On the 20th we checked out of the hotel and (eventually, with some difficulty) walked down to the Plains of Abraham museum to pick up our "escape rally" wheelbarrow. It was an escape-room like experience built around the history of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
Our wheelbarrow contained various locked items and clues and we needed to travel throughout the park to find information to solve puzzles and learn about some of the people involved in the battle. It was fun, but we ran out of time to complete it and needed to get on the move, so we returned it only partially completed.
Our destination for the night was Jefferson, NH which was many hours away. So we took a short break in Stoke, QC at Miellerie Lune de Miel, or, the Honeymoon Honey House. Unfortunately they weren't doing any tours at the time due to COVID issues, but we bought some honey and saw some alpacas.
Then it was back on the road and across the border at the Canaan, VT crossing. We stopped for pizza at House of Pizza in Colebrook, NH. And ended our day at the Evergreen Motel just across the street from Santa's Village, where we'll pick it up next time.
Both the 18th and the 19th were spent doing more walking around and looking at stuff.
It was a little rainy on the morning of the 18th, but it dried up eventually. We headed down to the Lower Town of Vieux Quebec and wandered about the area looking at shops (and eating popcorn) before ending up at the Museum of Civilization. We popped our heads in, saw that it wasn't crowded and decided to grab lunch first.
So we walked a bit further and stopped for lunch at Le Buffet de L'Antiquaire. We got to teach the waitress a new word, "corndog," which was on their menu, but apparently never ordered in English before. In French (at least in Quebec) it is "pogo."
When we returned to the museum after lunch the line was almost out the door. We apparently arrived just in time to catch the tail end of a tour group or cruise ship or something because once we got through the line it was gone.
I almost managed the entire ticket-buying process at the museum in French, but got thrown for a loop at the end when she asked if we wanted to add on one of the special exhibits. I wasn't ready for the question and didn't understand and asked her to switch to English. So close.
After the museum we stopped at a few shops along rue du Petit Champlain. I bought a small wooden moose carved at a wood-working shop where we also got a short tour of the building and workshop.
Then we went back up to the upper town via the Funiculaire to the hotel to collect Dad (who opted to not walk around in the rain after discovering a hole in his shoe) and had dinner at a pizza restaurant.
On the 19th we started by attempting a walking-tour game Mom had on her phone, but it was more interested in gamification than we were so after following it to a few stops we made up our own plans. We ended up back on rue Saint-Jean and had some crepes at Au Petit Coin Breton. They didn't have room for 6 though so Mom and Dad agreed to do something else. Which was too bad because c'était très délicieuse.
Jess became enamored of a backpack she saw in a shop and would return in the evening to buy it when we returned to the area after dinner for more crepes (at a different créperie).
On our way back to the hotel to rest for a bit we had some gelato and stopped in the Notre Dame Basilica-Cathedral and discovered they were holding crypt tours. So we arranged to meet Mom & Dad there after a rest to take the tour.
Before the tour, I popped back down to the lower town to buy a print of a painting of rue du Petit Champlain that I liked after seeing it on the previous day's wanderings.
We went back down to rue du Petit Champlain to finish wandering the areas we hadn't yet seen and bought some fudge and chocolates at a chocolatier. And then back up the Funiculaire for Father's Day dinner at the Chic Shack burger restaurant.
Perhaps my favorite picture from Quebec taken on our way back to the hotel after dessert crepes:
On June 17th we checked out of Hotel Le President in Sherbrooke and had breakfast at a little cafe nearby, Cora's Dejeuners. It was very good and an excellent way to start our first full day in Canada.
After our petit dejeuner, we loaded back in the van to complete our drive to Quebec City. Without a thunderstorm, and traveling mainly on uncrowded highways, driving was pleasantly uneventful. We made our first stop in Quebec at the Aquarium.
We saw the jellyfish, visited the touch pool, and watched the seals and the walruses and the polar bears. There was a room set up in a circle with projectors shining all around to produce an immersive experience. Corinne was awed and proceeded to dance with the videos.
At the gift shop Corinne selected her souvenir for the trip: A stuffed stingray which she promptly named Maple in honor of Canada.
If you hadn't noticed already, Heather is of the age where crossing your eyes for every picture is the height of comedy. So, that's why her eyes are crossed in many of the pictures, including the one above in front of the sand sculpture.
After wrapping up at the aquarium the real challenge began. Get into old Quebec and to our hotel. Driving on highways is fine, but navigating an old city in a foreign language with sometimes unusual traffic signals was stressful. But we made it and parked the van at the hotel and didn't use it again until we left, exactly as planned.
Hotel Terrasse Dufferin is adjacent to the U.S. Consulate which I partly selected on the assumption that it was probably not a bad area. And I was right consulate or not, but the consulate did have a guard outside at all times which would certainly discourage any trouble. It's a very small, old-world feeling hotel, which set the atmosphere for exploring Vieux Quebec.
Our room looked out over the St. Lawrence River and on our first night there was a fireworks show on the far shore (for reasons unknown). Mom and Dad stayed on the ground floor and, unfortunately, did not get a river view.
We dropped our stuff and then set off to do a little evening exploring. Just outside our hotel was Chateau Frontenac (which claims to be the most photographed hotel in the world and I definitely helped with my shutter). It would have been fun to stay there, but one night cost as much as our entire stay where we were. So some sacrifices had to be made.
We wandered about down to and along one of the main tourist streets (rue Saint-Jean). We visited a bookstore and I eventually mustered the nerve to ask an employee for a recommendation for a few sci-fi books written in French by French or Canadian authors. I had considered getting a book I already knew in French, but decided it would be more interesting to access something unavailable to me in English. I ended up with 4 books which I hope to be capable of reading before too long.
Finally we stopped for dinner in a boulangerie/patisserie (bakery/pastry shop) we found, La Paillard. And there are few more enjoyable dinners than one made of bread and pastries from a boulangerie/patisserie.
On June 16 we started our big international trip. First time leaving the country for Jess, Heather, and Corinne.
Our original plan was to visit Montreal, but upon investigation (after being unable to find a hotel room for less than $800/night) the Canadian F1 Grand Prix was being held in Montreal that weekend and we wanted nothing to do with that insanity. So I redesigned our trip for Quebec City.
We started by driving up through Vermont and stopping at the Ben & Jerry's factory. We visited the flavor graveyard and played on the playground. They had just soft-reopened for factory tours, but this information wasn't available anywhere on line a priori and we didn't have time to hang around for the next tour. So we grabbed some ice cream before heading on our way. Corinne crunched on something hard in her ice cream which I jokingly suggested was one of her loose teeth--I was right--eep.
Not far down the road we stopped at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill for apple cider donuts and, of course, cider. Grandma and the girls played a game of corn hole.
Then it was back in the van and off to the border. I'll note that while crossing into Canada we were asked about things like drugs and firearms. When crossing back into the U.S. we were asked about things like fruits and vegetables. Differing priorities....
Having the most familiarity with French I did all the driving in Canada. It started fine, then about 30 minutes in a fierce thunderstorm rolled in. Driving in a downpour with lightning and thunder on unfamiliar roads in an unfamiliar vehicle where all the signs are in French was a rather stressful welcome. But we arrived at Hotel Le President in Sherbrooke successfully for our first night. Mom and I ventured out to a local burger chain, Harvey's, to pick up dinner and take it back to the hotel.
Between Erin's Birthday Adventure and our big trip up north was mostly downtime in Cromwell. We celebrated my birthday with pizza, cake, and presents.
As another way to keep kids entertained I ran another treasure-hunt kind of event for Erin's kids. I took pictures throughout the house and then placed a pirate coin near the location from which the picture was taken. I divided them up into easy (wide angle shots with obvious landmarks), medium ("natural" focal distance shots, less obvious landmarks), and hard (telephoto shots with more obscure landmarks). The most difficult, in my opinion, being the one taken zoomed-in through a mirror.
I had the pictures printed at CVS and bought candy for prizes. Working from the pictures, finding each coin earned you a piece of candy and points (2 for easy, 3 for medium, 4 for hard). Whomever got the most points won a pack of Ferrero Rocher chocolates. This was apparently a big motivator for Sawyer who took the grand prize.
On Saturday (6/11) Jess and the girls arrived to bump the cousin count into overdrive.
On Sunday (6/12) I had old high-school friends over to have lunch and hang out for a bit, but took no pictures. Got to see Chris, Bhupal, Matt, and associated families.
And a trip to the splash pad at Watrous Park:
Heather and Corinne had been asking about revisiting Kid City. We thought perhaps they'd grown out of that environment, but with the addition of cousins to play with it was great success.
And, of course, more time playing around Grandma-and-Grandpa's house:
Which included a talent show:
After this, Erin's family returned to Utah and we were geared up for Jess' first international trip!
