Thursday evening, after giving Lori a walking tour of the KOA, we headed out with Charles & Muriel for dinner in Old Quebec. Time for a walk before our 7:45 dinner reservation and we (or I) quickly discovered that 'strolling the streets' involves a lot of stairs! But onward & upward. We truly stepped into a different world. What a treat to walk the cobbled streets and realize that these buildings have been here for 400 years! Of course, the stone facade is all connected and one can't see where one begins and another ends. Charles told us that if someone wants to 'renovate' a building they can do so only on the interior; the outside must remain as it was originally.
Dinner at Le Cochon Dingue (The Crazy Pig) was an experience in itself. Their specialty is mussels, harvested right out of the St. Lawrence River right there in Quebec (now that's fresh!); served up with a generous portion of French Fries. Charles & Lori chose that, and Hunter's eyes got round as saucers when they brought Lori's plate with a 'kettle' (1 lb.) of mussels! Of course, most of a mussel is the shell, but it's not the 'typical' dinner she is used to seeing. I selected another house favorite - "poutine dingue" - which turned out to be a bowl of French fries, with cheese curds & a brown sauce, topped with tender BQ pork rib meat. Delicious! Roger's choice was one of his favorites - seafood pot pie. Hunter stuck with her chicken fingers & fries, but was delighted when the waitress brought out a HUGE brownie, complete with a sparkler! The waitresses all sang Happy Birthday - in French, of course. I wish we had thought to bring the camera.
In Canada, no meal is complete without an after dinner cup of coffee or tea. Roger chose a caramel, pecan & chocolate 'pie' (and I sampled it). One bite and it took me right back home to Uncle Harvey's homemade caramels! It was an 'individual' pie shell, filled with wonderful caramel & pecans, topped with a milk chocolate 'crust'. VERY rich, but wonderful. I don't think one's brain could count the calories in that one little 'tart'! Thinking I had found a coffee I could drink, I ordered a cappachino when everyone else ordered coffee. But this cup of cappachino was hot and about 5 times stronger than my Ice Capp from Tim Horton's the other day! I got most of it down, but wow, was it strong!
Our tummies full we decided that Charles & Muriel would give us a walking tour of the rest of the city. While Muriel & Lori climbed the stairs up, the rest of us rode the L'incomparable Funiculaire de Quebec which is a type of elevator that goes right up the side of the very steep hill. It was well worth the $1.75 - or I would never had made it. A festival was going on, and the city was full of people. How enchanting to walk and take in the different street performances and artists. Side walk cafes full of people, the clip clop of horse drawn buggies, street lanterns, the St. Lawrence River as a back drop . . . we couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening. As 11:00 o'clock approached, we decided to call it a night. Everyone but Roger & I took the stairs down (we rode the Funiculaire). I had long ago passed 'tired' and my bed never felt so good!
The next morning we drove over to pick Lori up at her hotel, have breakfast, and then back to the campground to get the trailer. Headed south to Montreal. When we stopped to say our goodbyes, Muriel had a birthday present for Hunter, but told her she could not open it until Saturday. What a sweet thing to do & Hunter could hardly wait. About a 3 hour drive, driving through some horrific rain & lightening. Roger thought he was back home! But the rain had stopped by the time we arrived, and after setting up, it was time to do the walk-about. Hunter had made 'instant' friends with a brother & sister from Manitoba, so while their folks supervised them in the pool, we got busy.
As we finished up, Tom came by to invite us to go to dinner. Hunter has been so good to endure our meals out where all we do is talk business, that I hated to interrupt her fun - and I needed the time to prepare the report anyway. Later she cooked herself up a double batch of Easy Mac & Cheese, and I dined on left over spaghetti. There can be much said about a quiet 'at home' dinner. Worked until 11:00 p.m. and fell into bed, only to be back up before 5:00 to finish it. Sat down with the owners at 10:00 a.m. and finally wrapped it up about 2:30. Actually I slipped out near the end and went to get the trailer ready to roll, for we have to drive about 45 minutes to the next park and do the walk-about before we can call it a day. Hunter's friends had pulled out that morning, so it was very boring for her. She found ways to entertain herself though, as you can see!
We had thought she could have a TV day, but the mower bumped the satellite dish shortly after our meeting began and so she didn't even have the TV. She endured, but not exactly a 'great' day - for she couldn't interrupt our meeting to have Grandpa 'fix' it. Grandma compensated by giving her $5 to spend in the store and game room, which only meant that now we have a somewhat 'hyped up' little girl to contend with. Having Miss Lori to chat with while we drive helps. As we left, Miss Betsy had gifts for all of us, and Hunter's was a bag filled with Canadian candies (oh joy, more corn sugar!).
What a delightful surprise to pull in to the little park on the west side of Montreal. It's 'out in the boonies', but these new owners have really turned this place around! It was packed full for the 'country & western' weekend and so we signed up for the steak cookout. Sure glad I don't have to cook! Although the rain that had been threatening made good later on, it held off while we enjoyed our meal. Saturday was Hunter's 'real' birthday, so she was quite pleased that they were serving her favorite meal (steak) in her honor! I have never seen such huge T-bones! They were plate size, and Lori couldn't believe it when Hunter ate the whole thing! No salad or potato for her - just the meat please! After dinner the band sat up under the pavilion and the 'dancing in the streets' began! Hunter even got in on the line dancing and picked it up really quick.
With no motel within miles, Lori decided to have a 'sleep over', when Hunter volunteered to give up her air mattress to Miss Lori. With all the trees here, Roger couldn't get satellite, so Hunter & Lori walked up to the store and bought a 'used' DVD of the movie, Flight Plan. They weren't sure it wouldn't be in French, but since it had the title in both French & English, they were hopeful. Once again, Grandpa to the rescue. When they put the DVD in everyone was speaking French. But a few clicks of the remote and Grandpa found the 'language selection' screen and they were in business. So as Hunter's birthday wound down, Roger & I hit the sack and left Miss Lori and Hunter watching the movie. As tired as we all were, we were surprised to learn that they both had lasted to the very end. I'm sure Lori never envisioned that her ride-along with us this year would include a sleep-over with a 10-year-old! Thank goodness she's flexible - and good with little girls! She's mentioned how much Hunter reminds her of her own daughter, Melissa (who is now all grown up and in college).
I was up before 5:00 again to type the review. Met with the folks, and this time we did the review while walking the park. These folks are mostly French-speaking, and understand things better if we can show them, rather than just try to explain it with the spoken and written word. It went very well; we are so impressed with all the progress they have made.
Hit the road about noon, headed south again, but this time into Ontario. Another park that is in the middle of major improvements. I sent Hunter off to the jumping pillow while Roger & I set up the rig. (Lori is staying in one of their rental trailers here.) I went up with a book (for me) and a hotdog (for Hunter) - only to find that she had once again 'connected' with some new friends and was already in the pool with them and their grandmother. This lady wins the award for being the most active grandmother - as she entertained them for almost 2 hours playing chase, Marco Polo, races, etc. I got tired just watching!
Since everyone had skipped lunch today (Hunter never ate the hot dog), we headed out for Chinese with Daniel and Karen. It wasn't the Golden Palace (Hunter's favorite in Oklahoma), and Hunter didn't recognize anything on the menu, so she opted for a hamburger & fries. However, when Roger's won ton soup came, she decided to give it a try. Think Roger got - maybe - two or three bites, before finally passing it over to Hunter - who finished it off. We ended up having everyone pick one thing from the menu and so we had a smörgåsbord of Chinese. Have to admit, it was delicious. A quaint little restaurant in a tiny little town of Prescott, Ontario.
Had thought we would make a stop at the big grocery store we passed to pick up some supplies, but found it closed up tight. Here in Canada, Sundays are still 'special' with stores being open only a few hours (if any). So we made do at the convenience store while Roger got gas. All was not lost as I was able to find my Diet DP - and a loaf of bread. We'll survive now. Had been 'without' my beverage of choice for about a week, and I was getting a bit 'cranky'.
Roger & I caught about an hour of peace & quiet, while Hunter 'hung out' with Miss Lori, running fun bike races and playing giant checkers. But our day wasn't over, for about 9:00 p.m. we gathered around the campfire to share stories, some wine, roasted marshmallows - and a taste of 'cotton candy' ice cream. What a combination! A few minutes stretched into 2 hours and we finally called it a night about 11:00 last night. It's a wonder we weren't up all night with stomach aches! All of this socializing is great - but hard to keep up the pace, when one is also supposed to be working. Monday morning, another walk-about & report to do. Lori leaves us about noon today and we will head back into the good 'ol U.S. of A. bright and early tomorrow morning.
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