"Merry-time" trip - days 1-4

In our quest to see as much of Canada as possible, this summer we are conquering the Maritime Provinces (which includes New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia).  We also ventured into new (to us) parts of Quebec and still have even more to see someday down the road.  I never made it to all of Texas so I suspect it will take awhile to make my way through all of Quebec as well.  P.S. Quebec is 2.2 times larger than Texas!  So, I'll be busy for quite some time.

Almost everyone has an"oh,, go see this" or "the people are so nice there" comment when I tell them where we are headed, so we are determined to pack in as much as we can.  One caveat is no more than 4 hours of driving on any one day!

Day 1 - we drove from Montreal to Riviére-du-Loup. Along the way, we stopped for a short hike that included a suspension bridge (75 feet above the river) and a beautiful waterfall, called Chutes de la Chaudiere.

Our first night, we decided to boondock... that's camping without any hookups.  Our fridge, stove and heater (yes - we actually used it briefly one night) run off propane and we have enough battery power to turn on lights.  In a pinch, we also have a generator. We found a parking spot where you can catch the ferry from Riviére-du-Loup to San Simeon.  It is part of the St. Lawrence Estuary that connects the St. Lawrence River with the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the salt water from the Atlantic mixes with the fresh water and attracts all kinds of marine life, including beluga, blue and humpback whales. We parked right along the water, walked to a nearby resto for dinner and took some great pictures of the sunset.  No whale sightings yet.

Day 2 started out a bit rainy but that did not slow us down.  We did a tour of the historic Manoir Fraser in Riviére-du-Loup before heading to the L'Isle Verte Bird Sanctuary for a short hike.  Dave tried to talk me into a bike ride but I knew it would start raining again so I didn't fall for that trick (after 34 years of marriage...I have learned a thing or two).  On to the next stop - the Fromagerie des Basques. Oh my - this was awesome! We stocked up on cheese bread, about 6 different types of cheese and 2 different flavors of cheesecake. We even got to watch them making a big batch of cheese.

On to Rimouski for a tour of the submarine HMCS Onondaga, which was really cool.  Even though it is a lot bigger than our RV, I don't think I could live in a submarine for very long. We also went to the maritime museum exhibit for the tragic story of the Empress of Ireland ship sinking, labeled Canada's Titanic. I was not familiar with this piece of history, but it was interesting and devastating, like any ship sinking.  Last stop was dinner (and campground) at Capitaine Homard (Captain Lobster) for seafood casserole and lobster bisque.

Day 3 - we crossed into New Brunswick and spent several hours at the Village Historique Acadien, which is a living museum portraying the daily lives of the Acadians from 1770 through 1949. The Acadians came to Canada from France, and after the French and Indian War, many were expelled for refusing to pledge allegiance to the British Crown. Some relocated to Maine or New Orleans, so they are the Canadian version of what you may know as Cajuns. We enjoyed talking to the people there, as they acted the parts of the different time periods.

Then we drove a little further to a small town called Caraquet. The route we took follows the Acadian Trail, where almost every home proudly displays both the Canadian flag and their Acadian flag, which is very similar to the Texas flag. Lots of red, white and blue mailboxes, garages, fence posts, stores and even some houses!

We scoped out a potential boon docking spot but were a little leery, as it was in a populated neighborhood. We decided to keep looking, but in the meantime, we ended up at the port to have a bite to eat and catch some free live music. We saw a lot of other campers in the parking lot so we were fairly certain that it was okay boondock there. While waiting for our table, we chatted politely with the couple sitting next to us. When their name was called for their table, they invited us to join them so we said ok. We had a great visit (and delicious seafood) and by the end of dinner, had exchanged contact info and they offered us a back-up overnight camping spot in their driveway, if we got kicked out of the parking lot. It turned out to be totally okay to park there overnight, but it sure was nice of them to offer. I think it’s true that New Brunswickers are some of the nicest folks around!

Day 4- started out with beautiful weather. We were headed to a place called Parlee Beach. Along the way, we made an impromptu stop at a farmer’s market. We heard some upbeat Acadian music and saw some cool arts and crafts and enjoyed just being outside.

As we pulled into Parlee Beach, we could see the clouds forming for another rain shower. I’m beginning to think that August is the rainy season here, but fortunately, it’s sporadic so we still get time to see and do lots of different things. 

That afternoon, we had planned to boondock again but decided to book a campsite instead. Just as we were getting settled in, the rain began. And what a rain it was. Not just rain, but little pea sized hail. And then bigger hail as well.. and lots more rain. We read books, took naps, colored pictures, and hung out in Gibby. Dave looked outside at one point and we realized the fire department had shown up at the camper right across the road from us. We didn’t see any fire but we had heard one bolt of lightning that sounded really close. After dinner, we were able to take a walk along the beach and enjoy the area. The next morning we saw that camper being towed away so it must have sustained some serious damage. We certainly dodged a strike that time!  We took a bike ride along the coast of the beach and then packed up for the next stop. 

Next post will include Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.  So be sure to check back in and see what we’re up to!