12. Part 3 - Heading home.
A week in Canada and back on the road to Houston - with sidetours -
Twenty days, 5,800 miles, many old friends, countless great encounters:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25 - QUEBEC CITY
Set off to search for croissants and coffee first thing in the morning, and were not disappointed by the French Canadian version of the hipster coffee micro roaster. We ordered in broken French and we were so appreciative that the competently bilingual staff let us flounder and not once tried to just get the pain over with and finish our sentences in English. It was not mean, it was kind and respectful, and there was gratitude for our crude attempts to speak in French instead of just assuming we could waltz in and order in English. After coffee we followed a tour guide through the old city along with six other people. Learned much more than we could have possibly done on our own. Walked quite a bit in what is really a vertical city and made up for the hours of sitting in a car. In the afternoon we walked even more on our own. Every street, every building, and every view of the river were stunning.
We ended our evening in a bistro where I had my first onion soup in years and my wife had a big pot of mussels. Ended up the evening with drinks in an historic bar, L’ Antiquaire, before heading to our room. Come to think of it now, we also had drinks at another historic bar, at the Chateau Frontenac, before the bistro. Anyway, be that as it may, we had drinks in a few places, but also we had to change our vibe for the following two days because we had scheduled to camp in a national park about half way between Quebec City and Niagara Falls.
THURSDAY, JUNE 26 - QUEBEC CITY
Yeah, so…except that we didn’t. Heavy storms were predicted all week on our future campsite, so we weighed the option of camping in the rain for two days or staying an extra day in Quebec, and then heading for Ottawa. It was a hard decision that was made while having drinks at one of the aforementioned places, and…well…we stayed in town.
In the morning we visited the nearby Ile d’Orleans. We were given a bicycle tour that included stops at farms and shops that manufactured specialties based on what is grown there. Except for the chocolate shop. Cocoa beans not grown there but Belgian family moved in and brought their expertise. Otherwise, strawberries off the fields nearby, maple syrup the like I never tasted before, wines and cassis, and so on. At one point I got stuck staring at what was going on across the street from where we made our fist stop. As we were entering the shop of a strawberry farm, I noticed that a school bus stopped and dozens of workers stepped out. Actually they ran out. And they were singing. And they seemed happy. I don’t exactly mean Disney style miners singing on their way to work, but I did not feel they were stressed. I asked our guide and was told they were guest seasonal workers who came up from Central American countries for strawberry season and the apple season that followed. They have formal contracts I was told, and food and lodging. At the end of the season they return home but many will be seen working there again the following year. It seemed like a reasonable approach to the labor needs of the intense agricultural work.
In the afternoon we went over this large floating dock on the waters of the port that is a community hang out place with bar, music, and outdoor lounging. Next to it is an outdoor pool staffed by the city with both leisure swimming and lane swimming options. It was near the boat docks and part of the St. Lawrence river. We stopped for Aperol spritzes and found out that every week on that day there was a country line dancing session with a French speaking DJ. The people who engaged were spectacularly competent, we, the likely only two Texans around were not, and just watched.
Before moving on, I just realized after looking at receipts that I may have described the previous events out of their actual order. But they all happened…and I need to move on…and besides my wife no one can prove me wrong.
FRIDAY, JUNE 27 - OTTAWA
On this, our supposed second day of Canadian camping, we headed toward Ottawa, and spent a beautiful morning driving through Canadian forest and farmland. Favorite parts besides the natural beauty:
Under Canadian speed limits a full tank of gas reached a potential 407 miles range. That made me very happy as Houston city driving only reaches 340 miles.
This one gas station shop where we stopped had everything. Not Buc-ee’s size. Normal gas station stop size. Everything. Cement mix, tools, books, some basic groceries, snow chains, everything. The only place for miles and probably the only supply store for many people. I just loved it.
Ottawa is beautiful. We arrived in the afternoon and walked around the government buildings. It felt like Harry Potter town, with all those buildings with spires and towers, etc. We were a few days shy of Canada Day, and the city was getting ready. Downtown there were restaurants with food from all traditions and ethnicities imaginable. We chose a Turkish restaurant. The kitchen hood started malfunctioning and the room filled up with smoke. Did not seem to bother most of the guests. The manager just opened a few windows. Food was great but we ate too much of it.
The following morning we went for another walk before taking off and were caught in a rain storm so heavy that we were soaked through even with umbrella and rain jackets. We sought shelter at the Catholic Church that advertised on a sign the opening time of 9 AM. By 9:15 the doors were still not open and we were not given asylum. Along with a group of runners, fellow pilgrims in search of shelter from the storm, we marched along our path in the pouring rain. But it was fun. The two of us had not had a fun walk in the rain in ages. After we dried up and had breakfast we kept on moving on. Our destination was a small town near the Canadian side of Niagara Falls to visit an old friend and colleague of my wife’s.
SATURDAY and SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 29 - Welland, Ontario
We moved on westward mid-morning and once we got past Toronto we entered the beautiful areas around the Niagara Falls area. We spent a couple days there and spent a morning going to the Falls. I had been on the U.S. side more than 30 years earlier when I got there in the school bus I used to drive around. I loved the raw beauty of the Falls, but I loved even more the different flavors of humanity that were walking around. Fellow humans from everywhere, looking any possible manner that humans can look, all admiring one of the beautiful spots on this little rock floating in the universe on which we all live. It made me happy to hear and see so many ways that humans can sound and look. All were smiling.
One of the highlights of this stay was having vibrant conversations with the 93 year old father of our friend in the house we were lodged for two nights. Sharp as can be, still works one day a week as a doctor for incarcerated individuals, he held us with great recollections of his life and discussions of events. I can only wish…
MONDAY and TUESDAY, JUNE 30, and JULY 1 - ASHVILLE, NC
It was not without trepidation that we approached the U.S. border, but as was the case with my Newark entry, it was a non event. Got through, and began one of our really long driving days as we headed to Ashville, NC.
One of the fascinating things we realized as we headed into Ashville was that without planning it, throughout this trip, we met up with many of our friends that were present at our wedding and celebration twentyfive years earlier. And so it was with this stop, as we spent two nights in a beautiful tiny house in West Ashville, which I did not realize was the Portlandia of the Mid-Atlantic region. Another friend who was at our wedding. While driving around we were sadly made aware, and were able to witness, the destruction that visited the city about a year earlier when the remnants of a hurricane’s waters poured down that region.
Visited with friends, visited a bookstore, and enjoyed the coffee of that artsy city. In the morning after the first night we were able to find a walking trail that was open - many others have been closed since the floods. About the coffee shops one more thing…many of the good ones seem to operate only from 8am to 2pm. Must be nice. I suppose people gotta have time to trail run, off-road bike, and play music. After the second night in Ashville we prepared for our final visit to Pawley Island, SC, where we would meet up with the mutual friend who introduced us to each other. He went to college with my wife, and I was cast in a play with him soon after we both moved to Chicago from different parts of the country. We became friends, and then I met his friends, and that was that.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 - PAWLEY ISLAND
A shorter drive today and we made it in time to hit the beach before lunch with our friend, his twins, and his family. We spent the night with his parents who we knew well, but had not seen in twenty years. The evening was filled with great food, greater memories, and non stop laughs.
THURSDAY, JULY 3 - ON THE ROAD TO ATLANTA
Morning on the beach again, before eating lunch, cleaning up, and making up a few hours of the road back home by reaching outside Atlanta by nightfall.
FRIDAY, JULY 4 - HEADED HOME
Long day on the road, but we pulled into Houston with enough time to clean the travel off of us, get a bite, drink some Ontario wine, and watch the Medical Center fireworks from our bedroom window. It is alleged that I was snoring before the Grand Finale.
I thank you for following me through this report of my wanderings.
The regularly scheduled broadcast will resume in August.