Tuesday Aug 28 (D45) - Sat Sept 1 (D49) HOME

We left Bert and Leslie's on Tuesday after a very relaxing, wonderful time visiting.  They are such good hosts - we felt so completely pampered.  Thanks again for a great time.

As most of you know, who follow our travels, it is not uncommon for us to decide that we are ready for home and then spend  the next few days just driving.

Tuesday (Clayton, NC to Morehead Kentucky) :
We were up early and spent our last morning on the deck chatting with our hosts. We left around 9:30am. We knew when we left that we were ready to go home, and that we would spend the next few days driving.  We got gas before we left town and then hit the road.  We noticed signs on the side of the road saying "Weed Eating", with workers in the ditch with weed whackers.  Cute.

The road today was very pretty.  We passed over mountains and through a couple of tunnels.  The roads were not as busy as some of the interstates we have been on.  As well, there was often open landscape which was almost comforting.  And trucks.  The roads had many many semis!  There were almost more trucks than cars.

There was some construction on the road, but it did not interfere with our travels.

We stopped in Morehead, Kentucky for the night shortly after 5pm.  The hotel was very comfortable and had 4 HBO channels.  We curled up in bed with a Guinness and watched two movies.  It was sooo relaxing.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Very hot and muggy
Distance: 446.8 miles
Mileage: 28.6 m/gal


Wednesday (Morehead Kentucky to Rockford, Ill):
After a very good night's sleep, we were on the road by 8:45am.  I think that has been the earliest we have ever been up and out.  The weather was overcast with threatening rain clouds.  We had bouts of VERY heavy rain throughout the morning and early afternoon.  The rain would start suddenly and would be torrential to the point of not being able to see in front of us. There were times Bob had to rely on watching the yellow line to stay on the road.  And then just as suddenly, it would be gone and the sky would be sunny.  At one point, in between the rains, there was a full rainbow in front of us.  It was really quite pretty.

Once we reached Indiana, we noticed the roads slowed considerably.  People were actually driving only the speed limit.  We wondered if the highways were more closely monitored here.  We stopped at a truck stop for gas. Bob had never been successful at paying at the pump as the pump would never accept his zip code.  I noticed that I had misread the instructions, and once he entered the number properly there was no problem.  Now we figure it out, just as we reach the end of our holiday.

Again there was quite a bit of construction on the road, but again it did not interfere with our travels, and our trip was not slowed at all.

We crossed into the Central Time Zone so gained an hour.   It was so nice to drive along and see open fields.  We also noted that as we went further north it got cooler and less muggy.

We also saw a few more signs of renewable energy - a solar farm and a couple of wind farms.

We drove as far as Rockford and checked in to our hotel at 5:30.  After checking in we walked across the parking lot to a local tavern and feasted on ribs.  We are back in our hotel room, settling in for the night.

Hotel: Sleep Inn
Temp:Mixed Heavy rain, scattered clouds, and sunny.  32c cooling to 24c
Distance:541.2 miles
Mileage: 28.1 m/gal


Thursday(Rockford, Ill to St. Cloud Mn):
We were out early this morning - by 9am.  I think we are getting anxious to be home.  After getting gas, we headed out on the road.  The sky was cloudy with the odd sunny patches.  It reamained that way for most of the day.

Leaving Rockford, we noticed a sign for a toll road and decided that we would avoid, so took the next exit.  Unfortunately, apparently, we were already on a toll road to we had to pay an exit fee -I think we might have travelled 200 meters.  We programmed Erg again to avoid tolls and she took us off at a very interesting journey through town and around fields.  It added about 25 minutes to our time and we ended up #39, the same highway that we had left, but there were no tolls - apparently the toll part was quite short.  Oh well.  At least it was an interesting drive.

We soon left Ilinois and passed into Wisconsin.  We stopped at a truck stop near Black River Falls where there was a short boardwalk (about a mile total).  I was not feeling all that well, so I rested in the car while Bob took the walk.  It ended up overlooking the valley, but it was a bit overgrown.

One thing we noticed was the amount of corn growing in the area.  This corn was not as high as the corn further south, but it appeared healthier.  We couldn't tell if it had been harvested yet or not.

Today was a day for construction.  We had a number of delays, although none of them as extended as the ones we have faced in the east due to traffic.

We checked in around 6pm and relaxed in our room.  Neither of us felt like supper so we dined on snacks.

Hotel: Quality Inn
Temp: Cloudy but clearing later in the day - 32c
Distance:406.1 miles
Mileage: 28.5 m/gal



Friday (St. Cloud Mn to Minot ND)
Another early start - hmm.. 9am is starting to be not early, but routine.  Again, we started the day getting gas.  It was cloudy to start the day but there were scattered sunny patches

One of the things we noted was how the power lines seemed to zig zag across the road and back again, occasionally running away from the road and then back.  We tried to decide why that would be but did not come up with a solid theory - there were so many that could have explained it.

At the ND border, we headed west towards Bismark.  The landscape was changing, with more rolling hills and bushes rather than the trees we had driven past earlier.  We had lunch at a truck stop near Valley City and continued northwest on the interstate. 

At Jamestown, we turned north on #52 to Minot.  We arrived around 4:30pm and checked in. Shortly after, we decided to have supper at a local sports bar - Buffalo Wings.  We ordered an appetizer special and a Guinness.  The appetizer was no problem, but the server would not serve us alcohol without identification.  That meant Bob had to go out to the car to get his driver's license.  She would not budge - so... out he went.  Not bad, eh?  Carded at 75 years old.  The food was good, but the service lacked. It certainly wasn't what we have come to experience in the states.  There were lots of staff, but they didn't seem to be doing much except wander around. 

Back in our hotel room, we cuddled up and watch couple of movies on the movie channel before drifting off to sleep - me before Bob.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:Mixed - 32c
Distance: 431 miles
Mileage: 28.4 m/gal


Saturday:  (Minot ND to HOME)
Today we headed home.  Out at our usual time, it was sunny and cool.

As we drove through the valley, we noticed that there were huge numbers in stone on the hillside:  98, 86, 79 etc.  We quickly realized they were probably graduating classes- they went all the way back to the late 60s. Quite a tradition

Very quickly, we could tell that we were getting close.  The landscape was clearly more like the familiar prairie.  At the border, we popped in to the Duty Free to pick up a couple of bottles of rum.  Then, at the border, when the agent asked if we had any alcohol or tobacco, Bub glibly answerd "no".  Sheesh.  We clarified that answer - he had only heard the agent ask if we had tobacco.  After safely making it through the border, we bypassed Estevan and headed for Regina where we stopped at Craving's for a pizza lunch.

We had been warned about the construction around Craven, but it actually was smooth sailing.  Earlier, there had been signicant construction around Estevan, but it didn't interfere much with our travels.

We arrived home about 4:30pm and have almost completely unpacked.

What a fantastic journey!

Hotel: HOME
Temp: 24c, windy
Distance: 655 km
Mileage: 8.8l/100k

PHOTOS

Friday, Aug 24 - Monday, Aug 27 -D41-44(Clayton, NC)

On Friday, We were up around our usual time, and came downstairs to greet the famiy.  After a lazy morning, we went grocery shopping and planned meals for the next few days.  The grocery store was huge but was very well laid out.  The vegetables were arranged in an appealing manner with a mixture of colours.

Arriving home, we had a bit of lunch and then headed to the community pool.  This is a private pool that allows access to members only.  It was a good sized pool and we were able to do a few laps... emphasis on the few.  It has just reinforced that we need to get back into regular swimming when we get home.  We played frisbee with Jackie, Bert and Leslie for awhile, but then I could feel myself turning red, so decided it best to find some shade.  I watched the others playing in the water for awhile, but it wasn't long before they joined me in the shade.  Bert and Leslie's granddaughter AJ was with us.  Apparenty she has made major improvements in her swimming this summer.

After swimming, we came home, and just hung out on the deck for the rest of the afternoon.  The deck backs onto a grove of trees which creates a feeling of being at the lake.  We could hear crickets, frogs and birds as we sipped our wine.  It was truly a relaxing afternoon.

Bob agreed to make supper - grilled (BBqed in Canada) pork chops, baked potatoes and broccoli/onion/carrots.  Hmmm.. it was good to have a home cooked meal again.  Chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.  Who could ask for more?

Saturday, Bert and Leslie wanted to take us out for some wine tasting and to see the largest frying pan in the world.  The initial trip was a about an hour away in Rose Hill, to Duplin wineries.  Duplin makes wine using muscadine grapes.  It is the one of the largest wineries in the area.  Our visit started with a tour of the winery.  Unfortunately, they are currently between production, so we were not able to see the winery in action. But our tour guide, Peter, was able to show us the equipment used and walk us through the process of producing the wine.  We also learned a little bit about the different grapes that are grown in the area that are used in the production of their wine.

After the tour, we had an opportunity to taste 10 different wines.  These wines were very sweet, and although they were good, were not our favourite wines.  Even the dry wines didn't quite fit our palate.  But it was a fun time.

After visiting the winery, we went on the hunt for the world's largest frypan, located just a few blocks away.  We found in a gazebo type building marked with a do not enter sign. The pan itself was covered for protection, so the only thing we saw was the handle sticking out.  Apparently it is large enough to cook 365 chickens at one time, and it is used yearly at the local community fair.

On our way home, we stopped in Selma.  Selma has an historic district which has been converted to massive antique/collectable stores.  We wandered through three of four of them, looking for Wiley.  We only found one thing - a plaque that had all the looney tunes characters.  We weren't that impressed with it, so decided to pass.

Back home, we vegged on the deck, and chatted until well past 11pm.

Sunday was another quiet day.  Bob did laundry and I worked on the computer.  I think we have our route home planned, but that can change with the wind.  In the afternoon, we watched a movie on Netflix. Supper was an absolutely great crock pot roast with mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding to die for, and key lime pie for dessert.  After supper, we played apples to apples for a couple of hours and then chatted until bed time.

Today has been  another quiet day.  We cleaned out the van, getting ready for the next phase of our journey.  We are planning on heading out tommorrow morning (Tuesday) towards Charleston.  We hear the scenery is quite beautiful that way

Hotel: Bert and Leslie's home
Temp:  HOT

PHOTOS

August 23(Day 40-Thurs) Chesapeake, Va to Clayton, NC

We were up early and out just after 8:30 am.

The first part of our travels today was heading towards the North Caroline border on the Chesapeke turnpike.  Just before the border, we had a tollbooth.  Bob wanted to get some change so asked me to get him a $10 bill, but we didn't have one so I gave him a $20.00 bill for a $3.00 toll.  The woman gave us $7.00 change, and when I said we had given her a $20, she just looked at us and held up a $10.  She conned us.  We got flustered - which is probably what she expected, and just drove on.  I hope she enjoys whatever it is she buys with our $10.

As we were driving I couldn't help but notice the number of Gun Shops, something we just never see in Canada.  We also passed one of the biggest outdoor water slides I have ever since.  It was almost impossible to keep Bob driving when he saw it, lol, but we persevered on.

Shortly after, we entered North Carolina and at Kitty Hawk we stopped at the Tourist Information centre to get some information about the outer banks.  We picked up a map and got information about the ferry at the end of the peninsula (or islands - I'm not too sure).  Leaving the tourist area, we noticed a memorial to the Wright Brothers who first flew from this spot.  As we were walking up to the memorial, we met a fellow from Florida (originally Connecticut).  He told us that he spends a couple months ever year travelling North America much like we do, and we shared stories about our experiences and the things we liked best.  He was an industrial chemist that retired just a few years ago.  We had a wonderful conversation with Eli and wished him well on his travels.

Travelling down the Outer Banks, we noticed that the landscape was very sandy.  At Nag's Head, we passed Jockey's Ridge State Park which is home to huge sand dunes.  Quite impressive.  We travelled on to Bodie's Island Lighthouse which is one of the historic light houses in NC.  There is a marsh boardwalk next to the lighthouse which we took.  We were's prepared for the birds there and unfortunately had not brought our telephoto lens with us.  But it was a very nice walk anyway.

We continued our journey and crossed over Oregon Inlet.  Our day today was one of bridges!  It seemed every few minutes...well not quite.. but frequently we were crossing a long bridge.  Bridges here are not like the ones at home.  These have sweeping lines and are quite pretty.

We continued on the outer banks until we reached Pea Island National Wildlife Reserve and then headed back to cross yet another bridge to reach the mainland of North Carolina.

We had intended on taking #264, but we missed the turnoff, so carried on until we reached Columbia where we had lunch.  After lunch we turned south on #90 to the #264.  There was a very interesting drive over a lake to get to the highway that was most unusual - it almost felt like dirt had been piled up in the middle of the river to create a road.

North Carolina appears to be mostly an agricultural state.  We saw many fields of tobacco, corn, and soy bean.  The corn was interesting in that much of it looked brown and dried - almost as if it had already been harvested and the stalks were being left to dry before they are picked up.  However, we were told that it was probably "deer corn"

We continued on #264  and then turned off on #42 until we reached Clayton and our home for the next few days.  Bert and Leslie were not home (they had taken AJ - their granddaughter- to dance lessons.  But we were greeted by Jackie who fed us and kept us company until the other three got home.  We spent the evening on the deck catching up and just enjoying the evening.

We will be spending the next few days here, so I may not be blogging too much over that time.  I know that the plans are to hit a vineyard or two and to visit the largest frying pan in the world.  More about that later.

Hotel: Bert and Leslie's home
Temp:  Some cloud with a warm sun.
Distance: 333 miles
Mileage: 28.2 m/gal

PHOTOS

August 22(Day 39-Wed) Georgetown, De to Chesapeake, Va

We woke up this morning to someone singing in the hallways "Oh, what a beautiful morning". Who could resist that?

We were out early and on the road by 9am, heading south.  I had picked up a brochure on the area and it listed a number of antique/collectables shops, so we decided to explore them today.  Just down the road a bit, in Milsboro, there were three of them.  We arrived at the first one before she opened, but she was kind enough to let us in.  She had three floors of stuff.  We spent well over an hour there, and then headed to the second shop, which was three floors also - but he didn't have the type of stuff we like to look at so we didn't linger.  The third shop was better, but again we didn't find anything related to Wiley.

We had decided that we wanted to try a coastal drive, so we turned on #26 to the beaches.  We drove along the coastal highway for a bit, but it was highly developed and commercialized.  It reminded us of Florida around Datona Beach.  After a bit, we headed back towards the #113, on Highway 90.  It was a very pretty drive and fairly quiet.  This took us to the #13 and back on to the #113

Back on Highway #113, we continued until we crossed the border into Virginia.  We stopped at a tourist information centre/rest stop just past the border, where we had our lunch - muffins from this morning, juice, fruit cup and an apple.  It filled us up, and was pretty nutritious.

I picked up a tourist brochure at the information centre, and it talked about a scenic byway near Accomac, so we decided to take that.  Before we got to the turnoff, however, we slowed to a stop because of an accident ahead.  This was our first (and only accident) today, but it seemed fairly serious with several police cruisers and two ambulances.  We are hoping everyone is ok.

The accident actually occurred where we were going to turn off to the byway, so we managed to not have to wait overly long.  The byway was a beautiful road and was very quiet.  However, much of the time we were limited to 35mph, occasionally rising to 50mph.  It took us through quaint small villages and along farmers' fields growing corn and potatoes.  The farms here seem to be massive.

Getting off the byway and back onto #113, we found another antique store - this one claims to be the second largest in Virginia, and I believe it was.

We continued on to the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel Bridge.  It is just that.  A Bridge and a tunnel - two of them actually.  The bridge, which was opened in 1964 goes both over the water and tunnels under it. It is 23 miles (37 km) long, and is considered the world’s largest bridge-tunnel complex.

Once over the bridge, we hit the 5 o'clock traffic of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, but we managed to find our hotel in Chesapeake, and after a rather unusual supper at the Waffle House, are now settled in our room.

Hotel: Quality Inn
Temp:  HOT and sunny 32c - clouding over threatening storm in pm
Distance: 192.6 mil3w
Mileage: 26.2 m/gal

PHOTOS

August 21(Day 38-Tuesday) Hillsborough, New Jersey to Georgetown, DE

After a light breakfast, we were out by 9:30 am.  It was very overcast and looked like it might threaten rain.  Not a bad day for travelling.
Today was a much better day. We decided to take a smaller road and head towards the coast.  We went looking for #202 and headed south.  We passed through Lamberton, NJ and headed into Pennsylvania. 

At New Hope, we stopped at an antique store that was located next to what looked like a very old graveyard.  We found some headstones that were dated back to the early 1800s.  There looked like even older ones further into the graveyard, but we didn't explore that far.  The antique store was very interesting, but actually held antiques, not collectibles.  There was one statue of a couple that we rather liked.  It was labled a sculpture, but looked to me like it was porcelain.

From there, we headed to Wilmington and decided to have lunch at a Dunkin Donuts as neither of us had ever been to one.  We had a black pepper bacon sandwich on a croissant which was really quite good.  We also had a frozen coffee and a donut.  The frozen coffee was much like our iced capp, and the donuts were far too sweet for our liking.

While we were in Dunken Donuts, the rains came.  It was a heavy rain with wind, so we waited until it lightened a little before heading back to our car. From there, we took #13 and continued south into Deleware.  At one red light, there was sign reminding us to wait for a green light..?

At Dover, we decided to visit Delaware State University to see what they had in their bookstore.  We were helped by an absolutely delightful young woman who delighted in joking with Bob.  Delaware State is one of the Historically Black Universities.  I found a T-shirt, and while at the til, chatted with all the staff and told them about Saskatchewan.  Our server had never heard of it, but a couple of the customers had.  All in all, it was a great visit.

Carrying on down the road, we arrived at Georgetown, and decided to stop for the day, even though it was still quite early - not quite 4pm.

After checking in, we decided to walk to the local walmart for some excersize and to pick up some chips.  Back in our room, after giving Bob a haircut, we are relaxing and trying to decide what our journey tomorrow will be.

Hotel: Quality Inn
Temp:  Overcast with some heavy rain - very hot and muggy
Distance: 178.7 Miles
Mileage: 25.2 m/gal

PHOTOS

August 20 (Day 37-Monday) Haver Hill, Mass to Hillsborough, New Jersey

We were up and out by 9am today, almost. When we went out to our car, there was a man cleaning his car with spray and a cloth.  He reminded us so much of Paul, our tour driver in Korea who did the same thing everything we stopped, that we mentioned it to him.  He was a very friendly fellow who offerd to clean our car.  He is a fenshui expert and does healing touch.  He gave Bob a treatment for his hip right in the parking lot.

Once on the road, our first stop was a bank to pick up some american money.  that done, we headed out on the road.  This time, we instructed Erg to avoid toll roads, and she has done a very good job of that.  BUT... she really really likes interstate highways.  We were on some VERY busy roads today.  And people here drive like maniacs.  We had more than a couple of close calls.

At New Haven, we went off the road and parked in the parking lot of a closed mall to have a bit of lunch.  We were just across the street from the university, so we decided to find the bookstore.  It looked like registration was already underway as there were a lot of students on campus.  We asked one woman if she knew where the bookstore was, and she gave us excellent, detailed directions.   We found it and I now have a new top.

Our travel today was significantly slowed down by heavy traffic, and accidents.  There were three of four periods of several miles where we could only travel 5 or 6 miles/hr.  What a mess.

But we have made it here, and are settled in, after a pizza supper at the local restaurant.  Bob is watching little league baseball, while I blog.


Hotel: Days Inn
Temp:  Sunny and Warm
Distance: 291 Miles
Mileage: 27.5 m/gal

PHOTOS

August 19 (Day 36-Sunday) St. John, NB -Haver Hill, Mass

We were up fairly early and down to breakfast before 9am.  We met an interesting couple who are about our age.  They are francophone, originally from Montreal, but have lived on Vancouver Island, Gull Lake and currently in New Brunswick.  Actually, they only live in one place for about two or three years and then pack up and move on.  They have travelled extensively and told us about some of their adventures.  And we thought we travelled a lot.

We were on the road by 10am and headed for the border.  We prepared for how we would respond to border questions and how we would behave - no joking or fooling around, answer questions directly.  Well! What do you do when the border agent jokes with you.  He was a cute young man who seemed to like to tease.  The best part was when he asked if we had any alcohol in the car Bob answered "We have an open bottle in the back - I drink. ........ in the hotel...... at night.... at the end of the day."  I almost burst out laughing.   After some chatting back and forth, he sent us on our way with a wish for safe travels.

We stopped in Fairfield for lunch at Ruby Tuesday and had a very good salad bar.  We miss not having many vegetables while we travel.

Our travels today took on a number of toll roads.  Given that we only had $6.00 american with us (Did I mention the trip into the US was unplanned), this was a bit unnerving.  We had just programmed Erg and let her do her thing... I am going to have a chat with her tonight and let her know that we don't want toll roads!

We checked into the Hampton Inn in Haver Hill for the night.  We are rather glad to get off the roads and find a bit of peace.

Hotel: Hampton Inn
Temp:  Cloudy with sunny periods and warm
Distance: 393 miles
Mileage: 27.9 m/gal

PHOTOS

August 17/18(Day 34/35) Dartmouth - St. John, NB

August 17(Day 34) Friday -Dartmouth

We were up early and out before 9:30 am.  Our van was telling us that a maintenance service was due, so we thought that this would be a good time to get it done.  Yesterday, we phoned two different dealerships to see if we could get an appointment for today, and after a bit of pleading, we were able to get an appointment for 10 am.

We arrived 15 minutes early and got checked in.  We were told it would take about an hour and a half and we should be out by noon.  At 11ish, they came and said they were running a little behind as they were short of technicians, but our van was next on the list.  At 1230pm, we went for a walk and noticed the van still on the lot - it had not even been taken into the shop yet.  BUT.. we wer still next on the list.

At 1:30pm, we were told everything was done and we could pick up our car.  Oops..  The tire rotation had not been done.  After some discussion, they took it back into the shop and did the tire rotation.

The staff were very friendly and considerate.  The upside was that they did the service at no cost because of the "unreasonable" wait.  And that was without any prompting.

We had spoken to Brittany last evening and had told her we would be free by around noon.  It was closer to 3pm before we connected.  We met her at Halifax Centre Mall and the Body Shop there.  We left our van in the parkade and together we headed to the warf.  We walked along the board for awhile, and even crossed the temporary boardwalk - which swung a LOT whenever a vessel went by.  We had an early supper at a dockside restaurant.  It was a great visit and we had lots of good conversation.

Bob and I were getting a bit tired by then, so Britt took us back to our van, and we said farewell.  It was really good to connect and spend some time together.

Back in our hotel, we basically collapsed.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Sunny and warm
Distance: 19 km
Mileage: 8.6 L/100km

August 18(Day 34) Sat  -Dartmouth - St. John, NB

We slept in today, and weren't out until after 1030am.  On a whim we have decided to head south to North Carolina to visit Bert and Leslie.  After a few texts and a phone call, all was arranged.

We decided we wanted to get extra medical coverage, but CAA told us that it could only be issued in our home province, so we will have to trust we will stay healthy.  While we were at the CAA, we picked up the maps for the southern states.

The day was overcast when we first started out, but shortly after we started out, it started to rain - heavily.  And continued that was for most of the day.  It was actually a perfect day for driving as the weather was really not suitable for anything else.

We arrived in St. John and checked in to our hotel shortly after 4pm.

We decided to go out for supper to Jungle Jim's about 6pm.  They must have seated us in the family section as there were 9 children in the three tables around us.  So much for a quiet meal.  However, it was interesting to watch family dynamics, and Bob had a blast playing with the kids.  Besides, the BC-Toronto football game was on the overhead tv.

We are back in our room now. Bob is soaking in the tub while I write the blog.  Tomorrow we cross the border and head south.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Heavy rain all day (16c)
Distance: 416 km
Mileage: 8.4 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 16 (Day 33) - Port Hastings to Dartmouth

Thursday
We woke up fairly early today, but didn't get up right away, spending some time getting caught up with our tablets.  For those of you who remember "where the coffee runs freely" - Bob was at it again.  While I was showering, Bob made some coffee in the room for us, but couldn't remember how much water to put in the coffee maker.  After my shower, I couldn't figure out why the desk was wet.. including the maps, my computer and peripherals, etc.  Fortunately, nothing was damaged and after mopping up the coffee, we still had enough for a cup each.

We realized that Brittany was in Halifax and we were only a few hours away, so we texted and suggested we meet up tomorrow.  She seemed quite excited about the idea, so we decided to head for Halifax.  I booked a room in Dartmouth, and checked the map.  There was a smaller highway (#7) that took us south and along the coast to Halifax, rather than the Trans Canada right through the middle of the provence

We checked out about 9:30am.  It was a overcast and cloudy again today, but it soon cleared and has been a hot sunny day and was still very muggy.

We decided to drive for awhile for breakfast.  The highway we wanted went south from Antigonish, so we decided to drive into the community for breakfast.  I guess we hadn't appreciated how much of tourist area Antigonish is.  We drove into the downtown and stopped at a bistro.  They weren't open for breakfast, but steered us to the Main Street Cafe on the other end of the street.  It turned out to be a wonderful restaurant.  It was peaceful and the staff were excellent.  So was the food.  We had Eggs Benedict with grilled tomatoes and home cut pan fries.  Really really good!

We were back on the road by 11am, heading south on #7.  As we were driving, we noticed a sign for  a Tradesman Museum.  We thought that it might be quite interesting.  The sign was close to Lochaber, but we couldn't spot the museum.  Two communities later, we had decided we must have missed it.  Then.. there it was.  We stopped, but there was no sign of anyone nearby - only the sign indicating the museum.  Looking around, it reminded us of Old George near Whitewood.  The place looked more like a graveyard for old farm equipment. 

Awhile further on, we stopped at Mary Joseph at the dock.  There were four bikers on the dock talking to a fellow.  As we wandered down the dock, we realized they were speaking french.  One fellow asked me (in French), if I spoke French, and I answered (in French) only a little.  Between us, we chatted in French and English - mostly English.  The man on the deck was actually a fisheries person who was waiting for a boat to come in with their fish to be verified.  The bikers were waiting just to see how the process worked.  We caught a few photos of the vessels at the dock - both onland and still in the water.

Back on the road, we noted a sign indicating that Halifax was 200km away.  About twenty minutes further down the road, a sign indicated that Halifax was 225 km away.  we began to wonder if we were moving backwards.

A little later, we took an offroad to Smith Point.  It was a tiny road, but the point was quite pretty.  We could watch hobby fishermen in their boat just off shore.

At Sheets Harbour, we stopped for ice cream. Hoof prints ice cream.  It was a combination of caramel and chocolate fudge.  We sat on the bench near the store munching on our cones, watching others as they came and ordered their ice cream.  It was a busy little store.

Just around the corner, there was a short walk to some rapids and river.  We walked along the path for awhile and through the wooded area.  It was a good break.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we checked into the hotel shortly after 4pm.  We weren't able to get wifi, and kept getting the message that the AP is not in use.  After some fiddling with the front desk and trying different things out, we managed to get a connection.  But the good news was that they also have a wired network in the room, so I am working hardwired tonight.

Around 6pm, we walked across the street to Hugo's Bar and Grill for some wings and nachos and a couple of Guinness.  There was live entertainment to boot.  We chatted a bit with bartender, and then headed back to our rooms where we are now settled in.  Because the internet is so good here, I should be able to get caught up posting the last three days blog.


Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Overcast, turning to Sunny and very muggy - 29c
Distance: 316.4
Mileage: 8.5 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 15 (Day 32) -Bras D'Or to Ports Hastings (via Cabot Trail)

Wednesday
We weren't in any rush to get up this morning.  We both slept very well - not sure if it was because of being out in the air yesterday or becasue the bed was so comfortable - maybe a bit of both.

We left shortly after 9:30am and headed out on the Cabot trail. The day started out foggy and overcast, but cleared as the day went one.

We stopped at a small restaurant just before the Cabot trail for breakfast. One of the things I never thought I would see was Bob being interested in a lobster restaurant, but we went to the Lobster Galley.  I suppose it helped that it was for breakfast.  It was a good breakfast, we completely enjoyed it.

After breakfast, we headed north along the trail.

We stopped at a Colournatural Gallery to see the artwork and photography.  There were some very nice pieces and photography techniques that we might like to try.

There was a lot of constrution on the road today, some of it very significant.  It was not unusual to have waits of 10 or 15 minutes before being able to move.

We drove the whole Cabot Trail today. It was a beautiful drive, but it may be just my memory, but it feels like there is much more overgrowth of vegetation this trip, blocking some of the more spectacular views.

At Port Hasting, we started by trying to check in to a Thrift Lodge, but it didn't feel quite right to me so I talked Bob into driving across the street - through quite heavy traffic to a different motel across the street. We  and are now checked in to the small motel across the highway.  Not the best motel I have ever stayed in, but it is adequate.

While we were checking in to the Thriftlodge, a couple checked in ahead of us that were from Saskatchewan.  He is (or appeared to be) a patch member of Hell's Angels from Regina, and she is from Saskatoon.  My VS friends will know when I say she looked the part.  They were very friendly to talk to though.   At the Skye motel across the street, a large Hutterite family were checking in.  We think there were two family units (with about 5 children) and Grandma and Grandpa.  We had good conversation with them about their planned holiday.  They are from Ohio and are planning to travel the Cabot Trail.  We warned them about the construction.  It's interseting the different people one meets in the world.

The internet here is very intermittent at best and very slow.  I will wait until I get a better connection to upload today's blog and pictures

Hotel: Skye Motel
Temp:  Sunny with some periods of overcast and very muggy
Distance: 370km
Mileage: 8.6 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 14 (Day 31)- Sydney, Nova Scotia to Bras D'Or

 Tuesday
We were up and out shortly after 9am.  We drove back into Sydney to the dock for a walk and to see the "large fiddle".  We stopped at the tourist information centre and got information about Old Sydney and other things to do in the area.  The tourist guide mentioned that a cruise ship would be docking about 10am, so all the shops would be open by then.  One of the last things we wanted to do was to be surrounded by hundreds of cruise people, so we decided we would just head out of town.  But first, we did drive through the historic district to see the many centuries old buildings.

We took the highway to North Sydney, retracing our tracks from last night, and thinking that we would pick up gas there.  We didn't realize that the highway bypassed North Sydney. I asked Erg where the closest gas station was, so she took us through a convulted route to a gas station.  Then we had to backtrack to the highway.  The fun part was that there was a gas station on the highway just a few km down the road.  Go figure, eh?

while we were at the tourist area, I picked up a brochure on Bird Island Tours, a tour boat that goes out to Bird Island and puffins, seals, and other birds.  We decided the take the off road to see if they had any open tours.  We turned off exit 16 and followed the road 8 km until we reached the site.  As it turned out, the next tour was completely sold out to a cruise ship - probably the one we tried to avoid earlier.  But they did have one at 5:15pm.  We decided that maybe we needed a down day, so decided to book the tour and a cottage on site. 

Bob did some laundry, and I relaxed.  We basically had a "do nothing" day until the tour.

The tour was very interesting.  It was a family owned company that had been doing tours since 1972.  The commentary was interesting and we learned a lot about the birds in the area.  It was quite clear the guide was not impressed with the number of bald eagles in the area as they were scaring away some of the smaller birds.  We saw several puffin in the water, although none on land.  We also saw lots and lots of seals, and other small birds, as well as bald eagles.  We quite enjoyed the tour.

We settled back in our cottage around 9pm and I downloaded some 476 photos and geotagged them, but was too tired to choose and edit the ones to post.  That's for another day.

Hotel: Cottage at Bird Island
Temp:  Sunny and hot
Distance: 51km
Mileage: 10.1 L/100 km

PHOTOS

August 13 (Day 30) Port aux Basques to Sydney, Nova Scotia

This will be a short post today, as I don't have a lot to report.  We were up early and had breakfast in the hotel.  And then headed for the ferry terminal around 9am.  Bob and I have different perpectives on "being on time".  I like to be there in plenty of time, even if it means waiting.  He is content to get there when he is told to  (which, I have to admit, makes sense - but don't tell him that).  Anyway, we were at the terminal and checked in at 9:30 for the 11:45 ferry.

I guess Nova Scotia doesn't like to get any of Nfld dirt as all cars are inspected prior to boarding.  It was kinda nice, cuz we ended up with a free carwash!

After six plus hours on the ferry, we arrived in Nova Scotia and drove to our hotel.  We chilled for a bit and then had supper in the closest chinese restaurant we could find.  It was a simple place, but the food was very good.

Back in our room, we are chilling, remembering our holiday in Labrador/Newfoundland and wondering what lies next.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Sunny and warm
Distance: 30km (and another 180km on the ferry)
Mileage: 10.2 L/100 km

PHOTOS

August 12 (Day 29) Corner Brook to Port aux Basques

We knew we had a short day's driving, so didn't leave until almost 10 am.  We started going up #450 towards Mount Mariah.  We always like to take smaller highways if we can, and I noticed a small pink line running almost parallel to the Trans Canada near Mount Mariah, so we thought we would check it out. We were not successful in finding it, so we stopped at a small "Cash and Go" to see if they could help.  The clerk didn't think that road would go all the way to Stephenville, so ended up phoning her husband. He said the road went right through, but about 20 km down the road, if the van can't get through the rail bed, there was a road that would take us back to the highway.  He explained how to find the road and we started out.

We followed his instructions, but somehow missed the turn.  We stopped and asked a local and he explained where to turn.  He assured us the road was well travelled and maintained. BUT.. he gave us the same advice about the rail bed.  This did not instill a lot of confidence in me, and in fact, I had a bad feeling about this road.

But we set out on it anyway.  The road leads to Georges lake and apparently there are many cabins along the way.  The road is anything but maintained, with huge potholes and rough road.  There were many times Bob could only go about 5 or 6 km/hr.  I think the highest he got was 34kph, but that was for a very short while.

The road was very pretty though.  We passed by Little Cooks Pond, and the Big Cooks Pond.  A river ran by the road, and there were lakes dotted along the way.  At one point, we found a direction sign, only the number of km to go was left blank.  The direction ot Mount Mariah was straight up!

After about 20 km, we came on the "larger" road, so decided maybe we would head back to the highway.  The road went back in the direction we had come.  There was a sign on the road that it was decommissioned at 7 km, so to use extreme caution.  Bob took it anyway.  It was actually a better road than we had been on, wider and with fewer potholes, although it still had it's challenges.

We finally arrived back on the Trans Canada, maybe 10km further on than when we started this morning.  All in all, it was a really fun side adventure (I can say that now that we were back on the #1).

Further along the #1, we took another side road to Black Duck. We turned left to the #460 towards Stephenville Crossing.  We passed a memorial pond, and stopped to take a walk around the pond.  It had been done very well, especially for a pond that used to be a sewage lagoon.

Just past Stephenville Crossing, we turned onto #461 to Mattis point.  We passed a young man teaching his son how to kayak.  We followed the road until it ended, past residential development, to an old cemetery, that was dotted with many unmarked white crosses.  Not sure who they were for.

We then turned left on $490 past some sand dunes that are obviously used a lot by 4x4s judging from the paths.

We continued down the raod over Bracios Bridge at the edge of St. Georges where we visited an old abandoned bridge.

We stopped at a small restaurant on the top of a hill near Doyle for a coffee and the hugest piece of coconut cream pie that I have ever seen.  But very, very good!!

We carried on to Port aux Basques and checked into a local hotel, just minutes from the ferry we will be taking tomorrow.  After a Caesar in the lounge, we are not relaxing in our room.

This has been mostly a driving day, but has been very interesting with a varied scenery.

Hotel: Hotel at Port aux Basques
Temp:  Sunny and warm - windy in places
Distance: 271 km
Mileage: 9.1 L/100 km

PHOTOS

August 11 (Day 28) Cow Head to Corner Brook

We had a late start today, going down for breakfast around 9:30am.  During breakfast, I noticed a woman watching me periodically.  After they had their breakfast, she came over to our table.  It turns out her sister lives in Allen, SK, and she had overheard me tell the deskclerk last evening that we were from Saskatoon.  She is currently living in Dryden, Ont, but visits Saskatoon every summer.

After breakfast, we were on the road by 10:30am.  We have booked the ferry for Monday, and a hotel near the ferry tomorrow night, so we have today and tomorrow to complete our visit to Newfoundland.

We turned off at the small village of St. Pauls, just south of Cow Head.  It was an in-out visit to see the village.  The houses are all in one line facing the water, as are many of the villages we have visited.  They all seem well cared for.

At Broom Point there is a small fishing exhibit.  We remembered this spot from our last visit to Newfoundland.  There is a fishing building with samples of different styles of fishing depending on the fish being harvested.  They have added a small house furnished as it would have been 100 years ago.

We travelled on to Green Point, which is an ecological reserve.  We were invited to "stroll through the strata" (another word for field).  It was very windy, but a very pretty walk through tall grasses to a cliff looking over the St. Lawrence, complete with red adirondeck chairs.  I thoroughly enjoyed this walk.  Back in the parking lot, we stopped and had an apple.  There was a couple parked next to us and it almost felt like they were waiting for us to leave first.  We leisurely finished our apple - and managed to outwait them.

There was a turnoff to a small dirt road that led to Rocky Harbour and on to Norris Point.  We spent several hours in this area.  Rocky Harbour is a tourist centred community with many many hotels/motels etc - all marked no vacancy.  Driving through, we went on towards Norris Point.  It is a pretty drive.  We thought there was a ferry that would take us across the river to Woody Point, but soon found out that it was passenger only, so we would have to drive back towards Rocky Harbour to get the#430.

On the way out to Norris Point, we found a spot called "Photographer's Paradise".  It was a very pretty viewpoint.  There was also a museum that had a large Dick and Jane book - Bob and I reminisced learning to read from books just like that.

Carrying on to Norris Point, we drove down to the ferry dock, since we were already there. Just outside the ferry dock, there was a dock that was marked "Use at own Risk".  That's all Bob needed.  We drove out to the end of the dock to see the water from that perspective.  The gulls were gathering on the road and only flew when they had to.  You could almost drive right up to them before they would take off.

 Coming back, we took a little turnoff to Netty's Harbour where we stopped at Rudy's Pub and Grill for BBQ chicken nachos.  Were they ever good.  I would never have considered combining that variety of flavours, but it worked well. The Pub was quiet with only a few people in it, and the only people that came in seemed to be locals.  The barkeep chatted with us while we had our lunch and told us about the goings on in the community.

After we left Rudy's Pub and Grill, we headed for the main highway, and from ther to the TransCanada, arriving in Corner Brook around 5pm.  It's good to check in early and have some down time.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Cool and windy - cloudy with sunny breaks
Distance: 198 km
Mileage: 9.6 L/100 km

PHOTOS

August 10 (Day 27) Somewhere along #430 to Cow Head

It rained throughout the night, with periods of heavy rain.   The overcast skies and rain continued throughout the morning. We had a slow morning, putzed around and had coffee in our room.

We checked out at 10am in heavy rain.  This would be the off and on story for most of the day.  After a very good pancake breakfast we headed south.

Our first turnoff was Shoal Cove Drive.   We passed through Reefs Harbour and Shoal Cove.  It is a small fishing village just wouth of where we stayed.  We noted the amount of chopped wood beside the road as we drove.  It's not clear why it is there, unless it is a kind of community wood pile for winter?

Continuing on, we next turn off on #430-28 towards Port Au Choix.  We passed through Port Saunders with a promise to drive through the community on our way out.  Arriving in Port au Choix, we visited a Folk Art Gallery, called Ben's Studio.  Ben Ploughmanis an older man who creates his art with recycled wood.  He uses old lobster traps for most of the work.  We were impressed with one particular piece called "Against the Wind". He is planning to create an art coffee table book, and then retire.

We continued driving west to the Port au Choix lighthouse and Point Riche.  Apparently this is a prime spot for watching moose, and even caribou.  But not when we are there.   I suspect we are travelling at the wrong time of day.

On our way back into town, we toured the village a bit, and as we passed Ben's shop and were drawn back in.  We are now the proud owners of "Against the Wind", although I have no idea where we are going to hang it.  But I know we will find a spot.

Back on #430, we continued south a short way to Torrent Park. We turned in at the tourist info booth.  We wanted to get more information about Gross Morne Park, but this was a local tourist info spot and couldn't provide us with much information.  There was a short boardwalk there that we walked a bit - Bob more than I.

On the road we drove awhile.  The weather continued to be overcast with periodic rain, although the sun attempted to peak through occasionally, although with not much success.

By then, we were getting hungry and it was getting on to 4pm.  We stopped at a small cafe at Portland Creek, and had a homemade bowl of chili with homemade garlic toast.  It really hit the spot.

Just after Portland Creek, we turned in at Arches Provincial Park.  The stone formations there are really quite remarkable.  We walked the stoned beach and watched a family build inukshuks on the beach.  It was peaceful.

By now we were getting tired and ready to call it a day.  We checked in at a very busy Inn in Cow Head.  We are in an "Ocean view" room, sort of, lol.

After a Quidi Vidi beer in the local pub, we are settled in.  Bob is watching a movie and i am uploading photos on a VERY slow.

Tomorrow we head through Gross Morne National Park and south towards the ferry.

Hotel: Shallow Bay Motel
Temp:  Heavy rain, overcast and cloudy with scattered sunny periods.
Distance: 222 km
Mileage: 9.1 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 9 (Day 26) Plum Point to somewhere along #430 (probably near Shoal Cove)

To add to August 8: The roads around Red Bay are something else again!!  The potholes are frequent and some are huge. The posted speed limit may have been 80 km/hr, but we couldn't go more than 60 during the "good" stretches

We checked out arount 1030am and headed down #432 .  The road was a typical Newfoundland road with trees and marsh on either side.  These are actually very pretty, very relaxing drives.  For Bob and I, we have long spaces in our own minds, contemplating life, as we both enjoy the silence.  There are other times, we we talk for an hour.  It is a comforting space to be with someone who "gets" you.

At Highway #433, we turned south and headed towards the coast.  The pavement (if you can call it that) turned to gravel after Roddickton.  At the end of the road, we arrived at Englee, a small fishing village.  We followed the Viking Trail, that meandered through the village.  It is a sleepy place, an enchanting place.  There were streamers strung from many houses, and "Welcome Home" signs.  We wondered if we had arrived during a community reunion.  We passed a fellow drying cod, and we stopped to chat. He explained that it is "Welcome Home" year in Newfoundland.  He had children of a previous neighbour coming to stay with him next week. They had not been here since they were children.  He wore a T-shirt that said "I'm retired.  What's your excuse".  Wouldn't mind getting one of those for Bob.

At the end of the Viking Trail was a walking trail that started with climbing about 300 stairs.  At the top was a .6km trail that overlooked the ocean and the village.  Beautiful.

Heading back up the highway, we turned into Roddickton. During our conversation with the fellow in Englee, he told us about a Green Mouse Interpretation centre here.  He said we couldn't miss it.  Yeah. .. sure!   We stopped one local and asked where the interpretation centre was, and she said there wasn't one, but then decided that maybe there was one, and gave us directions.  After driving around a bit, another local added to the directions and we found it.  It is actually the town hall with a local display.   It was quite interesting and gave us a feel for the community, whose major industry is logging.  Logging has had ups and downs over the years, and the community is looking to other opportunities, including tourism.  As far as moose, this area has the highest density of moose in the world - about 7-8,000 per km.  Have we seen any?  NO.

Back on the road, we turned onto #434 towards Conche.  This is another small fishing village along the French shore.  This is where the French fishermen first settled.  Conche's  claim to fame is a tapestry done in the Bayeux tradition.  In 2002, a group decided to embroider the history of Conche into a tapestry that is 220 feet long by about 24 inches high.  It starts back in the prehistoric days to current time. It is an incredible piece of art. Twelve women stitched for over 20,000 hours to creat it.   There are panels located periodically through out the tapestry that explain the stories and meaning of the embroidery above.  I was blown away!

It was already after 4pm, so we headed back towards #430.  But along the way, we saw a turnoff for the underground salmon pond.  It was two km in on a gravel road, and then a half km walk in.  Part way there, we crossed a bridge and met a young fellow with a friend and three children playing in the water below the bridge.  He indicated that he is currently living in Nova Scotia but is home for his grandfather's funeral.

He showed us a couple of salmon in the riverbed under the bridge and directed us up the road to the undground pond.  By now, the sky was overcast, and the sun (if you could have seen it) was getting low.  The water was dark, so it was hard to see the salmon, although we did see one or two and they came towards the surface of the water and dived back down.

Back in our car, we continued on to return to #430.  Both of us were tired and were ready to call it a day.  Back on #430, we turned in at the first motel we saw - Tucker's Cottages.  After an great meal at the local restaurant, Viking 430, we are settled in to a 2 bedroom cottage with living room and kitchen.  This is a delightful place to settle in for the night.  We have excellent satellite and internet, so I have been able to post the past three days blogs.  So now it is off to bed!

Hotel: Tucker Cottages
Temp:  Sunny and warm, with overcast periods.  Rain in the evening
Distance: 201 km
Mileage: 8.5 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 8 (Day 25) Battle Harbour to Plum Point

We settled into bed last night at about 11pm.   Shortly after we settled in to bed with a gentle ocean breeze blowing over the bed, we heard a loud cracking noise.  It wasn't until morning that we realized that one of the windows had cracked.  We wonder if maybe a bird flew into it.

Bob had a shower in the soaker tub with a telephone shower, while I curled up in bed for just a few minutes more.  It was cloudy and overcast, and quite foggy.  While we had breakfast, there was a huge downpour.

After a breakfast of porridge and egg, with toast and homemade partridgeberry jam, we boarded the ferry for the hour long ride back to Labrador.

The weather was still very overcast and the fog was rolling in.  We started carefully down the highway towards Red Bay.  We had heard from more than a few people that there had been a terrible accident in Red Bay on Sunday that took five lives.  People hit head on in the fog. That really didn't help to reassure me about travelling in the fog.

As it turned out, the fog was not all that heavy and we travelled and the traffic was light.  We arrived at Red Bay shortly after 11am.  There is another World Heritage site there where an sunken whaling ship from centuries ago had been discovered, and archeologists had found many treasures.  The museum had actual artifacts that showed the way of life on a whaling boat back in the 1700s.  It was fascinating.

Travelling on we stopped at Port Amour Lighthouse, which is the largest lighthouse in Nfld.  It was "Raleigh Day's" - a celebration of grounding of the "Raleigh" on August 8th.  Admission was free and they had locals telling their story of the sinking.  There was also a museum that described the communication systems.

As we drove towards the ferry, we stopped at teh "Seaview Restaurant" in Forteau for a bit of lunch - around 2:30pm.  We ordered the lunch special - "Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches" which were very good.  It's intersting that very few meals here have had vegetables.

I noticed that they had partridge berry jam advertised and I thought I might take some home.  But the proprietor said they didn't have any left and once their dislpay of jams and syrups was gone, that was it, because the factory had closed and they had left town. I looked at a bottle of partridge berry syrup, but it had a best before date of 2016, so thought better of it.

Just a few km later, we reached the ferry and checked in.  The ferry across the strait was about 1.5 hours long, and Bob and I wandered the decks and ended up sitting forward watching the sea go by.

Arriving on Newfoundland, it was a short drive (15km) to our hotel for the night.  The room is plain, with no air conditioning, but it has a fan and a window that opens.  It overlooks the ocean.  The beds are very comfortable, and the tv works, although the internet is very sporadic.  I won't be publishing this tonight, but will publish the past three days as soon as a get a stable internet.

Nite all!

Hotel: Plum Point Hotel and Cottages
Temp:  Overcast and rainy, with fog
Distance: 201 km
Mileage: 9.2 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 7 (Day 24) Port Hope-Simpson To Battle Harbour

We were up early today and were out before 9am.  There has been a fair bit of construction on the road today and we have had to stop more than a few times to wait our turn to drive the one-lane road.  We also noted a number of graters on the road maintaining the gravel.

About  100 km down the road, there was a sign for "Iceberg Alley".  We knew we were too late for the icebergs, but thought it might be an interseting road to take anyway.  The road was about 10 km in until reached the small village of St. Lewis.  As we expected, there were no icebergs on the way, but we enjoyed the view, and walked around Fisherman's point a ways.  We then drove around to the other side of the inlet where much of the community was.  It was a quaint village with homes from about the 50s.

Driving down the road we came to Mary's Harbour, where the World Heritage  islandsite Battle Harbour is.  We drove down to see what the boat schedule was to the island to find that it goes out at 11am each day, once a day, and we had missed it by 20 minutes.  This was one site we wanted to see, so we checked with the two hotels in town to see if they had a room for tonight, so we could visit the site tomorrow.  However there was no room at the inn.

On a whim, we drove back to the the Battle Harbour information site, to see if there was any other way to get the the island today.  As it turns out, the tour info person is married to the fellow that drives the day tour boat, and as happens, there were no day tours today.  With some magic on the computer, she booked us in for an overnight stay at the heritage site and arranged for Dexter, her husband to take us out.

The boat ride  to the island takes about an hour.  Belle Island (I think it's called) is out in the Atlantic just as the inlet begins.

Battle Harbour is an old fishing village that is believed to have been first occupied in aboaut 1750 and had livyers (people who lived on the island year round) until about 1967, when Joey Smallwood ressettled the community to Mary's Harbour.  We were told that resettlement happened after the hospital and school on the island burned down.  After that, only stationers (people who live on the island during the summer fishing season) occupied the island.

The locals did not want their community to disappear the way so many tiny fishing villages have over the years, so they developed a non-profit corporation and began restoration of the buildings in the early 90's.  The restoration is very accurate.  It's like stepping into another world from over a hundred years ago when you get off the boat.  There is no network, or wifi available (except for one small area of the lounge)

The tour info person had advised the Island we were coming so they held a lunch for us.  Our first stop was to enjoy an beef pot pie with home made buns and cookies and cakes for dessert

Following lunch, we registered at the store, and then joined the tour already in place.  Nelson, our tour guide, had grown up on the island before resettlement and had many stories about what it was like to live in a small fishing village and fewer than 300 people.  The buildings have been well maintained in their original form and the displays fascinating.  Nelson explained how the cod were caught, fileted and salted for later delivery.  It takes 75 pounds of salt for each 112 pounds of cod.  As he took us from building to building he combined history with story telling and by the end of the two hour tour, the village almost felt like our home.

We were then introduced to our room - the Robert Peary Room.  Robert Peary discovered the North Pole in 1909.  Our room is at the back of the Inn furthest away from the main area, and overlooks the ocean on three sides.  There is a bedroom with a queen bed, and a second room, almost as large, with a footed soaker tub.

We then dropped by the lodge, which is the gathering place for folks.  It is above the store, and has several large couches and chairs for conversation... and a bar.  We had a beer while we waiting for suppertime.  One of the other guests is here for the second time, and we heard from her...several times.... how last year she came for one day and stayed for six... "just one more day".

One of the very special things about this island is the staff.  Almost all of them grew up here before resettlement, so have stories about what life was like then, which makes it like actually being there when it was a functioning fishing village

Supper was cod and cornfish served on a mashed potatoe, with home made buns and a partridge berry crusted pudding for dessert.  All the food served on the island is local, fresh, and home made on sight.

After supper, the fog started to roll in and it was hard to see very far.  Bob decided he wanted to go up to the communication towers and plane crash site, so while he is wandering through the fog, I am writing our blog and relaxing in our room.

After Bob returned safely, we decided to walk down to the loft for a glass of wine and to be a bit social.  With the assistance of Peter Bull, the manager of the site, we booked a ferry for tomorrow night, and a hotel room at Plum Point.  We had wanted to stay on Labrador one extra day, but the ferry for Thursday is already completely booked.

Hotel: Belle Island Inn
Temp:  Sunny and warm
Distance: 124 km
Mileage: 9.2 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 6 (Day 23) Happy Valley-Goose Bay to Port Hope-Simpson

We were up and out by 845am.  We had decided to start out at the Tourist Information Centre to find out if there were any accommodations at Cartwright and to get an idea of how difficult accomodations would be along the Coastal Drive. Although the sign said they opened at 8:30am, they were still closed.  Since Tim Hortons was nearby, we had breakfast there and headed back to the Tour Info Centre.  No luck.. they were still closed. 

We then drove north for a bit because I had read about Siemens Falls which were just at the town outskirts.  Couldn't find those either, so after getting gas, we headed south on Highway #510, the Labrador Coastal Drive.

One of the things I didn't mention yesterday, but the last two photos from yesterday showed, the land was becoming more sandy.  Today the scenery was much more varied.  There were the usual trees, but they were scattered more with rocks lakes, and marsh.  It really was a pretty drive.

The first 100 km were paved, but then it turned to gravel.  The one good thing about gravel is that you can tell when someone is coming by the dust cloud.  Not that that was a particular problem, as initially the traffic was very sporadic.

On a side note, Erg (our GPS - Diane asked us to name it after her, so we agreed) says the time is half an hour ahead of the time it actually is.  Except for Goose Bay.  In Goose Bay, Erg figured out that we are on Atlantic Daylight time, not Nfld time.  But for everywhere else, she insists it is Nfld time.  At least later today, when we actually enter that timezone, she will be correct.

At km 200, we noticed something dark up ahead in the road.  It turned out to be a bear sauntering down the road.  We stopped and watched as is sauntered up to the car.  We moved ahead slowly, and then stopped again.  We noted that the bear was looking back at us.  When we stopped, it turned around and starting walking back towards our car, coming up alongside the driver's side.  It looked at us, and then lay down.  It just lay there looking at us. It certainly was not afraid of us at all.  After Bob got a few pictures, we slowly started up and left it behind, laying in the street.

At about KM 250, our car received its first souvenir, and a truck-trailer spit out a stone that landed squarely on our windshield.  Grrrr...

we noted that this highway had more rest areas on it than the northern road did.. however, a rest area is a large open area with garbage containers - no washrooms.  Given the
vast distances between towns, I am surprised that there are not more washrooms along the way.

There has been a fair bit of construction on the road today.  It seems like a lot of maintenance to maintain a gravel road.  Just outside of Port Hope-Simpson, the road was paved.  This was our target destination for today, so we turned into the town.  We could not find the hotel, so eventually asked a local who said he was on his way there now, so for us to "just chase him".  We followed around several curvey roads, watching him avoid the potholes with ease until we arrived at the hotel. 

The hotel is very basic and appears to have two distinct sections.  We were greeted at the front desk by a woman wearing a ballcap backwards.  She had a local flair and told us a bit about her life and the illness that has been in her family over the past year.

There was one room left, which we gladly took.  We are in the old wing of the hotel, which has not been renovated in forever.  There is no air conditioning, no network, and no wireles.  The television sported a message that the box needed to be re-initialized.  After a few attempts with the front desk, the satellite starting working.

It's like this hotel has a life of its own. Everything shifts as you walk by - the walls talk to you.  It's like going back in time in the decor and layout.

After checking in, we drove around town to get a lay of the land, and to grab a few photos from the local boat launch.

We had supper in the hotel restaurant .. we are pretty sure it is the only one in town.  I had a fabulous home made hamburger and Bob had chicken fingers.  We chatted with another guest whose sone had played AAA hockey in Nipawin two years ago.  He knew a number of the kids involved in the Humboldt Bronco crash.  He was from Cornerbrook and was in Labrador for the same reason we are.. he has never been here.


Hotel: Alexis Hotel
Temp:  Sunny and hot
Distance: 440 km
Mileage: 9 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 5 (Day 22) Churchill Falls to Happy Valley-Goose Bay

More on the room last night - did I mention that the closet is missing its handle?  The ceiling tiles have just been glued up and cutouts made for the smoke detectors etc, which have no beauty trim.  The bed was typical of a roll-away. We learned later that all the rooms on the main floor used to be offices in the early 1970's and have not been renovated since. Interesting experience.

We got up around 8am and went up for breakfast in the restaurant.  The waitress was very friendly and service was quick.  Following breakfast, we got gas.  Because we had been through the mud coming up to Labrador City, our car was really dirty so Bob asked the attendant if they had a carwash in Churchill Falls.  She just laughed.

We headed out of town around 10am.   We weren't concerned about the later start because the deskclerk at Churhill Falls had already booked a room for us for tonight in Happy Valley.

The deskclerk the night before had suggested we take the road where the "V" is going out of town to get a sense of how high we are and that there was a nice view from the bottom.  We found the "V" and headed down the road.  It was a gravel road that led down by the water.  Above us we could see the massive power lines coming out from the power plant.  She was right that it was a pretty spot.  Coming back up the road towards the highway, I noticed a sign that I thought was an Interpretive centre, but when Bob backed up , it was actually an interdenominational  cemetery.

After visiting the lake, we started our journey along the second half of the trans-Labador Highway.  The road was very similar to the road before.  The trip was fairly uneventful and we drove in a peaceful silence, stopping periodically for short breaks.   Our constant companions were the massive power lines that followed the road all day.

About 20 km outside of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, we saw a sign for Muscrat Falls, so decided to take it.  Muscrat Falls is a 15  metre waterfall on the lower Churchill River.   We followed the gravel road several kilometres until we came to a locked gate.  There was a court injunction on the gate barring any access to the site without permission.  Apparently there has been an ongoing court battle since 2011 regarding this construction and the risks to the environment. 

We arrived in Happy Valley-Goose Bay around 2:30pm and headed for the tourist info.  We got information about a ferry "cruise" that starts tomorrow for five days, but when I phoned to see if they had any space, I found out there was a waiting list.

We then started looking for our hotel and must have passed it because we arrived at the Northern Hotel 2.  Because we were unsure which hotel we had been booked into, we decided to go in and see if this was the one.  The deskclerk was delightful.  He could not find our reservation, but said he would check to see if we were registered at the other Northern Hotel in town.  Apparently we are not. So....the big question is.. Where are we registered?  The only information we had was the hotel name and a comfirmation number.  The clerk, Jeet, said that there is another Northern Hotel in St. Anthony NS, and offered to check that for us...and YES, that's where we are registered.  Go figure.  There is no way on earth we could get there, not that we wanted to anyway.  I have no clue how the registration got there instead of here.  Jeet asked them to cancel that reservation and he registered us at Northern Hotel 2 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. He went out of his way to accomodate us and to help figure out what had gone wrong.  It turns out he has only been in Happy Valley-Goose Bay for three weeks, and has recently immigrated from India.  We had some delightful conversation and exchanged emails.  Perhaps if he ever makes it out west, he will connect with us.

While we were trying to sort all this out, there was another couple patiently waiting to be served.  It turns out he is military and has just completed three years in China and has just been posted to Goose Bay.  They have only been here three months.  We had a great conversation about growing up and being in the military.

Once we were settled in our room, we relaxed for awhile and then around 6pm went down to the restaurant in the hotel - a Jungle Jim's.  We are now back in our room for an early evening, planning the next step of our journey.

Hotel: Northern Hotel 2
Temp:  Sunny and hot - 27c
Distance: 309km
Mileage: 7.8 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 4 (Day 21) Labrador City to Churchill Falls

Did you enjoy the road photos yesterday?  I will try not to post too many of those today.

After a good night's sleep-we slept in a bit- we walked over to Mickey D's across the road for breakfast.  I can't get over how friendly people are here.  You would have thought we were part of the community with the greetings we got in the restaurant as other people came in.  It's also hard to get used to people stopping for us  as we try to walk across the highway.

We were on the road by 10am.  Our first stop was the Tourist Information Centre which was staffed by a young person who probably knew less than we did about Labrador.  We did get a few brochures, though, and started out on Highway #500 after getting gas.

Our targetted stop today in Churchill Falls, which is almost halfway down the Labrador Highway.  The road is completely paved, and is less interesting than yesterday in that it is mostly flat and straight.  The hills are not as high or as steep as we experienced yesterday.

We have noticed that probably 85% of the vehicles here are trucks, and the colour du jour is dark blue.  All makes, but dark blue.

Our first stop was a side road that we thought had a small walk to some rapids, but it turned out the path took us right down to the river, but the overgrowth did not give us a view of the water.

Back on the highway, it became painfully clear the effects of fire on the forest.  We drove several km of burned trees which were just starting their regrowth.  As a  result, the scenery was more open today, partly because of the previous fires, and also because of what appear to be natural meadows.

Of note.. on our whole trip so far, we have not seen any wildlife.  In fact, on this road, there were not even signs warning us of wildlife.  Come to think of it, there really weren't very many signs at all.  No billboard, no direction signs, no information signs.. only the occasional distance to sign.

At one point, we stopped for an orange, and were immediately surrounded by huge horseflies and other flying creatures.  I think I have found my nemesis.  Give me a spider anytime!

About 30km out of Churchill Falls, we stopped at a sign indicating a "Bowden Canyon Nature Trail" to the waterfall - Churchill Falls.  We had heard that it was a walk well worth taking, although it was estimate 2km one way.  We set out, hearts high.  The path started out graveled and wide and quite easy to maneuver.  That was just a lure to get further along the path.  It soon changed to narrow and rocky, with many overgrown roots.  In general, the path is not well maintained and the stairs and boardwalks had missing sections.  Along the path were some viewpoints which gave spectacular views of the canyon and the tip of the falls.  Finally reaching the end, we were quite disappointed to find that the trees had greatly overgrown, and you could barely see the falls through the trees.  Bob managed to take a few shots by holding the camera high above his head.  On the way back, we met a young woman and what looked like maybe her brother going into the area with their dog.  They returned and passed us while we were still on the trail returning to our car.  Ahhh..youth!  Guess it shows how old we actually are getting.

Arriving at Churchill Falls, we walked into the only hotel in town, to find that their rooms were completely sold out, and the next hotel was in Happy Valley - 290km down the road.  We must have looked pretty discouraged (or maybe it was because I said she could give us a bed in a broom closet), because she suggested we have a long dinner and she would try and get hold of her boss.  Just as we were finishing, she came over and said she had not been able to get him, but she was going to give us a room anyway.  Oh... and the room we have!  I don't think this room gets rented very much.  The screws on The security latch on the door are falling out.  There are four 8ft 2lamp T12s in the ceiling - only one has a lens, one is completely not functioning, and one is dim/flickering. (For those unfamiliar, T12 lamps are completely outdated and the ballasts are not available anymore).  There is one switch that turns on all the lights, and, apparently, most of the plugs.  (the desk lamp and plug only work when ALL the lights are on - not very helpful for charging things overnight).  The beds are actually roll-away cots.  It really is all too funny, but at least we have a room!

I have a call in to get in on a morning tour of the power plant, but have not heard back, so I suspect that's not going to happen. 

Tomorrow we go to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.  We have prebooked our hotel romm at Hotel North through the deskclerk here - but when I looked online, it appears that there are actually two Hotel Norths in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.   This should be fun

Nite all.  Talk to you all again tomorrow.

Hotel: Height of Land Hotel
Temp:  Sunny and comfortable - 23c
Distance: 250km
Mileage: 7.3 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 3 (Day 20) Baie Comeau to Labrador City

We were up early and on the road by 8:15am.  After a quick stop for gas, we were on on Highway #389 towards Labrador City.  The road was paved and in good condition, not quite what we expected.  The scenery was mostly trees, and the sky alternated between overcast with sunny breaks.

At KM 213, at Relais-Gabrielle we took a break for lunch.  This is one of two gas stations .. and bathrooms... between Baie Comeau and Labrador City. Shortly after, the paved road turned to gravel/dirt.  The dirt was well packed and quite smooth for most of the way.  Where it had rained, it was a little slippery, but not bad at all.   And the advantage was that it was wider than the paved road.

The road itself was had lots of twists and  turns as well as steep hills.  It was almost impossible to go any faster than about 50 or 60.  The countryside was absolutely beautiful and the traffic was very light. In fact, we were often alone on the highway.

At KM 320, the pavement returned for about 100 km and then returned to dirt/gravel for another 60km, then back to pavement for the last little bit.

At one point, I noticed a sign for the Ancient Village of Gagnon.  All we noticed along the side of the gravel road we were on was about 4 km of paved sidwalks to nowhere.  Fascinating

On our travels we noted a number of hydo electric plants and power lines.  As well, just outside of Fermont, we saw an iron mine.  It was fascinating to see the pond next to the mine - the water was actually pink.

We changed time zones at the Labrador border. Our car GPS seems to think we are on Newfoundland time, so it half an hour ahead of the actual time.

We arrived in Labrador City around 6pm local time and found a motel for the night. Our room is a suite with a separate bedroom and living area and an efficiency kitchen. 

After checking in we took a tour of the community and then had supper at Pizza restaurant next door to the motel. 

Bob is doing laundry while I write the blog and post the photos. Not sure how well posting is going to work and the internet is very reliable right now - it keeps dropping and coming back.  We will see!

Tomorrow we head up the Labrador highway.

Hotel: Northern Inn
Temp:  Overcast with sunny breaks - 19c
Distance: 590km - driving time 9 hours
Mileage: 8.6 L/100km

PHOTOS

August 2 (Day 19) Chicoutimi to Baie Comeau

We were awake quite early to overcast weather and pouring rain.

The breakfast room was very small, and when we went down there was a lineup out the door.  We checked back a couple of times, but it did not get much better.  Shortly after nine (breakfast was served until 9:30am) we decided to bite the bullet and go in.  There was no food left.  The eggs and sausages were empty, there was no milk for cereal, and there were no sweet rolls. We managed to make one waffle to share before that ran out too.   The attendant did not speak english, but from what I can tell she kept saying she cleaned up at nine.  We were not the only ones - there were actually quite a number of people who went without breakfast this morning, and, from what I can tell, because an staff member didn't feel like keeping the breakfast room open.  This is the first time we have had a disappointment with Choice Hotels.

So, after a disappointing lack of breakfast, we hit the road shortly after 9:30 am.  Today was was mainly a driving day - a good thing given the rain.  We headed south along the #172 on the north side of the fjord.  It was a very scenic highway with trees and rock and glimpses of the fjord.  There continued to be very high hills and the occasional village.  After about 120km, we arrived in Tadoussac.  This village was originally an indigenous trading centre and was first visited by Champlain in 1542.  It is also known as the site where the beluga whales summer.

As we first approached the town, we were slowed to a complete stop.  We didn't move for a long time.  We thought we were in construction as we had seen a lot on this trip, but it was strange that there were no cars coming from the other direction.  After about twenty minutes and moving up maybe 4 or five carlengths, we realized that we were actually in a lineup for the ferry to cross the fjord - the only way to the other side.  But this was the only way into the community, so we had to be patient and we worked our way slowly up the road until there was a turnoff to the community.

Once in Tadoussac, we decided it was time for lunch, as we were quite hungry.  We stopped at "  xx ", which turned out to be a buffet style restaurant.  The staff did not speak much english, but we managed to communicate with my scattered words, and sign language.  We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch - the salads and  pea soup were excellent and I had Salmon pate with a clam sauce that was very good.  Bob had spaghetti and meatsauce.  The only drawback, was he didn't understand the sign which said the spaghetti was cold and to dip it in the provided hot water for 5 seconds... so he had cold spaghetti with a very good meat sauce.  Dessert was a variety of pies made by "grandma".  The curious one was vinegar pie, so, of course, we had to try it.  True to form, it was.. vinegar pie.  An unexpected flavour, but actually quite good.  We also had apple pie.

After eating, we drove down to the centre of town and visited an old church which had been built in 1747.  We walked along the boardwalk to the marina where all the tourists were going out in their dingies for whale watching.  The weather was still overcast/raining and the dingies seemed awfully full of people, so we opted not to take a tour.

We headed back out on highway #138 for Baie Comeau.  The highway was good and we were able to drive around 95km/hr and maintain pace with the other traffic.  Again.. a scenic highway.  We arrived in Baie Comeau around 4pm and checked in to our hotel for a short rest before checking out the rest of the city.

We went out for supper around 7pm, and found a delightful bistro in downtown Baie Comeau called the L'Oscar Bistro.  The waitress knew a little english and together we managed our order.  The food was good as was the atmosphere.

Back in our hotel, we are about to curl up and sleep. Tomorrow we start travelling north into the unknown.  Apparently the road is very isolated and it is unlikely there will always be electricity available, never mind internet.  We will post when we can.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Overcast and Rainy, clearing in the afternoon - 24c
Distance: 342km
Mileage - 8.7L/100km

PHOTOS

August 1 (Day 18) Quebec City (Boischatel) to Chicoutimi

We were up and out at 9:30am.  The day was overcast, a bit cooler, but VERY muggy.  I think the humidity wears one out more than the heat does.

We backtracked a bit to visit Montmorency Falls. These falls are higher than Niagra falls and stand at 83 metres.  The park is well developed with good walkways.  We first walked along the promenande which took us to the edge of the falls.  We could already feel the spray when we were about 250m away from the end, and by the time we got right to the edge we were quite wet.  At this edge there is a long staircase to a several different viewing stations - which we opted not to take.

Returning to the main area, we boarded a cable car to the top of the falls, where there is a boardwark along the "mountain" to a suspension bridge that goes right over the falls.  From there, there is quite a spectacular view of Quebec City across the river.  There is a short path which goes to the staircase and viewpoints mentioned earlier.  Again, we didn't take those. 

Just down the road was a signpost with a yellow centre and red borders.  We felt like we might have been in the Amazing Race Canada.  We wonder if indeed at one time it wasn't..it did lead to the zipline. (Just asked Google, in the finale of 2017, the last three teams climbed over the suspension bidge down a net to retrieve a clue).

Back down at the main centre, we were ready to head out.  Earlier, just after we purchases our passes to Montmorency Falls, I had noticed that my cross was not around my neck, so we headed back to the hotel to see if the cleaners might have turned it in.  The manager checked and the room had already been cleaned and nothing had been found.  But she let us in to check ourselves.  I was just sick and there was no sign of it.  THEN... but saw a glitter between the seat and back of the deskchair.  I have never been so relieved in my life.  So now, my cross is safely stored in our passort folder.

Our next stop was St. Anne Canyon.  This is an impressive canyon and waterfall just off the road near St. Anne de Beaupre.  There is a 1.5 km loop walk with two bridges over the canyon and several viewing stations.  It was a very impressive walk, although Bob is still being bothered with his dizziness and it decided to come on full force during the walk.  I am sure some of the other tourists thought he was drunk.

Back in the car, we headed down #138 towards our next destination.  The countryside was more rocky than before but still seemed to have agriculture as the main industry.  At St. Simeon, we took an off road (#362) to La Malbaie.  This was marked as a scenic highway and it certainly was.  The road was windy with many steep hills. The steepest, I think, was a 15 degree grade.  Beautiful country.  There were many artisan shops and boutiques along the way, as well as many farmgate booths.  Bob stopped at one and picked up a box of raspberries for us to nibble along the way.

Back on #138, we followed the road until the turn off to #70, which is another scenic road.  This road was more rocky although still with twists and hills.  This road took us to Chicoutimi which was our stop for the day.

As we checked in to the hotel, the clerk recommended a local microbrewery for supper, La Voie de Malteese.   The waitress quickly realized we were english and exchanged our menu for an english one.  We had a sampler of beer and I had fish and chips and Bob had ribs.  While we waited for our supper, the young couple at the next table spoke to us and offered to help if there was anything we didn't understand. It turned out that he was an apprentice electrician so he and Bob shared storied throughout our dinner.  They are from Montreal, but his family is from the Chicoutimi area.

Back in our hotel, tired...very tired, we are about to head to bed, and it is only 9:30pm  Bon Nuit.

Hotel: Comfort Inn
Temp:  Overcast an muggy - @23c
Distance: 317km
Mileage - 9.1L/100km

PHOTOS

July 31(Day 17) Quebec City to Quebec City

We were up fairly early, but after breakfast we checked the internet for things to do in the area.  We were undecided whether we would continue our travels or spend the day in the area.  In the end we checked out of the hotel and decided we would let whatever happens happen.

Our first stop was Wendat, a Huron community towards the north end of Quebec City.  We programmed our GPS (really do have to name her - any ideas?) for the community of Wendat and she took us to the tribal office.  From there, we were directed to Onhoua Chetekbe, a recreated traditional Huron Village site.  In reality, it was was an interactive museum of the life and history of the Wendat Huron People.  It was a very interesting display, focusing mainly on the Huron but with a few displays of Indigenous peoples across Canada.  Our guide is Wendat from the Turtle clan.  She was bubbly with a good sense of humour.  We had thought that our english speaking group would be quite small, but soon realized that other language speakers seemed to have english as their second language.  We had people from Germany, Spain, Russia, and Great Britain in our group.

After we left the site, we drove to Kouba Falls which was nearby. There was a short walk to the falls, which were small but quite pretty.

We had heard about Iles d'Orleans, an island just off Quebec City, so thought we would check it out.  We had heard that there were a number of artisan shops there.  The island is connected to the mainland by one main bridge.  Arriving on the island, we stopped at the tourist information store and chatted with a delightful gentleman whos explained the island to us, and told us some of the best things to see.  Tour book in hand, we headed out.  The island is 4 km wide and I forget how many km long.  All of the development is at the edge of the island, with one road circling the circumference.  The road is quite narrow with development on either side.  The island appears to be primarily agricultural as we saw many small farms, growing mainly strawberries, but we also saw corn, blueberries and one small patch of wheat.  There are six small villages on the island, which all seem to run into each other.  True to promise, there were lots of artisan shops, fruit stands, and other agricultural farmgate products!!  There went our day!

It was after 6pm when we left the island, so we thought we would look for a restaurant and then check in to our hotel.  With no luck - for some reason restaurants here are hard to identify - we checked in and then asked the clerk where we could find a restaurant.  She said 15 minutes down the road in the next community there were lots.  WELL!  We drove ...way more than 15 minutes.  Our GPS let us down.  Everywhere she said there was a restaurant, there wasn't.  Google maps was not much better.  We headed back to Boischatel and into the community.  I finally saw a sign I recognized as a restaurant pointing to an IGA, but we headed in anyway, only to find there actually was a restaurant there, but it was closed.  By now it was way after seven. Screwing up my courage, I approached a young woman sitting at a table and asked in my best French is she spoke english. I must have a terrible accent because she didn't understand.  I perservered and she finally caught on to what I was saying, but said she only spoke a little.  However, her friend was in the IGA and she said she spoke good english.  She did.  Soon we were on our way into the town, google maps open to where the girls had given us direction and soon arrived at the restaurant.  We were very hungry by then.  The waitress was very friendly, but the service was very slow.  The food, however, made up for it.

We got back to our hotel around 930pm.  We have found the people of Quebec to be very friendly and very willing to help where they can.  In most of the stores etc, most speak english and are very quick to switch to english.  Today was a day of getting lost, getting found again, and trying to find things that weren't wher we expected them to be. But all in all, it was a great and fun day.

It is now almost 1030pm and bed is beckoning!  Nite all.

Hotel: EconoLodge
Temp:  Hot and sunny -above 30c
Distance: 188Km - mostly trying to find a restaurant
Mileage - 10.9L/100k

PHOTOS