The Road Goes On…

2024 Eastern Canada

  • Woodstock, NB to Grand Falls, NB

    After having a great sleep right by the river, we saw that there was a little guest on the dock. Not too close, or I fly, but a portrait from there is acceptable.

    We proceeded up Hwy 105 to Hartland, the site of the world’s longest covered bridge at 1282 feet long, completed in 1901. A 3t load limit sign was posted at the entrance to the bridge and we consulted the various manuals and placards on our van to see whether we were above or below that limit. In the end we weren’t quite sure, so we decided not to traverse it.

    The information centre in Hartland is actually more of a souvenir store than an information centre, so we didn’t get a lot of information, but we did get some Covered Bridge potato chips. The factory is nearby and we toured it on a previous trip, but it recently suffered from a major fire and is still being rebuilt. In the meantime, the chips are made in a different facility.

    The weather was rainy so we took the highway to the Grand Falls Falls and Gorge Campground where we took the opportunity to do some van cleaning before heading out to explore the town and go for dinner.

    Grand Falls, as the name implies, has waterfalls which are used for electricity generation.

    We learned that there had been four bridges across the gorge over the years and remnants of the footings can still be seen.

    After a longish walk, we arrived at the recently opened Bullpen Steakhouse and Sports Bar and enjoyed a lovely French Onion soup and steak dinner. The service and food were great and the location and view of the river made it a night to remember.

  • Grand Falls, NB to Quebec, QC

    It was a rainy day and the forecast for the next couple of days also wasn’t looking all that great. Time to move on and find a cheese factory, this one called Fromagerie Le Détour in Témiscouata. They have a number of prize winning cheeses and little information sheets describing them. We focused on some of their soft cheeses, but unfortunately a few that were of interest required an additional 2-6 weeks of aging before they were ready to eat. Two ready to eat varieties and a small baguette made for a delicious lunch.

    We continued to the town of Témiscouata and the bakery directly across from a beautiful park on the shores of the lake. Almond croissants had to be. The town itself seems to have fallen on harder times and many of the shops on the main street were empty or for lease.

    With Quebec City input as our destination, our GPS let us know we could save 33 minutes by taking the Lévis-Quebec ferry vs driving further and taking the bridge. This ferry is the first we’ve been on that loads from the sides, rather than the front or back of the ship. The actual passage was quite short and we arrived in Old Quebec City close to a parking lot we’d used on a past trip. They offer 24 hour parking, and since we’ll have to come back tomorrow anyway, why not just spend the night here. We took the opportunity to explore the area, although most of the shops were already closed.

  • Quebec, QC to Montreal, QC

    Although it was supposed to be a rainy day today, the sun was out and we had good weather. Old Quebec City has many art galleries and we visited quite a number of them, including Galerie Beauchamp which had multiple locations, one with three levels of stunning art.

    The old part of Quebec City is largely a tourist area, but we discovered the Karkass clothing store that manufactured partially in-store and had very good quality.

    We took a break from walking, galleries and shops and sat on a bench listening to Marc Levine, a pianist, playing beautiful classical music on the street. We talked to him and found out that he worked as a professional pianist and had travelled the world. He had a number of CDs for sale and we purchased one.

    Lunch was at the Petit Chateau, right next to the Chateau Frontenac where we enjoyed a trio of fondues – cheese to start, beef as the main and chocolate for dessert. It was a decadent and filling lunch that also served as breakfast and dinner today.

    Quebec City is full of life and street performers, whether musical or busking are plentiful. One busker was juggling knifes while lying on a bed of nails. Not something we’d like to try!

    We want to spend tomorrow in Montreal so we drove there tonight and stayed at the campground next to the Marina in Longueuil. This time we even had a riverside spot.