August 22-September 6, 2022

We left Caraquet the morning of August 22nd, 0800 on the road traveling the scenic highways of the Gaspe Peninsula. We had a few stops along the way to view the landscapes from along side the roads, lunch overlooking the water and on to Camping Baie Gaspe, set up camp and discussed a POD for our 3 night stay. Plenty of sightseeing opportunities doing our Magical Mystery Tours. One stop was at Le Quai rock, a natural deck overlooking a beautiful cove and out onto the Gulf of St. Lawrence as far as the eye can see. The Forillon Cliffs, in the Forillon National Park mark the culmination of the Great Appalachain Mountains. The La Chute Trail, although not long, only 1 mile but it did provide us a walking path in the Maple forest to the waterfall with a 17 meter drop. If we were looking for a stair workout, we got it today. On Wednesday morning we hit the trails early to explore the Cap-Gaspe Trail, a 6 mile walk along the water, thru some forest, up and up and up some grades and finally to the top and the end of this spectacular hike. The views at the lighthouse, the birds flying around were breathtaking. Ron and I decided to take the path down to the lower viewing platform right on the water about 1/2 mile straight down and you guessed it, a 1/2 mile back up to the lighthouse. They call this Lands End, it certainly is. The Appalachain Trail started here in 1937 and is one of the most popular hiking trails in the United States. With its 3455 kilometers of old mountain chains, the AT crosses 14 states, 8 national forests, 6 national parks and numerous regional and state parks.

Off to Camping Anne for 3 nights, another beautiful drive along the coast stopping for pictures and snacks. Time to play some golf so Glenna booked us a tee time at Club de Golf in Matane, about 20 minutes from camp. Very well maintained course and a great way to spend time outdoors in the fresh air. Yes, Glenna beat me again but we all keep enjoying the lessons she gives us along the way. In camp, Saturday night they had a local country band that lit up the dance floor with fellow campers enjoying the sounds of country music sung in French.

On to Quebec City for 4 nights, checked into the KOA with huge pull thru spaces and good WIFI. Finally a place with a pool and hot tub which was immaculate, thanks to this local family owned KOA for the past 30 years for keeping it all so clean and welcoming. Our first day we headed into the City, did the Hop on Hop off city tour. A great way to see the sights and learn the history of this unique city, the audio in english really helped. The famous Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac hotel is a 4.5 star hotel with 611 guest rooms, full spa and a beautiful bar in the lobby. (see pics below). A drive past the oldest grocery store in North America (J.A.Maisan) on the bus was something we could not miss. We went back and visited this store and deli, bought some fresh pastries and just imagined what it would be like hundreds of years ago. Lunch at Cotes & Cotes restaurant on the patio was a perfect setting to enjoy some good french food. Glenna and I had French Onion soup that was fantastic, Ron tried the Maple ribs while Kathy enjoyed the local fish and chips. The Mooshead beer was cold and probably the only Moose we are going to see on this trip. One very big highlight was going to the Mosaicultures Garden Tour. This is a garden tour that travels around Canada and is a must see. The 2 kilometer loop walk takes you past the dozens of Topiary that are just amazing. It remind me of the Rose Parade floats with all the fresh flowers showing off the colors of each animal. The pictures are great but seeing this in person was spectacular. Another MMT over to the Isle D’ Orleans for the 47 kilometer loop around the island, going counter clockwise as suggested meant we hit the famous Chocolaterie Cafe Resto Creme Glacee at 10:15 in the morning. This is one of the highlights of the drive and everyone we talked to on this trip that had been there said we had to try the ice cream. Not just any ice cream, this is soft cream freshly made each morning and you have choices of the dippings. I went for the chocolate carmel sea salt, OMG this was the best dip ice cream cone I have ever had. The thick topping was plentiful and chewy, the small was plenty for us all. Back in the car and off we go, beautiful island full of little towns, shops, restaurants, wineries and only one gas station. We stopped at the Fromagerie De L’Lile shop and discovered the local cheeses and breads. Pick up a few items for our meals at the rv including a wheel of cheese you put on the BBQ to soften and eat with their fresh breads just like we did in Spain many times. This was the first cheese shop in North America. Vignoble du mitan was our first winery stop, bought a few bottles to enjoy for happy hour later in the day. Ste-Famile proved to be the better winery so we did a few tasting, learned about the local grape varitals and picked up a few bottles. Nice views of Quebec City from the shorline and large cargo ships pass along the St. Lawerence River. Ships can take this passage all the way to Lake Superior or stopping at any of the major ports in Detroit, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Cleveland, Buffalo and others.

In South Hero near Burlington, Vermont, we arrived at the Apple Island RV Resort to once again find the two best spots were ours, thank Ron for all your work on getting reservation for us. Glenna and I spent the first day driving up to Stowe, Vermont. Ron and Kathy had already been here in the past so they are having a down day to read and relax at the camp. WOW, the scenic drive up to Stowe thru windy roads had us stopping for pics. The main street of Stowe, a few blocks long provided a good walk and a stop at a local bakery. The Cafe on Main had good homemade muffings that gave us some energy for our walk along the trail over small bridges, passing rivers, ponds and wild flower pastures. Continued up the mountain to the Stowe Ski resort. The view from the top was awesome and the gondola was operating but we passed on going up even higher. Next stop was the Von Trapp Family Lodge and properties, stunning views overlooking the fields full of flowers. As they say, the hill are alive with the Sound of Music. The Stowe Cider stop had us trying local ciders and having a sandwich at their onsite food truck, the Very Vermont Grilled Cheese was perfect to split. Full and local cheese, green apples and carmelized onions inside of sourdough bread grilled to perfection. Next stop was the Cold Hollow Cider house, apple cider here and lots of tourists items in their shop. From there we went to the original factory for Ben And Jerry’s where we took a tour of the ice cream making facility and of course bought some ice cream to bring home.

Saturday morning spent at the local farmers market, great produce, lots of craft tents and plenty of food vendors to fill the air with good smells. We saw a taco tent and had to stop to check it out, this young couple was from Fresno, CA and moved to Burlington a couple years ago and started this portable business. His tacos reminded us of the tacos at home and we sure enjoyed our best mexican food since leaving home back on May 15th. Church Street is a popular walking / shopping district in downtown Burlington. We stopped in a few places including an olive oil shop to replenish our stash in the RV. Kathy’s favorite place was the Simon Pierce Glassware store, beautiful items on display of every shape and size. Sunday was golf day, we played at the Essex Country Club. An 18 hole in the woods course with narrow fairways and turtles burring under each green. Cool with a little mist made for a wet front nine and then the rain was coming in so we passed on the back nine and went to lunch instead. Ray’s Seafood Market Restaurant had all the local fresh fish items along with confort food for all. We had seafood chowder and tried their bacon wrapped scallops, both were great. The hottub at this RV Resort is a big hit with Pat and Glenna, good way to spend some time relaxing.

Next stop is Alexandria, NY right on the St. Lawerence Expressway for a week then down to Ohio, Kentucky and heading West. Enjoy the pictures and stay safe……

Pat and Glenna