Nothing Going On Today!

It was 3C (37F) and party cloudy for my walk this morning but probably wasn’t as cold as yesterday as there wasn’t as much wind.

Gordon had gone back to the Jean Drapeau Park again this morning to take some sunrise photos and this time he managed to get some he was happy with.

This morning was spent on the internet until the satellite went down, having showers at the campground shower house. They have heat in there so it’s nice but lots of campgrounds don’t provide heat in the showers. That’s something I hate at this time of year about showering in the RV. It’s too cold!

We had rain this afternoon and we stayed inside and tried to keep warm.

No photos today!

Suzy Homemaker

This is a photo of the Montreal skyline that Gordon took at sunrise this morning

Gordon left really early this morning before rush hour to get into the city to take some sunrise photos. I got up at my usual 8:00 a.m. and it was bright and sunny but only 4C (40F). I decided to forego my walk for a while. It was still only 8C (46F) when I went out for my walk just before noon and it was mostly cloudy by then.

I spent last evening and some of this morning programming my new phone. It’s easier to understand than the last one or maybe it’s just because I got to know how to program the last one and this is similar. It also has a camera which I didn’t have before and probably won’t use much as the girl at the store said you have to email your photos to yourself and I don’t want to start that as it will drive our bill up and it’s enough as it is!

Gordon went out again this afternoon to try and get some more photos of the Montreal city skyline and this time was successful although it was cloudy over the city. When he got back, I realized that he was running out of food. Having Celiac disease in Quebec isn’t fun. I haven’t been able to find corn wraps at all so he’s almost out. I realized I had a package of gluten free French bread but when I went to make it, I didn’t have any yeast. (When I opened the package there was yeast in the package but it didn’t say on the package). So off we went to the grocery store where I picked up yeast and we got some other staple items that he can eat. It was when we returned and I started making the bread that I found the yeast inside the package of bread flour. So today I baked corn bread and white French bread. That will tide Gordon over till we get back to Ottawa where we can get him some supplies.

Tonight was TV as usual!

Road Trip

This is a photo I took of the Fall sky on the way home from our road trip

It rained quite hard during the night but was fairly mild and the rain had stopped when I went for my walk around 8:00 a.m. 12C (53F).

We decided that today was the day that we would go to Plattsburgh to get my cell phone replaced so we headed out around 10:30 a.m. We had a bit of rain on the way. We got to the border – long lineups and of course, we got in the wrong lane so we waited 50 minutes in line to get through. The customs agent was a good ole boy that was very chatty but we had no problems and arrived in Plattsburgh around 12:30 p.m.

We were both hungry so went to the mall to see if they had a Taco Bell. That way Gordon can have Taco Bell and while I like it, I’m not doing well with cheese these days and most things there have cheese in them. Indeed there was a Taco Bell so he was able to satisfy that craving and I got a salad at Burger King. There was still cheese in it though.

There was a Verizon kiosk in the Mall right beside the food court so we stopped there but were unable to get the phone we wanted. They had one but it wasn’t on their inventory so they couldn’t sell it??????? She had already started the application as we have to sign up for another two years or else pay full price for the phone. So we took the application with us and went to the local store. I got my new cell phone but still had to pay $107.00. I did get a leather case this time. Hopefully that will cushion its falls. There is a $30.00 mail in rebate that I’ll have to send in. If I could have waited till November 27^th, I would have gotten a free phone but my luck isn’t going that way, I guess. Now I have to reprogram it will all my phone numbers.

After that we picked up a few items at the grocery store. Gordon had run out of grits and you can’t buy the instant kind in Canada (at least not that I’ve found). That’s his staple breakfast. After that we headed home as we didn’t want to get stuck in rush hour traffic around Montreal. It can be quite beastly. On the way back we stopped in St. Bruno and picked up a few groceries. Not impressed with their grocery store, Provigo – very expensive! Hopefully what I got will tide us over till we’re back in Ottawa on Monday.

More Rain and Household Drudgery

This morning was cloudy with a hazy sun in the sky but mostly obscured by cloud. It started to rain shortly before noon and rained on and off all day.

I packed up the laundry to get done, picked up my phone to take it with me, opened it to turn it on and promptly dropped it and it broke in two so now I don’t have a phone so if anyone needs to call, please use Gordon’s number for now. We’re only about an hour away from Plattsburgh, NY so will make the trek down there to get a new phone at the Verizon store in the next couple of days. After I finished the laundry and put it away, I got the vacuuming done so I think that’s enough housework for today.

Other than a nap and TV tonight, that about describes my day.

Since I didn’t take any photos today, I’ve done some computer art work to a photo that I took at Jacques Cartier National Park last week. If you double click on it, the palette knife treatment shows up better.

A Little Bandit

Sorry for the photo error yesterday of our site. The correct one has now been uploaded.

Today it was mostly cloudy and a fair amount of wind for my walk. It was supposed to be mostly cloudy here today with a high of 12C (54F) with a chance of rain overnight.

We got a late start this morning but headed out to a Dodge dealer to see if we could get service done today. We’d already gone over our mileage so didn’t want to wait till our return to Ottawa next week. We got that done, drove around the south shore a bit, then came home as we were both tired and hungry.

After a nap and some food, we headed into Montreal and up to the observation area on Mont Royal. Unfortunately at that point it was too dark for my camera so I used Gordon’s Minolta to take some photos of some little bandits that we hanging around the observation area and looking for food in the garbage cans. Even with the Minolta, I couldn’t take photos of the Montreal city lights but I expect Gordon will post some. Below you will see one of the little bandits. Thanks to my husband for doing his magic on the photo. These little buggers are quick. I wanted to get a photo of him with his head sticking out of the garbage can but it was so dark that the camera was taking a long time to flash so we'll have to make do with this one.

It was a bit of a chore getting there with bumper to bumper traffic on Hwy 20 until we got through the tunnel that goes under the St. Lawrence River, then to find our way to Mont Royal. Montreal is a very big city! Then finding our way home in the dark was a bit of a challenge too! It had also started to sprinkle a bit on our way home but only for a short time on the north side of the river.

Now near Montreal, Quebec

Our site at Camping Alouette

It was sunny and bright but still chilly this morning as we packed up to leave for Montreal. We left shortly after 10:30 a.m. and arrived here at Camping Alouette just outside of Montreal and south of the St. Lawrence at around 1:15 p.m. Most of the drive was in cloud but as we neared the campground the sun came out and the temperature was about 20C (68F). After we got set up, I sat outside for a while enjoying the weather, then went for a short walk around the campground.

This campground while larger and twice as expensive as the one near Quebec City is not as nice in some ways. While this one is still rural, the sites are smaller and it’s in an industrial park with an RV dealership and repair shop as part of the facilities. It does have a pool and hot tub which appear to still be open but as the weather is to change in the next day or so, I doubt that we will be taking advantage of it.

I’ve seen one of my pet peeves in Quebec (in the Lévis area anyway) – line ups of cars in front of shopping malls with their four way flashers on while the owner runs in to pick something up from the store. That annoys me to no end. I don’t know why people can’t park in a parking spot and walk a few feet further without taking up one aisle of the driving lane. We’ll see if it happens in the Montreal area. While you see it occasionally in Ottawa, it was almost the norm in Lévis.

View from my lawnchair

My Girlie Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians out there!

Today was another bright, sunny day and a bit warmer than yesterday but with some wind. After my walk and breakfast I got ready to go into Lévis and do some girlie things like go to the Mall and WalMart and get groceries. I’m photographed out for a day or two, at least until we get to Montreal tomorrow.

When I got back, I sat outside and read for about an hour but I found it quite chilly.

I’m planning on doing the Thanksgiving thing tonight since we’re moving tomorrow. I wasn’t able to get a turkey breast but I was able to find a turkey leg so Gordon will have chicken while I get my dark meat!

That’s about it for today. Desperate Housewives tonight!

When we were out on Thursday, I took a photo as we were crossing the old Pont du Quebec. It’s quite an interesting bridge so I took a photo as we were driving. See it above.

Ile d'Orleans and Le Trait-Carré

This is a view of the Shrine of Ste Anne de Beaupre from Ile d'Orleans

Today our destination for sightseeing was Ile d’Orleans. This large island was settled in the mid 1600’s and runs from approximately Vieux Quebec to past Ste Anne de Beaupre (measuring by mainland). It is a very pretty island with all different sorts of houses, all well-kept and reminded us in spots of New Hampshire. It’s a very artsy island with little artisan shops but also lots of roadside stands of fruits and vegetables and a lot of farmland. We stopped at the Information Bureau as soon as we crossed the bridge onto the island and picked up a booklet of the island then headed west on the highway stopping here and there to take photos. I didn’t take many today as yesterday had me pretty much photographed out.

This guy drove his truck down onto the rocks in the St. Lawrence River with his boat trailer to pick up his boat. There are some guys there in hip waders to guide the boat onto the trailer. Not something I'd want to try!

This is a view of Old Quebec from Ile d'Orleans. There are two more cruise ships in the harbour today.

We spent the better part of the day there and on our way back took a detour to Charlesbourg looked for Le Trait-Carré. This area was founded by the Jesuits in 1665 and was the first colonization not centered on water. Following the signs led us to an area of older homes and a church but I’m still not certain that we found the actual place we were looking for. We’re finding the signage in Quebec rather lacking for those of us that don’t know where we’re going.

We got home just before 4:00 p.m. in time to get the heater on before the sun goes down. It gets pretty chilly inside once the sun leaves us even with the heater and the furnace running. We run the furnace when the inside temperature reaches 64F.

I’ve uploaded some photos to my Yahoo photo site over the last couple of days. They are under Quebec 2006 and Jacques Cartier National Park for anyone who’s interested.

My camera card failed a couple of days ago and I was lucky that Gordon was able to retrieve the photos I had taken so looks like I will be in the market for a new one. Hope the camera doesn’t give up the ghost as soon as I buy a new card! I really like my little Sony.

Jacques Cartier National Park

This morning when I woke up, Gordon had turned off the water as it got to -2C (29F) overnight. Lots of frost on the ground this morning but was bright and sunny. It was 1C (34F) when I ventured out for my walk.

There are still people here from all over. I saw 1 from British Columbia, 1 from Florida, 1 from Nevada, 1 from Michigan, and 2 from Texas.

Since it was such a pretty Fall day, we decided to go back to Jacques Cartier National Park that we had tried to go to last Saturday but it had too much traffic trying to get in. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that today was FREE! We stopped at the Interpretative Centre but didn’t stay there long preferring to continue along and take some photographs. The road was paved but narrow beyond the Interpretative Centre for a few kilometers then after we crossed an old bridge it became a dirt road and with the air that we have to have in our tires for towing it was also very bumpy. Anyway we went into the park to the 18 km. mark, taking photos along the way. It is a very pretty park but has the usual problems for photographers – too many trees and plants in the way and nowhere to pull over to take the shots you want.

Photos in the Park

By the time we headed for home, this being the Friday of a long weekend, traffic had started to back up and it took us over ½ hour to get across the bridge to the south side where we are parked. The photo below was taken out the windshield on our way south on Hwy 73.

Tonight Gordon is going into the Old City to take nighttime photos. Since my camera doesn’t take nighttime photos, I’ve elected to stay home and keep the place warm!

A Tour of the Local Chutes (Falls)!

Wow! Sun! What a concept! It was beautiful, bright and sunny this morning. I hardly recognized it, its been so long since I've seen it! I would have thought that with all the rain and heavy winds last night that the leaves would be gone but they aren’t.

Today we had to make up for four days of being housebound and waterlogged so we headed out to see some places that a photographer from Quebec had recommended to Gordon via pbase.

Chaudiere Falls (Chutes de la Chaudiere)

Jacques Cartier Beach Park

Kabir Kouba Falls on the St Charles River

All three spots were very pretty at this time of year and all of them except for Jacques Cartier Park had lots of stairs so we got exercise! I said that I’ve climbed more stairs in Quebec City than I did in the 11 years we had the house!

All our stops had very beautiful places to walk with the trees and water all around. I probably liked the St. Charles River itself the best with all the rapids just above the Kabir Kouba Falls. The Falls themselves were hard to photograph with my camera as we were too close to them but you can see them on Gordon’s pbase site at www.pbase.com/merriwolf. The Chaudiere Falls were very pretty too and the pathways were really nice for walking, lots of pretty leaves.

St. Charles River above Kabir Kouba Falls

Jacques Cartier Beach Park

Chaudiere Falls

More Rain and More Rain and More Rain.....

Photos around the park taken in the fog this morning




It was very foggy this morning so I took some photos while on my walk. Late in the morning the sun tried to shine.

After lunch we went out to the grocery store. I wanted to try Maxi as the Super C here isn’t like the one I usually go to around Ottawa. I wasn’t all that impressed with Maxi either. When I went into the store it still hadn’t started to rain but when I came out it was raining. They had called for heavy rain this afternoon and heavy rain we had and high winds as well. I swear that if it rains tomorrow I’m going to the mall and not coming out. It was rainy and windy enough to knock out the satellites, Gordon got the internet back on but not the TV so now I’m going to miss the season premiere of Lost. Having just missed the season premier of Desperate Housewives, I’m getting supremely ticked off! Today I’m ready to pack it in and go back to living in a stick house!

Another Crappy Day Weatherwise!

Some scenes from around the campground

It wasn’t raining this morning when I got up but about half way through my walk it started, not very hard so was able to finish my 20 minutes.

This morning I got the freezer defrosted, some gluten-free cornflakes put through the cuisinart for making coating for chicken for dinner tonight, watched TV, read and did some surfing.

It remained cloudy all day with a bit of hazy sunshine here and there along with a few sprinkles of rain. We’ve definitely not had good weather here so we’ve decided we’re not going to the Gaspé this time but will have to come back and take the fifth wheel somewhere closer. It’s quite a distance to go from here all the way around the Gaspé.

Today we decided to do something we’ve never done before and use the pay showers at the campground. It costs a quarter for 3 minutes. We thought that was probably cheaper than heating our water with propane. Gordon’s shower took 2 quarters and mine took 3 (I have more hair on my head, that is). All in all, it wasn’t wonderful. The water wasn’t that hot and the pressure wasn’t that good. Our own shower is probably better but it was different being in the shower with shampoo on your head and the water stops, then trying to get the quarter to work. Definitely easier at home!

Gordon had planned to go into the city tonight for night photos but the rain has foiled his plans again. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are supposed to be nicer.

We also have to decide on a campground at Montreal for next week. They recommend Camping Alouette here and have brochures. I emailed them and they want $200 plus tax for the week so definitely more expensive than here! It’s on the south side of the St. Lawrence and looks like a fairly easy drive into Montreal from there so maybe we’ll give it a try. Camping Transit is a really nice campground so if they recommend Camping Alouette, we hope it is as well.

Housework

I thought I heard rain on the roof when I woke up this morning but it was only wind so away I went on my walk. It felt good to get out again. I’m really starting to miss walking if it’s nasty weather. Walking in the mall yesterday just didn’t do it. I have to walk first thing in the morning while my back is rested.

After breakfast, I got the laundry ready and went over to the laundry room. No one else there. BONUS! After that and lunch, I did the vacuuming and cleaning, then cleaned out the storage area under the bed and in my closet and disposed of a few things and rearranged other items.

The sun started to come out around 1:30 p.m. but was very short-lived.

Nothing much happened today.

The photo today is one that Gordon took this morning of one of the ducks in the park.

More Rain and What A Difference Another Day Makes!

Rain again today and from the looks of the forecast for the foreseeable future! Sure glad we got out and did something yesterday.

Around noon I got up the energy to go into town to pick up some groceries. While I was there I did a tour of their local WalMart and their shopping mall. I didn’t see much that I wanted or needed but it put in the afternoon for me. I thought it was going to stop raining at one point but it didn’t and as the day progressed it just rained harder.

I don’t expect much else to happen today other than rain, rain and more rain so I’m posting early!

No photos taken today so I’m including some I took yesterday.

The scenes below were taken in Canyon Ste Anne

This guy instead of crossing the bridge over the gorge on foot was taking a more exhilarating route

The scene below was taken westbound on Hwy 138 of the St. Lawrence River

The scenes below were taken along Hwy 138 east of Quebec City

What A Difference A Day Makes!

Today dawned bright and sunny although cold. It was about 6C (43F) when I went for my walk.

Since it was a nice day we decided to head out for Jacques Cartier Park which is north of the city. As we drove north it got cloudy and as we got into the mountains there wasn’t much colour as the trees are mostly evergreens. We were going into the park but there was a long lineup so decided it wasn’t worthwhile since the sun had left us so we decided to head east of the city again. We went through Ste Anne de Beaupre and then headed northeast on Hwy 360 for a while. We went through some little towns and obviously quite a few ski hills in the area. We saw a sign for Sept Chutes so drove there and were told it would be $19.72 for the two of us. Since we had no idea what to expect we decided not to go in.

We met up again with Hwy 138 so headed west again and came upon Canyon Ste Anne which Gordon had read about somewhere. We decided to spend the $19.00 to see what was there. It was very pretty with a beautiful falls complete with rainbow, beautiful scenery and not an over abundance of people even though it was a Saturday. There are a lot of stairs so we got our exercise. Two of the bridges over the falls are suspension bridges. I went out part way on the high one, then changed my mind with kids running back and forth and the bridge swaying, it didn’t seem like something I wanted to do. To get to the lower bridge you go down 187 steps. There’s no other way back than to climb those 187 steps so we got our exercise too! All in all, I think we got our money’s worth there.

On our way back we stopped again at Ste Anne de Beaupre and took some more shots of the shrine.

We left around 10:00 a.m. and got home about 6:00 p.m. so it was a long day and we’re both pooped!

Since this is the last day of the month, here are September’s expenses:

1. Campground Fees - $672.30
2. Groceries - $351.07
3. Laundry - $28.00
4. Wine/Spirits - $41.90
5. Entertainment - $43.15
6. Snacks - $8.52
7. Eating Out - $75.60
8. Fuel for Truck - $368.25
9. Propane - $21.20
10. RV/Truck Repair/Service - $109.00
11. Misc - $854.17
12. Insurance - $1203.30
13. Internet/TV - $53.57
14. Phones - $107.85
15. Medical/Dental - $221.22
16. Gifts - $34.20
17. Total - $4193.30

Campground Fees weren’t bad even though we were using weekly or daily this month rather than monthly as we’ve been doing most of the summer.

Misc was high this month as we made a few purchases like the tripod for the TV dish and the satellite finder, the chair massager, the new hard drive and card for PDA, We also purchased our US travel insurance which is why the insurance category is so high.

RV/Truck Repair/Service is actually the plates for the truck.

They didn’t charge us for internet again this month so that will be double next month.

So even with paying over $1100.00 for our travel insurance for the winter, we didn’t do too badly this month.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Today I woke up to rain on the roof, lots of rain, so no walk. No walk all day. No going outside all day.

It poured all day. No let ups. The campground is starting to look like a lake. I feel like we’re back in the west last winter.

The photo was taken from the living room window so you can see raindrops on the window and the water in the campground.

This morning we had some sun, not bright sun but since I was expecting rain it was great. It was 11C (52F) compared to the low single digits C (40sF) it’s been for the last few days.

It turned into a beautiful day so I sat outside from about 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Lots of RVs started pulling in early this afternoon and I met some people from Ohio who are here to visit the Old City and then heading back to Ohio through Maine. They had just come from the Maritimes. It started to cloud over mid-afternoon. Too bad we were too tired to do any sightseeing today as tomorrow sounds like a write-off!

I haven’t done a ‘view from my lawnchair’ for a while so here it is!

I’m also tired of dreaming up titles for my blogs so today’s doesn’t have one.

We 'Ferried' to Old Quebec

This morning was bright, sunny and cold. Gordon left to go and take photos at dawn. His plan was to go to the Old City on the ferry but instead he just went to the Terrace (park overlooking the St. Lawrence and Old Quebec) and took his photos from there. I went on my walk but there wasn’t anything interesting around to look at as most of the RV’s have gone.

We went into town to get groceries this morning and after putting them away with the sun shining, I sat outside and read for a while. After we had naps, we decided to go into Old Quebec for a while so we took the ferry over and went our separate ways as Gordon wanted to take photos and I wanted to take a tour of the shops. There were still lots of people around even though the cruise ship was gone. The weather was beautiful and it was warmer today than it has been in some time. We stayed for about 2 ½ hours then took the 6:30 p.m. ferry back.

Shown are a couple of photos of Chateau Frontenac. The one taken from the ferry shows the wall that surrounds Old Quebec.

We Play Tourist!

This morning when I woke up I heard pouring rain on the roof so I stayed in bed until 8:30 a.m. I think I could have slept all day but I got up and went for a walk around the new campground. The rain had stopped by then. There are people here from all over, 2 from California, 2 from North Carolina, 1 from Florida and 1 from Tennessee. There is also 1 each from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Nova Scotia as well as 3 from m Ontario. I was quite surprised. People must be up here to see the autumn leaves.

Me standing in front of mural featuring prominent people in Quebec City's history

One of the streets in Old Quebec

Late this morning we decided to go into Quebec City. I thought we would take the ferry but we were on our way west on Hwy 20 in the truck when I realized we were driving instead. We found a place to park on the street and walked around Old Quebec and took some photos. Old Quebec is a really interesting place with cobblestone streets and lots of quaint buildings and little shops. Quebec's Old Town (Vieux-Québec) is the only North American fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist. There were lots of people there and we wondered why until we looked down at the St. Lawrence River and there was the Queen Elizabeth II sitting majestically in the harbour.

QEII in the harbour

Gate to Old Quebec

Ceiling in Ste Anne de Beaupre Basilica

Another ceiling in Ste Anne de Beaupre

Ste Anne de Beaupre Basilica

Front doors to the Basilica

After we left Old Quebec we drove around in circles for a while trying to get east of the city to go to Ste. Anne de Beaupre to visit the Shrine of Ste. Anne de Beaupre. Saint Anne is proclaimed patroness of the province of Québec and is also supposed to be that grandmother of Jesus. The present Basilica was built in 1923 after a fire destroyed the fourth church. The first one was built in 1658. This is a beautiful church. I would say it’s even nicer than Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, England. I wasn’t terribly impressed with it. We spent some time at Ste Anne de Beaupre, took photos inside and out and then headed west to go home but stopped at Montmorency Falls on the way. We went in at the base of the falls and took some photos, looked at the prices for the cable car, decided not to take it (I’m not much for heights anyway) so drove to the top of the Falls and walked along the walkway. Gordon walked part way over the bridge that goes over the top of the falls but I declined. While there we had a really pretty rainbow.

Montmorency Falls

Gordon waving to me from the bridge over Montmorency Falls

Rainbow over the Falls

We started to head home about 4:30 p.m. thinking we were probably going to get tied up in rush hour traffic but it wasn’t bad even going south on Hwy 73 and we arrived home around 5:30 p.m.

It’s been a long day but we saw a lot!