Québec

After the whirlwind of June, we needed a quick getaway but our dreams of a camping trip were dashed by poor weather. So instead, we grabbed passports and pointed our car to the great white north for a trek to Quebec City! We crossed over at the Highgate/Philipsburg border crossing and began snaking our way to the town of Granby (with an obligatory stop for donuts at Tim Hortons on the way) to go to the zoo. Annabel had been there two years ago, but her memory had faded.

We started by exploring the African animals where we saw Zebras, Giraffes, Rhinoceroses, Lions and Elephants. It was a hot afternoon, so we cooled off with popsicles while simultaneously watching the humans and animals. 

The aquatic animals were a hit for Annabel who especially enjoyed petting the stingrays and would have spent her entire afternoon there if possible. She was complaining that her legs were getting tired, so we took the slow monorail tour overlooking the South American animals instead of strolling which gave us some welcome shade. With her well rested limbs, she then found a tall slide that she proceeded to climb relentlessly for the good part of an hour.

We bid adieu to Granby and headed east to our humble abode for the next three nights - a KOA camping cabin overlooking the trans-Canada highway and a power station. Annabel was delighted to find that we have the closest cabin the the playground that includes a giant jumping pillow trampoline. She would proceed to spend much of the next three days bouncing on that thing...

Rain overnight and rain forecasted for the majority of the next day, we headed to the aquarium of Québec. It was an extensive complex of buildings and outdoor exhibits and listing all the creatures here would take too long. However - they had a POLAR BEAR and ARCTIC FOXES... Annabel again found a stingray petting tank that consumed much of her day as well as the starfish petting tank. She was also enamored with the walking tube at the bottom of one of the largest tanks where you could watch fish above you.

The late afternoon and evening was spent on the playground with the jumping pillow trampoline thing.

We had better weather the following day and took a bus to Old Quebec City where we learned that Annabel loves pretending to fire cannons...and there is no shortage of battery in that walled city. We took out numerous pretend British vessels on the river before snaking our way for a tour of the citadel. Since it is a working military base, we were only allowed a group tour which was augmented by actual cannon fire to mark noon!

After our tour, we found lunch at Restaurant L'omlette where Annabel ate crêpes and we feasted on the Quebec special (pea-soup, meat-pie and maple syrup pie). It was a delicious way to finish our visit to the old city. We had just enough time to sink a few more British ships before a quick exploration of Notre Dame des Victoires church - the oldest church in the province with a turreted alter.

The evening was spent on the playground with the jumping pillow trampoline thing.

Our final day in Québec was mostly a drive home - but we picked Fort Chambly National Historic Site as a midway stop. Annabel loved the "Elsa castle" and we enjoyed the historic tour of the use of the fort and its preservation starting in the late 1800's.

We drove home disappointed to find that we would be spending the evening without a playground or jumping pillow trampoline thing....

Home Stretch

 Leaving the bustling metropolis of Linwood, Nova Scotia marked the final stretch of our 2024 road trip. After a delicious pancake breakfast (with Vermont maple syrup of course) we headed west and let Annabel know that there would be a surprise in the evening. She asked a ton of questions about it, but we didn’t tell her what it might be.

Our first stop was in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia (because Old Glasgow was wicked dumb?) where we attended the Museum of Industry. Despite the name sounding like a snooze-fest, it was a very engaging museum and had some perfect elements for Annabel including a giant train that she could play in and a crane that she could maneuver. We particularly enjoyed an interpreter that gave us a demonstration of a steam engine from 1838 and another that operated on a dry dock in Sydney, NS from 1866-1995 when the boiler finally broke. Also - it appears that coal mining in the region was a terribly dangerous undertaking, and therefore required many undertakers.

After a picnic lunch at the museum, we continued west to Fundy National Park where we unveiled the surprise for Annabel. We had reserved an otentik for the evening (a cabin like perma-tent) so we would be glamping for the night. She loved playing on the beds and in the loft. We had dinner overlooking the bay and spent the rest of the night playing UNO in the otentik. It turned out to be a good night to have a solid cover over our heads because we awoke to rain and no appearance of it letting up. It meant that we wouldn’t get to explore much of the park on this trip, but we’ve had fabulous weather for most of this trip, so who am I to complain?

Since the weather was iffy, it was a driving day for us. We arrived back in the USA and continued through Bangor, Maine where we followed the interstate to Freeport. It was our longest driving day of the trip by far and Annabel was great! We had lunch at Tim Horton’s in St. John, New Brunswick and we let Annabel choose her dinner that evening. She had a hankering for spaghetti and meatballs so we ate at the Olive Garden in Augusta, Maine. We camped that evening at Winslow Park (the same campground as our first night on this trip).

The next day - we continued to follow the interstate (which seemed to be the safest route due to all the recent flooding in the northeast) and made a quick stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for some licks at Annabelle’s Ice Cream. We were the first patrons of the day and Annabel was excited to see her name on the sign.

Our last stop was at the Montshire Museum in Norwich, Vermont where we all got a stretch break from the car and Annabel happily played with bubbles for seventy five percent of our visit. The museum’s exhibits were a perfect match for Annabel’s age and she even got to pet a turtle!

The rest of the trip was a familiar venture on interstate 89 as we settled back into Vermont’s mountainous topography - a landscape that seems to hug you on return. We had our first extended road trip since the COVID pandemic and we had gained an awesome new road trip buddy - GO ANNABEL! 

**Also a shout out to the 2010 Prius with 198,000 miles that is STILL hauling us around on adventures after all these years**

Cape Breton III

 Upon our departure from the North Sydney KOA, we left the beaches and mountains and headed for the inland area of Cape Breton. We first headed south to the bucolic town of Iona where perched on a hill, overlooking Bras D’Or Lake sits the Highland Village Museum. It was one of the best living history museums that we had ever attended and it told the story of the Scottish immigrants evicted from their homes during the highland clearances and settlement in Cape Breton. The interpreters were knowledgeable and Annabel asked great questions of them. One interpreter even sat and sang Gaelic work songs with us while working a wool blanket.

After tearing Lisa away from Iona, we took the world’s shortest ferry to return to the town of Baddeck where we grabbed supper at the Bell Buoy Bistro and then attended the Ceilidh at St. Michael’s Parish Hall. We tapped our toe to the fiddle/piano duet of Dawn Beaton and Jason Roach, but Annabel was dancing around the room until she hit her limit and fell asleep on Mom’s lap.

The next morning we took a circuitous route to the town of Judique for their lunchtime Ceilidh which featured two excellent high school musicians. Annabel was dancing up a storm again, which was dangerous with the food being served. We managed to sneak in some bites of fish and chips between tunes.

We found a campsite just off the island of Cape Breton, but headed back to Port Hawkesbury for their Tuesday night Ceilidh which featured a large group of musicians (John and Bill Petterin, Rachel Davis, Darren McMullen and Jason Roach) playing toe-tapping Scottish music. Annabel repeated her freestyle highland dance and managed to stay up for the end of the show.

We are spending the night in Linwood, Nova Scotia and planning to start heading west. Tomorrow should be a Fun-d(a)y. 

Cape Breton II

 After leaving Chetícamp, we dried off in the car as we followed the southern route of the Cabot Trail. We meandered through sparsely populated territory with filtered views of the mountains through the low hanging clouds. Eventually we made our way to the town of Baddeck where we visited the Alexander Graham Bell museum which is filled with not only telephones but equipment and languages invented for teaching and communicating with the deaf and airplanes and speedboats. By modern standards, Alexander Graham Bell would be considered a bit of a kook. Annabel enjoyed finding hidden sheep and completing the scavenger hunt.

We grabbed lunch at the Three Doors Down Diner in Baddeck before making the long road north to Ingonish. We decided to skip the Friday night music in favor of a quiet evening at our campsite by the sea. Instead, we whiled away the evening on a beach where Warren Brook terminates into the Atlantic Ocean. Annabel braved the cool water to swim while Mom and Dad played fiddle music on the beach. We found the campground playground by following the river trail but it was a bit of a disappointment after the massive series of structures at our previous campground.

After chocolate chip pancakes and bacon meat sticks the next morning, we were itching for a hike. We were in luck since our campground was situated across the road from Lake Warren - a beautiful glacial lake with a perimeter path. Annabel walked the entire four mile trail and other than a pair of dropped sunglasses (which were safely retrieved!) the hike went off without a hitch.

Lunch was back at our campsite before we spent the rest of the evening at the same beach we had lounged on the previous day. We all made friends with a local family and Annabel had a great swimming buddy in the afternoon. It was a quiet and relaxing day with almost no driving which was a nice contrast to most of the days of this trip so far. 

It was a bit of a rowdy campground night but we awoke early the next morning anyway and headed to Louisbourg Fortress National Historic Site. The site is a living history museum that recreates the fort as is appeared in 1744. We had lunch with the commoners (where you only get a spoon) and enjoyed talking to the many interpreters around the fort. Annabel enjoyed booing the “voleur” at the public humiliation!

We find ourselves in North Sydney for the evening at the nicest KOA that we’ve ever stayed at…although that isn’t a high bar to clear.