079 - East Coast Road Trip - Jour 2 (514km) - L’Histoire, La Cuisine, La Nature et… La Boisson

While we’d previously believed waking up in the Walmart parking lot was only something one did after taking a wrong turn after a late night at the pub, apparently it’s pretty commonplace!

What?!? No RV? 

Don’t be afraid to get in on this action!

Rise and shine!

We wasted no time at all thanking the Walton’s for their hospitality.

Before setting out on our next adventure.

Britt’s last minute foray to Chapters proved useful 

As we made our way down the Chemin du Roi. 

First stop was the Moulin de la Grenier.

Unlike another well known Moulin, it did not (unfortunately) harbour Nicole Kidman in fishnets. But, it turned out to be super interesting nonetheless! Our free private guide spent an hour taking us around the inner workings of this intact mill. 

The kids were pretty fascinated by the engineering, especially Taz… when he wasn’t surreptitiously trying to pocket handfuls of grain for later experimentation.

All that learning worked up an appetite, fortunately Casse-Croute Chez Cocotte wasn’t far up the road.

Squeaky-Cheese-Curd-Poutine on the Fleuve Saint-Laurent!

Guys, just wait while I get a pictu…

Délicieuse!

Obviously, all those salty fries worked up a thirst.

Which we were happy to quench at Quai des Brasseurs on the banks of Trois-Rivières.

Geek Fact: The city is named for the fact the Saint-Maurice River has three mouths as it joins the Saint Lawrence; it is divided by two islands in the river.

Great brews, and they also had a very clever beer recycling program.

With the daylight fading fast, we managed to squeeze in a final stop at the Chutes-de-la-Chaudière

Completely unmonitored semi-treacherous walk, with a casted arm, over heaved sedimentary rock to the edge of a pretty impressive waterfall?

“I’ve got this (in the palm of my hand), Daddy.”

Of course, we couldn’t resist the obligatory touristy suspension bridge shot.

We pulled into Pointe-aux-Oies RV park as the sun was setting with just enough light for all the seasonal occupants to eyeball us suspiciously as we circled the site looking for our spot. 

Who needs daylight and a back-up camera when the entire park’s eyes are on you?

.

Like a glove.

Editor's Note: Confirmatory photo evidence obtained the following morning

Bonsoir!!

078 - East Coast Road Trip - Day 1 (422km) - Gettin’ Outta Dodge…

Disclaimer: While I know that in these days of Insta-this and Snap-that, “blogging” is now an antiquated medium, the use of which dates me perhaps more-so than my cargo shorts and sockless-sandals, I prefer to capture these adventures with a little more colour commentary than the images alone can provide. Those who appreciate that may still be reading, everyone else has probably swiped left in favour of a family of kittens performing a choreographed dance to Lizzo, whilst jumping rope using a glitter-eyes filter...

With the summer heating up and the early inklings of a 47th wave of COVID, it was high time to flee the city for clearer air.  That’s right, time to get out of Dodge…

...in a Ford.

Over 7 meters (24') of pure beauty!

That’s right, an Eastern Canada road trip with the fam…so patriotic and educational!  In fact,  the first leg was a solo jaunt to the nation’s capital, and I only had to get about halfway there before I learned something new!

“Tap-at-the-Pump” has a maximum amount.

But, fear not, it’s no problem. They let you do two transactions back-to-back.

So, at an impressive average fuel economy of 25L/100km, maybe the air isn’t SO much clearer, but still great fun.

I picked up a couple sketchy hitchhikers in Ottawa,

Who were eager to join the adventure.

But, before we moved on, there was a little unfinished business at the Shaw Centre.

So, we pulled into the closest RV Resort…

(AKA the local Walmart parking lot) and set up camp.

Apparently, someone tipped off the paparazzi.

So, we obliged them with a couple glam shots,

Before meeting up with the rest of the team at the gala. 

Tazzie managed to haul in some serious hardware.

All in a day’s work, before heading back to the Chateau Walton to tuck in for the night!

Not a bad start to the trip!

Stay tuned for more (or there's always the kittens)...

077- Algonquin Adventure - We Ain't Afraid of No Bears(s)

 

Surprisingly, after a mere 372 days since Britt's last "near-death-by-bear-mauling(-in-her-mind)", we somehow managed to convince her to throw caution to the wind and venture out on the last remaining vestige of technology-free existence, the backcountry camping trip.

We stepped up our game, roaming just a little farther north to Algonquin Park.

Obviously, the extra distance required even more thorough menu discussion, planning and preparation.

Check,

check,

and check.

We packed light,

 and 7:00 am departure went off without a hitch.

We arrived at the put-in, with the typical fanfare,

Which, I suspect, was more related to the Subway lunch, rather than the pending 90 min canoe/portage/canoe...

We rented a couple small paddles for the kids, Which at $20 for the weekend, amounted to about $2/stroke....totally worth it.

Britt was pleased to discover that the lake we'd booked on included two island sites, which (despite full knowledge that bears can in fact swim) served to allay some of her ursine trepidation.

And, lo and behold wasn't the first site we came upon "Clearly, the best site on the lake." 

Any thoughts about perusing the lake for other options, were quickly extinguished, when Britt concluded her recon mission by careening down the rock into the water for a full-on hip-deep double soaker.  "You're right, I think this IS the best site on the lake!"

During set-up were greeted by a couple quarrelling pine martens, who first caught our attention by falling 10 metres off the branch of a tree before bounding around the site eyeing us suspiciously from a distance.

Clearly the realism of my photo is far superior to these random shots from the internet, but they perhaps add a little to outline the experience.

Cute little guys!

Once settled, we headed off on a tour of the lake, to find the fabled "jumping rock" of Google-searching lore.

Found it!

'Course we did find an even BIGGER rock on the other side of the island on our return to the site, but the urge to partake was superseded by shivers and growling bellies.

Chicken Souvlaki Wraps (and peace signs), anyone?

Tweening. Hard.

Afterwards, Taz recruited some local help with dish duty,

And, fortunately, still managed to keep all his fingers and toes!

The Jiffy Pop experiment, went well,

Until the bottom of the pan burned through and half the kernels fell into the fire...

If only they'd warned us!

Whoops!

Bedtime!

Saturday was action packed! After a hearty breakfast of scrambled egg sandwiches on baby croissants Taz put me to work clearing all the rocks out of the landing area for the slip and slide, before commandeering the cutting board to complete the attraction.

Wheeeeeeeeee!

Next, Taz led us in a rousing game of Mushroom Bocce.

For those uninitiated: Find a giant mushroom, pick it up with a stick, and take turns tossing it at the locally-sourced rock "pea". If your mushroom breaks, no problem,  pick up the biggest chunk and continue on to the next round!  Tokyo 2020...er...2021...er...whenever...here we come!!!

In the afternoon, we upped our game and returned to test our mettle on the BIG jumping rock.

Woo-hooooooooo!

Exasperated with not having a suitable staging area for her various meal preparations, Brittster channeled her inner Bob Villa and spent the entire afternoon (along with various bits of string and detritus scavenged from the campsite) crafting a wooden table.

G'dad would be proud!

Just in time for a little taste of home, 

The Henry Burger!

Cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, crispy onions, jalapeños and (obviously) bacon. 

Boom. 

A little family euchre, 

and our daily "one s'more/person" ration and it was time to call it a night.

Despite, the part when the guys at the campsite across the lake got drunk and spent 2 hrs in the middle of the night dropping F-bombs and threatening to kill each other at the top of their lungs, we slept great!

The torrential rains at 8am added a little stress to the campsite deconstruction, and Britt's table may not have fared so well under the weight of four fully loaded camping backpacks,

But, luckily, the rain died down just in time for the headwind and whitecaps to pick up and threaten to capsize our fully-loaded canoe on the way out....all part of the adventure!

Car, sweet car. 

All in all another successful (i.e. not eaten by bears) backcountry excursion! 

Britt loved it so much she spent the entire 3hr drive home researching RV and houseboat vacations (read: solid walls and flat beds) to "mix it up a little" for next year.  We'll see!