Come From Away" in Gander. What a truly uplifting and emotional experience! It's funny and heartbreaking, enlightening and thoughtful. You will laugh and cry and come together as humans. If the shows goes on the road again or you get to Gander and it's performing, it's a must see! Thank you to Dianne Woodrow, the Stage Manger that we met, for sending us a signed poster and playbill. It is a memento we will cherish! And a special appreciation to Geoff and Deryldene Tucker. Locals from Gander who were there on 9/11 and befriended us after the show for some lovely conversation about their experiences. The core life lesson from the show is the power of kindness, community, and resilience in the face of tragedy, and to keep those values going every day!