Saturday – September 16 – This morning was completely overcast and cloudy so again we decided not to try Mt. Washington. Instead we went to The Flume at Franconia State Park and really enjoyed it and bonus – the sun came out and the sky cleared off when we got there. It is a 2 mile walk to tour the whole area with lots of ups and downs and lots of stairs so good exercise.
The Flume Gorge is a natural gorge extending 800’ at the base of Mt. Liberty. The walls rise to a height of 70 – 90’ and vary in width from 12 – 20’. There is a boardwalk through the gorge and it was very pretty with lots of little waterfalls and water tumbling over the rocks. We also walked across the Sentinel Pine Bridge which is a covered bridge sitting on a giant pine whose trunk bridges the river. From the bridge you can see the Pool, which is 40’ deep and 150’ wide and is surrounded by cliffs 130’ high.
After that we drove back to Littleton and then on home, all in all a very nice day, The tops of the mountains were still shrouded when we came back but we are hoping that the weather forecast for tomorrow is right – hot and sunny. At least it has been warm the last few days even though overcast.
Friday – September 15 – Today was a so-so day, overcast in the morning then cloudy/sunny in the afternoon – not the day to do Mt. Washington. We drove a loop through the White Mountain National Park and stopped in North Conway for lunch and toured some shops but most everything was very expensive.
The countryside is beautiful and the trees are starting to turn so it is quite pretty. We spent most of the day touring and really enjoyed it.
Thanks to all who called and sent e-mails wishing me a happy birthday, it was good to hear from all of you. We had a nice lunch in North Conway but didn’t feel like going out for dinner and there isn’t much around here for restaurants, you have to drive a fair ways. We are saving ourselves for a good seafood dinner in Connecticut.
The countryside is beautiful and the trees are starting to turn so it is quite pretty. We spent most of the day touring and really enjoyed it.
Thanks to all who called and sent e-mails wishing me a happy birthday, it was good to hear from all of you. We had a nice lunch in North Conway but didn’t feel like going out for dinner and there isn’t much around here for restaurants, you have to drive a fair ways. We are saving ourselves for a good seafood dinner in Connecticut.
Thursday – September 14 – Well, the weather forecast was right for today, a cloudy, overcast day with occasional drizzle but no real rain
We left Levis and took Interstate 20 for a bit then took a secondary road to pick up Interstate 55 just north of Sherbrooke. It was a nice drive and pretty scenery. We got to Twin Mountain Motor Court and RV Park about 3:30 and it is quite a nice park with fairly level sites. The WiFi is pretty sporadic but I did manage to download my e-mail but am having problems after dinner trying to log on. Maybe if I wait a while I will have luck after everyone goes to bed.
Tomorrow is supposed to be overcast but nice for Saturday and Sunday, sure hope so as we want to do Mt. Washington but it has to be a nice day to make it worthwhile.
We left Levis and took Interstate 20 for a bit then took a secondary road to pick up Interstate 55 just north of Sherbrooke. It was a nice drive and pretty scenery. We got to Twin Mountain Motor Court and RV Park about 3:30 and it is quite a nice park with fairly level sites. The WiFi is pretty sporadic but I did manage to download my e-mail but am having problems after dinner trying to log on. Maybe if I wait a while I will have luck after everyone goes to bed.
Tomorrow is supposed to be overcast but nice for Saturday and Sunday, sure hope so as we want to do Mt. Washington but it has to be a nice day to make it worthwhile.
Wednesday – September 13 – Today was another nice sunny day. I did some laundry and cleaning this morning and John washed the truck (now we can be assured that it will rain as forecast!). We went for a bit of a drive, fueled up for tomorrow, then came back and John got us hooked up to leave in the morning (just in case it is raining in the morning) and I got as much road ready inside as I could.
We have been listening since early this afternoon to CBC about the shootings at Dawson College today in Montreal – it is really distressing to think that there are people out there who could do something like this. At this point we aren’t sure how many have been fatally wounded but it sounds like at least one – very sad and how traumatic for those there at the time!! You have to wonder what would possess people to do something like that.
We have really enjoyed Quebec and it is on our list for a return visit.
We have been listening since early this afternoon to CBC about the shootings at Dawson College today in Montreal – it is really distressing to think that there are people out there who could do something like this. At this point we aren’t sure how many have been fatally wounded but it sounds like at least one – very sad and how traumatic for those there at the time!! You have to wonder what would possess people to do something like that.
We have really enjoyed Quebec and it is on our list for a return visit.
Tuesday – September 12 – Today was another beautiful sunny day and warmer than yesterday so was a perfect day to go back over to Quebec. When we went into the office to get the ferry passes there was a couple from Maine there getting passes and it ended up we gave them a ride to the ferry as they have a Class C with no towed so it would have been expensive for them to go in and park (if there were even any large parking spots left).
We went to Nortre Dame Cathedral then to the American/French Museum (thanks Pat for mentioning it). We really enjoyed the museum and spent a long time there, then went back down to the lower old town and had a late lunch. We got the 4:00 ferry back, went to the grocery store then on home.
So far we are enjoying our trip and are having a wonderful time and are finding this is a good time to travel as it isn’t too busy. The park here is working on their WiFi, we thought we would be connected today but it is still not working so hopefully tomorrow. Tonight I could download e-mail but not send, but that is a start – enjoyed your e-mail Kel and glad Derrick is getting such glowing remarks from his teachers.
We went to Nortre Dame Cathedral then to the American/French Museum (thanks Pat for mentioning it). We really enjoyed the museum and spent a long time there, then went back down to the lower old town and had a late lunch. We got the 4:00 ferry back, went to the grocery store then on home.
So far we are enjoying our trip and are having a wonderful time and are finding this is a good time to travel as it isn’t too busy. The park here is working on their WiFi, we thought we would be connected today but it is still not working so hopefully tomorrow. Tonight I could download e-mail but not send, but that is a start – enjoyed your e-mail Kel and glad Derrick is getting such glowing remarks from his teachers.
Monday – September 11 – Today was a beautiful sunny day but cool, the temperature never got over 18 but as long as the sun is shining we don’t mind the cool.
We decided to drive north on the south shore and what a beautiful drive along the St. Lawrence River with the river on one side and rolling farm land on the other side. The trees are starting to change so there was also some pretty colours. We went through numerous quaint little towns with big beautiful churches in the middle of town and you could see the spires a couple of miles away. There were some beautiful homes but not the big splashy ones like outside of Ottawa, and again a lot of them had the tin rooves and almost all the houses have porches. We made many stops and really enjoyed the day and scenery.
We stopped in Montmagny for lunch and I again had French Onion Soup (so did John) – might as well enjoy it while we are here! We have found all the people very good and helpful and almost all of them are bilingual so have not run into any language problems. The fellow we had for our waiter at lunch today was fairly good in English and we tried some French so had no problem and I think he appreciated us trying to use some French. Yesterday John had Poutinne for lunch – it doesn’t appeal to me but he enjoyed it, but today a couple of men beside us had Poutinne and it looked better there than what John had yesterday.
We came back to Levis and visited the motel with internet and again I managed to get my e-mail and post my blog. They are working on the internet here, could we be so lucky as to have it by tomorrow? Once I get it in the trailer I will post some pictures but it takes too long when I am sitting in a motel parking lot!
We decided to drive north on the south shore and what a beautiful drive along the St. Lawrence River with the river on one side and rolling farm land on the other side. The trees are starting to change so there was also some pretty colours. We went through numerous quaint little towns with big beautiful churches in the middle of town and you could see the spires a couple of miles away. There were some beautiful homes but not the big splashy ones like outside of Ottawa, and again a lot of them had the tin rooves and almost all the houses have porches. We made many stops and really enjoyed the day and scenery.
We stopped in Montmagny for lunch and I again had French Onion Soup (so did John) – might as well enjoy it while we are here! We have found all the people very good and helpful and almost all of them are bilingual so have not run into any language problems. The fellow we had for our waiter at lunch today was fairly good in English and we tried some French so had no problem and I think he appreciated us trying to use some French. Yesterday John had Poutinne for lunch – it doesn’t appeal to me but he enjoyed it, but today a couple of men beside us had Poutinne and it looked better there than what John had yesterday.
We came back to Levis and visited the motel with internet and again I managed to get my e-mail and post my blog. They are working on the internet here, could we be so lucky as to have it by tomorrow? Once I get it in the trailer I will post some pictures but it takes too long when I am sitting in a motel parking lot!
Sunday – September 10 – Today we woke up to bright sunshine but it was cold, only about 6. We left about 9 and it was up to 10 by then so we hoped it would warm up even more during the day, which it did a bit but never got really warm and by early afternoon there were lots of clouds again. At least there was no rain.
We got the 10 o’clock ferry over to Quebec and picked up a shuttle bus which took us to where our tour began. It was a good tour and we saw the highlights and learned a lot of history of Quebec. After the tour we went back to Chateau Frontenanc and wandered around and through it, then went back to the old city along the waterfront and walked around and stopped at an outdoor bistro for lunch, wandered through a couple of shops – very expensive and toured an old home which showed the furniture etc. of the 1700’s.
When we got back I did laundry, another one of those tasks which have to be done. It was $1.00 to wash and $0.25 for 5 minutes to dry and it took time to dry but was still a good deal.
We got the 10 o’clock ferry over to Quebec and picked up a shuttle bus which took us to where our tour began. It was a good tour and we saw the highlights and learned a lot of history of Quebec. After the tour we went back to Chateau Frontenanc and wandered around and through it, then went back to the old city along the waterfront and walked around and stopped at an outdoor bistro for lunch, wandered through a couple of shops – very expensive and toured an old home which showed the furniture etc. of the 1700’s.
When we got back I did laundry, another one of those tasks which have to be done. It was $1.00 to wash and $0.25 for 5 minutes to dry and it took time to dry but was still a good deal.
Saturday – September 9 – Well, what a MISERABLE day this was. It started raining during the night and never let up till around 2:30 this afternoon – a good reading day.
We went out about 3 to see if we could find someplace with internet access, the woman at the office had given me an address for an internet café and when we found it what a dump! The windows were covered over and it was full of men and boys playing computer games, we went in and then back out real fast!! Here we were expecting a café like we found on Hatteras where we could have a coffee and use our computer, this one was sure not the place for that! We finally found a motel with WiFi and pulled in behind the office and spent a bit of time downloading the e-mail and doing my blog for the last 2 days. Heaven knows when I will get it done again!
We picked up a few groceries then came back and made dinner – tonight was an inside one, I made Roman Holiday and we have enough left over for another night. This evening will be another reading evening as with only two TV channels there probably isn’t a lot to watch. Just hope that tomorrow is nice for our tour of the old city.
We went out about 3 to see if we could find someplace with internet access, the woman at the office had given me an address for an internet café and when we found it what a dump! The windows were covered over and it was full of men and boys playing computer games, we went in and then back out real fast!! Here we were expecting a café like we found on Hatteras where we could have a coffee and use our computer, this one was sure not the place for that! We finally found a motel with WiFi and pulled in behind the office and spent a bit of time downloading the e-mail and doing my blog for the last 2 days. Heaven knows when I will get it done again!
We picked up a few groceries then came back and made dinner – tonight was an inside one, I made Roman Holiday and we have enough left over for another night. This evening will be another reading evening as with only two TV channels there probably isn’t a lot to watch. Just hope that tomorrow is nice for our tour of the old city.
Friday – September 8 – Well, the nice weather was short lived, we woke up this morning to cloud and scattered showers. I turned on the computer after I had my shower this morning and had an internet connection so managed to download my e-mail but it wasn’t strong enough to do my blog and then when we got home tonight there was nothing.
It finally cleared up about 11:30 so we decided to head out to St. Anne de Beaupre. It was a nice drive and the traffic wasn’t too bad, also the weather cleared and warmed up so it turned out to be a nice afternoon. St. Anne de Beaupre is absolutely gorgeous and we spent a couple of hours touring the basilica and surroundings. I don’t really remember a lot about it from the last time I was there but that was 50+ years ago!
We then toured around Mont St. Anne which was a gorgeous drive, but very narrow roads, then came back towards Quebec on Rue Royale for a while. The homes were gorgeous, a mixture of old and new and I was amazed at the number of homes which still have lace curtains with pull down shades - I can’t remember when I last saw those in Ontario. The favourite roof in the rural area is tin and there are many beautiful shades, we saw one house which was bright yellow with a bright blue tin roof and brown trim – a bit too colourful! Also, most houses have porches, a lot made of fancy ironwork and in places the porches just about hung over the road. All in all it was a pretty drive. We drove by Montmorency Falls and saw them from the road but it was getting too late to stop when we went by on our way home so will have to go back there again.
We were looking for diesel to feed the truck and at every single gas station the price of gas was $0.984 and diesel varied between $1.059 and 1.099, no bargains to be had here!
After we got back and were ready to barbeque it started to pour, fortunately it is coming from the west and we are facing east so John was okay under the awning and it didn’t last too long – just off and on during the evening. On the way out this morning we stopped and checked the weather and tomorrow is supposed to be rainy but nice on Sunday so we booked a tour of old Quebec for Sunday, now we just have to hope the weather forecast was right!
It finally cleared up about 11:30 so we decided to head out to St. Anne de Beaupre. It was a nice drive and the traffic wasn’t too bad, also the weather cleared and warmed up so it turned out to be a nice afternoon. St. Anne de Beaupre is absolutely gorgeous and we spent a couple of hours touring the basilica and surroundings. I don’t really remember a lot about it from the last time I was there but that was 50+ years ago!
We then toured around Mont St. Anne which was a gorgeous drive, but very narrow roads, then came back towards Quebec on Rue Royale for a while. The homes were gorgeous, a mixture of old and new and I was amazed at the number of homes which still have lace curtains with pull down shades - I can’t remember when I last saw those in Ontario. The favourite roof in the rural area is tin and there are many beautiful shades, we saw one house which was bright yellow with a bright blue tin roof and brown trim – a bit too colourful! Also, most houses have porches, a lot made of fancy ironwork and in places the porches just about hung over the road. All in all it was a pretty drive. We drove by Montmorency Falls and saw them from the road but it was getting too late to stop when we went by on our way home so will have to go back there again.
We were looking for diesel to feed the truck and at every single gas station the price of gas was $0.984 and diesel varied between $1.059 and 1.099, no bargains to be had here!
After we got back and were ready to barbeque it started to pour, fortunately it is coming from the west and we are facing east so John was okay under the awning and it didn’t last too long – just off and on during the evening. On the way out this morning we stopped and checked the weather and tomorrow is supposed to be rainy but nice on Sunday so we booked a tour of old Quebec for Sunday, now we just have to hope the weather forecast was right!
Thursday – September 7 – Today was a gorgeous, sunny day, it was so nice to see the sun again. We left Recreationland about 9 a.m. and arrived at Camping Transit in Levis about 3 p.m. – we came via the north shore on Highways 50 and 40. The trip was good, the roads weren’t too bad and the couple of bits of construction didn’t slow us down at all. One thing that we noticed was a very visible police presence on the interstates and there were very few cars doing more than 110 km/h – quite nice compared to the 401!
We talked to the couple beside us, who are from Port Perry, and they came on Highway 20 through Montreal and said it was terrible – lots of construction and the road was very bad, so guess we took the better way which was the shortest way from Rockland. That is also what Kel & Tim said about 20 when they came that way going to Maine.
We got set up and relaxed, will start touring tomorrow. The park here is really nice, big sites and clean, beautiful pool etc. but they don’t have WiFi like they advertised. I am not sure if they don’t have it or if it is waiting for a repairman, whatever they have isn’t working at the moment – grrrrr! We will have to find a café with internet so we can stay in touch and my blog won’t be published every day as hoped.
We talked to the couple beside us, who are from Port Perry, and they came on Highway 20 through Montreal and said it was terrible – lots of construction and the road was very bad, so guess we took the better way which was the shortest way from Rockland. That is also what Kel & Tim said about 20 when they came that way going to Maine.
We got set up and relaxed, will start touring tomorrow. The park here is really nice, big sites and clean, beautiful pool etc. but they don’t have WiFi like they advertised. I am not sure if they don’t have it or if it is waiting for a repairman, whatever they have isn’t working at the moment – grrrrr! We will have to find a café with internet so we can stay in touch and my blog won’t be published every day as hoped.
Wednesday – September 6 – Woke up to heavy fog this morning but it was gone by the time we headed into the city. We went back downtown and went along the Sparks Street Mall – what a disappointment – half the stores are closed, as in empty, and we sure didn’t’ see anything that was interesting and warranted a walk through.
We then went over to the Parliament Buildings and took a tour as we hadn’t done that on Friday, just the Peace Tower. It was interesting and we had a really good guide so found it very worthwhile. The library is absolutely stunning, it is the only part of the original parliament buildings as the rest burnt down in a fire in 1917. The library has been restored to how it originally was and is most impressive. The interior of the parliament buildings has some wonderful architecture and some very beautiful ceilings. In the Senate Chamber there are some paintings of the First World War from the Lord Beaverbrook collection which were beautiful.
Our impression of Ottawa being tourist friendly certainly didn’t change today. I asked a fellow at the Parliament Buildings about a washroom and the directions I got took me nowhere but to a lot of bushes, today I wasn’t in the mood to use them!! It was the same fellow whose sign for tours pointed to a restricted entrance and when John pointed this out to him there was a bit of a snicker and he moved the sign, a bit, to sort of point in the right direction – real helpful!!
We went from the Parliament Bldgs. to the Byward Market and picked up some more veggies, etc. We had a Beavertail at the market, it’s the first time we’ve had one, good but sweet! On the way home we stopped at a grocery store and got the rest of the stuff we needed so now we are stocked up for a few days. Also fed the truck then came back and John got us hooked up so we are ready to go in the morning. I did a load of laundry – laundry was a great deal, $1.75 to wash and dry one load.
The weather has been so, so this week, not a lot of rain but very overcast so we have our fingers crossed that it will improve when we get to Quebec City.
We then went over to the Parliament Buildings and took a tour as we hadn’t done that on Friday, just the Peace Tower. It was interesting and we had a really good guide so found it very worthwhile. The library is absolutely stunning, it is the only part of the original parliament buildings as the rest burnt down in a fire in 1917. The library has been restored to how it originally was and is most impressive. The interior of the parliament buildings has some wonderful architecture and some very beautiful ceilings. In the Senate Chamber there are some paintings of the First World War from the Lord Beaverbrook collection which were beautiful.
Our impression of Ottawa being tourist friendly certainly didn’t change today. I asked a fellow at the Parliament Buildings about a washroom and the directions I got took me nowhere but to a lot of bushes, today I wasn’t in the mood to use them!! It was the same fellow whose sign for tours pointed to a restricted entrance and when John pointed this out to him there was a bit of a snicker and he moved the sign, a bit, to sort of point in the right direction – real helpful!!
We went from the Parliament Bldgs. to the Byward Market and picked up some more veggies, etc. We had a Beavertail at the market, it’s the first time we’ve had one, good but sweet! On the way home we stopped at a grocery store and got the rest of the stuff we needed so now we are stocked up for a few days. Also fed the truck then came back and John got us hooked up so we are ready to go in the morning. I did a load of laundry – laundry was a great deal, $1.75 to wash and dry one load.
The weather has been so, so this week, not a lot of rain but very overcast so we have our fingers crossed that it will improve when we get to Quebec City.
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