Down to the south a different way

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Friday 12th October (Cont.).
One last trip to Echo Farm to drop off the Subaru then over to Kemptville to do some much needed laundry.
Then over to Sandy Mountain Campsite.

Saturday 13th October.
A frosty start to the day spent doing some RV repairs and an actual bit of RV cleaning with our new brush.

Sunday 14th October.
It rained all night and ….  surprise! …. no leaks
We were only going to stop by Ken and Cheryl’s to say goodbye and pickup a battery so Carol’s residual cold didn't infect anybody, especially the baby.  But since Cheryl had developed her own cold and had mangled a finger to boot (so therefore no baby sitting!), we ended up staying anyway.

Monday 15th October.
Rain all night again with no RV leaks.

Things are not well at the Fogel household as Ken’s mum is very ill and not expected to survive.  As it is she’s much tougher than people give her credit for and she’s still going strong.

We left anyway and crossed the border and down through Vermont and the chain of islands in Lake Champlain to South Hero and a beautifully located campsite – Apple Island Resort.

Tuesday 16th October 
Down I-87 through Vermont into Massachusetts – glorious fall scenery.

End of the day we’re at Chris and Divya Reynolds’ in North Leverrette, Mass.

In the background is their house that they don’t live in.  Since they spend their winters down south (which is where we met them) they rent out their house and live in a trailer when they go back home in summer.

Supper was in a nearby town – appetizer of fried Brussels sprouts and dip, alright!
Movie of the day: 1st part of Living in the Material World – Martin Scorsese does the Beatles, what more is there to say.

Wednesday 17th October 
After a cold start to the day, Chris hooked up his boat trailer and off we all headed for the Connecticut River and launched Near Wig/Far Wig (The name on the bow is Near Wig on one side and Far Wig on the other.)

We motored up river & had lunch just floating about.  We needed to be bundled up although there was lots of sun.

We motored up past this beautiful and semi-famous (or so Chris says) bridge,

tied up to a dock and went for a long walk.

The river was a mirror on the way back.

Boat back on the trailer and we’re ready for off.

Supper out again - Wasabi mashed potatoes on Portobello mushrooms with sweet potato fries & balsamic roasted beets – whatever happened to steak and chips?

Thursday 18th October 
Another cold start to the day.  Divya left before us to go for an MRI (she had breast cancer some years ago).

After packing up we bade farewell to Chris and headed south towards Cape Cod.
We met Ira and Ann at the Cape Cod Canal East entrance.

After a short bicycle ride with them we headed back to their rental place.

Friday 19th October 
Time for some sight-seeing starting with the Scargo Tower.

 A fine panoramic view from the top.

Although it was warmer than Canada we were well wrapped up.

Then for a walk along Mayflower, one of the beaches Cape Cod is famous for.

Next stop the marina at Sesuet where were fascinated by this houseboat.

We could live in this very easily.

Don’t know if this windmill was actually used in its present spot.

The Lemon Tree Shops are a bunch of cutesy stores that had some pretty interesting things and an abundance of these.
 

Then food shopping for some cranberry/jalapeno/garlic jelly – excellent on crackers.

Saturday 20th October 
Some serious bike riding – 17 miles (not sure exactly where) and lots of cranberry bogs.

Sunday 21st October 
The girls had had enough of bike riding so Ira and I cycled to Marconi Beach where there used to be a massive radio antenna array before it was reclaimed by the sea.  Now there’s just a model in a glass box in this building.

After breaking a tooth on my sandwich (!),  we cycled over to the Cape Visitors Centre to meet up with the ladies.  There’s a museum, a movie screen and a picture book view.

I cycled over to the Coastguard Beach while everyone else drove.  Then we all drove to one last Beach - Skaket Beach

Monday 22nd October 
After our whirlwind visit to Cape Cod, so we pack up, say our goodbyes and hit the freeway east.  After a compete mix up and re-driving certain parts of the Massachusetts Turnpike we get ourselves an E-Z-Pass, useful for the tolls on our way south (except Florida where we already have a Sun-Pass).  Mass is the best  state to buy one as there’s no monthly fee with them.

Next stop: Pierre and Ann Fortin.  Many, many moons ago Carol and I used to work at RCA when Pierre did.  He and I tried to form a company at one time with another fella and we did see each other in Ottawa but then lost touch.  He ended up getting a database programming job in Connecticut and that’s where they now live.

It’s a lovely neighbourhood near a small town.

Tuesday 23rd October 
Pierre went off to work but Ann drove me to a dental appointment that they managed to arrange at short notice to give me a temporary false tooth.

We all had supper and yakked until bedtime.  Oh yes and watched their two delightful Siamese at play.

Wednesday 24th October 
I didn’t get a photo of Pierre but here’s Ann and Carol in their autumnal back garden.

Time to move on again and test out the E-Z-Pass which works just fine as we head down to the New Jersey Turnpike and to Camping World in Swedesboro – our usual New Jersey stop.

Thursday 25th October 
The worst part of the trip south – Washington and Baltimore.  However, all went well and by the end of the day we’re at Carolina Crossroads RV Park in North Carolina.

Friday 26th October 
Hurricane Sandy is heading up from Florida and since we really don’t want to meet him in an RV we decided to head for inland Georgia which was forecast not to get hit.

We found a Passport America RV park (1/2 price for us) in Florence, South Carolina for our next stop.
When we arrived in the Swamp Fox RV Park it was after 6 so we never checked in.

Saturday 27th October 
When we left in the morning they still weren’t open so I guess we got a freebie.

From South Carolina we headed in the direction of Atlanta, Georgia  but before actually getting there, turned south off the freeway toward Macon and stopped at  Scenic Mountain Park, Milledgeville.

Another top-of-a-hill campsite.

Sunday 28th October 
Hurricane Sandy passed us without even a whisper so we were safe to head down to Florida.
Coming in from the Atlanta direction we stayed at Lee’s Camping off the I-75 where we’d enjoyed a short stay before.

Monday 29th October 
Phoned a dentist in Stuart to see about my tooth ‘cos the temp needs replacing real soon and also booked Buddy in for a cut.

So we drove down further south to the closest Passport America to Stuart we could find – Ponderosa RV in Kissimmee.  They pack ‘em in there.

Tuesday 30th October 
It’s clear and cold when we get up early to head down the Florida Turnpike.

First we dropped Buddy at PetSmart for a cut and then to the dentist to replace the temporary crown.
By the end of the day Buddy’s had a cut and I’ve had a root canal and $2400 cut in my year’s income and we’re installed in the Indiantown Marina ‘RV Park’.

Wednesday 31st October 
Ordered a bunch of stuff for the boat and did some more gluing on the side of the RV.

Thursday 1st November 
Stripping the boat of tarps while Carol cycled to the hairdresser in Indiantown.

Friday 2nd November 
The weather is clear and cool as the boat is moved from the storage yard to the work yard.

Saturday 3rd November 
Boat work begins.

Sunday 4th November 
Messing with that damned RV fridge yet again.

Monday 5th November 
Inside boat cleaning time.

Tuesday 6th November 
With no car and no John and Rejeanne, a trip into Stuart means driving the RV.  So we pack up and go.  Canvas place to pick up what we left in the spring for mending, Total Wine for 3 cases of our favourite wine, the dentist for a check on my temporary crown, Wally Mart and a few other places, got to make that 5 gallons of gas count.

Wednesday 7th November 
It’s a cooler day as we get the canvas on to the boat.

Thursday 8th November 
Washing the boat top sides and saying hi to Andre who we were next to in the RV lot last year.
Bad news by phone from Chris and Divya.  Her breast cancer has returned.

Friday 9th November 
Boat polishing.

Saturday 10th November 
Barnacle scraping, re-installing the boom and moving stuff around while Carol cleans the plastic windows in the canvas.

Sunday 11th November 
The weather is pleasantly sunny, warm and windy.

Sanding the keel and some of the hull.

Monday 12th November 
Painted the keel and half the hull with bottom paint.

Tuesday 13th November 
Ran a nice new tape along the water line on the starboard side.

Wednesday 14th November 
Ran tape down the other side – not as easy as you would think.

Thursday 15th November 
Our new holding tank arrives.  A dry fit confirms it ‘just’ fits in.
A call from John and Rejeanne, they will arrive tomorrow.

Friday 16th November 
Don’t have a 4” hole-saw and they cost $45 at Ace hardware so it’s cheaper to pay the yard for a ½ hour of work to cut it for me.

Figure out that the exit pipe won’t be long enough so that needs to be ripped out and replaced.
John and Rejeanne arrived so we celebrated with takeout pizza from Dee Stefano’s, and we gave them a bed for the night in the RV.

Saturday 17th November 
In order for the new tank to fit it needs to be raised so I put some 1” wood underneath and it’s still not enough so I replaced it with 2” material.

Cut all the remaining holes in the tank.

Sunday 18th November 
Installed fittings on tank.

Monday 19th November 
John and Rejeanne invited us for a trip to Stuart and the movies, how could we resist?

Skyfall – It’s James Bond, what do you want, reality?

Much marine shopping topped with a stop at Publix of course.

On our return we meet Ann and Ira who are over from West Palm Beach for the first night of the Indiantown Thanksgiving festivities.  They stayed the night in the RV.

Tuesday 20th November 
It’s the day of the flea market and I finally sell the electric motor I’ve been moving from boat to RV and back again for the last 4 years.   I bought a $5 propane tank to make up for the one I forgot in storage in Canada.

John sold his old outboard and Ira sold a few things including a self-inflating life jacket to me.

Finished the fittings on the holding tank and on checking the fridge with my newly arrived temperature sensing watch I determine the fridge temperature sensor has been lying to me!!!  Aargh!

Along with the watch from Amazon we also received our ridiculously cheap docking station and remote control for our Zune mp3 player.

More festivities with karaoke night but we all cut that short.

Wednesday 21st November 
Test filled the new holding tank with water and – it leaks!  The inspection hatch I bought is a piece of c*&#p!  Decided that since I’m not likely to be opening it for inspection anytime soon I would silicone the thing shut.

Also added through hull fitting for a second (intake) vent for the tank.

We’d been looking forward to the night’s entertainment with Dr. Dave’s band that’s played at every Thanksgiving since we've been coming to Indiantown.  But, alas, he’s retired and the substitute band just didn't cut it for us.

Thursday 22nd November 
Refilled the tank with water and ….. no leaks!  It’s a done thing.

Now all that’s needed is to actually fit it in the boat.  First order of business is to make the entrance to the compartment where it dwells a little bigger so it will go in with the connections on.  Still not high enough!!!
It’s the Thanksgiving dinner and Ira and Ann came over and we tucked into mashed potatoes, green beans, yam & stuffing with cranberry jelly and turkey for those who eat it.

Friday 23rd November 
Launch day.  John and Rejeanne came over for champagne (Californian of course) to celebrate.

Saturday 24th November 
A piece of plywood under the tank and the fit is perfect.  Now all I have to do is get the pipes on.

Sunday 25th November 
Tank work.

Monday 26th November 
More new hose required plus getting the outlet hose took me and John crawling together in the aft cabin and a lot of sweat.

Test filled the tank again – no leaks – whew!

Tuesday 27th November 
A day off.  Well sort of.  Shopping in marine stores and a movie in Stuart: Life of Pi (in 3D yet).
If you’ve read the book you might wonder how you make a movie of that.  It does not disappoint in anyway, quite wonderful.

Wednesday 28th November 
Got the water pumped out of the tank and cleaned up the mess that jobs create.

Thursday 29th November 
Many years ago my father had a business and Jim Kay was his partner.  The two families took holidays together and one of his daughters and I have somehow become re-acquainted via the magic of the Internet.  Her, her husband Fred and their friends Marie and John make the trip to Florida every year for the guys to fish and the gals to shop.  We've made attempts to meet them before but this time we succeeded in getting together.  They drove over from the west coast for the day.

That’s Judith next to Carol, then Fred, then Marie and John.

We started with drinks aboard the boat and then had lunch on the patio together.

After taking a walk around the boatyard it was time for them to head back.

Friday 30th November 
Now we have a nice new holding tank we find the toilet is acting up.  I dismantled the mechanism, found nothing particularly bad, cleaned it (yech!) and re-assembled it only to find it still back leaks.

We officially moved onto the boat.

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Monday 27th August
A trip to Home Despot for some wood and screws for RV repairs.

Movie of the day: J. Edgar – Somehow disjointed in spite of excellent performance from Leo.

Tuesday 28th August
Thunderous rain overnight with corresponding RV leak –sigh!

Working on a cupboard brace

Buddy got clipped and we made our customary trip to Crevette Plus pour les  langoustines.

Wednesday 29th August
Did some caulking round the antenna – could that fix the leak?

Ordered a telescoping ladder from Amazon.

Thursday 30th August
Moving on to the campsite in Shawinigan that we stayed at on the way East.

Movie of the day: Pirate Radio – misgivings confirmed, too silly.

Friday 31st August
On to Ken and Cheryl’s in Montreal.

Saturday  1st September
The people who sold us the replacement fridge cooling unit had suggested the reason it didn’t perform so well was a lack of insulation.  To fix this the fridge had to be removed so it was and I packed it with enough insulation to remove that excuse.

Baby sitting time for Ken and Cheryl when Mike & Jess brought baby Hunter over.

TV watching until quite late.

Sunday  2nd September
Ken helped me lift the fridge back into place, so let’s see what that does.

The whole family came round for Sadie’s (son Jeff’s ‘girlfriend’) birthday.

Movie of the day: Alice in Wonderland.  Second watching and still loved it.

Monday  3rd September
Turned the fridge back on and by the end of the day it’s down to 40 – promising.

Carol went on a trip with Cheryl to visit her cousin in Hawkesbury.

Tuesday  4th September
Shopping for bargains at Zellers as they slowly close their stores.

A PQ minority government – could have been worse and then some nutter shoots a tech at PQ headquarters.

Wednesday  5th September
Out longtime friend from our RCA days, Nick Tasker, is no longer living with Eve as per the last many years and now has a snazzy bachelor pad near Decarie. We met him for breakfast al fresco on Sherbrooke and then took a look at his place.  He seems very happy with his new single life.

We then bid adieu to Quebec and drove to Dennis and Madeleine’s in Ottawa and Madeleine’s fishcakes for supper.  Newfies know how to do that fer sure.

Thursday  6th September
On we go to Richard Hayward’s

Richard’s girlfriend Cheryl arrived around the same time and we all had supper together.

Friday  7th September
Our new telescoping ladder is down at the UPS store in Ogdensburg and our new Zune mp3 player is at the Wal-Mart there, so I’m off for a cross-border shopping trip.   I’ve decided the rooftop antenna is the source of much of our leak problem, so on the way down to the US I stopped at a metal supplier in Smiths Falls for a sheet of aluminum to cover the hole.

All went fairly smoothly until the customs guy at the border asked for the receipt for my rather obvious (sitting the Miata passenger seat) ladder.  I thought there would have been an invoice in the box but there was nothing indicating the value.  The problem was solved by the lady in the main building logging in to my Amazon account to see my recent purchases; fortunately the Zune wasn’t one of them.
Back at the RV the antenna came off and the plate went on.

Saturday  8th September
Thunderstorms and rain in the night (remnants of Hurricane Isaac) and guess what?  We still have a leak.
Supper with Richard and Cheryl and movie of the day: Moneyball, for the third time.

Sunday  9th September
Drove to Lena & Peter's place to pick up the Subaru only to find the muffler seems to be lying on the ground.

So we went shopping in Carleton Place.

Monday  10th September
Back to Lena & Peter's to deal with the Subaru.  We found a place in Smiths Falls to take it and called Good Sam towing and off the offending vehicle went to Hank’s Tire.

Back to the RV and more roof work.

We had supper with a solo Richard and caught the end of the 1812 TV movie.  Fascinating history.

Tuesday  11th September
Picked up the Subaru from Hank’s place – just some bolts and a piece of pipe, not a new muffler - phew!
We had decided that the RV needed to be fixed where water damage was affecting the integrity of the front driver’s side.  To this we needed a place indoors.  Echo Farm across from where we lived in North Gower and where we store cars in winter has big covered Nissan-hut-like buildings and in September they’re not yet full of vehicles and boats.  

With the Miata hitched on and Carol following behind we made our way there and put the RV under cover for what I’d planned would be a few days – optimism’s a grand thing.

Since living in the Big Easy while I ripped it (slightly) apart was not an option we availed ourselves of a kind offer from Carol’s friend Claudia to stay at her place.  Since Barrhaven is not that far from North Gower, it was a perfect situation.

Wednesday  12th September
Started right into the repairs taking out windows and peeling back the siding.

It’s a great place to work with its white vinyl roof giving lots of diffused light and it seems to keep a fairly even temperature.

Movie of the day: Brick – Wish we’d had subtitles even though it’s in English but pretty good anyway.

Thursday  13th September
Carol to the hairdresser’s and me back to the RV to remove wet and rotten wood.

Friday  14th September
Although the day is overcast and drizzling I’m nice and dry, cleaning up the aluminum frame.
Back at Claudia’s we tried to watch a Lebanese film that Claudia’s son had sent from the Middle East but since we had no remote we couldn't select subtitles so we watched Please Give instead.  We all enjoyed that.

Saturday  15th September
Tried calling around for fiberglass panels with no luck.  Talked to Brian at Echo Farm and got an extension for a week.

Talked to Brian - got 'til next Saturday

Sanded more frame

Movie of the day:  Winter's Bone – excellent!

Sunday  16th September
More or less a day off RV things.

Monday  17th September
After a trip to Canadian Tire for supplies I had a go at fixing a problem with the aluminum frame.

Hence the strap and the screws.  Now to fill the cavity that was rotten wood with Bondo and firbreglass strands.

Movie of the day, the Lebanese movie that I managed to get subtitles onto: Caramel – definitely one for the ladies.

Tuesday  18th September
It’s pouring with rain and suddenly the Subaru battery is flat and the alternator isn't charging it.

Over to the RV for more Bondo and then back to supervise the Subaru being towed yet again.

Picked up some propane for Claudia’s barbeque only to find her landlord had installed a new burner - ---- badly - and when I lit the thing it melted the knobs.

Wednesday  19th September
Drove to Canus Plastic’s new location and ordered FRP (Fibreglass Re-inforced Plastic) panels and then to the RV for more Bondo.  Talked to my RV landlord and got a further extension.

Bought a jigsaw (NO battery) from Canadian Tire along with a new DVD player with a REMOTE for Claudia.

Thursday  20th September
The FRP panels were delivered and I mounted one up there with double sided sticky so I could use the peeled back siding as a template.

With my new handy dandy jjigsaw I soon had the piece cut to shape.

Then it was over to Cooley’s Automotive to pickup the Subaru with replacement alternator – a scrapyard special since the new one I got last time only lasted four years anyway.

Then it was over to Mike and Janet Simm’s for a party to honour a visiting old friend of theirs.  Mike and Janet’s parties are basically populated with people who Mike new when he worked at Computing Devices (now GDC) and since I worked there too I knew pretty much everyone and Carol’s met them too over the years.

A good time was had by all.

Friday  21st September
I have the wrong adhesive for this particular job so after a little Bondo work it was a short day.

Saturday  22nd September
Home Depot for contact cement.  Over to the RV.  Contact cement dissolves Styrofoam.  Back to Home Depot for PL Premium.

Back to the RV to glue the FRP with PL premium, clamps, screws and leaning 2x10s.

Sunday  23rd September
A day off mostly because we have an invite for supper.

Our good friends for many years, Richard and Felicity have sold their house and bought a condo apartment on the 20 oddth floor.

They have a magnificent view of the Ottawa River.

They seem very very  happy with their decision to ‘downsize’.

Monday  24th September
Back to work and chopping up some more FRP and sticking it on.

It’s our wedding anniversary so it’s out for supper with Ruth and Keith to the Punjabi Clay Oven for some delicious Asian cuisine and to top it off Ruth and Keith treated us.

Tuesday  25th September
Contact cement is the way to go to put the outer skin back on but the wood on the inside of the skin requires several coats so I did the first one.

Wednesday  26th September
Back goes the skin but not as well as I would have liked, contact cement never seems to quite work 100%.  However, it’s as good as it’s going to get as there’s no unsticking it.

Thursday  27th September
Back goes the trim and the window.

Friday  28th September
More trim re-attachment, caulking etc.

Saturday  29th September
Painting the roof with a waterproof paint while we are undercover seems like a good idea but first we had to wash the roof off, not a pleasant job.

Movie of the day: Get Low – Worth a watch.

Sunday  30th September
Roof paint day.

Claudia invited friend Irene & husband Al over for munchies & pizza so we had a late night.

Monday  1st October
Said goodbye and thanks to Claudia and then over the RV to re-install roof stuff before driving it and the Subaru to Kemptville for emissions tests.

Then to Service Ontario for new stickers for all vehicles

Then a night on our own in a deserted Sandy Mountain campsite.

Tuesday  2nd October
Carol has sore throat – oh no!

Back to Echo Farm to pickup a few odd things like a 4x8 FRP panel and then over to Richard Hayward’s driveway.

Wednesday  3rd October
Out for a teeth cleaning and a Costco run while Carol is feeling worse.

Thursday  4th October
Did another coat of paint on the roof while Carol went off to Carleton Place Emergency to see if she needed antibiotics.

Meanwhile, Richard’s daughter Sarah was staying the night and he invited Mike and Janet over and friend Nancy.  Girlfriend Cheryl was already there.  So we all had supper together while Carol sat in the Emergency room.

Friday  5th October
Re-installed the awning over the window that had been removed and put back.

Saturday  6th October
Rained all night with predictable results.

Driving round doing various shopping things and over to Echo Farm to put the Miata to bed and pay for our stay.

Had supper with Richard and Cheryl and tried to watch the movie Sweeney Todd.  After fifteen minutes it was a unanimous decision to try something else.

Movie of the day: Elegy – Not bad at all.

Sunday  7th October
Getting cold, time to head south.

Some roof Eternabonding.

Monday  8th October
Just hanging around.

Movie of the day:  The Burning Plain – Well intentioned but a little overwrought.

Tuesday  9th October
Went over to Mike Simm’s place to use one of his industrial table saws and cut the other FRP panel .

Wednesday  10th October
One of the things that can be done to find the source of RV leaks is blow in and then go round with soapy water and look for bubbles.  We took the Big Easy in to Primo for the procedure.

More last minute Ottawa shopping before picking the RV and getting the results – no roof leaks - ???

Drove out to Smiths Falls to use the campsite dump station only to find nobody there.

Thursday  11th October
Exciting time at Richard’s.  We dug up his septic tank so he could have it pumped out.

Carol went off to the docs while I did some FRP cutting and she missed this siting.

No, that’s not a big dog.  He/she likes to hang around down the road from Richard’s.  Everytime Richard and I tried to walk down the road towards him he’s head off into the bush and then when we went back he would come out again.  Cars drove past him and even stopped close but he took no notice of them.

Friday  12th October
Finished packing up, took our leave of Richard and started our journey south.

Gaspésian Travels

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Saturday 4th August (Cont.)
Neither of us have ever been to the Gaspé (Gaspésie as the natives call it) and since there is no trip to New Brunswick this year we decided to give it a try.

First stop, Wal-Mart in Rivière du Loup.

By nightfall all Quebec Wal-Marts seem to turn into campgrounds.

Sunday 5th August
Free Internet here from two sources, a mystery one and the one in McD’s in the Wal-Mart.
In the afternoon as it starts to warm up a little we set out again for Rimouski.

When we arrived in Rimouski around 4:30 the wind is blowing like crazy from the south but it’s HOT.  In the RV, even with a gale blowing through, it’s too hot, so we sat outside in the shade.  Someone said the ‘feels like’ temperature is in the low 40s – we would believe it.

Just salad for supper, no cooking in this.

It cooled down a little before bed-time and even rained a little.

Monday 6th August
In the morning it was much cooler but still clear skies.

Next stop was the Matane Wal-Mart.  Across the road was the river, though by now it’s becoming the gulf.
Again lots of RVs by nightfall.

Movie of the day: Wendy & Lucy – we’re going to start avoiding movies with Michelle Williams in.  She’s a good actress but …..

Tuesday 7th August
This Wal-Mart seems also to be a truck stop.  There must have been half a dozen trucks and they all set off early (very early) in the morning after idling their engines for a while.  Next time we’ll make sure we’re at the other end of the parking lot.

We left before lunch and set out following the 132 that snakes its way round the Gaspé coast.
We stopped at Cap Chat for lunch by the water.
.

Everywhere so far seems to have art at all stops big and small.

We were looking for somewhere just to stop for the night but we ended up in a municipal campground in Mont-Louis or to give it its full title: Ste- Maxime de Mont-Louis.

Wednesday 8th August
One night and we fell in love with the place.

So instead of just staying one more night we signed up for a week and got a better spot looking straight out on the sea – you can’t see the other side anymore.

The view from our ‘front window’.

Mont-Louis has a famous salmon smoking place (Atkins and Sons) so we had to go there.  So down the hill and across the bay on our bicycles.

Thursday 9th August
Up in night to take awning down, it’s windy here pretty much all the time.  Cap Chat has a huge wind farm.
Sunsets are something here.

Friday 10th August
Definitely much cooler days than we’re used to but that’s OK.

Wood carving seems to be a big deal here on the campground.

Not sure what that was.

 On our cycling trip to the Poissonnerie (fish shop) in the town/village centre I saw and liked this one.

The shrimps they have here are called Matane shrimps but we were told that since there are no more shrimps on this side of the St. Lawrence the shrimps come from Sept Iles on the other side.  Wherever they come from they are truly wonderful.

Saturday 11th August

The weather has really changed it’s now raining & cold.  Can’t complain, we were praying for this a week ago.

Grocery run day.

Sunday 12th August

The campground has a small restaurant which serves breakfasts and lunches.  We gave it a try for breakfast.

Rain and fog most of the day.

Monday 13th August
Heavy rain and a leak – I don’t believe it!

We had Jean-Pierre & Dianne, fellow RVers,  over for happy hour and got some good scoop on places to stay.  They’d been round the peninsula as far as Barrachois and then came back.

Tuesday 14th August
It’s a cloudy day but it’s stopped raining so we took a bike ride to the fish store.  We bought a seafood pie, a seafood pizza and some Baudroie which was quite cheap and turned out to be Monkfish.
We met our new neighbours, Phil & Barbara, from S. Carolina.  Prior to moving there they cruised on a sailboat for several years.

I took a look on the roof for what could have caused the leak and stuck some more Eternabond down.
We had the seafood pizza for supper – excellent.

Wednesday 15th August
While we were talking to Phil and Barbara before they left we saw an actual whale.  Too far away to take a picture or identify but most likely we figure it was a Minke.

After packing up and visiting the dump station we headed out too.

Somewhere on the way we stopped and ate smoked shrimps,  bought the day before – so good.
We arrived at the lighthouse at Cap des Rosiers by late afternoon but parked down near the beach until the crowds had left.  At 6:30 we moved to the lighthouse parking lot.  It has the distinction of being the tallest lighthouse in Canada and a big tourist attraction.

It was a wild night with endless squalls and heavy rain and a major leak.

Thursday 16th August
After giving the lighthouse a donation we went back to our beach parking with a lovely view of where we’d spent a restless night.

Along from the parking there was monument (and grave, if the inscription is to be believed) to drowned Irish Sailors in 1847.

The ships bell is also hung there, oddly found in Blanc Sablon many years later.

We drove on through the town of Gaspé, filling with propane while we were in a ‘metropolis’.

Our destination was another spot that Jean-Pierre and Dianne had told us about, a parking place between the ocean and Le Barrachois de Malbaie and big birding area.

 We took Buddy a walk down the pretty much deserted beach.

Friday 17th August
The rain and wind started in the night and didn’t let up until late morning.  The fog never really left at all.
We should have been able to clearly see Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island but this is the best it got.

It rained on and off most of the day.  Oh yes, did I mention we were right by the railroad track.

Fortunately there are only two trains a week and the Thursday one must have passed before we got there.

Saturday 18th August
More rain as we packed up to go.

Down the road a little ways to the town of Percé and some much needed grocery shopping.

We’d picked out a Passport America site – Camping du Phare – at Percé and we checked into a place that promised a panoramic view.

We didn’t have one from the RV itself but down lower on the campground there’s a fine view of Bonaventure Island and the famous Percé Rock.

Sunday 19th August
The clouds are gone and the sun is finally shining again.

Nobody visits Percé without taking a boat trip.  At $20 each it’s hard to resist.

They take you around the Rock itself up close and personal.

It’s possible to walk through the arch at low tide.

You get a fine view of the mainland and the road that brought us down into the town when we first arrived.

After the rock they take a tour around Bonaventure Island famous for its more than 50,000 nesting gannets and other seabirds that line the cliffs.

There were seals galore in large groups and small.

Apparently there is no water catchment on the island, as the people who lived there until 1971 must have had to contend with, however, there was water coming of the cliff tops.

The boat stops at a dock on the island

and you can get off and stay for a while and catch another boat back.  How could you resist a walk on the island?  Of course the island is now a park with entry fees but it was worth the stop over.

We had lunch in the picnic area with a million dollar view.

You can take a walk to the other side of the island but we didn’t have time (or maybe the energy) to do the whole thing, it takes an hour and a half of some strenuous uphill.

We did climb to the top though.

Looking back across the water we could just see our campsite on the mainland.

On the way back the boat’s captain pointed out the ‘horse drinking’ effect when viewed from a certain angle.

After getting some groceries we started the climb back – one of the reasons we didn’t do the whole island walk.  The campground is over a mile from the dock and (on the way back) it’s all uphill.

Monday 20th August
A day for just hanging out at the campground and doing laundry.  I did take a bike ride into town for supplies though and took a picture of the “Phare” that gives the campground its name.


Tuesday 21st August
Onwards we go and start traveling back west again to Paspébiac and our last camping ‘on the beach’ for some time I suspect.  Beautiful clear skies but not too hot.

Fridge playing up again - sigh!

Wednesday 22nd August
At Paspébiac we got our first view of ‘the other side’ – New Brunswick but as we drive west along the Bay of Chaleur coast the ‘other side’ gets closer and closer until you reach where the Restigouche River flows into the Bay of Chaleur at Matépedia.

We filled the gas tank with the cheapest gas we’ve seen in a while and headed to the Information place to see if we could park there for the night.  Turns out there is no-one actually there so we parked anyway.

Thankfully it wasn’t Saturday night or that tower full of quite large real bells would have given us a rude awakening we suspect.

Another spot with a view looking down the Matepédia River valley.

Thursday 23rd August
A foggy start to the day and some rain as we head north up the Matepédia Valley back to Rimouski to complete the ‘132’ loop.

Back in the Rimouski Wal-Mart parking lot we feel like old hands at this Gaspé thing.

Friday 24th August
Another beautiful cool clear day.

Before we started off we went across the road to the Animalerie Dyno (?) – a giant kind of Pet Smart thing but with more animals for sale.

Buddy was initially bought from such a place and when we saw this little fellow we could see why if Buddy looked half this cute, how could you resist.

He/she seemed to be quite happy having a high old time rolling round in its bedding.

Retracing our steps back to Quebec City, next stop the Wal-Mart in Rivière-du-Loup.

Saturday 25th August
A cloudy cool day that brightened up later as we spent a day in the Wal-Mart parking lot cleaning the inside of the RV and doing odd jobs.

Sunday 26th August
Back down the Autoroute 20 to St-Jean-Chrysostome to complete the Gaspé adventure.