Day 10 (August 31, 2009) – Off to the Wilds of the Gaspe

Today we sadly left Quebec City to begin our trip around the Gaspe Peninsula. Today’s journey was short in distance (120 miles), but long in sights. We took the Navigators Route, Route 132, forgoing the Autoroute 20. The scenery and weather were beautiful. The countryside of Quebec along the St. Lawrence is dotted with picturesque family farms reminiscent of the Amish country near Lancaster PA. It’s like going back into the 1950’s in the mid-west Harvey says. Crops include wheat, barley, oats, corn, potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, beans, and beets that we have seen. Farms, small towns, the river to the right, and a line of hills to the left some miles away, made the ride enjoyable. Every part of Quebec province we have seen, including the cities, are impeccably clean and well maintained. Everyone obviously takes pride and care of their properties, even in the poorest areas. Flowers are ubiquitous in every town and city.

Day 9 (August 30, 2009) – The Longest Day

Ever mindful of the importance of local information, we hustled out of the campground by 10:15am to get to the Ferry to Quebec before 11 am when the nearby streets were supposed to be closed for the start of a Marathon. Wrong! The marathon began early that morning. Anyway we, along with Walt and Cathy had an early start on our walking/shopping tour of Quebec City. We made many stops in the lower city. There are too many fine shops to mention here. All willing to help you lighten your wallet. Both Donna and Cathy found really nice bracelets…well out of our price range…$2K - $2.5K!

Meanwhile Paul and Mary drove separately into the city to attend Mass at the Basilica Notre Dame of Quebec. The Navy Band also performed at Mass. Both said the Mass and band performance were simply beautiful. Harvey and Yvonne also drove into the city separately to take the City Tour they had missed the other day when Harvey was a bit under the weather.

By late morning we found the Funiculare to take us up to he upper part of the Old City. At the top we ran into Harvey and Yvonne. We parted ways to shop hop in the Château Fontinac area. We had a hard rain and went into the Relais Place D’Armes for lunch, a small hotel restaurant. The food and service were impeccable! So was the price $14 - $16 for a 3 course meal! This fine dining restaurant rates 5 Stars with us. After lunch, there was parade featuring all the units that were in the Tattoo. All of us watched the parade less than 2 blocks from each other but never saw each other. Shortly after the parade ended we took a carriage ride around the Old City. Rested and sated, we were in fine shape to resume our shop hopping walking trip around Old City Quebec.

Several hours later, back in the lower city we found Le Cochon Dingue, a patisserie (bakery) and café. Yes more food! Oh! Desert too…double chocolate cake, carrot cake, chocolate torte, and chocolate cheesecake, “to go!” We managed to make the 7:30 PM ferry back to Levis and our cars. We all gathered in Harvey & Yvonne’s rig for late evening dessert party.

Not sure how far we walked, but I felt as if I walked a marathon! I think Quebec has surpassed San Francisco as my favorite city. So far language has not been a problem and the people have been superb, friendly, and helpful.

Day 8 (August 29, 2009) – The Quebec Tattoo

The morning discussion centered on how many days we needed to see Quebec City. Our conclusion was 2 days was totally insufficient, so we all renewed for a fourth night. The day was rainy and a day for chores.

When Mary was at the Visitors Center after arriving in Canada, she saw information on The Quebec International Military Music Festival held all this week. We purchased tickets for tonight’s show. We managed to find the Colisee Pepsi without much trouble. This may be the highlight of the trip. The show was 4 hours and simply fabulous. The Navy Band and the Navy Drill team represented the U.S. They acquitted themselves with their usual excellence. The theme for the show was musical works from movies. Excerpts from each movie were shown during each piece. Bands from Germany, Trinidad & Tobago, and an acrobatic team from the Hamburg Police joined the groups from Canada and the USA. A Tattoo is simply a show that should not be missed if you happen upon one! Even nosebleed seats are just fine and in my opinion better than floor level!

Day 7 (August 28, 2009) – Grand Tour of Quebec

The weatherman said it was going to be a perfect day and it was…bright sunny sky and cool. Our tour picked us up at the campground at 8:45 am, right on time. We went into the city to begin our tour of Old Quebec at the Chateau Fontinac with our driver/tour guide Phillip. Our first stop was the Hotel du Parliement, the Provincial Parliament building. A fountain with Philippe de Champlain and large trees framed our view of the magnificent building. Our second stop was near the Citadelle (old French/British Fortress) and the Plains of Abraham. This is where the battle took place in which British forces defeated the French and the end of the French colonies in North America. The French Air Force ruled the skies today with their aerobatic team (similar to the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds). They were practicing for their air show on Saturday. Our travels took us down the Grand Allee several times to marvel over the old buildings and many sidewalk cafes. We also stopped at the Jardin Jean de Arc with beautiful gardens surrounded by towering Elm trees. Yes Elm, as they are not affected as yet by the Dutch Elm disease. Our final stop was in the lower city where we walked the narrow cobblestone streets up to the Cathedral of Victory, built by the French after winning the French and Indian Wars.

We had a short stop (40 minutes) for lunch in between tours. Our second tour took us out of the city to Montmorency Falls. Katherine and I rode the Gondola to the top while the rest took the bus. At the top, there was a trail to walk out to the falls and a bridge across the river at the falls. A beautiful stop and a must see. From there we went across the bridge to Isle Royale. All development of the island was halted in the early 70’s, thus it remains an agrarian paradise with many picturesque farms. We stopped at a Choclatier. Cathy bought chocolates while the rest of us indulged and engorged ourselves with a soft ice cream cone dipped in chocolate…dark for me! The coating was as thick as good chocolate candies!

After returning to the mainland we headed east to Albert Gilles Copper Art Gallery and Boutique. Mr. Gilles was an artisan of repousse or enameled copper embossing. His daughter, who with other family members continues the family tradition, conducted the tour. Our next stop was Marie’s Café where we sampled maple butter spread on homemade bread. A loaf of rain bread accompanied us on the rest of the trip… for breakfast tomorrow. Our final stop was the Sainte Anne de Beaupre Basilica. Construction was started in 1923 and completed in 1976. The Basilica and grounds are quite simply magnificent.

We arrived back at the campground around 7:15 PM, too tired to cook. Fortunately, the campground café was still open and we relaxed with a quick tasty meal. Since the Weather was nice, another campfire was lit to end a great day.

Day 6 (August 27, 2009) – Best Laid Plans….

This was a travel day and our planned itinerary took us up the north shore of the St. Lawrence River along the Chemin du Roy (King’s Road). The first bum in the road was at the exit to the campground. Seems someone forgot to tell us at check in that big MH’s had to exit through the entrance side of their gate. Since I stopped to take a picture, Harvey got the honor to try to go out the exit. He don’t fit. Disconnect, back up, and try again on the other side. Woulda shoulda been me!

The route was scenic at times with many beautiful homes and many small towns with LOW speed limits, and lots of road construction with very rough roads. After several hours and less than half way to Quebec, we bailed out for Autoroute 40 (Canadian interstate). We got here about 4 PM and there right next to us was Paul and Mary. They arrived just before us and hadn’t even hooked up yet. Our campground is Camping Transit. Very nice sites, close to Quebec.

Day 5 (August 26, 2009) - What time is it? How far?

Last night Walt suggested French toast for breakfast…Ok…why not. We rolled out of bed close to 9 am. Breakfast was some time after 10:30 am. French toast, sausage, UMMMM! As we sat about totally sated, someone (who me?) suggested a ride to Sherbrooke. Off we went like a herd of turtles. About 1 ½ hours later, couple of stops, we got to the Tourist info Center and were given a very nice looking driving tour around Sherbrooke, with a stop to see their famous wall murals. Not to be! The street we needed to turn onto was closed. Must be some shindig this weekend as they were setting up a stage.

We did have an interesting tour of a Honey Moon Farm, a honey farm and factory. We bought some too, Wild Flower and Blueberry. This is a family run operation and they have about 100 hives. Due to our late arrival home, stops at Wal-Mart and Tim Horton’s, we had to go out for dinner.

Day 4 (August 25, 2009) – Montreal City Tour

Our day's adventure started out with the drive into the city. After all, we looked at the map, had GPS, what more could we want. Perhaps a *#&*@)@* GPS that worked in the city might have helped. After a mini city tour we found Rue Peel. Found a nice parking lot for $10, walked up the hill about 4-5 blocks past several parking garages much cheaper! Your erstwhile city guide Charlie & Myrtle (GPS) at your service.

We signed up for the 3 hour motor coach tour of the city. We enjoyed a very relaxng tour with an informative and talkative driver/guide. We lost one couple at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. A beautiful cathedral that is a definite must see in Montreal. We covered most of the city with stops near the Olympic Stadium (former home of the Nats) and on Mont Real. After a monster lunch at an Irish Pub we headed home by the scenic route, Rt 112. This takes you across the Queen Victoria Bridge, a railroad bridge with car lanes added as an afterthought. Great view of the river and ship canal, but definitely only for cars!

Back at the campground we had a lazy chat outside with just enough breeze to keep the critters at bay. Dinner was served very late as no one was hungry after such a big lunch.

Day 3 (August 24, 2009) – A Very Laid Back Day

Our 4-legged alarm clocks got Donna up at 6:30 am for their breakfast. We finally got up around 8:30 and decided to have a big breakfast. After a slow morning we decided to venture out and about the Eastern Townships on a leisurely drive. We headed east through Granby and then south to Bromont. Harvey noted the large number of Golf courses along our route. Both towns seem to have an enormous number of restaurants of all varieties and cuisines. Tim Horton’s came up last night and low and behold there was one over by Bromont. Yvonne just wanted to try one of their donuts, so we stopped. It wasn’t just one…blueberries are in season…as are strawberries and apples, but I digress!

A quick jog east to Waterloo, then a wandering drive south along Lac Brome, admiring many fine lakeside homes. From there we headed southeast to South Bolton where we found the gravel shortcut across the mountain to the shores of Lac Memphremagog. There we found St-Benoit du Lac Monastery, a magnificent edifice. The final town on our route was Magog, another town virtually wall to wall with restaurants of about any cuisine you can imagine.

Day 2 (August 23, 2009) – Crossing into Canada

Our mini caravan got on the road shortly after 8 am as planned. We had a very easy drive north on I-87, stopping just before the border to top off with fuel. We drove on to Canadian Customs. We spent about ½ hour in line until it was our turn. Despite our worried anticipation, we spent about 2 minutes answering the typical questions, and then on we went. We stopped at the Tourist Information Center and picked up about 10 lbs of brochures and booklets…our evening reading. We arrived at Camping Tropicana in
Granby, QC about 3 PM. The sites are grassy and level with 30/50 amp service. Our drive was 265 miles.

After resting a bit we hopped in Harvey’s car to visit one of the many farm stands we saw on the way in. Great apples (just picked), new potatoes, strawberries, sugar and cream corn on the cob made its way home with us. We did eat well. The corn is outstanding! Guess what? No digital TV channels in Montreal! I guess the rumors about Canada not changing to digital TV are true. We’ll see.

Day 1 (August 22, 2009) – On the Road at Last!

We hit the bricks at 7:30 am on our journey north. Traffic was light most of the day. The only slow spots we hit were near Scranton, PA on I-81. Myrtle (our GPS) directed us right to Frosty Acres, our campground for the night. Unfortunately, her directions ended with us making a 270-degree sharp left turn up the road to the CG entrance. We made it, just barely. The CG assigned us a flat spot to camp, 30 amp outlet with 20 amp max wiring. Harvey and Yvonne arrived about an hour later. They wanted 50 amp. Well, after about 2 ½ hours of fruitless effort, they parked behind us with the same service (?). Oh yes, most of the sites that were open, were on about a 20-degree slope. Guess what our chances of returning here are? Drive: 416 miles.

Day T-2: One More Full Day to Go

The to-do list is really getting shorter, but then so is the time left before we head out. That will be bright and early on Saturday morning. We do have most packing to put into the motor home. It's amazing how many details must be worked out before you head off for 6 weeks. It shows just how complex and even simple lifestyle can be. AHHHH! But once on the road, a deep sigh of relief...and hopefully somewhat cooler weather as we venture further north.