Days 29 and 30 Forillon National Park to Perce

Sunday July 22

We left Forillon National Park and in a mere couple of hours arrived at the town of Perce.  It is the first rather “touristy” town we have seen with its main attraction a huge, beautiful rock with an arch just off shore, and a nearby small island that houses the world’s largest gannet colony.

view in daytime from parking spot ( campsite )

We set up our campsite at Camping Du Phare Perce (I snicker when I use the word “campsite” where “parking spot” would really be more fitting).  Anyway, we were overlooking the bay, and this beautiful Perce Rock, and Bonaventure Island.  There were many excursion boats shuttling back and forth across the bay.  The view was terrific but we had to stand/sit out back to see it. 

After we arrived we took a quick walk around town, checked out some shops and I managed to find the exact shawl in the exact color I have been hunting for, for nearly a year!  Norman is so relieved I don’t have to drag him into another store for “the hunt”. 

 The “gifts” in the souvenir shops were mostly made in China, and in our opinion, the local artisans were a little lacking in creativity.  The only object of art was the carving of gannets.  All looked the same, literally, and all pretty plain.  We purchased a keychain to add to our collection of “travel ornaments” for our Christmas tree, saved a hundred dollars, and called it a day! 

Monday July 23^rd

4:00 am photo

I woke up at 4am and dragged myself out of bed to take advantage of the sunrise right out my back door. I had not slept well during the night, so it was particularly difficult. Norman wanted no part of it. 

  I got dressed, stepped outside and found that there were clouds at the horizon, so the experience was pretty disappointing.  I hopefully will get many more chances. 

4:45 AM photo

At a more reasonable hour (9am) we got ready, got our hiking gear out again, packed another picnic and drove to the dock for our day’s adventure.  We boarded the shuttle/tour boat with about 50 other people, and spent the next 1 ½ hours sailing around the giant rock getting a little history about it in both French and English, and were dropped off at the island.  

Back side of Perce Rock as seen from boat

Lunch spot on Bonaventure Island

This shows about 5% of their nesting site

We hiked through the woods opting for the more difficult trail (and away from the crowds) to the famous gannet colony.  It was pretty hot and humid in the woods, and I found it quite a challenge - I must have overdone the exercise thing (not surprising) in the past week.  I was wondering when it would catch up to me.    After a few miles uphill we stopped for lunch at a great spot overlooking the cliffs listening to the birds call below us.  The sky was still so blue, and we could see the tour boats circling the island with other visitors.

As we marched on (and on) we could hear the roar of the gannets.  Then the smell hit us.  Can you imagine what 70,000 pairs of gannets and their young (alive and dead) smell like? 

Northern Gannets up close and personal

Gannets are really gorgeous.  The have a six foot wingspan, mate for life, and return every year to the same nest to have a single egg.  There are a few main colonies in the world which are in New Zealand with 6500 pair (which we previously visited),   Iceland, the British Isles, and here we hit the jackpot (or crap pot) with 70,000 pair!

Another qlimpse

We stayed for about an hour watching them mate, dance, feed, court, and dive-bomb for fish (not necessarily in that order).  

The flies were driving me crazy, so we headed back down the other part of the island stopping and climbing (more stairs) to an observation deck overlooking a blanket of white gannets as far as you could see!  Wow!  

We hiked what we both agreed felt like a million miles (it was only 5 ½) and waited for the shuttle boat to take our beaten bodies back. 

That night we had the best meal of the trip, so far, at a tiny little restaurant called Maison Mathilde.   

We ordered (entirely in French of course) the Fisherman’s Treasure for two that started with cream of asparagus soup and included not only a whole boiled lobster but half a king crab, scallops, shrimp, cod, sole, cod cheeks (whatever that is) trout, salmon and it came with rice, asparagus and peas!  The chocolate lava cake was to die for!  We took enough home for another meal, and left with a big smile and full tummies.

Days 26-28 Forillon National Park

Thursday July 19th

After we packed up with the increased efficiency of a well-oiled machine, we were very excited to head toward Forillon National Park, at the most northeastern tip of the Gaspe Peninsula. Here we will get to do lots more outdoor stuff.  

We stopped along the way for provisions.  Fresh fish (yummm – definitely not like the fish you get in Florida), general groceries and the most important – gas. 

This part of Canada is very beautiful.  Little quaint coastal towns on the base of the mountains to our left, then on the opposite side of the street the mountain range shoots nearly straight up. The rock formations were fascinating - you could see where the earth moved millions of years ago - where’s a geologist when you need one?   I would love to know more, it fascinates me.

MapQuest told us it would be about a 3 hour easy ride, but in fact took us about 5 hours including our stop for lunch in the RV. It was so much more mountainous than we expected driving along the shore.  Norm was exhausted.  It was pretty unnerving to be driving down grades as steep 17 percent!  (That would be scary in a car – let alone an RV hauling a car).  The RV took it like a dream, although there were a couple of times our speed was reduced to 35mph during the insanely steep climbs.  We didn’t feel badly because we were passing some other trucks that were going even slower! It will be interesting to see our mileage on this leg of the trip with all those hills.

  

Rainy, but still beautiful

It was pouring rain when we arrived, but we quickly backed into our rather tight spot (first try) and set up.  This campsite was quite different in that it had lots of privacy.  You really could not see other campers either from the road or your site. Yeah! Not a parking lot!  Only the hoods of vehicles stuck out of the trees and bushes.  Very nice.  We had our fresh fish a l’orange, and played a game and went to bed.

Friday July 20th

See that tiny building at top of cliff?  We are going up THERE?

We woke up to a chilly (in the 50’s) day with a stiff wind and not a cloud in the sky.  After breakfast we headed out with our picnic lunches for a hike that was purported to be beautiful, according to our exhaustive internet research.   We arrived at the parking lot and I looked up - I mean WAY up, hurt your neck kind of up, and saw an observation tower.  I just could not imagine how anyone got up there! 

There must have been a forest fire observation deck or something.  Well, I was wrong again!  That was our destination.  All I could think was “you have GOT to be KIDDING!” Yikes!

Well, I stalled as much as I could then off we went!  It went about as straight up as it could get.  In fact there was about a mile stretch that they had to put wooded stairs in.  We both HATE stairs!  Up, up, up. I was so pleased that I really, for some miraculous reason, didn’t have much trouble at all! 

See where we parked in the bottom right hand corner?

We finally got to the top and were positively “wowed” by the view.  You can see in the picture the itsy bitsy parking lot down at the bottom.  See our car?   That was about the best reward for a torture hike we have had.  We decided to count the stairs going down and counted 475 stairs! (that we went up, then down).  Mind you, these stairs only accounted for about half of the elevation change.  The rest was normal uphill hiking.  And to think that we didn’t do a hike the other day because there was a gruesome 300 steps.  We’re not sissies anymore!

Another of the parking lot WAY down there!

By the time we reached the car I must admit I was dragging. After all, my hiking boots weigh 4 pounds that had to be dragged up those stairs, plus we both carried back packs.  (Norm carried more, of course). Norman said he felt pretty good, but it sure did not take him long to pass out on our new lawn chairs.   I relaxed and read, but I still am pretty pooped.  Hopefully I will feel re-newed by tomorrow for our bike ride.  The exercise portion of this trip has definitely kicked up a notch.

Norm riding along this coastal trail!

Saturday July 21

Well, all this new found exercise has caught up with me!   I woke up still pretty tired, but there were bike trails to be had!  Observation – the sun rises at 4:38 am – insanse!  There was one bike trail that went along the peninsula that you can see in the pictures; it looked like it would be pretty easy.  Wrong again!  My God, it went up and down these steep hills for miles. Even Norm was pretty exhausted and had to get off and walk!  I was certainly glad I opted for this “easy” trail first before we did the “hilly” one!  Remember the 17% grade roads we were on – well here we were again but on bikes!

View from hike to lower observation platform  

The views, again, were gorgeous.  We were so fortunate with the weather – another perfect day.  A little warm (near 80) no humidity, and the bluest sky I have ever seen! We hiked to the observation area – (oh, no - more stairs!) and proceeded to watch a couple of whales and seals just off the coast.

We’ve had various “sightings” of other wildlife over the last few days.  Of course the moose already mentioned, plus a fox ran right up behind me on the hiking trail yesterday!  I thought it was a person walking and as I stepped aside to let him pass, I saw this rather large and beautiful fox about 3 feet behind me!  He/she just cut into the woods, went down a little, and came back out on the trail ahead of us!  I knew we were starting to drag, but gee, I guess we were holding him up!   

Today we saw our first porcupine (that was not road kill).  A cute mother and baby eating right beside the trail!  Last but not least, as we were driving back to camp we saw a bear on the side of the road (thank goodness we were in the car).   I guess we should probably wear the “bear bells” I purchased when we hike/bike, since they obviously are in the parks.

We took most of the afternoon “off “ and just rested, read, cleaned house, etc.  Tonight’s meal was chicken cordon bleu (Norman cooked perfectly on the grill), grilled asparagus and forbidden rice.  Not bad for camping, eh?

Bear sighting!  Glad I was in the car!

Just like this! Right behind me!
(This is an internet photo )

Days 24-26 Rimouski to Les Mechins, Quebec

Redford Gardens- Metis Sur Mer, Canada

Alison's very first live moose sighting!

Tuesday, July 17^th

We left Rimouski and headed further east along the Gaspe Peninsula.  With the St Lawrence River along our left there were many places that looked just like New Zealand, except for the color of the water.  We stopped at Reford Gardens which was purported to be the best garden in Quebec.  Well, that might be the case, but compared to others we have seen including Buchart Gardens in Victoria, BC it was very disappointing.

 The drive to our next stopover only took about 3 hours so we arrived nice and early at the campground.  The owner spoke English, so we were able to get lots of local information and confirm that we had done our homework well.  

Wednesday, July 18th

This morning we decided to add an additional day to our next stop not only to hike, but also to take advantage of some great looking bike trails in Forillon National Park.  Norm rescheduled previously made reservations while I packed picnic lunches for today’s hike.

Driving to Gaspe National Park we hoped to see the windmill farm in Chap-Chat, but the fog was pretty dense.  We could not see the mountains either but were hoping it would clear by the time we got there. It was a good thing we had a late start. We visited the gift shop, and finally after traveling for weeks, purchased our first souvenir - a little Christmas ornament for our “travel tree“.  Boy, we are such crazy shoppers!   

National Park De Guispee hike

The park ranger directed us to a particularly nice hike with a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains.  He also said it was “easy, easy, very easy” which disappointed us because we thought we were ready for more of a challenge. 

  Well, I was okay with it.  The easy part was the smooth, gravel road.  The not-so-easy was the extremely steep constant grade.  I breezed up it (and of course Norm did) and was marveling at how much better I feel than I did a year ago!  I would not have made it ¼ mile up, even if it took me all day!  I guess the year of depravation of yummy food and drink is paying off!  It was my big day!  

Not only did we see our very first, real live moose, but another mother and baby!  They gave us quite a show when the baby was running in circles through the underbrush around and around the mom! It rained for a while on the way up, and was quite cold and windy when we got to the top.   But just a quickly, it cleared and warmed slightly.

On the return trip we checked out the windmills that were now visible, and chatted a few minutes with the English speaking tour guide.  We were shocked that they were willing to give us a private tour (for a fee, of course) right then at 5PM, and this would last for an hour and a half!  But since it was so cold and windy, we decided to pass on that.

We spent a quiet evening “at home”, watched a movie from the supply my kind daughter Laura loaned us, and went to bed; we listened and listened to the incredible wind and rain slightly rocking the RV. Boy, glad we weren’t in a tent!  That poor family beside us! 

L

Windmill Farm

Days 22-24 Quebec City to Rimouski

Map to date

What ? We could figure it out, but it didn't work anyway!

Sunday, July 15th

We left the outskirts of Quebec today and headed for the Gaspe Peninsula. 

 We decided we could not put off getting more gas, so “bit the bullet“ and found a gas station. As if the price alone for the gas wasn’t painful enough, trying to figure out how to work the pump when it was totally in French made it even more painful! ( a kind local gentleman came to help us, and he could not figure it out either. ) The price of gas had gone up about 60 cents gallon since our last fill, raising it now to  $5.05 per gallon.  This is less than we had budgeted, but it still really, really hurts. 

Yike! Talk about "pain at the pump!"

  

Rapeseed for making Canola Oil

Along the way the only thing of interest was the number of huge farms we saw.  Mile after mile of rolling hills of farm land and quite a bit of rapeseed in bright yellow bloom (which is what they make canola oil from).  Rapeseed was once considered a specialty crop in Canada, but now has become a US cash crop as well.  Between the US and Canada 7-10 million tons of canola seed is produced.  80% of the crop is genetically modified, which is why we personally don’t ever use it. 

Now this really something!

We arrived at a really lovely campground and were shown our site at the top of a steep hill which had the most amazing views of the vast St Lawrence River! It was hard to believe we were not looking at an ocean.  Norm and I thought we probably had one of the best sites in the place!  They even had a couple of tee-pees, or a covered wagon to stay in if one desired.  I thought they were really cute (in a rustic-“ I want to have a campfire in the middle of my tent”, sort of way). For some reason Norm did not share my enthusiasm.

Pretty nice view for a "parking lot"

Monday July 16th

Today we had to make the decision whether to drive 45 minutes to a beautiful interior park that had a hike about 10 plus miles long and contained a section with 300 stairs and a huge suspension bridge, or a hike in another park 15 minutes away that had a bike path and hiking trails of various lengths along the rugged coastline.  Gee, let us think a minute.  We had just done the gorge in Quebec, and the 10 mile hike seemed just a little (or a lot) too strenuous for this stage of the trip. What a great choice we made!

Such a gorgeous day! 

Alison loving the view
National Park Du Bic 

We hiked a few miles to a beautiful point where they advertised seals basking in the sun, but they were nowhere in sight.  As we were driving to a trailhead that offered a more challenging hike, we discovered the bike path. It was such a marvelous ride with the temperature about 70 degrees, milky sunshine, and lovely cool breeze. 

The coastline was what we love most about Bar Harbor Maine yet reminded us of New Zealand with its ruggedness. 

We had a picnic at the river’s edge then continued on our 10-12 mile ride.  Not too bad a workout for a couple of old farts!

While checking out the town of Rimouski, Norm and I browsed in local shops purchasing some cheeses, smoked oysters, and pork chops for tomorrow night.  We returned to the campsite, had dinner and enjoyed a spectacular sunset while playing cards before retiring for the night.

The next morning, I (Norm) was chatting with our next door RV neighbor and discovered something interesting about measurements.  In Quebec, your personal weight is expressed in pounds but when you buy something in the store, it is measured in kilos.  Your height is in feet and inches but you drive kilometers to the next destination.  Temperature is measured in centigrade unless you are at the beach – then the temperature of the water is in Fahrenheit.   Not that any of this really matters – because it’s all in French anyway!!!!

Days 19-21 Ottawa to Quebec City

Thursday July 12^th-

Another day of travel.  We left without a hitch at 9:20 and arrived just outside Quebec City at 2:30 with a stop at a rest area for lunch. 

We finally feel like we are in a foreign country.  As soon as we crossed the border into Quebec, it was 100% French.  No signs are translated into English, which is strange for a country that considers itself “bilingual”.   I was too nervous to drive because I didn’t have a clue what the road signs meant although Norman had a pretty good idea.   


I have come to heavily rely on the GPS.  He (the GPS man) is so smart, keeps me from having to use maps, and ultimately saves me from getting yelled at.  He even has a sexy little accent when he says the street names. My little GPS man is almost as sexy as Norm when he speaks French! I love my GPS Man. Thank goodness Norm is not the jealous type.

We decided this was a good time to do laundry. We found the laundry building, and after pushing some wrong buttons and losing a few dollars, Norm pointed out the instructions, that were actually in English.  I didn’t think I had to actually READ, after all it’s just a washing machine – I’d been using these for decades!  (Perhaps next time I will actually have to take the time to read FIRST). We then spent the next couple of hours doing laundry, or more accurately, until the coins ran out.   I wonder where all of this dirty laundry comes from.  Do we generate this much at home?

Suspension bridge over gorge

We met the neighboring campers who were from Fresno, California.  They were meeting up with another couple that has traveled in their tiny little Volkswagen Campervan.  Looked like something out of the 60’s.  They traveled over 300,000 miles in the two they had owned.  Wow.  Talk about “roughing it“!  They shared their knowledge of the Maritimes, and had some great stories.  Very nice group of people.

The next day we headed out to hike and/or bike.  We drove to a nearby mountain and decided due to the extreme haze (and it was pretty hot and humid, even for us) to only do the waterfall hike at Canyon Ste-Anne where the total change in elevation of the falls is greater than Niagara Falls though not totally vertical. It was a very pleasant hike over several suspension bridges, down to the bottom of the gorge (which included a 200 step staircase) and made me realize again just how out of shape I am!  The waterfalls were amazing.  

Tiny little electric bus in Old Quebec City
So cute!

After the hike we decided to do a drive thru Quebec City checking out where we might park the next day to see the sights and watch the two free performances (at different locations) later that night.  

 After getting a feel for the city we went to Costco to get a couple of things and to discover how Canadian Costco differs from ours.  We found, at least the one in Quebec, that they don’t carry any organic meats and very little natural or “healthy“ foods.   I was quite surprised at that, since I always thought Canadians to be very health conscious.  Perhaps it is due to the already exorbitant cost of regular food that would make “organic” prohibitive, or perhaps their regular local produce is already healthy enough.

We went back to camp, made a delicious pickerel dinner, talked to the neighbors, worked on the blog and went to bed.   

Saturday July 14^th

Busy city street
note the Funicular ( elevator ) at the top 

Today we got up, enjoyed some coffee and spent the morning finalizing the next phase of our vacation.  Most of the fellow RV’ers don’t make reservations, but we were glad we did since several of the places either didn’t have any availability, or in the case of Forillon National Park which is a “must do“, had only one spot left.  The difference may be that where we plan to stop, there are definite things we want to see and do - hike/golf/mountain bike, etc. - where  others may not really care if they have to drive another hour to find a place for the night.  

After we packed all we would need for a long day trekking around Quebec City, we headed off for our pre-determined parking spot.  We found a nice place for lunch across the street and spent the next hour or so talking with a couple from Vancouver also on their way to Newfoundland. 

It was another picture perfect day and as we strolled up and down the narrow streets of Old Quebec City we admired the architecture and the many art galleries and boutiques.   Quebec City is another UNESCO site rich in history and culture and is the only fortified city north of Mexico.

Our meticulous planning included dinner in the vicinity of the 9PM free show of Cirque de Soleile.  We also figured that if we were at the restaurant by 6:30, we would not have any trouble getting to the show grounds by 8:30.  Wrong.  We made it out of there a little late, but managed to hustle over to get in the throngs of people waiting to get into the show.  When they opened the gates, there was a lot of pushing, shoving, and running to spots on a hill to watch.  We had no idea where we were going, but we just kept running.  We ended up with a lovely viewing spot!  Near on outhouse too, how perfect is that?  Interesting – the venue for this free nightly outdoor performance is under a major highway right in the city.

We left the terrific show 15 minutes before the end (as planned, of course) and quickly made our way back the half mile toward where we parked the car to see a sound and light show.

Norm and I were so proud of our perfectly executing our plans when we heard an announcement (surprisingly in English) that the show had been cancelled for that evening.  Oh well, so much for that!

 We drove back to the RV park and crawled into bed.

Cirque du soleil
Note the highway overpass above it

 

C

Days 16-18 Oshawa to Ottawa

Monday July 9th - Wednesday July 11th

  

We packed up the RV, said “good-bye” to Norm’s sister, brother-in-law and niece and made tentative plans to meet in 10 days or so somewhere in New Brunswick if we are both in the area.

Such a great view out these huge windows!

We stopped to get gas along the way (ouch!  Prices are about $4.56 per gallon).  We got to check out our skills of unhooking the car in an emergency situation.  I got out to check the area around the gas pump, and to assist Norm in pulling up to the gas pump where the filler is – it was very crowded.  Well, as he approached the pump he was so focused on avoiding cars that might jump out in front of him, that he chose to ignore my “Stop! Stop!” international hand signals (of which I used many) and he brushed the tire up beside a curb and got a little hung up.  Ooops! 

We assessed the situation and zip-zip got the car unhooked and backed out of the way. People watching might have thought were practicing a “Chinese Fire Drill “. Norm was then able to back up, turn, and get gas.  Maybe no one noticed.  I can only hope that next time I am directing, or checking for obstacles he will at least believe me!  Men!

P.S.  I just learned another important tid-bit.  I need to charge this computer battery before we head out on a 5 hour drive intending to write blogs!  I only have 40 minutes left, and won’t be able to do all the picture work I need to do.  This may be a very, very long drive.  Ugh.  Now back to the blog…..

We arrived at Recreationland campground in Cumberland, Ontario (about 15 miles east of Ottawa) at about 3:30 PM.  We had 40-50 feet between RV’s, no trees or shrubs, and it was level and flat.  There were a ton of house fly’s that kept us indoors during dinner, but that was fine, we could deal with that.  We were so happy to finally get internet service, then discovered they charge per computer, and it was so unbelievably slow it took me 5 hours to “post “ the last blog.  The pictures alone took about an hour each.

The next day we headed to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, which is rich in history that dates back hundreds of years. The beautiful Ottawa River flows along one side of it and is an important part of Canada’s cultural and industrial heritage.

The first stop was to the Apple store to fix a couple of issues with our iPhones and questions I had with the iPad.  We discovered we had to make an appointment for the next day, which we did.  We then set out to solve our slow or no internet problem.  We wanted to switch from Verizon to Bell for our mobile data, but they do not make it easy for US citizens to get their service.

We then strolled down the street to Byward Market and ogled over the fabulous fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses and other sundry items usually found at a farmers’ market, and had lunch at a lovely seafood restaurant.

Ohhhhhh  such great vegitables and fruit!

As we later headed for the dock for an Ottawa River cruise, we noticed the cutest restaurant/bar advertising a “Husband Day Care Centre“. They cater to men whose wives are out shopping for a while.  What a great idea!  We wished we found that earlier!

We caught the boat at the bottom (or beginning) of the Rideau Canal – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We understand it is a boater’s paradise connecting lakes and rivers by its 125 miles of length.  It is the oldest operating canal in North America, used much the same way as when it opened in 1832.  Most of the lock stations are still hand operated, and can accommodate vessels up to 90 feet in length!  We were also told it is extremely expensive for boats to use these locks.  I would have loved to sit and watch a boat navigate some locks, but it takes 1 ½ hours to pass through the 5 consecutive  locks at the bottom.  Time is a-wasting - so much to see and do!

View of Rideau Canal

As we slowly cruised down the Ottawa river for 1 ½ hours (gee, everything takes 1 ½ hours) we soaked up the perfect weather, all the while listening in both French and English at a brief explanation of the sites.  We saw many museums, residences of various ambassadors, (we even saw where President Obama stays) and federal buildings, the most important of which are the Parliament Buildings -   built in 1866 in a neo-Gothic architectural style.

After we walked what seemed like miles to an information center which was very disappointing, we went back to the mall for some more “internet runaround”. What we needed to do to make all our devices internet capable could have been set up by Apple earlier in the day!  We will return in the morning with needed credit info, and hopefully we will be all set.

Parliament Buildings from boat 

                  Watch the video !
                                                                                Wednesday July 11-18

Today we got up bright and early and headed toward Parliament Hill to see the changing of the guard.  The brass band and Scottish bagpipes were quite good.  It was rather odd seeing the soldiers marching around with huge bearskin hats, and others in skirts.  A little hard to take them seriously, I thought.  If you watch the video, you can see the soldier either sniffing or looking down the butt of the rifles.  Perhaps he was making sure they were clean?   I just loved the “pomp and circumstance“of it all. 

After the ceremony we went into the building and up to the Peace Tower which is a 302 foot tall free standing bell tower built from 1919 to 1927 to honor the 65,000 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War.  The interior was spectacular.

We hustled back to Apple for our appointment and noted that all workers there were very “normal looking”, unlike the multi-tattooed, grotesquely pierced, freakishly hair colored Apple employees in the US.  They very quickly addressed our questions and problems, got us the internet access we so badly needed and we were out the door!  Yeah! Now I can access the internet in route. Which Norm loves because it keeps me from whining “are we there yet?” on these long travel days. 

Inside the Parlament Building

After lunch we headed over to the Canadian War Museum.  We had both been to the US National Infantry Museum in Georgia, and Norm had previously been to the Imperial War Museum in London, and he found this much more impressive.  Norm really enjoyed the inclusion of the German and Soviet armaments.

 There was an incredible exhibit on the war of 1812 which we both checked out. It portrayed it from the perspective of the four participating forces:  Canadian, American, British and Native Indian.   My feet were sore, and I had just been to the Infantry Museum, and there was just so much battle memorabilia I could take. So after I took in the tank exhibit in the basement  I sat, people watched, caught up on my emails, and had that ice cream I had been dying for.   Norm spent a couple of hours perusing the various exhibits. 

Tank exhibit at the Canadian War Museum
These babies are very intimidating!

Norm's nephew Michael had us for dinner and while his scrumptious steamed lobster with broiled scallop dinner was cooking, he showed us his lovely home and all the incredible improvements he made both inside and out!  Clever, hardworking, and a great cook! Must run in the family…….   We had a great visit.  Unfortunately I think we have run out of family and friends to mooch off of. 

Note - I just figured out how to put a video on this blog, so if you are interested in seeing Norm and I on the six o’clock news, go back to the North Bay Blog (days 9-12) and check out the video I added there.

Days 12-16 North Bay to Oshawa

Days 12-16

Thursday, July 5^th-Monday July 9, 2012

Travel Map

We had an uneventful trip back to Darlington Provincial Park during which we typed up the previous blog, ready to download when we can find a few hours to spare and the illusive internet service.  The provincial parks do not seem to have internet services, nor do they seem to have water, sewer, or at the last site even steady electrical service.  We are thinking it might be better to stay at the commercial RV parks, although we shudder at the thought of staying at “parking lots”! They both have their pros and cons.  We have reservations at commercial parks over the next 6 days, and we should be prepared for anything since we are now armed with new sewer hose extensions and a 50 foot 30 amp electrical power extension cord! 

View on our hike along the Ottawa River

Over the weekend we enjoyed several parties with Norm’s relatives.  Great food, weather was a fabulous mid to high 80’s, (although the Canadian’s were complaining about the horrific “heat “ ) and the food was again, incredible.  I must say these Canadian’s know how to cook! 

Norm taking time out for a book at our beautiful campsite

Sunday Norm and I took a hike through the park with his niece Jeanette and again, it was great getting some much needed exercise. Afterward, Norm relaxed with a book, while I took off to check out the Canadian Wal-Mart and a little “ me time”.  

Days 9-12 Oakville to North Bay

Monday July 2^nd through Thursday July 5th

Because we planned to drive by car the 4-5 hours to our friends’ house in North Bay, we decided to relocate our motorhome for the week to Darlington Provincial Park just outside of Oshawa (30 miles east of Toronto) where we will meet up with Norm’s sister Pat and her husband Lou on Friday.  They had traveled east from British Columbia with their 5^th wheel motorhome for the family gathering this past weekend, and their own 60^th wedding anniversary party next weekend.

When we arrived in North Bay we were very warmly greeted by our friends, Belle and Howard.  I met Belle through The New Horizons Band in The Villages, and we have all become great friends.

The next day we had intermittent light rain. They took us to do some much needed shopping, and that evening we all went out to celebrate Howard’s birthday.  Howard had previously arranged for the chef to prepare Steak Tar Tare for Norman which was elegantly presented (but I still could not bear look at it).  Noman loved it!  

Looked like a cross between
 raw hamburg and raw brains!
Gross!

We then went to another restaurant named The Owl, which from the outside looked very tired and shabby, but upon entering discovered a lovely little place, nice ambiance that had elegantly prepared meals.  We all feasted on locally caught pickerel, all the while enjoying a very talented young man playing acoustical guitar.  He happily took requests, but I felt rather sorry for him when every song that Howard and Norman requested was not in his vast repertoire.  The poor guy could not believe it. 

Evening highlight news

A few minutes of fame!

The next day Norm and I went bike riding where we were stopped by a TV reporter.  The day before, a man riding an electric bike was killed when he collided with a car, which prompted a report on bicycle safety.  I guess because of our wearing helmets we looked safety conscious (or we were on the only ones that came by).  Norm was very eloquent, and I (not wearing make-up of course) stammered my way through the interview.  But we all got a good laugh during the 6PM newscast. 

The weather could not have been more perfect, but the locals thought the clear, low humidity, 79 degree day was oppressive.  We rated it a " perfect 10".  I just love the way the sun feels so warm and nice at this latitude.  I find it in Florida to be rather painful.                                                      

 We were taken out on the adjacent Trout Lake in Bell and Howard's pontoon boat.  We dangled our feet and soaked up the beautiful surroundings, finally getting a chance to really relax.  It was wonderful – I could really make a habit of that.

Cruising on Trout Lake

That evening Howard prepared a gourmet meal of grilled lobster tails, jumbo shrimp, lake trout, and multi-colored beans with rice. Wine flowed.  For dessert we enjoyed Belle’s homemade cookies, all the while doing our laundry.   A finer meal could not be found anywhere, and if anyone wants their address and phone number so you can enjoy their hospitality, let me know.  

On Thursday morning, after Norm enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast prepared by Chef Howard (and I suffered with my oatmeal) it was time to head back to Oshawa, where we will enjoy a couple more days with family.