Sept 3rd

Montmorency Falls

We decided to take a look at Montmorency Falls just east of Quebec City.  The falls are higher than Niagra but tiny in comparison.  We made the mistake of paying to park ($9.50) when we could have just parked and walked in.  The best view was from the highway (40/440) at the bottom – oh well.

Quebec Funicular

We drove back into the city and parked at the cheapest place available – $7 for 12 hours – and walked downhill into the city.  We walked all the way down to the waterfront again and had some lunch, coffee, and gelato.  We rode the funicular back up from the river to the main city level.  Just spent time sitting and people-watching – fun and relaxing.  Tomorrow it is on to Montreal.

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Sept 2nd

A gate to old city

We had scheduled a motor tour of the city with Old Quebec Tours and figured we use the tour as an overview so we would know what we wanted to go back and see later in our visit.  Our tour guide was named Phillip and he was quite pleasant with a slight, but not bad, French accent.  He did talk fast however, and since he had so much information to give us it was pretty overwhelming.  Carol called his dialogue a “Berlitz Blitz”.  When the tour was over we returned to the KOA for lunch and to pick up our tow car and return to the city.

We conducted our own walking tour of the city and the waterfront area with various stops for a Starbuck’s coffee and cookies and some gelato..  We ended our grazing with a small but tasty pizza at a small restaurant in the waterfront area.

Cirque du Soleil

After our pizza dinner we hurried to an area under a couple of freeway overpasses where we had read that there were daily shows by members of the Cirque du Soleil. We have seen Cirque du Soleil performances before in Las Vegas and really liked them.

On our way “home” from the show we passed some public buildings and a fountain along with a long series of old grain elevators that serve as sort of artistic movie screens at night.  The photos are in this slide show.

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Sept 1st

Today begins our second month on the road.  After 6 really nice nights at my sister Diane’s house in Friendship, Maine we moved on to Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.  The trip took us about 8 hours – we are really slow but we have a good time – and we passed some spectacular scenery in Northwest Maine.  Carol saw a moose but I missed it and it was not advisable to slam on the brakes and turn around so I will have to see it through her eyes.  Sorry but no pictures today – fell down on the job.

All went well until we reached Canadian Customs.  They decided that we looked suspicious or maybe didn’t like my answers to their many questions and they told us to pull over for an inspection.  Two serious looking customs agents wearing bullet proof vests and sidearms came out and told us to “stand over there away from the RV” while they checked it out.  We didn’t know what they were looking for but we were very nervous that they would find it.  After about 15 minutes they came out and said to follow them to the Immigration department to pick up our IDs – and they complimented us on the beautiful job on the interior.

We drove the rest of the way to the Quebec KOA wondering what that was about.  The heat was bad all of the way from Maine to Quebec.  It went from low 80’s to 90 and very humid.  The coach performed really well and the engine temps stayed in the 190-210 range with the AC on all the way.  The drive wasn’t as hilly as others we have had but there are some pretty good hills on the way.

When we got to the KOA we found that we needed more than the 25 feet of electric cord to reach the 30amp service.  I connected my additional extension and turned on both AC units.  Within about 10 minutes I was still outside emptying the holding tank, etc. and I heard a loud, sharp buzz and the AC units quit.  My regular power cord was so hot I couldn’t touch it and when I finally could one of the probes had been so hot that it melted the plastic around it.  I moved the coach so that the single cord could reach and we are living with one unit running.

We made reservations with a tour company that one of the GMCnet members recommended and we will take the shuttle to it tomorrow.  Hopefully, I will have pictures tomorrow.

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Aug 31st

We went grocery shopping for dinner – we cooked for Diane, her father-in-law John and her neighbor Karen.  We cooked fresh haddock – the best white fish in my opinion and it was wonderful.  Found some Mobil1 15W-50 at a NAPA store – seems like WalMart has quit carrying it.  Had a couple of cups of cold-brewed iced coffee – for us, a new way of preparing coffee – delicious.  We will try to learn more about how to do that.

After we got home we went for a swim but the water was way too cold for Carol and me.  I know that, being a long way from the open ocean, the water is as warm as ocean water gets in New England but it was way too cold for me.  After jumping in and then out of the water we decided that another kayak ride was in order.  This time I did much better.  It turns out that the kayak has a rudder that I didn’t use on the first try.  It is much easier with a rudder – fun.

Packing to leave for Quebec in the morning.  We hope to be on our way by 9:00am.

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Aug 30 – Not much going on today.  Everyone is just kicking back and getting ready to leave.  Davin left today for Massachusetts and Diane will be following in a couple of days. We could stay here and just kick back but I think we are anxious to see more of the country and Canada and Carol is wanting to get to Niagra Falls.  We took a look at the map and what Streets and Trips says is a good route and we should be able to easily get to Quebec City in one day.  I asked for advice from people on the GMCnet for camping sites and for suggested activities and so far have some good ones.

Now for the clams.  Whenever I come to the East Coast I want to have some of the local seafood.  That is because I grew up in Western Massachusetts and we got seafood from the  Boston area all the time.  Having lived on the West Coast and the Southwest for 31 years I know that there is no fresh seafood available there and I miss it.  So far this trip I have not hat much of my favorite dish: clams.  These clams must be local to the New England Coast because everywhere else they are unavailable.  The type of clams that I am talking about are Ipswich Clams as opposed to Littleneck Clams which are more common – they go by other names too but they are not available anywhere else.  They are great steamed or fried but I have had the fried version twice now but no steamers.

Diane bought about 4 pounds of clams and cooked them just perfectly.

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Aug 29th

Today we took a trip to Damariscotta for a little shopping trip.  We bought some clothes and miscellaneous other goodies in the local Reny’s stores.  Reny’s is a chain of discount stores that have locations throughout Maine – great prices on some good brands, worth the stop if you are in Maine.  They even had one of my favorite candy bars from when I was a kid – Sky Bars by NECCO – I had not had one of those since I was a teenager.

Carol is a "natural"

In the afternoon, Diane and Davin helped Carol and me into kayaks for a short excursion on the river in front of their house.  Great fun – we may not want to go home.

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Aug 28th

This morning we had a great breakfast and relaxed until the tide came in and then we went for a boat ride to see the local scenery from the water.  The boat is a copy of a Simmons Sea Skiff that Davin made from scratch – his first power boat project.  The boat has a high bow and stern to keep the ocean out and a flat bottom for a shallow draft and a really smooth ride.  Here are some photos:

Below is a video of part of the boat ride where we are passing through some really nice scenery.  Right after this video was taken a bald eagle flew out of the area on the right.

Below is a video of Diane and Davin’s house from the water.

Below is a video of the harbor at Friendship.  The voice is Carol’s – hard to tell with that Maine accent.

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Aug 27th

Spent the day touring the Pemaquid penninsula which is just south or west of Diane and Davin’s home in Friendship, ME.  Here are some photos.

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Aug 26th

Today we left at 8:00am, a little earlier than we like but we had a long day ahead of us.  We estimated that we would get to Friendship, Maine and my sister Diane’s house at 6:30pm.  It can be done by car in 5 1/2 hours but driving the GMC and towing a car makes it take just a little longer – about double?  We took secondary highways across Mass., New Hampshire and Maine (no tolls and lots of scenery).  It actually took us an hour less and we were comfortably parked at Diane and Davin’s house at 5:30pm.

A little later we were preparing a feast of fresh local corn and lobsters that were just caught today.  No mechanical difficulties except the fuel pump seems to have had another bad connection after being parked for 4 days and there was one instance of a clicking solenoid that went away quickly.

Here are some photos – click the little “full screen” symbol for lots better pictures.

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Aug 25th

We went to visit Mom again this morning but she was not doing real well.  She was upset about her condition and when she could not remember what her husband of 57 years had looked like she lost her composure and could not be consoled.  We left her in the able hands of the people at Orchard Valley in Wilbraham, MA and left, planning to return after lunch.  This visit only lasted one hour and we learned some lessons.  We returned in mid-afternoon and she was much better.  She was animated and smiling.  She was having a very bad memory day but did not get frustrated by it.  When she could not identify people in photos she just called them some other name and went on – we did not argue.  We spent about 2 hours with her just listening and joking with her and then left her with a big hug.

The best Mom in the world

Since we only come back to this area once per year this would probably be the last time she knew who we were.  This is a horrible disease for people like her that know that it is happening.

After the visit with Mom we returned to Dick and DuAnne’s house for dinner with them and their two sons David and Ryan.  Tomorrow, August 26th is Dick’s 67th birthday and the following day, the 27th, is DuAnne’s (I won’t tell you her age but it ends in 5 and is significant) so we celebrated with a little cake and singing.

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