This may be a really long blog post, as so much has been going on in the past 2 months. So, feel free to go get a cup of coffee or just get comfy!
Dave and I went to the nearby Quinn Farm for a day of strawberry picking! That's another first for me! We really stocked up and I have found a wonderful new strawberry muffin recipe!
The big news! It looks like we may be in Quebec for awhile, because on May 27th, David and I closed on a new place in Montreal. Yep - we now have property in Canada! We are the proud owners of the upper portion of a 1927 duplex, located in a neighborhood called Monkland Village, in the borough of CDN/NDG (That is the short name for Cote-de-Neige/Notre-Dame-de-Grace). We officially moved in on June 9th! Email or text me if you want my new address!
We got a lot of boxes unpacked in 1 short week, before we hit the road in Gibby. But before we took off, David and Chris made some awesome "mods" to the RV. (Chris is the first person we met when we got to Quebec and he has been keeping Gibby at his house during the summers). It really bugs me having to store the RV for so many months of the year, so we were eager to get on the road.
The ultimate goal was cousin Vanessa's wedding in Omaha, Nebraska. Since that is quite a long way, we made it a real road trip! We spent the first two nights at Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side.
We saw the fireworks and the Falls all lit up at night. It was truly amazing. I have always wanted to see the Falls and I highly recommend it to anyone who has never been.
We went back again the next day and did the tour called Journey Behind the Falls. This gave us an incredible view, up close and personal, complete with yellow rain slickers.
We had lunch at the top of the Skylon Tower, which provided an amazing view from up above. You can see the river up above the falls - it's a great perspective. It is really difficult to figure out which pictures are the best... I have sooo many!
We also spent some time in Niagara on the Lake, a much less commercial community, about 30 minutes from Niagara. (thanks for that tip, Sandra!) We did some window shopping and strolled along the main street. I am convinced that town is the ice cream capital of Canada. Seems like every other store was an ice cream shop!
We did a historical tour, saw a few other sites and then continued on towards Nebraska. Since we won't make it to Camp Lewis in Colorado again this year, it was great to see lots of family there. We had a most excellent camping spot in Carrie and Mark's driveway! Vanessa and Dan looked so happy and we had a blast celebrating with everyone that could make it. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures from the wedding - too busy dancing and enjoying the event, but I got a good group shot the next day at breakfast.
After we left Nebraska, we stopped in Sandusky Ohio to see my longtime friend Julie.
She just bought a summer home there. Sandusky is a great little town, right on
Lake Erie. We hit a lot of the hotspots (Tofts, Cameo Pizza, Marblehead Lighthouse) - she really knows her way around since she spent her summers there as a kid.
At the lighthouse, I got a kick out of hearing them say
"you can almost see Canada from here".
We finally headed back to Quebec, with one more stop along the way.
There is a place along the St. Lawrence River, straddling the border between the US and Canada called 1000 Islands -
where the salad dressing came from - for real!
It actually consists of more like 1800 islands, but apparently there are some conflicts over the technical description of an island. Anyway - we camped there the last night and did a boat tour the next morning. Here is a shot of a place called Boldt Castle, which is being restored after having been abandoned. Construction began in 1900 by millionaire George Boldt, but when his wife passed away, he never completed it. Thanks to the Thousand Island Bridge Authority, you can now take tours of the castle. We merely viewed it from the water, as we were ready to get back to our new house and kitty cats.
Once home, we scrambled to get more boxes unpacked and some artwork on the walls before Danny and Maya came to visit.
In five short days, we managed to eat at six different restaurants/coffee shops, hike up Mount Royal, take a walk along the Lachine canal, attend two nights of the International fireworks displays, visit the
Notre Dame Basilica and light show, wander around the Atwater Market, hang out at the Old Port, do some shopping and even spend some time just relaxing at the house.
It was quite the treat to spend time with them and
get to share some of our new favorite places.
Dave and I went to the nearby Quinn Farm for a day of strawberry picking! That's another first for me! We really stocked up and I have found a wonderful new strawberry muffin recipe!
We got a lot of boxes unpacked in 1 short week, before we hit the road in Gibby. But before we took off, David and Chris made some awesome "mods" to the RV. (Chris is the first person we met when we got to Quebec and he has been keeping Gibby at his house during the summers). It really bugs me having to store the RV for so many months of the year, so we were eager to get on the road.
The ultimate goal was cousin Vanessa's wedding in Omaha, Nebraska. Since that is quite a long way, we made it a real road trip! We spent the first two nights at Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side.
We went back again the next day and did the tour called Journey Behind the Falls. This gave us an incredible view, up close and personal, complete with yellow rain slickers.
We also spent some time in Niagara on the Lake, a much less commercial community, about 30 minutes from Niagara. (thanks for that tip, Sandra!) We did some window shopping and strolled along the main street. I am convinced that town is the ice cream capital of Canada. Seems like every other store was an ice cream shop!
We did a historical tour, saw a few other sites and then continued on towards Nebraska. Since we won't make it to Camp Lewis in Colorado again this year, it was great to see lots of family there. We had a most excellent camping spot in Carrie and Mark's driveway! Vanessa and Dan looked so happy and we had a blast celebrating with everyone that could make it. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures from the wedding - too busy dancing and enjoying the event, but I got a good group shot the next day at breakfast.
After we left Nebraska, we stopped in Sandusky Ohio to see my longtime friend Julie.
She just bought a summer home there. Sandusky is a great little town, right on
Lake Erie. We hit a lot of the hotspots (Tofts, Cameo Pizza, Marblehead Lighthouse) - she really knows her way around since she spent her summers there as a kid.
At the lighthouse, I got a kick out of hearing them say
"you can almost see Canada from here".
We finally headed back to Quebec, with one more stop along the way.
There is a place along the St. Lawrence River, straddling the border between the US and Canada called 1000 Islands -
where the salad dressing came from - for real!
In five short days, we managed to eat at six different restaurants/coffee shops, hike up Mount Royal, take a walk along the Lachine canal, attend two nights of the International fireworks displays, visit the
Notre Dame Basilica and light show, wander around the Atwater Market, hang out at the Old Port, do some shopping and even spend some time just relaxing at the house.
It was quite the treat to spend time with them and
get to share some of our new favorite places.
Stay tuned... I am trying to get this posted quickly before we leave in about 1 week for another long road trip - out East - to the Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island). Lots more new adventures ahead! Thanks for dropping by my blog!
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