Day 8 - Cap-aux-Os, Gaspe, Quebec

Day 8 Blog

06-30-13

Day 8 of our tour of the Canadian Maritime Provinces started out with a beautiful sunrise witnessed by Winston at 4:15AM.  Unfortunately he had left his camera out in the heavy rain the night before, so he could not provide proof of the mirage he saw to the rest of us who don’t get up before the crows crow.  Needless to say we all witnessed the same gray clouds of the previous days when we finally arose.

This was our day to explore Parc National de Forillon on our own.  Some did ride sharing, others went on their own, and Jody went with Mangus.  The South portion of the Park was very interesting with the road going along the seashore.  It gave us the opportunity to see some commercial fisherman just off shore with seagulls all around them.  It also has a fishing pier where anyone can fish for mackerel without a fishing license.  We only saw one successful fisherman who was cleaning his catch for the day, while everyone still on the pier had nothing.  

At this location they also had the Wm. Hyman & Son Store.  This store is a historical exhibit of what the actual store had in the late 1800’s, and also had a 20 minute film that recounted the life of that time when Fishing for Cod was the main source of the economy. 

As we drove out further we also saw 2 old cemeteries that actually had a recent grave or two.  When we got to the end of the road we were treated to an excellent view of a Lighthouse out on the point. 

 




As we headed back to go to the North portion of the Park, the sun made a hole in the clouds at 2:00PM and shown through for about 10 minutes, but by 2:45 it was raining.  The North Portion of the park was mainly scenic views and the rain had stopped by the time we got back to our campsite.

By the time we got back, our Wagonmaster, Barry Klein, had already cooked some of the Lobsters for our group dinner.  They were all about 2 pound lobsters and looked outstanding when taken out of the pots and placed on the table.  

Barry even arranged for the sun to finally come out at 4:00PM so we would have no problem with our outdoor lobster feast.  Everyone really enjoyed the Lobster dinner and it was agreed to have another at one of the next campsites.  After dinner and the orientation for the next day’s travel, a campfire was available for everyone to enjoy behind rigs 18 & 19.   

Submitted by:  Phil and Cheryl Hawkins

Adventure #8

Day 7 - Travel Day to Cap-aux-Os, Gaspe, Quebec

Our travel day ranged from pouring rain, to fog rolling in and out, to peeks of sunshine, with temperatures fluctuating from 43 to 61 degrees, sometimes changing 6 or 7 degrees within several miles.  Our route took us along the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, uphill and down and a ribbon of curves through the many well-kept villages scattered here and there along the water.

A high note:  A visit to the Eole windmill farm where we were shown the world’s largest vertical wind turbine with a fine explanation of the manner in which it functioned.

Despite the less than cooperative weather we managed to get several good pictures, one of which was the unusual striations on the sheer rock outcroppings rising 50 or 60 feet above the highway that bordered the St. Lawrence.  

While the weather was less than perfect, it was a good day taking in the sights of a new area of creation.

Submitted by:  Guy and Norma Grube

Adventure #7  

                                                                                                             

Day 6 - Metis-sur-Mer, Gaspe, Quebec

June 28, 2013   Day 6

Left CAMPING ANNIE and headed Ouest toward Rimouski.   Visited the three part Visitor Center – A light house, The Empress of Ireland (museum and movie) and The Ononadaga, a submarine (tour of the vessel). Only had to say bon jour and they called for an English speaking guide.

Returned via Route 132, along the shore, homes are literally on the edge of the St. Lawrence.  Lots of artsy shops in Sainte – Flavie. 

The afternoon at Reford Gardens was spent wandering through hundreds of flowers in a variety of garden settings.

The International Garden Festival provided over twenty artists from many disciplines an opportunity to demonstrate their talent in an “on the edge” themed competition.  Visitors voted for the winning display.

Great day! Hoping for warmer days ahead!!!

Submitted by:  Bob & Pat Ferris

Adventure #6

Day 5 - Travel Day to Metis-sur-Mer, Gaspe, Quebec

Thursday, June 27, 2013 Driving Day from Quebec City KOA to Metis Sur Mer.

Left the Quebec City KOA, put on our headlights and zeroed out our odometer. 

Driving down AutoRoute 20 East on our way to Metis Sur Mer, the luscious green countryside of rolling hills made a beautiful drive.

We then stopped for lunch at mile 115.0 rest stop, where we were catching up with a lot of our group.  We then continued on to view the beautiful coastlines. 

Things turned bad when Jean and Bill,  #14,  ran into the back of a semi truck.  Their rig and truck were totaled and Jean had to go to the hospital with an ankle injury.  

About 3 hours later we were on our way to the campground again.

Arriving at Camping Annie safely was a wonderful feeling and a day that reminded us all how precious life is.    

Submitted by:  Judy and Van Douglass

Adventure #5

Day 4 - Free Day Ste-Foy, Quebec

There were various ways folks spent their free day here in Quebec.  Some took advantage of the time to get some rest and just socialize, others went out and about .  Here are a couple examples:

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Today was a FREE DAY.  Not too much exciting going on.  Cold, damp, windy rainy day. 

In the evening we played Mexican Train Dominoes with our friends

the Grubes                                                             and the Kitchens.

Submitted by:  Alice and Jim DeLong

Adventure # 4

                                                    

Wed, June 28, 2013 - Free Day Quebec City

From the KOA Campground we followed the beautiful Coastline back into Quebec City.  We parked and took the electric bus to the Parliament Hill.  Our small group of 11 took a guided English speaking tour inside of the Parliament Building.  

The building was built in 1877, in the Second Empire style, having four wings and housing the National Assembly.  We visited the National Assembly Chamber in the blue room where parliamentarians debate legislation. The Legislative Council Chamber and Speakers’ Gallery is in the red room.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely Italian Restaurant with a great décor and wonderful food.  

We walked the beautiful brick streets to do some shopping making a fun filled day for all. Then the rain and wind came and soaked us all.  

Submitted by:  Judy and Van Douglass

Adventure #5

Day 3 - Quebec City

Gaspe/Quebec City Tour Day, 6/25/2013:

Boarded bus at about 8 AM.  The day was a fun filled, and interesting day. The tour guide was very informative regarding Quebec City history.

The interesting parts of the tour were, lunch at Montmorency Falls.  We had salmon or chicken that was pre ordered.  

After lunch everyone went on a stroll down the falls path that gave you a breath taking view of the falls.  It was probably 3 hundred feet to the first observation point.  The falls are magnificent.

We also went to Alber Giles copper art Works Gallery, where the group saw how the copper designs were made. A very skilled craft.

Also interesting was the Saint-Anne Beaupre Basilica Church. A very large and old church. There were many locations of praying rooms. Also had to go down to the lower floor to see everything.

Arrived back at the campground a little after 6 PM.

Submitted by:  

Janet and Ken Cerato #3

Day 2 - Travel Day to Quebec

Today was our first travel day on the caravan.   It was warm and muggy this morning, early.

All the caravan members were making preparations to leave.  Spence had to measure all the rigs while they were hooked up to their toweds, or trailers in order to make certain the ferry manifest was correct.

We passed through scenic small towns, river corridors, some construction, and saw lots of motorcycles going somewhere unknown.  We fueled up in Jackman where we saw Phil and Cheryl Hawkins doing the same thing.  There was a lot of congestion with the motorcycle traffic in the station, and Cheryl had to go ask several bikers if they could move their bikes so Phil could negotiate out of the station.  Looked like everyone was very cooperative and soon they were on their way. 

We decided to stop for lunch at “The Falls” rest area, about 7 miles before the border crossing.  We wanted to make certain that what we were planning to eat for lunch was not confiscated by the border patrol.   It is a nice little falls.  We enjoyed the stop.

The border crossing was actually very easy.  The line was long, but moved very fast.  The border guard was actually very pleasant, asked minimal questions, and sent us on our way with a smile.  Whew!  We hear that everyone had pretty much the same experience today.

Not long after arriving at the KOA Quebec, it began to thunderstorm.   However, since there was a travel briefing at 7pm we brave souls darted between the raindrops to the meeting room.   

George and Winifred Meiser  can be seen hurrying along, while Sandy and Gunter Oeser have just made it to the door.

After the travel briefing, Madi  passed Mo the monkey on to Jan Holter for her non stop help yesterday at Orientation, dinner and clean-up. 

Scrumptious chocolate chip maple bread pudding topped with bananas and banana liqueur sauce and whip cream was our reward for braving the elements.. Thanks Terry!

Submitted by:  Spence and Madi Schaaf
Adventure #2