Baby Steps

After months of isolation time doing cooking demos, Zoom meetings, and YouTube exercises in the living room, it is finally time to enjoy the great outdoors.  David and I had a successful one night camping trip in June, so we were emboldened to venture out into the big, scary world again this month.  We actually spent a total of three nights away from home!  I must admit that having my own mobile bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom certainly makes Covid traveling feel much safer!

This time, we went out to the Eastern Townships of Quebec.  Our first stop was in the town of Bromont at the ski hill, which actually houses a water park in the summertime.  Since we were not quite ready to go swimming with a bunch of strangers, and it was too hot to go bike riding,  we walked around for a bit, and then headed for the historic tour in the Old Town instead. Many of the current restaurants and shops there are refurbished dwellings from the original settlers. This area was settled by John Savage in the latter half of the 18th century.  Bromont was originally named West Shefford, and many of the signs still reflect the previous name.  Anglican church services were held in Savage's home until a wooden chapel was built in 1821. The replacement church, from 1889, still stands. Each of the historic buildings has a detailed history of the families who lived there.  It piques my curiosity to think about who the original occupants were of the 93 year old house that we now own.

It is not surprising how many people own horses in this beautiful, rolling country side.  Why - they even have social distancing measurements using graphics of a horse - something that everyone can relate to!

Our first night was spent in the town of Dunham in the driveway of the parents of friends of ours.  They have quite a bit of land with a very large vegetable garden, green house full of tomatoes, barn, workshop with every tool you can imagine, horses, 4-wheelers for cruising around the property, and, of course, a simply magnificent view.

We visited an alpaca farm and got to see twenty of the new baby alpacas that were born this spring.  Alpacas are my new favorite animals. They are so docile and have the sweetest expressions and big eyes!  They are very social creatures, constantly following each other around and staying close together. The store had lots of yarn to buy, but we decided to get gloves that would be ready to wear as soon as we need them rather than waiting for me to try to knit something!

Lunch stop was at the Marais de la Riviere aux Cerises, (Cherry River Swamp) in a town called Magog. This is an impressive natural habitat of woodlands, marshes, and swamps, home to hundreds of birds, mammals and amphibians.  The interpretation center and kayaks were not operating, but we found a nice trail for a short hike.

Our next stop was the Abbaye de St-Benoit-du-Lac, a Benedictine monastery and cheese factory! In addition to the fact that I love cheese, and this was recommended by my friend Susan, I discovered that in order to get there, you have to pass through the town of Austin!  Imagine that?  Austin - only 1.5 hours away from Montreal! Since I can't get to Austin Texas at the moment, I would have to settle for Austin, Quebec; and so, off we went. It was a bittersweet moment as I truly do miss not being able to visit my family and friends in Texas.

The grounds around the monastery were beautiful with a wonderful view that the monks have been enjoying since two brothers started it in 1912. They have been supporting themselves through their cheese making since 1943. Of course, we bought several different kinds of cheese to sample.

We camped that night at a charming campground in the nearby town of West Brome.  All of these towns are very quaint and close in proximity. The campground provided us with several pages of Covid protocols, but we are lucky to not have to worry about using public spaces.  I was surprised that the campsites on both sides of us were empty. Maybe because we were there on a Wednesday night?  We took a short hike around a small lake, cooked dinner, and even had a campfire.  The night time temperatures were perfect!  The trade-off for not being able to use the van in the winter (although Chris has not given up trying to convince me otherwise), is to have quite pleasant summertime camping, without needing to turn on the air conditioner.

The next day we met up with some friends who recently moved to the town of Knowlton.  We took a long, leisurely walk around Lac Brome, went to a pottery store, and even saw some longhorn cattle along the way!  This really was my Texas Tour of the Eastern Townships, including David yelling "Hey Bevo" * out the window as we drove by!

Our last outing was my first-time ever to go blueberry picking!  I may have gotten a little carried away when I agreed to the large basket!  I didn't realize what five pounds of blueberries looked like until we were done.  Not to worry, I have already started accumulating recipes and have frozen a big bag for future use!

Now that we are back home, we are continuing work on the never-ending list of small tasks to fix up the house. It's amazing what a heat gun, a sander, fresh caulk, and some paint can do to spruce things up!

Till the next time... everybody stay safe out there!  Wear your mask, be patient, and try to practice kindness. 


* In case some of you are not familiar... Bevo is the name of the University of Texas longhorn cow mascot!