FALL 2018 ROADTRIP

EASTERN TOWNSHIPS, QUEBEC CITY AND THE GASPE PENINSULA

DAY 1  September 6      Hurrah!  We left Harwich at 10:02!!!  Our first day would be a side trip to Cousins Fuzzy and Sally’s in Cohoes NY.  We decided to take the “scenic” route and drove into Rhode Island on Rt. 195 to Providence where we turned north on route 6.  Our drive took us through the countryside of Rhode Island; towns like Foster….ever hear of it?  Once we drove into the northeast corner of Connecticut, called the Quiet Corner, we got onto Route 169.  The town of Pomfret is full of beautifully maintained mansions with expansive lawns and hand-hewn rock walls.  Pomfret is also the site of the Pomfret School and the Rectory School both boarding schools which have a “posh” look!  Next town, Woodstock, has a lovely town green and across the street is the Roseland Cottage, a vividly painted Gothic Revival style house where abolitionist Henry Bowen entertained presidents.  After North Woodstock, we turned onto Route 171 and stopped at Bigelow Pond State Park at 1:15 for a picnic lunch.  The rest of our drive across Connecticut on Route 197 to Route 91 passed through more tranquil hills and valleys and small villages with the city of Stafford Springs a stand-out. 

At 1:50 and 91 degrees, we finally put the top up on the BMW!!  Good idea!!  By 2:30 the temperature was 97 degrees.  On Route 90 (Mass Pike), the outside temp fell rapidly to 67 until we hit a thunderstorm with thunder, lightening and wind.  By 3:13, the storm was over and by 3:30 the sun was out and it was sunny at 72 degrees.  Interesting hour!!!!!  We wended our way into New York and arrived at Fuzzy and Sally’s at 4.

Fuzzy, Sally and Randy, their dog, welcomed us and treated us delicious appetizers and a dinner of shrimp on rice, asparagus and salad with homemade cake with blueberry sauce and whipped cream.  We talked and talked and talked and finally went to bed after the 10 PM news!!!  What a treat to visit with Fuzzy and Sally!!!!

Day 2  Sept. 7  We woke up today to the aroma of bacon cooking.  After a great night’s sleep, we feasted on a great breakfast prepared by Sally.  We had bacon and eggs, fresh fruit salad, homemade English muffin toast with homemade strawberry jelly or blueberry jelly.  Another treat!!!  We spent the rest of the morning touring the apartment complex on foot.  We met some neighbors, observed the flora, fauna and a nearby farm.  After arriving at the clubhouse, we saw the pool, the exercise room, the pool room, the yoga room, the community room and finally the theater room.  After much maneuvering, searching  and testing of the equipment, a clubhouse official maneuvered first one and then another lap-top until we were able to download our Anniversary Party video on YouTube onto the 150 inch screen!  WOW!!!  Sally and Fuzzy had been at the party so we all watched the video together and, again, enjoyed our awesome party!!!! 

Back at home, we relaxed for a short while.  Fuzzy gave me a tour of the neighborhood and then we drove around Cohoes, “both up the hill and down the hill!”  I saw the historic buildings, the site of the fire not too long ago, the converted mill factories and the Cohoes waterfall. We took a short walk at the waterfall.   I took a photo of it for Peter!!!  Back home, after making a decision about and making the reservation for dinner, we left for Saratoga.  Toured the city, saw the car museum where there were some cars worth looking at in the parking lot, saw the Saratoga race track, drove around the Skidmore campus, saw the Performing Arts Center where there were people outside “dressed” for an event! 

We ate dinner at Taverna Nuova which has  wood-fired brick oven pizza.  The waiter was a little “in your face,” but, eventually, he won us over!!!  We had a burrata app with pistachios and roasted tomatoes, an octopus app with white beans and garlic, we shared 2 insalatta mistos and then went on to pizza.  We each had a pizza, mine had roasted eggplant, Fuzzy’s had a margarita with salami calabrese, Sally’s pizza, called “the happy bastard, Peter had a margarita  pizza and cacio e pepi.  On the CASTE rating scale, the best pizza was Fuzzy’s,  a solid 19!!!!  For dessert we shared 2 profiteroles.  Great dinner!!!!  Before leaving Saratoga, we toured in the car the awesome mansions.

Back at the hacienda, we discussed our day, assessed our dinner and played with Randy.

Day 3 Sept. 8   Today, we awoke to another fabulous breakfast!  Sally made blueberry pancakes and sausage accompanied by fresh fruit salad.  We made special chicken salad (with cranberries and walnuts!) sandwiches complemented by cherry tomatoes from Fuzzy and Sally’s garden for our drive into Vermont.  It was 9:45 and only 64 degrees when we left.  What a super visit with loads of conversation about family, politics and our own lives!!!   

We headed for Vermont and Route 100 but soon decided to make a slight detour to the Equinox Skyline Drive off Route 7A in Vermont.  We took route VT 7 to VT 313 to VT 7A through the Taconic Mountain range, where Mt. Equinox is the highest peak.  At 11.29 we found the Equinox Skyline Drive where we paid $25.00 to drive up the toll road (the longest private toll road in the U.S) to the top of Mount Equinox. As you drive you ascend 3000 vertical feet in 5 miles. That’s an 11% grade which really pushed the car to it’s limit. Peter was really getting concerned but we let the car cool down at the summit and all seemed ok on the way down.  At the summit, 5.2 miles up and 16 minutes later, we found a viewing center with fabulous views of the mountains in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts!!  The center also contained historical info on the Carthusian monastery located on the mountain.  The temp at the top was 52 degrees.  The day has been cool and cloudy but the top stays down! 

Back on Route 7A, we connected with Route 100 in Londonderry.  We drove through Manchester Center which was upscale with a lovely golf club and an Eagles Hall (Hail, Jim Bailey!)  and by 1:10 we were in Londonderry and the temp was up to 61 degrees.  We continued Route 100 and stopped in Weston for lunch on the town green and then perused the Vermont Country Store where we bought CANDY!

 

Our next stop was in Plymouth Notch, a slight detour, to view the Calvin Coolidge Historical site.  It was here, where Coolidge was born, that his father, a notary public, administered the oath of office of president of the United States to his son after word of Harding’s death!  Back on Rt. 100, we followed the floor of the Black River Valley, passed the Okemo Ski Area, Killington Ski Area, drove through the Green Mountain National Forest with the Green Mountains on to our left and right. 

At 4Pm the SUN came out as we entered the Granville Reservation.  Minutes later……. a waterfall!!!!  The Moss Glen Falls cascading down a sheer rock wall!  Soon we were driving though Waitsfield, a prosperous town, compared to the small villages we had passed through.  Then we passed Sugarbush Ski Area before leaving ski country and driving through farm country.  At 5PM we took Interstate 89 toward Burlington to find lodging for the night.  We ended up at the Ethan Allen Motel in East Burlington.  After registering, we went to the local supermarket for supplies!  After our typical “road trip dinner,” we caught up on the news(!) and called it a night!

Day 4 Sept. 9 Up and out at 9:30, temp 49 degrees! Peter left to find some coffee.  I went for a short walk around the neighborhood. Before checking out, Peter checked on the bill; they had charged us for two nights!!  With the bill straightened out, we left for Starbucks!  We had decided that we were going to make a detour instead of following our itinerary today!!  What an adventure!  We headed for the Champlain Islands and did a tour of Lake Champlain!

We started at South Hero Island at 10:30, 57 degrees!  There are lake and mountain views on both sides of the main drag, US 2.  After crossing the Lamoille River onto marshy land, we crossed a causeway onto South Hero.  Route 2 is basically the only main road on the islands which are connected by bridges.  We passed apple orchards, corn fields and hay fields throughout our drive.  We stopped in the town of Grand Isle to visit the Jedediah Hyde log cabin built in 1783 and supposedly the oldest log cabin in New England in its original state.  Just as we arrived, the docent arrived in costume and proceeded to enlighten us about Jedediah and his family.  Colleen showed us inside the cabin and pointed out everything of interest.  At one point, she told us that she had heard that Jedediah had really loved his wife because he built her a swinging arm containing a black pot in the fireplace.  Apparently, many women were burned leaning into the fire to stir the pot because they had

to lean over so far!  It always amazes how tough living conditions were in the 18^th century!! 

We proceeded from there to North Hero where we took a detour off route 2 to visit Isle La Motte. By now it was noon and 60 degrees.  Top down all the way, of course.  We stopped at the lovely Shrine of Saint Anne for lunch, walked through the chapel, met a woman named Kathy Dodd with whom I shared my prayer.  We lunched very near a beach where we watched sailboats in the distance.  Then we drove to Light House Point….the road was closed!!! 

After leaving Isle La Motte, we returned to route 2, drove to Alburgh and went east across the lake to route 78 back to the mainland. We stopped at the Missiquoi National Wildlife Refuge and took a 2 mile hike on the Steven J. Young marsh.  No wildlife but a beautiful hike.  From Swanton VT we drove on route 105 (dotted on the map!)  At 3PM it was 64 degrees, the warmest of the day.  Our route took us through forests with peaks of the Green Mountains and Jay Peak in the distance.  We wanted to stay in VT for the night so we could watch the Patriots on my laptop using the Xfinity app (we had taped it at home!)  We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to do that in Canada.  We were practically alone on this beautiful road through small towns, past farms, up and down hills but we COULDN’T find a place to stay the night!!  Finally, we drove south a bit to Lyndonville to the Colonnade Inn.  We arrived at 5, watched the Patriots (YAY!!), had our salad dinner, watched some TV and crashed!!!

Day 5 Sept. 10 Today we crossed the border!!!  We left the Colonnade Inn in Lyndonville VT at 9:40 but only 47 degrees!  We actually left with the top up!!  Coffee at McDonald’s!!!  On our way north to the border, we drove through E. Burke and made a stop at Sanderson’s Wooden Bowls where we met Sam and Weeza Sanderson.  Sam is the bowl turner and Weeza, his wife, takes care of the ‘books!”  All of Sam’s bowls are turned from native Vermont hardwood from the “Northeast Kingdom” (a reference to northern Vermont!).  Sam gave Peter a lesson in bowl turning and then took us to his showroom.  What a collection of bowls and other hand turned wooden products.  We ended up buying a small cherry burl bowl!  Sam is robust and friendly, a real Vermonter!  Weeza is a loyal Red Sox fan!!

From E. Burke, we proceeded north to N. Troy to cross the border.  We passed some enormous wood piles (Vermonters preparing for winter) and more signs MOOSE CROSSING!  For all these signs, we’ve NEVER seen a moose!  Again, we drove secondary roads, beautiful country on 5A, the Kingdom Byway.  We saw farms with bales of hay wrapped in white plastic and mountains in the distance.

We reached North Troy, stopped for gas and a few supplies and crossed the border at 11:50 and 57 degrees.  The crossing was very easy; only one vehicle in line!  I spoke to the border agent in French; my first French since last year in Paris!  Close to the border, we stopped in Mansonville, the township of Potton, and took a stroll around the town.  We were hoping to buy a baguette but the boulangerie is closed on Mondays!!!  A short drive took us to a covered bridge for a photo shoot!  At 12:30, the sun was trying to come out, so we put the top down! 

We drove the Chemin des Cantons (the tour road for the Eastern Townships) through rolling hills, bucolic scenery with green fields, yellow wildflowers and trees, some with a hint of autumn!  In Sutton, Louise Penny’s home, we stopped and strolled again.  Boulangerie closed here, too!  Lovely town, beautiful flower and grass plantings!  At 1:45 the sun was out, and we stopped at the local IGA for dinner supplies.  By 2:30, we were back in the car driving up Mt, Sutton to a picnic area for lunch.  Apparently, Mt. Sutton is a popular ski area!  In Brome-Knowlton, we saw many lovely estates with sprawling lawns, stone walls all right on Lac Brome. 

From there we wound our way through Waterloo, Eastman and arrived in Magog, right on Lac Memphremagog.  The last few towns we went through were big and not very interesting, but Magog looks more inviting!  We checked into Auberge du Grand Lac about 5:30.  Small hotel, nice rooms and reasonable!!!  It started to rain so that curtailed our adventuresome feelings. We had our standard dinner, watched some TV, looked at our options for tomorrow and that was it for today!

Day 6 Sept. 11 First thing, we decided to stay at Auberge du Grand Lac another night.  It’s so convenient and reasonable.  We’ve slept well at all our lodgings including this one.  After registering to stay in our room another night, we left at 8:45, 58 degrees.  Our first stop was at Caffucino café in town for coffee and a muffin.  Then we were off in light rain to St. Benoit du Lac, a Benedictine monastery 20K away.   We followed Lac Memphrenagog from its northern tip to its southern tip.  In the town of Austin we admired the estates on the eastern shore of the lake.  Many were down long driveways, some gated and all with extraordinarily manicured grounds!  We were driving on a road called Chemin des Peres.

 

We arrived at the Abbaye St. Benoit at 10:15 and stayed until 12:30. After parking the car, we walked a short distance to a lovely church and visited the boutique where I had a lovely conversation in French with the cashier.  She gave me a lot of information about the monastery, we perused the goods and, of course bought a lovely book, some strawberry-rhubard jelly made at the monastery, a bookmark and a notecard with a lovely image of the abby.  We then strolled around the grounds waiting for mass to begin at 11.  I met a French Canadian guy and we spoke some French….this is a great place to practice my French!  Mass was beautiful:  there were 19 monks in white robes and 4 in black robes, one monk is an African from Senegal.  The mass was COMPLETELY sung in Gregorian chant!  There were about 30 people in the simple chapel.  The mass was extraordinary and very moving!  By the time mass was over, the sun was out!  We had been given Cortland apples by an orchard worker; there are a few orchards on the property and on weekends visitors can pick their own!  We strolled a bit more, ate our apples and left the abby at 12:30 with the top down!

In the village of Austin, we stopped at the small Catholic church, strolled some more, visited the local market and drove to a nearby historical site where there is a small stone structure built to commemorate the town of Millington.  Inside the structure is a capsule to be opened in 2088!  Back in the car, we continued to drive along the Chemin du Mt. Owl through very small villages while regarding Mt. Owl in the distance.  Its peak was covered in clouds! At 1:30 it was 65 degrees as we drove the beautiful countryside to Mansonville.  In the town, we found the Euro Deli where we had lunch, dill pickle soup (delish), a jambon and fromage on a baguette for Peter and Polish sausage with sauerkraut on a baguette for me.  Delicious!  We strolled the town, read some history boards about the people of the Eastern Townships which were settled by Loyalists around 1792. There was also an antique round red barn! We retraced our drive to Magog, dodging raindrops and bikers….this is bikers’ heaven!! 

Back at our Auberge at 3:30 and we decided to walk the town of Magog.  We walked to the Pointe de Merry along the Lake and then walked the main street.  This is a decent sized town with a flourishing and busy center!  We stopped at a café, Le Fou du Roi, for a coffee and snack and bought 2 croissants for dinner.  Had a lively chat with the chef in French and English!  We watched some TV in our room after returning from our walk at 5:30. I then made our usual dinner except that we had delicious croissants to accompany it!  More TV and chatting about tomorrow, writing the blog and here we are!!!  What a great day!!!

Day 7 Sept. 12 This was the day we were chasing!!!  We woke up, showered and were on the road at 8:45 under a cloudy sky, 64 degrees but top down!!  Our first stop was in downtown Magog for coffee at Caffucino and pastries from Fou du Roi patisserie.  Them we were of to Ste. Catherine-de-Hatley, population 2540.  We found the road to Manoir Hovey, a prestigious hotel on the shore of Lake Massawippi.  Manoir Hovey is the Chatham Bars Inn of the Eastern Townships.  It combines charm and turn of the century elegance among the birch groves that surround the lake.  Inspired by Mount Vernon, it was built in 1900 by Henry Atkinson, the president of Georgia Power in Atlanta.  This was the genteel summer home of the Atkinsons until the 40s.  Since then, it has been continued under other ownership and operated with the splendor and charisma of the original summer estate.

Our next stop, N, Hatley is our favorite so far.  With a population of 689, it retains the charm of exactly what we expected of the Eastern Townships.  Flowers everywhere, a long boardwalk out into Lake Massawippi with a gazebo at the end.  We also walked along the path near Dreamlands Park which is home to the village green and another gazebo.  Some century old homes have been transformed into charming inns and B&Bs.  What a treat to visit this village!

Further along the Chemin des Cantons, we arrived in Stanstead, a larger town than what we had previously seen today.  Just outside of town, we stumbled upon the Stone Circle of Stanstead.  We listened to an audio presentation made by Henrietta Ball-Bunting in which she told of her family’s history here.  They were originally from Connecticut and built a home here with the addition of what I call “the Stonehenge of Canada!”  Local granite rocks in a circle celebrate her family memoir.  We left this unexpected marvel after a stroll around the circle.  A metal structure commemorates her family’s “determination, endurance, faith, courage, passion, audacity and love.

It was now 12:30 and 78 degrees.  We retraced our route back up the Chemin des Cantons passing very well- manicured granite farms with corn fields and hay fields and huge piles of firewood.  Very bucolic!  In Barnston under the sun and 70 degree weather, we stopped for a picnic lunch at a picnic area.  We arrived in Coatiecook at 1:15 and stopped to see the Coatiecook Gorge where we took a 2 mile hike roundtrip to the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge.  It trembled a bit but we made it to the other side!

We were on the last leg of today’s drive!  On our way to Sherbrooke, we passed the Drouin Covered Bridge built in 1897 near the small village of Moe’s River.  This part of the trip was trying with road work and traffic jams!!!  Finally, we arrived in Sherbrooke, our last stop in the Eastern Townships.  Sherbrook is HUGE, 166,000 residents, the 6^th largest city in Quebec and the regional capital of the eastern townships region.  We stopped for the night at the Hotellerie de ville and, for a change had dinner at a restaurant, the Brasserie Seigneurie.  For appetizers, Peter had onion soup that he loved and we shared a blooming onion.  Then I had shrimp in garlic sauce with a Caesar salad and Peter had steak and Pommes frites.  Some TV and then to bed!!!

Day 8   Sept. 13   After breakfast and a car wash, we left our hotel in Sherbrooke at 9:30 and 60 degrees, to explore the city.  First, we stopped at our new coffee place, Caffuccino, and found our destination with luck.  At 10:30 we took a two mile walk around the Lac des Nations.  So many lakes and rivers around here!  We walked the whole Zen Zone where we saw plant pads against fencing, much foliage and wild flowers.  The signs encourage Zen walking, Zen skating, Zen thinking, Zen skating, etc!!!  We crossed the Jacques Cartier Bridge after walking half-way around the lake and entered the Jacques Cartier Parc where we saw a water ski school.  Further along on the other side of the lake we saw some Zen lounges where I posed and then walked around the Sherbrooke Sports Hall of Fame.  So many beautiful flowers!!! 

Back at our car, we drove to the cathedral which was undergoing some renovation and then we were off to Quebec City at 12:15 and 73 degrees.  At Redmond, we left the highway and got onto Rt. 116, a dotted road to Quebec City through rural Canada.  The road is not as bucolic as the Chemin des Contons but, nevertheless, lovely.  To our East we saw the town of Asbestos where asbestos had been mined and could see in the distance the crater formed by the mining!  We took a short side-trip to Kingsey Falls to the Parc Marie Victorin where there is a beautiful themed garden park………more beautiful flowers, even a chestnut tree!  But, no falls!!  We could see glimpses of trees changing color.  

Back on our route, we drove through Victoriaville, a bustling metropolis with a Home Depot and a Walmart!  It was now 2PM and 79 degrees!  Top down the whole way!!!!  The speed limit was 50 mph most of the way except when we drove through the towns.  We saw mostly modest but VERY well cared for homes.  In Ste. Anastasie, we took a photo of the beautiful two-steepled Eglise Ste. Anastasie.  Peter had a “feeling” for this town:  he LOVED it!  It was not fancy but so well-maintained.   We continued to see many caution signs for deer, tractors, motorcycles, snowmobiles and bikers.  Also passed cornfields, huge wood piles, red roofs and red convertibles! 

We crossed the St. Lawrence River at 3:48 and there was terrible traffic coming the opposite way!  Commuters?  After the bridge while wending our way to our Air B&B the traffic was on our side! With the help of GPS, we found our lodging on Rue St. Jean, although, we couldn’t park there!  Parked a little further up the street, Peter got the key from the lockbox and then I schlepped our stuff into the studio apartment.  We took turns staying with the car since we were in a no parking zone!  With everything in the apartment, we drove to a parking garage to park the car for two days and then we walked 10 minutes back to our “home,” while admiring our new neighborhood.  We are just outside the old city walls and there is lots to observe here.  We stopped at a grocery to get supplies for dinner, got home, unpacked, hooked up to wi-fi, had dinner, went for a short walk in the “hood” and here we are doing our laundry and getting ready for bed.

Day 9 Sept. 14 WOW!!!!  What a day!  We were up about 7:30, showered, got coffee “to go” in the neighborhood, got organized for the day and we were of to the Old City at 8:45, temp in the low 70s, to meet our Walking Tour at 10.  On the way, we stopped at the parking garage to pick up a couple of things from the car, stopped for a coffee and croissant, found an ATM to get Canadian dollars and met out tour leader, Sam, at the Tourny Fountain near the Quebec Parliament House.  This was a free walking tour that I found online, payment is a tip at the end of the tour.  Sam is an affable young man with lots of interesting stories.

 We started our tour with a history of the fountain, transported here by the head of the Simons clothing empire and costing him 6 million dollars!  We then entered the Old City at the St. Louis gate.  Interestingly, the walls and gates of the Old City were almost demolished until an influential Quebecois, M. Dufferin, insisted “Keep the Wall!”  From the gate, Sam pointed out a skyscraper nearby, its top floor a round revolving bar!  Another interesting bit of info from Sam, Roosevelt and Churchill met at the Chateau Frontenac and planned the Normandie attack! 

We started our walk down the streets and alleys listening to Sam tell us about the Urseline nuns who did much for the education of women in Quebec.  Their building is now a historical and educational museum.  

We also saw the house where the movie I CONFESS, directed by Alfred Hitchcock was filmed.  At the Morrin Center, we viewed a jailhouse where Public hangings took place hundreds of years ago and is now a prestigious English library!  This library was a center of intrigue in one of Louise Penny’s mysteries.  At this point, I gave a “plug” for the Louise Penny series!!  Nearby, the Price Building, called a “skyscraper” by the people of Quebec City, houses the office of the Prime Minister, now Justin Trudeau! 

We then walked around the Chateau Frontenac, built in the 1800s and now a Fairmont hotel.  The turrets are amazing!  There is a statue of Samuel de Champlain, the founder of Quebec, under reconstruction in the square just outside the Frontenac. There was lots of discussion concerning the war in 1750 between the French inhabitants led by Montcalm and the British army led by Wolfe which was won by the British and started the controversy that continues today between the Anglophones and the Francophones.

Descending into the Lower City (by stairs!!!), we arrived in the Place Royale, the birthplace of the original city of Quebec by Champlain.  Louis XIV had to send some young girls to Quebec, in order to help the new men settlers populate the area!!  In time, this area became fairly seedy but was restored in 1917.  We strolled more around the Lower City and finished out tour about noon in 79 degree heat!!!  Sam was delightful and we invited him to visit us on Cape Cod after presenting him with a tip of $20CD (CD=Canadian Dollar).

After leaving Sam and the group, we continued to stroll, climbed back up to the Upper City, did some shopping and stopped at 1 PM at the Ste Anne Café to have lunch on the patio. Strolling  continued into the exquisite lobby of the Chateau Frontenac, around the many parks and quaint streets and alleys and back to the Porte St. Louis. We were pretty tired and decided to go back to our studio for R&R. Arrived there at 3:30 and 83 degrees after walking 6 miles!  Later I took a walk around our interesting neighborhood, bought some water and returned.  Easy dinner and then perusal of maps to decide on our trip toward the Gaspe Peninsula tomorrow.  We found some interesting places on the north side of the St. Lawrence before actually crossing perhaps by ferry over the to the south side of the river and the beginning of our trip around the peninsula.

Day 10 Sept. 15  Every day keeps getting better and better.  We were up at 7:30, got the car from the parking garage, parked on the street opposite our charming and cozy Air B&B and walked up Rue St. Jean for a baguette and a coffee with croissant before packing the car to head out of Quebec City.  At the café we met a couple from Toronto who wanted to know where we had bought the baguette Peter was carrying.  We chatted with them for a bit, said our good-bys and ran into them later carrying THEIR baguette!

We headed for Mont Morency Falls east of Quebec and on the north shore of the St. Lawrence and arrived at the Chute de Mont Morency at 9:30, 71 degrees.  The falls are amazing almost 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls!  We walked along a path where we could view the falls a short distance away.  As we got nearer, we could see the mist making rainbows!  And we got misted, too!!!  We decided not to climb the 487 steps of the panoramic staircase to the top of the falls.  Instead, we walked back to the Welcome center and bought tickets to take a Cable car to the top!  The cable car stops at the Manoir Montmorency where we walked about investigating the restaurant and terraces.  From there we continued walking up to the top of the falls.  It was so much cooler at the top!!!  Breezy with mist from the falls.  We watched several people do the zipline across the falls and the canyon.  Too exciting for us!!!  We did walk across the top of the falls on a suspension bridge.  Amazing and awesome!!! We retraced our steps including the cable car and, reluctantly left this

spectacular sight!

Back on Rt. 138 at noon, we continued driving east to the Basilica of Ste. Anne de Beaupre, dedicated to Ste. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus.   What a magnificent structure with elegant 300 foot twin steeples.  This basilica is credited with many miracles evidenced by the array of crutches displayed inside.  As with other monuments, it was rebuilt after a fire in 1922.  In one of the small side altars dedicated to various saints, I discovered that St. Patrick was sent to Ireland from England as a slave only to return years later as a priest and bishop.  I did not know that!  After saying a prayer or two, we exited the basilica and continued on our way east on Route 138.

We found a picnic nearby at 1:30 and stopped to have lunch.  There were several campers in the area and one gentleman approached us to chat.  He was quite a character and spoke almost no English.  Good chance to practice French!!!  He knew Provincetown and Cape Cod, he owned a couple of Triumphs (Peter loved that!), he’s a skier and Peter met his dog Stella.  It’s so great to have the opportunity to practice my French!

Back in the car, we took a short side-trip on Rt. 360, a loop through some ski country at Mont Ste. Anne, some lovely homes, new homes being built, grazing horses.  We were looking for two small waterfalls that we never found!  But it was a great drive!  We did get back on Rt. 138 to find the falls at Canyon Ste. Anne, but it was pretty cheesy!  However, we found several photo ops of valleys and mountains!!!  The scenery is simply indescribable!  Lovely homes, many with red roofs, everything so eye-catching!

We took another dotted side-road from Rt. 138, Rt. 362 from Baie Saint Paul to Malbaie.   that followed the shore of the St. Lawrence.  We soon saw a sign that proclaimed we were on the Route du Fleuve, the River Route!  By this time it was 4 PM and 81 degrees and we decided we needed to think about where to stay tonight!  So, we got on the internet, found Auberge Fleur de Lune in Malbaie, made a reservation and continued to enjoy our ride. We stopped  at an artist studio in Eboulements to admire  work of Mme Kapelier and speak some more French!  We passed some gorgeous views of the St. Lawrence all the way across the river to the Gaspe Peninsula. We saw more cute cottages with red roofs in St. Irenee and finally arrived in Malbaie.

We found our auberge, checked in with the couple who own the B&B, viewed the living room, the dining room and the front porch.  Our room is lovely and the auberge has a gorgeous view of the river.  Are we lucky or what?  Drove into town, got supplies for dinner, relaxed in our room, ate dinner, and walked the grounds a bit.  Watched the news and that’s it!!

Day 11 Sept. 16 Our road trip continues to be amazing!  We were up this morning and downstairs at 8:30 for breakfast which was phenomenal!  I had yogurt with cereal and fruit, a croissant, coffee and orange juice.  Peter had an omelet with a ground pork mixture and homemade bread with coffee and a croissant.  We chatted with our hosts about our routes for the day.  They were very helpful and provided us with local info and maps.  We decided to stay another night and there was another room available so we opted to stay.  We organized our “stuff” for the move, took a walk in the neighborhood which is actually the old village of Cap -a-l'aigle.  Stopped briefly at an old Anglican church, St. Peter on the rock.  Saw a lot of rosa rugosa which reminded us of home.

By 10AM, we were on the road, good weather, top down.  We drove to the beach area in Malbaie and took a walk on the Promenade Samuel de Champlain to the end of a pier.  Champlain was the one who named Malbaie in the early 1600s when he wanted to use the area as a port but soon discovered that the bay was too shallow to accommodate ships.  Therefore, he named it “mal baie.” meaning a “bad bay” in French!  We languished at the end of the promenade on adirondack chairs.  The weather, the view, the sparkling St. Lawrence was magnificent!  We languished for a long time!!  On our way back down the promenade we met a charming couple from Montreal on vacation.  Another chance to practice my French!  They have a brother-in-law who lives in Woonsocket RI and spend the winter in Florida.  We retraced our steps and strolled along the beach in the Parc du Casgrain.

At 11:45. We were “on the road again, headed for the Mountain Route to the National Parc des Hautes Gorges (high gorges!).  What a drive!  Along the road to Clermont we saw hydo-electric plants along the Riviere Malbaie.  An industrial park contained a paper and pulp mill.  At the sign for the Parc National de la Mont de la Croix, we took a slight detour to see the 360 degree panoramic view of the area. 

At 12:45 and 67 degrees, we were in St. Aime des Lacs along the Route des Montagnes on our way to the National Park.  The road is awesome!!!  Rolling hills, lush greenery , foliage beginning,  and no homes or villages.  We arrived at 1:30 and 70 degrees.  It was a little disappointing in that the trails were really tough!  We did take a school bus up the gorge a bit, did a short hike, had lunch at the station (great chicken soup with rice).  The area is beautiful and the gorge is awesome but fairly unattainable!  I think we needed to be more seasoned hikers!  We left shortly before 3.

On our way back down the Route des Montagnes, Peter declared this his most favorite road so far on the trip.  This is a smooth drive, through absolute bucolic scenery and through more small but thriving towns.  Everyone must work for the paper, pulp or hydro-electric industry. In St. Urbain, we viewed a glorious sight:  the mountains to our east were silhouetted in the lowering sun! 

We drove to Baie St. Paul, stopped there and walked through the town.  This is a very artsy place, artists, potters and artisans who use glass, wood and metal.  Very charming!  At 5 PM we were on our way back to our auberge.  After a stop to buy dinner supplies, we were back at our auberge at 6.  Our new room has a balcony overlooking the Sr. Lawrence!  After dinner, the Patriots and our day we were well-nourished with the Charlevoix Region of Canada.  Remember the last G7 meeting?  It was in Charlevoix in the town of Malbaie!!!

Day 12 Sept. 17  I woke up at sunrise, about 6. What a beautiful sight!  Pink clouds were streaming across the St. Lawrence River, just outside our French doors. After a shower and another fabulous breakfast of croissant omelette, home-made bread, fresh fruit and cretons, a home-made pork spread, we chatted with our hosts, Florence and Patrick.  They have been the proprietors of this auberge since February.  We discussed politics a bit; they were in Charlevoix last spring for the G7 and had security people staying at the auberge.  After packing up, we said “au revoir”  and left our address in hopes that they will call when they visit Boston.

It was 9, 64 degree sand sunny when we packed the car and left Auberge des fleurs de Lune.  We drove back through Malbaie in search of the Fairmont Richelieu Resort and Casino.  This is where the G7 took place.  Needless to say, it is an exquisite place with an extraordinary view of the bay.  We investigated the lobby and took a long walk in the gardens.  A cruise ship was at the pier so we walked down to take a gander!  By the time we left it was 10 AM and  67 degrees.

Back on the Route du Fleuve, we headed east to St. Simeon to find the place we would take the ferry at 2 over to the Gaspe peninsula.  Along the way, we saw cargo ships and majestic views of the river and the mountains.  There does still seem to be a little more color in the trees with each passing day.  At the ferry we discovered that there were no reservations, only first come first serve.  We were told to be at the dock one hour before the crossing!  So we continued to drive toward la Baie Ste. Catherine where there is a confluence of the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay Rivers.  It was now 77 degrees!  After Malbaie, we passed MANY lakes, and observed mountains, hills and forests all a little inland from the St. Lawrence.  At Baie Ste. Catherine, population 197(!), we stopped at the Pointe Noire Observation Center to view the confluence.  We had hoped to see some whales there where the fresh and salt water meet.  No such luck!!!

At this point we had to head back to wait in line for the ferry.  The temperature had gone down to 66 degrees but then began to rise as we headed our of the confluence area.  In ten minutes, the temperature rose from 66 to 84 and It started to get cloudy and the temperature decreased again!!!  We got into the ferry line at 12:15 for the 2PM ferry, had lunch on the beach and WAITED!!!  We did board a little after 2, cars lining up in very narrow lanes.  The ferry ride was 65 minutes long crossing the St. Lawrence to Riviere du Loup on the Gaspe Peninsula.  We arrived at 3:15, deboarded slowly and found our hotel for the night, a Comfort Inn.  

After a stop at a supermarket for dinner supplies, we relaxed in our room while black clouds were forming!  At 6:15 it was 62 degrees and by 8 it was 51!!!!  Thunderstorms expected tonight!!!  Rain tomorrow!!!  We’ll see!

Day 13  Sept.18  Up at 8 and YUK!!  It’s blowing, 44 degrees, feels like 37 and the forecast is NOT good:  high of 52, cloudy with some rain, low 44!  Oh, well, it’s another day on our journey and the weather until today has been great!  So, after breakfast and packing the car, with the top up we left Riviere du Loup and headed off east on Rt. 132, the route that goes around the Gaspe Peninsula.

We passed more lovely homes and small towns along the St. Lawrence.  At 10:30 we were in St, Simon, a larger town than we have seen here but not as prosperous as even most of the small towns.  Now it was foggy, misty and 43 degrees as we passed mowed hayfields.  Lots of roadwork, very bumpy in sections.  We arrived in Rimouski, the regional capitol at 10:50 and stopped at Tim Horton’s for coffee at 11:15.  There were white caps and waves on the St. Lawrence.  Would love to have taken a walk on the beach!  Not today!!  In St. Flavie, we stopped at the art gallery of Marcel Gagnon and made some purchases.  We drove inland a bit through farmland, mowed fields forests and hills to St. Moise.  Now it was misty and 42 degrees with heavy mist.

 

Back to the St. Lawrence on Rt. 132 where there were waves and rough surf on the rocky beach.   We arrived in Matane at 1:30. This is an industrial city, population of 14,000.  There is a maritime tradition here with salmon fishing on the Matane River.  41 degrees now!  It’s so nasty we hate to get out of the car!  In Cap Chat at 2:30 There is a large wind farm here.  The precipitation had stopped so we decided to take a side trip to the Parc National de la Gaspesie.  We never found it!  Apparently, we were on a road that did not go to the center of the park so we turned around!  There a lot of moose signs on this road but no moose!! No precipitation bur clouds hanging on the mountains! 

We were back on Routs 132 at 4PM.  In Martre we stopped to see a light house but it was bone-chilling!  We continued to drive through small towns with a population of 100-200!  More road construction with a stop light and a timer in seconds for each lane!  Pretty desolate!  We passed some beautiful striated cliffs and in Madelaine Centre we saw another lighthouse.  We noticed that maybe it’s clearing in the distance!  In Grande Vallee we stopped at 5:45 and 43 degrees to get a photo of the town from a distance. At the town itself we stopped to get a closer photo of the church. 

We were on the Gaspe Coast at 6:20 and it was starting to get dark!  The town of Gaspe has 17 coastal villages we stopped in Riviere-au-Renard at 6:45 at the Auberge le Caribou for the night.  Nice room, reasonable price and a restaurant!    We checked in, unpacked and had a good dinner at the restaurant!  It’s now 9PM and 45 degrees!  Let’s hope tomorrow has  better weather and better roads.

Day 14 Sept. 19 Oh, boy!!!!  Raining and 46 degrees!  We were on the road at 9 with very overcast weather but not as windy as yesterday.  Today we hope to do more exploring!  In very light precipitation, we drove through Riviere le Caribou.  We have discovered that most towns here are named after the river that flows through the town!  This town has a fishing industry, mostly cod although, like Cape Coe, the cod supply is down!  We drove to the docks to see the fishing boats.  The next town, l’Anse Griffon from gris-fonds, gray seabed, not much to see!

At the next town, Cap des Rosiers, named for the wild roses that once grew here.  Rosa rugosa?  There’s a lighthouse here that is the highest lighthouse in Canada!  From there, at 9:45, we entered the Forillon National Park at the south entrance.  At Cap d’Ami, we attempted a hike to an observation point.  VERY steep climb!  After a half mile, it started to rain and we turned back!  So, we drove to the north entrance but in hard rain and showers we gave up on the park and returned to Rt. 132 where it was very nice but gray! 

Back on our route, we headed for the town of Gaspe.  The population is 15,000 but encompasses 17 coastal village and the town of Gaspe itself.  Is it clearing?  At noon we stopped in Gaspe at the Musee de la Gaspesie.  What a treat!  We had lunch, delicious grilled cheese sandwiches, before we saw the two main exhibits.  The first, Gaspasie….A grand journey, took us on a historical trip around the peninsula and showed exhibits about the economy of the Gaspesie:  fishing, logging, farming, tourism and energy.  The second detailed the life of Madame Edouard Bolduc, a very popular singer of the people in the 30s.  A movie was made about her this year entitiled “La Bolduc.”  After making some purchases, we left the museum at 1:30, walked along the Baie Gaspe on a boardwalk next to the Baie Gaspe.  No rain, only clouds!

On our way to Perce, again on Rt. 132, Peter spied a bald eagle above us!  What eyes!  By 2PM we had left the Gaspe area and were chasing the sun.  Picked up some small stones at Seal Cove and the sun came out.  At the First village in the Perce township, it was 52 degrees and sunny so we put the top down!  The road was fabulous, curvy, smooth and hilly.  In Perce itself, we were able to get a good look at the Perce Rock and took a few photos. The road continued to be great through more villages and at 3:45, we were in Cap d’Espoir, the last of the 10 villages of the town of Perce.  We stopped here for gas and supplies.  In Grande Riviere, Peter got a cappuccino that had a few drops of coffee and too much foam!  He wasn’t too happy!!!

We decided that this south coastline of the peninsula is not as dramatic as the north but beautiful in a different way, more bucolic.  After stopping at two motels that were closed for the season, at 5:45 we saw a sign for a B&B in New Carlisle, stopped, and here we are in Manoir Hamilton, built in 1852.  We are the only guests, we have a very charming and quaint room, and we will have a full breakfast in the morning!  Dinner in our room, blog writing, editing the blog 

Day 15 Sept. 20  We had a delicious breakfast in the opulent dining room of Manoir Hamilton this morning.  Nicole made us egg in a hole with eggs from her chickens out back!!!  She gave us some history of the place and all of the work she has done to it since 2004.  We left at 9:30, 46 degrees.  After a 2 mile walk on the boardwalk at the local beach, we started driving on Rt. 132 West toward the border to New Brunswick, looking for a carwash; the BMW is filthy!!  We drove down the route named here for Rene Levesque, Canadian Prime minister from 1976-1985.  He was born here in New Carlisle.  We stopped briefly in Bonaventure to see a huge native rock carved to show a woman’s head!  The sign said the rock was 450 million years old!!!  

This south side of the Gaspe Peninsula is dotted with little towns, fairly modest homes all built in the last 50 years.  Top down, at 10:30 we took a short detour to see downtown New Richmond, a homeland for Amerindians, Acadians, Loyalists, Scottish and Irish.  At the Parc de la Pointe-Taylor, we observed a dinner being served for retirees!!  We saw a Deloitte sign and took a photo for Pete!  Here, cliffs and the bay meet at a local river.   We did find a hands-free carwash; we can be proud again of our convertible! 

In the town of Maria, we stopped at Tim Horton’s at noon for coffee which Peter says is better than Dunkin Donuts coffee!  Looks like the economy in these towns is farming and fishing (salmon, lobster and mussels.  We walked a bit on the beach in Maria, saw a set-up for beach volleyball, and saw another BMW just like Peter’s only dark blue.  At 12:30, we began to see the mountains and ski areas in the distance.  This south side has more roadside rest areas than the north side as we drive through town after town with nothing between the towns! 

We arrived at Pointe a la Croix at 1:30. This is where the crossing is to Campbelton, New Brunswick.  We got a little turned around trying to find 17S to Maine!  Finally got on the right road and discovered we were now on Atlantic Time!!!  For the most part this was a great road but quite desolate!  It started to sprinkle but not enough to put the top up!  We drove south through forests, very small towns with nothing in between them but miles and miles of forests!  MANY moose signs; we still haven’t seen one! 

At 4:10, we left Canada at St. Leonard NB. Very easy crossing!  Back in the USA on Eastern Daylight Time!  We drove south on Route 1 and, in Caribou, put the top up!  Sprinkling and cool!  On the side of the road, in Westfield, Maine, we saw a HUGE field of sunflowers!  We arrived in Houlton ME, at 6:30, checked into the Shiretown Inn & Suites, had dinner at a sports pub, Downunder, just behind the motel!  Had some good pub food and didn’t have to prepare anything or clean up!  Tomorrow we’re going to drive south on Route 95 to Harwich, 430 miles!  What a trip!  Thank you for reading!  Now we have to start thinking of our next road trip!