We had to make a decision whether to head south from Canada and home or continue west. Jan and her high school friends had visited Quebec City in their high school days and she desired to return for “ old times sake.” Therefore, we left PEI traveling west through North Brunswick to Quebec City. One would never need be on this transcanadian highway unless you were leaving PEI for Quebec. There are miles of moderate mountainous terrain and forests that basically follow the St. John’s River. We commented that there were no billboards but that was because the intervals between towns was so vast. There are billboards but very few to interrupt the landscape. Actually, it was quite nice. We needed our usual nice midday meal and took a road off Canada 2 for about six miles to a restaurant that was in Jan’s AAA guide, the Creekside Inn. It one of those good experiences that this mode of travel provides. Not only was the food good but the village, Gagetown, was a quaint and charming place. It was a prominent fur trading site on the St. John’s River in the past. The prestigious homes of that time have been preserved and the others on the waterfront have been converted into very nice shops exhibiting pottery and the works of local weavers. The riverfront was full of sailboats and tourists who obviously knew the charm of the village. After a pleasant interlude, we wound our way back to Canada 2 and found a small, quiet, campground on the St. John’s River for the night. Jan persisted in her usual visits with the other campers on her evening walks with Colette and discovered how to make one’s own wines from a kit. I think that we will pass on that.
We continued our travel west into the province of Quebec. Their road signs say that they have 100,000 people at work on the roads. In our opinion, they need about 100.000 more on the job. The other interesting note was that, whereas in all the other provinces the official signs are in both french and english, all the official signs are in french here. I know they take this seriously as Quebec has tried to establish their own nation on at least one occasion. For us it was like being in France again, So we started using our french once again. Interestingly, although it has been over 10 years since we lived there, it does come back enough to generate good will and pleasant experiences in this very nationalistic province. Even to the point that when we stopped off in Montgany to see the museum of the accordion (Why?—because I have loved the instrument since the year in France and my son gave me one that I have played intermittently), the young woman offered to give us a tour after we used our french. When she discovered that our primary language was english, she persisted, and with her english and our french, we had a delightful tour of a unique and charming museum with some beautiful, and large, vintage instruments—it was just the two of us on a Sunday afternoon. I may start practicing again—God help the citizens of Dewees. Then, on to Quebec City for our campground just outside the metropolitan area.
We were able to book a shuttle into old Quebec for the day. It was a rainy morning and a “thrilling ride” with a driver that drove like he was on the back roads of France. He dropped us off in front of the magnificent Hotel Frontenac and the rain magically dissipated for us. Our first visit was into the hotel to see if Jan remembered anything from her high school trip—she didn’t. However we wanted to experience some fine french dining again but their serious restaurant did not open for lunch; however, we employed the services of their concierge—if you appear that you belong somewhere, there are never any questions— she recommended a restaurant a few blocks away. And it was elegant with the service and menu that you expect from a fine french restaurant. Likely the best meal we will have until our return to Charleston. We toured the upper and lower portions of old Quebec, watched some of the regular street performers in front of the chateau, looked into some wonderful galleries, did some shopping ( Jan), and returned by shuttle to the campground and a different way of life.
The following morning was again greeted with rain but we were moving west in the RV and the wipers worked fine this trip. We knew the day was not going to be special anyway as we were guided through the metro area of Montreal by our good lady friend of the GPS, around Ottawa, and on to a campground in the forests off Transcanada 17 for the night. We had internet connections so I made some camping reservations in two provincial parks, Chutes and Obtanga, for the next couple days of travel as we traverse westward through the Ottawa River valley and the spruce forests and lakes of Ontario. Despite the road construction stops, we don’t begrudge them these stops as they do need road construction, the scenery has been pleasant but nothing yet approaching that of Maine, Nova Scotia, and especially PEI. We did pass through the town of North Bay on Lake Nipissing which feeds into Lake Huron. Its claim to fame was that it is the home of the Dionne Quintuplets and the town has made their house a museum. Anybody remember how unique multiple births were in 1934? They were unique before the advent of fertility drugs. I even remember the quintuplets being on the Ed Sullivan Variety Hour television show. I guess I should ask how many people even remember the Ed Sullivan show?
The rain came again after we had settled in at Chutes Provincial Park and we awoke to a very foggy morning. We made our way to Transcanada 17 and slowly began our drive west along Lake Huron. Fog, water, bays, made for some interesting scenery but unfortunately I could not easily pull over for pictures. The fog lifted later and we avoided the border crossing at Sault St. Marie to drive the route along the top of Lake Superior and what a glorious drive it was. It was a sunny day for spectacular views driving those green mountains that surround the clear, deep, blue water of the lake. The wind was strong and the waves were crashing up along the boulder strewn shore. And most of the drive was through the large Lake Superior provincial park with its wonderful roads. We believe the Cabot Road may have some competition for natural beauty.We took lunch in a local diner in WaWa, Ontario. WaWa is the First Nation word for wild goose and there were 3 or 4 of those monstrous goose statues saluting the tourists. From there it was on to our campground in Obtanga provincial park with its campsites distributed in a dense spruce forest surrounding a lake. We hiked in the afternoon and morning before heading on to Thunder Bay.
The drive to Thunder Bay was also very scenic and mountainous around the north shore of Lake Superior. A break was taken at Terrace Bay where we drove down through a golf course to a “beach” on Lake Superior that featured a gorge and waterfalls that fed into the lake. Later we had lunch in a small local diner in a small blue collar town of Nipigon, obviously founded because of forest and railroad. The waitress spotted our RV and wanted to go along with us. I told her a spot was open if she could cook since we were eating in the restaurant because Jan refused to cook. After arriving in Thunder Bay, we decided to stay over the next day to explore historic Fort William and the bay. Fort William was a major commerce center in the 1800s for the British where the natives supplied furs for the elite European market in exchange for the tools and trinkets of Europe. Fort William is now an authentically restored and working village on the river, the name of which I could not spell. It was very educational and surprisingly entertaining as the “locals” really get into their roles and treat you as 19th century visitor, occasionally too much so—I had to pretend to be a member of PETA to get out of the fur store! After a walk along the harbor with Colette, we returned to the campground and prepared for our return to the USA tomorrow morning.
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