Checking things out

What a lovely day we had.  The weather was warm to hot and mostly sunny.  We wanted to check out some of the spots we may take Joey and Kate when they are here.  One thing is walking across a very high trestle bridge that goes over a deep canyon.  Another is take a cable ride up Mount Ste. Anne. The view at the top should be spectacular.  And one more thing is going to see the Seven Waterfalls.  Apparently you can view five of them from one spot.  Great place for pictures.  Can't wait til Joey and Kate get here to do all that stuff.

This is Ste. Anne de Beaupre Basilica which is in the town of St. Anne de Beaupre.  Very beautiful.  We walked around for a while and looked for some quality souvenirs in the shops, but they only had the same old stuff you find everywhere but with the appropriate name on them.







Believe it or not we had lunch in this chapel/restaurant in the town of L'Ange-Gardien.  The name of the restaurantis is Pub de la Chappelle and it is an actual beautiful chapel turned into really nice restaurant.  If you look closely I am sitting under the umbrella on the right past the railing.  Good picture taking Joe!

By the way I did not walk up three hundred and some steps in Quebec.  More like 60.


When we came back to the resort we went for a swim.  There are two pools and first of all we went to the small one and the water was very cold and there were a lot of kids.  We left there and went to the bigger pool which was much warmer.  Then we came back to our condo and sat outside and read in the sunshine.  What a great day!

Beautiful sunny day

We went to the meeting at 9:15 where they told us all the things available to do in and around Quebec City.
Well, we're getting older you know, and we didn't remember most of it.
Spent the day in Old Quebec City

 This is a fabulous mural that was painted on the side of a hotel.  It looked very realistic in person.
We got lost a number of times in the old town, drove up and down various one way streets with Bonnie navigating. All I heard was "turn right or turn left"
I kept saying "but it's a one way street".

 We decided to relax and have a drink in this pretty outside cafe.  (that's Joe sitting behind the flowers). We enjoyed watching all the goings on around us.  One lady was making balloon animals and another was painting the kids' faces.
We were parked right there on the street.  We got to the area around 3:30 and the parking meters could not be used until 4pm. so we hung around until we could park there.  On the left is the street with all the artists displaying their works.

Believe it or not I walked up all those &^%*  stairs. (384 actually)
And it wasn't easy.  Of course Old Quebec is full on hills and stairs.  Tonight we are exhausted but happy.

A much better day

Joe is feeling much better today.  His leg seems to be okay.  It is cloudy and drizzly, so we drove all around Isle d'Orleans this morning.  There is not a lot to see there.  A lot of camping and many auberges and bed and breakfast.  We had nachos and Joe had a beer paddle (that is a selection of four of the beers made there) at a microbrewery called Matin.

This is the resort that we are staying at for the week.
We actually got to sit out on our deck this afternoon and then went to have our dinner "on the house".  Paid for with Joe's pain! The restaurant is very nice and we had Fried cheese - delicious, steak with fries and veggies and chocolate cake drizzled with chocolate and strawberry coulis.  Nice.

This is me sitting out on the deck.  That is our unit behind me.

Below is Montmorency Falls.  We had to take the picture from the highway and it was quite foggy, so this is the best we could get.

Heading for Old Quebec City tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be sunny and in the mid twenties.  Hope so.

Good and Bad

Yesterday we drove to Bangor, Maine and went to Bangor Mall.  The mall was not as big as we hoped.  I shopped for a while and we booked into the Holiday Inn (we had quite a problem finding the hotel and Bangor is not that big) for the night. We went into "downtown" Bangor a little later. One store, a couple of pubs and that's it for downtown Bangor.  The good news is - we found the Timmies right up the street from the hotel.  Life is good.

Today was a boring drive up through Maine to the US/Canada border.  There were a hundred signs warning about moose, some with flashing lights.  I was so worried we would run into one, I had my eyes glued to the road the whole way, which interfered with my knitting plans.
We got to Club Vacances Toutes Saisons near St Anne de Beaupre with no trouble.  Then the bad part started!!!!

When we got to our condo, there was one of the workers' golf cart parked in our spot.  She tried to pull out but her battery died and she couldn't.  We just parked beside it until she could clear out  We brought some stuff into our room.  Joe went outside for more while I was having a pee.  I came out and put some stuff away and saw that he had taken out one of our pillows.  I'm thinking "why would he take a pillow?"
Then I heard a weak, "Bonnie".  I went outside to see Joe lying in the ground beside our car with a pillow under his head!!!  There were a couple of men standing by, and I said "Oh, my God, what happened?"  What had happened was, one of the employee's was backing a van up behind the car and didn't see Joe getting some stuff out of the trunk and he hit him.  Joe was pinned between the 2 cars and was yelling "Go forward, go forward!!!" He was hit in the legs, mostly one leg.  The driver was very upset and so sorry, he didn't know what to say.  They had already called and ambulance and the manager was there.  They wouldn't let Joe move, although he said he thought he was alright..  The ambulance came and they checked his leg, and his blood pressure and he was able to stand.  The men brought all our stuff in for us and we came inside for a drink.  A few minutes later the manager came to the door with a voucher for a free dinner for us "on the house".  We will take advantage of it tomorrow, although I don't think it was necessary for Joe to go to that extreme just to get a free meal.  Tonight we will just try to relax and see how Joe's leg is.

On top of all that it has been cloudy and a bit drizzly and cool.  Better times ahead.  Joe's okay but I am still shaking.

Off to Bar Harbor

 Our drive from St. John to Bar Harbor was pretty although rather long.  We had a 25 minute wait to get through some construction.  It was long and boring for both of us, but worse for me as Joe kept complaining and telling me how they should be handling the delay better, which would get us through it much quicker. (Joe was correct of course)

As you can see (I hope) from the picture, we did eventually arrive.  That is not us in the picture, just in case you're wondering.



We went for lunch at this place called Stewmans.
Can you spot Bonnie in the picture?
I'm in the lobster if you can't find me.  We had a good lunch, Joe had a lobster salad which he really enjoyed.  We didn't sit outside however because it was quite cool with a wind.

 The bay is really pretty, but it would have been nicer with some sun.  Plenty of people still went out whale watching though.  And apparently they see puffins when they are out there.  You know the puffins are the cute black and white birds with the big fat beaks.








There is this street in the middle of town that leads to
50's restaurant with rock and roll music playing.
We went into a lot of stores and Bonnie bought a yellow sweat shirt with a whale on the front and "Bar Harbor" on the sleeve.
Our hotel room is really roomy and looks out over the bay.  We have a balcony but it is too cold to use it.  Off to Bangor, Maine tomorrow.

St. John, New Brunswick

We arrived at St. John at about 1pm and checked into our hotel, the Chateau St. John.  Our room is really fabulous.  Then we went down to the harbour, walked around then stopped where the blue umbrellas are here and had a wine (Bonnie) and a couple of beers (Joe).
We actually got lost trying to get back to the hotel, which was only about a kilometre from our drinking spot, but then we got Richard (the GPS) out of the glove box and he directed us.

Bonnie was waiting for a bus to go back to the hotel for quite a while (I think she had a premonition of our return trip) but we ended up driving back.  The people waiting at the bus stop were not too friendly though.

Joe made friends with some of the local people.

We are not sure which of the people to the left is Bonnie, but the real trick is to find Joe.
That's him in disguise at the front with the tie.
He looks quite good.

Last day in Windsor

Well, we went for a walk again this morning.  Me to Tim Hortons and Joe on around the bay and back.
We went to a mall in Bedford and shopped for a while and then had lunch.  Back to Lorna and Chris's and when we got there Lorna's two sisters,  Muriel and Betty had come over for a visit.  They were both looking great and we had a chat.  Off to Cocoa Pesto Bistro for dinner.  A really pretty restaurant with an outdoor garden and nice deocor just a short walk up the street from their house.  We all had the "all you can eat" Fish and Chips.  It was good, but we all ate too much of course.

Halifax

Yes, I did get up early this morning and go for a walk with Joe.  I just went to the Tim Hortons, about 3/4 of a kilometer and Joe walked another 3 k and came and met me.  Then we went with Lorna to Halifax.  She had a doctors appointment there and dropped us of at Timmies and the Harbour front and after that, came back and met us.  The building in the middle of this picture with the black flat top is the courthouse where Lorna works. She was able to park there close to the boardwalk and close to everything.
Joe and I  went for a long walk along the boardwalk which is really interesting and we all had lunch around 2:30 at Stayners Restaurant. Chris stayed home. He has been taking codeine for some medical problems and was very tired.  So he took the day to rest and felt much better by the time we got back.

Theodore Too took passengers for a boat ride around the harbour.  The kids really seemed to love it.  He used to have his own television show, but does not any more.

Father's Day

Last evening, we had a fun game of Euchre.  More fun because the girls won 3 games to the guy's two.

We had a relaxing day today.  Lorna and I played a couple of games of Scrabble.  Then we left just after 3pm to go to Christina's new house.  She has a lovely house and is doing a great job of decorating.  So far the living room is done and looks great.  We all went out to The Vines restaurant to celebrate Father's Day for the guys.
It was a Carvery with all you can eat delicious food.  Of course we overate but enjoyed every minute.
Here are Chris, Christina and Lorna at the restaurant.
Should be an early night tonight.  I promised Joe I would go for a walk with him in the morning.  He has been out walking every morning since we have been here.  I am sure I will slow him down, but it will be good for me. :(

Shopping, shopping, shopping

Lorna knows how to shop! I love it.  First, leave the guys at home, then spend ALL day shopping at  Micmac Mall.  We had a lot of fun, bought a few things (of course) met her daughter Christina at the Wok Box and she came to shop with us for a while.  She is a lovely girl and we all had a good time. When we got home from shopping at 6pm, Chris had started to barbeque and we had a great dinner and then played euchre.

I have been in touch with Laurie and she got home today from the hospital.  She is still in some pain, but that is to be expected after an operation.  At least her temperature is back to normal and the family is probably waiting on her hand and foot as I write this, so that is good.

Stressful

Well, we are here at Chris and Lorna's home in Windsor Nova Scotia.
Drive down from Moncton was good.
We just got into Nova Scotia, driving down the highway when we got a text call from Laurie.  She was in the hospital.  Had another gall bladder attack on Wednesday and went by ambulance to the Credit Valley Hospital. Waiting for surgery. Had to turn her phone off in the hospital so we had to call Rob.  Easier said than done.  First of all we had no signal for a while in the north of N.S.  Then I called the number we had in the cell phone for Rob which was an old one and it was busy.  Then I sent a text to Matthew for Rob's new number.  Then I sent a text Laurie just in case it got through to get Rob's cell no.  She sent it back and I called Rob (had a signal now) and he told me she also had an infection, was on a IV and should be first priority after the regularly scheduled surgeries. Then Matthew sent me a text with Rob's number.  He was at work, so probably couldn't call right away. Finally I talked to Laurie who had been in pain and on morphine but the pain was ebbing.  She was getting a shot in the stomach for (I think) blood thinners which burned when the medicine went in, but was otherwise okay.   So we waited to get a call the she was having surgery which came at 9:30 Atlantic time. Then I took the phone to bed and waited to hear everything was okay.  Rob sent a message saying the surgery went well and all was okay.  I will call her this morning.
So, as I was saying, we are at Lorna's. They have a lovely old house and it is beautifully decorated.  Lorna is an artist so you can imagine how nice it is.  We went for a barbeque to their daughter-in-law's grandfather's house for Cameron's (that's their grandson)  6th birthday.  Cameron is six and was so excited as there were quite a few gifts for him.
June 16, 2011
Talked to Laurie and she was feeling pretty good.  She is still getting antibiotics and they may let her go home tomorrow.

Joe and I and Lorna and Chris went on a motor trip (how do you like that old fashioned expression)  down to  Mahone Bay, where we had lunch and walked around.  What a beautiful area with lots of shops and boutiques.

  Then we went to Peggy's Cove and visited the memorial site where the Swiss Air flight no. 111 crash was back in 1998.  They brought the remains into two spots and the family and friends waiting there hoping for survivors, but there were none.








We had a nice drive around the area and took some pictures of the wonderful scenery.

New Brunswick

This morning we headed down the eastern coast along the Acadia Coast Drive.  Still not much to see, we saw no wildlife driving through the park (except maybe a dead creature on the side of the road) and it was nice but not terribly interesting.  By the time we drove for a few hours I was dying for a coffee and a pee.  Well so far we had been lucky to see an outhouse, let alone a bathroom.  We got to Richibucto which is fairly big,  still no good spot to "go", however as we turned a corner, what to my wonderous eyes did appear!  You guessed it. Ten tiny reindeer!  No.  Just kidding.  A Timmies!!!  Had our pit stop and headed back to the car to drive down to Moncton with our coffees in our hands.  Life is GOOD!
This is our hotel on the Petitcodiac River (famous for it's tidal bore) in Moncton.  It's right on the river and there is a boardwalk that goes for miles.

 

Here is Joe on part of the boardwalk.  We walked along a ways but it was cold and windy, so Bonnie wimped out.
Looking forward to seeing Lorna and Chris tomorrow.
The weather is supposed to be getting warmer.  Good.

Here is the view from our balcony.  The contruction in the front is because the boardwalk and some of their property was washed away in a bad storm, and it is being repaired. We went to the bakery and for $11 and change, we got 2 croissants and 2 coffee.  Expensive here but we sat in the the sunshine and enjoyed it.
Continuing on around the Gaspe, we are really enjoying the beautiful coastal scenery, colourful houses, tall church spires and blue, blue water.
We crossed over to New Brunswick and went down to Bathurst and then took the "Acadian Coastal Route".  Badly misnamed because you only see small glimpses of the actual coast.  It was a way longer drive than the fellow at the information centre told us.  We (Joe that is technically) ended up driving until 6pm and are now staying in the HOJO in Miramichi.

Perce

The scenery on the way to Perce, which is on the eastern Gaspe Pennisula, was gorgeous.  We spent the day here at Perce. We got a fabulous room at the Hotel La Normandie with a balcony looking out to the rock.
This is the cruise boat we took.  I was real nervous that I would get seasick, but Joe thought I would be alright. Easy for him to say.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, Joe was right.  Actually it was good.  I had no seasickness, the trip was smooth, interesting, and most enjoyable.  We saw thousands of birds, dozens of seals and some whales. It was cold, that was the only thing, but we stayed up top for most of it and our tour director spoke english as well as french and made sure we heard everything. Quite an adventure!

Here is the Perce Rock.  It looks small but is in fact 300 feet high and 1500 ft. long and 250 ft wide.  It is approx. 400 million years old and was formed when two faults collided and pushed it up.  We were going to walk out to it during low tide, but are not allowed to anymore because of crumbling rocks.
While we were in Montreal, we almost tasted the poutine but they had kitchen troubles and could not make it for us. We were disappointed as we had our taste buds all ready.  So, we had some here in Perce.
It was pretty good, Joe liked it more than I did.
On our way tomorrow after we stop at the bakery across the road for pastries for breakfast.

The Gaspe Penninsula

Were very happy with the hotel in Rimouski and left to continue around the Gaspe this morning after getting a couple of coffees and bagels at Timmies. We grabbed two apples and cheddar cheese for lunch. That's all you need when you have been sitting all morning. The whole penninsula is breathtakingly beautiful. The pretty houses painted in all different colors, the water, the mountains and trees. We just enjoyed the day viewing the scenery.

Stopped for the night in Gaspe and I am going to see if Joe can get a few pictures up for you.

Had to show you Joey and Kate on the new deck first. Now I have to wait for Joe to upload today's pictures.

Ok, I'm not too good at this yet. The pictures of the colorful houses are both the same and it is me in front of the waterfall. I'll try to do better next time.

Hot, hot, hot

I have never sweated so much in all my life!! No air conditioning, but thankfully a great fan.

Joe picked up the boards to put the frame in for the deck. Got the frame together with Joey's help once he got home from school.

We stopped to have lunch at Jardin Nelson where we met Kate. It is a great restaurant with a huge outside garden. Food and sangria were both very good. The boys got half the deck finished and then quit for the day. It is quite nice up there and I am sure Joey and Kate will get a lot of use out of it.

June 9th and Joe's birthday. We all wished him a happy birthday and Laurie and Rob bought us a new cell phone for our birthdays. We got a Gravity T from Bell and I am still working at figuring it out. But is is really nice with the slide out keyboard.

Now the floor of the deck is finished and the boys are working on a pergola.

June 10/11

The boys finished the deck and the pergola. I and I believe Kate am very impressed. It looks great and now it is nice and secure. We sat on two new folding chairs (the girls that is) and enjoyed a glass of wine or beer as the case may be. The boys watched sports (the hockey game) on the TV Joey hooked up outside, Kate made us appetizers and Pizza (what a girl!) and I played a word game on my Kindle reader. Life is good.

June 11/11

Joey want some more wood to add to the top of the pergola, some lattice and more wood to make a planter and storage bench. Can't wait to see how it all works out. Kate is going to plant some vines to go up the sides and top.

We left Montreal in the late morning and are now in Rimouski at the Hotel Rimouski. What a beautiful hotel. We got a suite which is gorgeous and it has a bar and restaurant. Guess you know where we are off to now.

Montreal

June 6, 2011

Well, here we are in Montreal at Joey and Kate's condo. The drive was good, but a lot of construction. Joe, Joey and I, picked Kate up from work and we all went to their baseball game which was a double header. The team is made up mostly of Kate's work buddies. They lost both games unfortunately, but the team was really great and just had a lot of fun. The other teams took it too seriously and were definitely out to win (and they did) rather than just have fun.

Joe and I walked over to Timmies this morning for our second cup of coffee and a bagel and muffin. They close off St Catharine Street during June, July and August and you can just walk along the road to stores, restaurants etc. Most of which, and also the people walking are obviously "gay" and it is quite interesting!

Joey was off to school this morning where he is learning French, and Kate had to go to work. Joe started taking apart the old deck that needs replaced and then they (Joe and Joey) both carted out all the wood to the front walk for pickup. That is numerous trips down three flights of stairs. One more reason that I'm glad to be a woman!

Joey is off to his football practice tonight and Kate is painting (with some fellow workers) her office.

Here We Go Again!

We have had a busy time since returning from Texas.

We drove to Novi, Michigan to watch our granddaughter at her dance competition. I don't know how these young people find the energy! She did marvelously well, and danced a total of eleven routines. While in Michigan, Laurie, Sarah, Joe and I visited my cousin Audrey in Sterling Heights. We visited with her and her son (my second cousin, I guess) Michael. They took us out for lunch and we had a great time.

We had a new hardwood floor put in our house throughout every room except the two bedrooms. That was a lot of work as we (the royal we here - that would be Joe) had to move a lot of furniture out of the living/dining room and kitchen. Then we (Joe) had to put it all back. It was a good chance to do our spring cleaning and the floor looks great.

We went to Creemore with our friends Jim and Peggy to see an art show by our mutual friend, Sheila. Sheila's paintings were really, really lovely and I saw a set of three that I would like to purchase. That reminds me I have to email her and let her know. We met Dan and Jane also in Creemore and had lunch there before heading home.

We went up to Severn Bridge and spent two nights at our friends, Doreen and Bob's home. The first day Wendy and Graham and Sharon and Bob were there as well and Doreen made a great dinner. The next night we saw our old (not really "old", just "previous") neighbours, Heather and Al who we miss dearly and we had another great dinner and a lot of chatting and laughing both days. Hated to leave but had to get back to beautiful Mount Hope.

Our previous neighbors Heather and Al (see above) came to visit on their way to Niagara-on-the-lake. Another wonderful time with lots of catching up.

The next week Dan and Jane invited four couples to Niagara-on-the-Lake where they rented a "cottage". The cottage was a beautiful old home with five bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, a large dining room and kitchen and sitting room. It was just gorgeous and decorated beautiful. We felt very spoiled. They had dinner the second night catered by a chef (very cute fellow) who even set the table and served the meal and cleaned up. What fun we had. The only down side was that Jane was not well. She couldn't come and we really missed her.

Next post will be on our way to Montreal