Hello all,
We arrived back in Canada July 15. We were looking forward to 1 month of exploring the East Coast. Ed had never been farther east than London, Ontario so everything was a new place to explore.
We had a great cheap Megabus ride from Toronto to Montreal (6 hours for $27 for 2 tickets!). But we entered an immense heat wave in both cities. The humidity overwhelmed us and we sought air conditioning and indoor events. For our 9th wedding anniversary we went to the Montreal Canadien Museum in the Bell Centre (the new Forum). We also went to the movies--saw the latest "Star Trek" in 3D. The theatre complex was located in the old Forum building that had some great Canadien memorabliia still in it.
We knew our hotel was in the Latin Quarter in Montreal but did not realize where we were until we walked down a block and saw thousands of pink balls strung across the street like Christmas decorations for at least ten blocks. Then saw the names of the many bars and interesting store displays--ahhh- the Gay Village. The many sidewalk cafes allowed for some entertaining people watching. We loved Dunn's Restaurant down the street for their mouthwatering brisket.
Ed had so wanted to see Canada by car so our road trip started as we left Montreal and headed for Ottawa. It was such a luxury to have a car--the freedom to go where ever you wanted. We enjoyed Ottawa for its history, the locks and for family. My nephew Dale and his wife Melinda were our tour guides and we really had a good time together.
Off to Quebec City. We arrived the evening of the Paul McCartney concert. We drove right downtown and saw the thousands heading for the Plains of Abraham. We headed back out to our cheap motel but the instructions were wrong and we got lost. A kind young man led us from the middle of a village back to the highway. Without him we would still be looking. The next day we were back in Quebec City---I really loved the feel of the winding cobblestone streets and French architecture.
Ed had never been to Maine and so we headed down south. We had a hilarious night in a fishing/hunting town of Jackman. We looked at each other and at the motel sign--TAXIDERMIST--MOTEL--was this a good decision? Would Norman from the Bates Motel be lurking? It turned out just fine. We stayed another night farther south and made it to the New Brunswick border area on the third day and heard that rainstorms were on the way. We had some great fish and left Maine with our windshield wipers on full blast. We made it through the St. Stephen border just before it flooded. We heard that they had more rain in one day than they usually get in one month. We made it to the Bay of Fundy and saw Hopewell Rocks at high tide. Plan to see it at low tide tomorrow and walk the ocean flloor.
Love
Ed and Esther