Melvin Family Tour Canada

Okay, I am sorry but I am having trouble getting this blog updated because we are having so much fun!
We made it back to french country.

Thursday, September 30

We made it to Old Quebec City today and it is old! With half the buildings in the historic district built before 1850 and some of the architecture dating back to the days of New France. We took a cab into Lower Town (Basse Ville) and Kent was anxious to show us the sites he had seen when he came out in July. We walked down the narrow cobble stoned streets browsing the shops and enjoying the history and antiquity of everything around us. Old Quebec is where Samuel de Champlain set up residence in 1608. Place Royale is an out cobble stoned market and meeting place built in 1688 on the site of Champlain's garden. We walked down Rue du Petit-Champlain which is Quebec's oldest street and North America's oldest commercial thoroughfare. From here we tried to take the funicular up to Haute-Ville (Upper Town) but the wheelchair accessible one was not operating today so we took the bus instead. In Haute-Ville we walked around the Hotel de Ville (city hall) and then up to the St. Jean gate (one of the three gates leading into the city) where we walked up on the wall. Quebec is the only remaining fortified city in North America. We walked to the Notre-Dame Basilica and took a look inside before admiring the artwork on rue du Trésor. We continued on to the Chateau Frontenac where we sat down for a Starbucks coffee before walking through the hotel. From here we headed back out to the street and up through the St. Louis gate to the parliament buildings and over to the citadel. But it was close to 5:00 by this time and the citadel was closed for the day so we got a cab back to the campground.

On the streets of Old Quebec with the Funicular in the background.

This is Park Royale.

Katrina and Juanna in front of a great wall mural depicting life past and present in Quebec.

Look closely you may recognize these two.

Juanna hold on.

We found this tunnel in a row of buildings.

Walking the streets in Basse-Ville.

Another mural.

An amazing floral display.

St. Jean gate.

The view from the gate down to the city below.

Another amazing flower pot.

Dufferin Terrace.

A horse taking a drink break with the St. Louis gate in the background.

The provincial parliament buildings.

The girls out front the parliament buildings with the wall of the city in the background.

Friday, October 1

We are so excited - Mom and Dad come today!!! We quickly got the sheets and towels washed and the motor home cleaned for our company. :) Mom and Dad arrived around 11:00 and we headed back into Old Quebec City. We walked much the same streets as the day before showing Mom and Dad all we saw. The funicular was working today so Kent, Dad, Katrina and Victoria took a ride up in that and Juanna, Mom and I took the Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Stairs). We didn't cover as much ground today but we did get in to more stores - so that is always fun. We walked back down to the Lower Town and found a place to have supper on the patio before calling it a day and going back to the motorhome for the night.

Look who joined us.

Lunch on the patio with Grandma.

Looking across the St. Lawrence on the terrace of the Chateau Frontenac.

Chateau Frontinac

Looking down at the train station.

Chateau Frontenac at night.

Saturday, October 2

We had planned to tour the citadel today but it was cold and rainy so we decided to head down to Montreal instead. Today was really a driving day but it was fun to have Mom and Dad with us.

Supper in the motor home.

Sunday, October 3

Another cold and rainy day in Montreal. We had beautiful morning meeting in Châteauguay (on the South Shore of Montreal) before we headed downtown. We planned to tour the underground city today to stay out of the inclement weather but we mostly stayed above ground in the mall. Lots of fun for the girls, maybe not so much fun for the men.

Art created out of recycling collected in the mall.

Look at those smiles - retail therapy is great.

Monday, October 4

Today was our site seeing day. We started by going to the Biodome and (as Anita calls it) the giant pork chop in the Olympic Park but once we got there they informed us that they are closed on Mondays. No problem, we went down to old Montreal to Pointe-a-Callière the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History - closed on Mondays. We thought maybe we would see an Imax show at the Science Center - no English shows until tomorrow. We tried to go do the labyrinth tour - closed during the week. Nothing was working out for expanding our cultural knowledge so best to shop at all the great boutiques in Old Montreal and then up to St. Catherine's and shopped some more. Definitely a great way to spend another very overcast day. Once the stores closed we headed up the hill to see the raccoons and look down to the city from Mont Royal. Anita told us we would see some raccoons but she never told us we would see a whole city of raccoons and they were very tame, coming up to us and looking for food. We came down the hill and looked for a place to buy some Montreal bagels. We had a very long day and loads of fun.

This is not a lake, it is our campsite in Montreal.

The giant pork chop.

Streets of Old Montreal.

Out front the museum of archaeology.

Building in old Montreal.

A Dutch-Renaissance firehouse which is now a history museum.

Old church up on St. Catherine's street.

Streets of old Montreal.

Bonsecours Market

The raccoons in Mont Royal begging for treats.

The girls getting up close to the raccoons.

Inside the Mont Royal bagel shop.

Friday, September 23

Today we came over to New Brunswick. We drove through Moncton and our first stop was Hopewell Rocks - the place to see the 'flowerpots' and the splendour of the Bay of Fundy tides. We arrived here when it was still low tide so we were able to go down to the beach and walk around the great rock sculptures made from the power of water erosion and the constant changing of the tides. The girls and I had a great time walking in the mud (the girls) and looking at the beauty in the rocks. It is amazing to think that these towering rocks are only small islands in the water when the tide is in and the beach we have been walking on becomes the ocean floor.

Looking down to the Hopewell rocks from the path.

This one is called Dino Rock - can you guess why.

We found an underwater tunnel - okay we cheated and found it on dry land.

Can you find the wizened old face in the rock?

Another look at the flowerpots.

Yes, the girls found the mud flats.

The girls found another pet but once again mom made them put it back - no creepy crawlies.

Saturday, September 24

We drove on to Fundy National Park today. At the entrance of the park is a small town named Alma. We stopped here to explore a large beach that was there because the tide was out. The girls had a great time finding shells, rocks, sea glass, and any other treasure they could find. I even found a small piece of old pottery that had been tumbled around for a long time in the ocean so it had the softened edges that you find on sea glass. It was also very amazing to see huge fishing boats sitting down on the mud and tied to the dock at the same time. Yes, the tides are huge here in the Bay of Fundy. After our stop in Alma we continued on to Hunter Lake.

Our first covered bridge sighting - The Sawmill Creek Bridge was built in 1905 and was used until 1975 when it was replaced by a new non-covered bridge.

A store front in the town of Alma.

What the harbour looks like when the tide is out.

The girls gem hunting on the beach.

Victoria is caught.

Victoria wanted to take my picture for the blog - so here it is.

This is something you won't find at home.

Sunday, September 25

We had a wonderful time with the Rod and Eleanor McLean family here at Hunter Lake. They have a great place with loads of land and a lake. This was Katrina's dream home with lots of land, a lake and HORSES! The girls had a great time with Emily who is 11. On Sunday we walked next door and had meeting with Rod's parents. Rod and Eleanor were so hospitable and accommodating. We had both Saturday supper and Sunday lunch with them and it was Deanna's 16th birthday so I hope she didn't feel ripped off because we invaded her party. We got to go to the afternoon gospel meeting and then had supper together before we headed off to St. Andrew for the night.

Katrina, Emily, Juanna, and Victoria had a great time together.

For all you airplane lovers here is a couple shots of Rod's plane.

Darryl, Mitchell, Emily, Rod, Eleanor, and Deanna McLean

Monday, September 26

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

Last night we spent the night at an amazing campsite in St. Andrews. St. Andrews is a lovely little town that juts out into the Bay of Fundy so from our campground we were surrounded on three sides by water. It was so amazing to see the sunrise this morning on a beautiful clear blue day with the water all around. We went on a walk by the water and the girls once again collected gems from the beach. It was a beautifully warm day and we were glad to be outside and enjoying it. In the early afternoon we went over to St. Stephen where the girls and I toured the Chocolate Museum. It was a very interesting tour we got to see where cocoa comes from and some of the history of chocolate and then we got to see a video tour of the chocolate factory. Ganong chocolates have been made here in this factory from 1873 until 1975 when it moved to the new and present day location down the road (still in St. Stephen). We even got to witness one lady hand dipping chocolates. There are only four ladies doing hand-dipping now and no new people have been trained since the 1960's. It was amazing to watch the precision and artfulness of this task. But, we must admit the best part of the tour was the unlimited supply of free chocolate samples. Yes, I left with a tummy ache from too much chocolate. We had to take a visit to the chocolate shop after the tour and load up on some chocolate for later. After our visit to St. Stephen we headed back up to New River Beach Provincial Park for an earlier end to our travels for the day and time to once again head down to the beach and enjoy the end of another beautiful day.

The twins outside at the campsite in St. Andrews.

The girls shell creature.

Chocolate Museum and Ganong candy store out front.

A lady hand dipping peanut butter cup chocolates.

The girls in the sweet seat.

Cute bench made to look lite a lobster trap.

New River Beach Provincial Park

Kent and Daisy on the beach.

Enjoying the beauty all around us and the warm weather.

Tuesday, September 27

Okay, today was not a great day - not because of the scenery or the weather - Kent woke up feeling rotten and throwing up. We convinced him to stay laying down and I drove us back into St John to witness the Reversing Falls. Everyone is sad to be leaving the ocean, but we can't get home if we don't leave the East coast. From here we started up towards Fredericton where we had lunch and picked up another load of groceries. We continued west and stopped in Hartland to see the world's longest covered bridge. We were surprised to find that is still in use as a single lane crossing. The bridge is 1282 feet long. The girls and I walked across and back. We pulled into a campsite just outside of Grand Falls for the night and now we have the twins rolling around complaining of tummy aches. :( Let's hope Victoria and I can avoid it. We can't complain because this is the first anyone has got a little under the weather since we left. So we are hoping it is a 24 hour thing.

The girls at the reversing falls.

Reversing falls - it is hard to show in a picture - the water is going up the river because the tide is coming in.

The world's longest covered bridge. It is 1282 feet long and is still used as a single lane bridge in Hartland. No lights control the traffic just a stop sign at the entrance so you can look for any traffic.

Wednesday, September 29

Our last day in New Brunswick started off with a rough night with three out of five being sick to their stomachs. Now it is my turn to feel awful today. We went into Grand Falls around noon and took a walking tour of the falls and the gorge. It is hard to show the grandeur of this gorge in photos. Now it is off to Quebec.