Day 33 Woodstock, NB - Levis, Quebec Monday, September 22, 2014
I was looking forward to another long day of driving. I found it interesting to see how I had become accustomed to driving so many hours in a day, where in 100 Mile I had found that being behind the wheel for long hours tired me and made me feel like taking a nap. Over the last four weeks I have put over 5000 miles into my van, and I find myself fully energized each time I take the wheel. Today was no exception. I knew that if I made it to Quebec in one day I might be able to make up a bit of the time lost over the blown transmission, and with the Framer holding down the fort on his own, I kind of wanted to do that.
A sign for the largest covered bridge in the world caught my eye, and I knew I had to stop. Off the road I went, and when I came to the end of the road and looked for more signage so I would know where to go, I saw a marker that said, Covered Bridge Potato Chips, and I thought to myself, “I guess they sell potato chips at the covered bridge.”
After driving myself into a dead-end where I had to turn around - my most despised situation - I realized I had driven right by the silly bridge! It was a building stating: Covered Bridge Potato Chips Factory.
We pulled in and all hopped out looking forward to this tour.
Because I teach the children, no opportunity is lost, and I immediately began reading them all the information on this factory. It began as a family operation and is still run that way. Shortly after we sat down to watch a short video showing a harvest, a worker arrived with a tray full of bags of fresh potato chips. We were then invited to take them out to the anteroom where we could add the spices we wanted to personalize them. They were delicious! Who would have known that Blue Raspberry would taste good on potato chips!
After we had completed our tour, we continued on our way and did eventually find the real covered bridge, but sadly, it was closed. I did read that it was closed, but I figured it was closed at the bridge and therefore, I drove down the steep incline with the intention of taking a left or right past the bridge, so that I could get a good picture. Not such a good idea. It turned out that there was no left or right. I crept down the hill and then did a ‘U” turn right there at the bottom and thankfully, I was able to make it! I took off up the hill leaving my scouts, Isaiah and Courage, on the side of the road to make their own way back up the hill, cause there was no way I was getting stuck rolling back down the hill as I waited for them to dive into the running vehicle. Poor boys got their exercise hiking up that steep hill.
It wasn’t long before we were entering Quebec, and the roads became a maze of confusion!! There was road construction everywhere, and Quebec road construction is something to observe! The roads are crazy in that they were taking two lanes of traffic from the left and doing a figure 8 and crossing those two lanes over to the right. I am still not certain why this was, as it had nothing to do with road construction, but instead was the finished result of the work! It was rather smooth, but the construction itself was not.
As soon as I entered the country I realized how different it was going to be. I was used to traveling in Europe, but I had not thought about traveling in Canada through a foreign ‘country’! I had no clue what the signs on the road said, and I could only hope I was not breaking any laws!
When I came to a set of lights, and they were flashing green, and yet, the on-coming traffic was not moving, I had to take my chances, and I turned left, and no-one honked, so I guess I was okay. I have never seen flashing green lights before!
It was rather humorous when I came to a sign saying something about $2 for camping and I said to the kids, “Oh that’s cheap for camping: $2”, and then I quickly realized it was for firewood for camping.
When we pulled into a little village, I desperately needed a bathroom, and so I told the kids they were to stay in the car, and I would go into the pharmacy and see if they could help me. I entered the store, and looked around a little. A girl was emptying boxes, so I approached her and said, “Toilet?” And she began leading me with a smile down an aisle. When I looked confused, she said, “Papier?” And I shook my head, “Non, I need a bathroom.” “Oh! You need to go.” “Oui!” (laugh) Once, I had that taken care of, I began to leave the shop, but before I did, I saw a card section, and I stopped to read some cards. I saw one that said, “Maman”, and I read it thinking of my own mother. I tried to read what it might say, and I could not, but I did see a big heart, so I figured it must say something kind. I then began looking for cards for husbands, but it was beginning to get confusing, so I put them aside thinking that I could find a card later, in another store.
Back on the road, I knew I had to find gas soon, as my tank was almost empty. Here I was in a part of the country that felt as removed as if I were in France, herself, and I had no way to really communicate. Traveling with a trailer is challenging enough, without adding a language barrier to the mix! That makes it so much more difficult!
Isaiah was sent in with instructions to try some French, but the little cop-out tried, "Do you speak English," instead! (laugh) and he got himself what he needed. I got him back; I sent him to another shop for directions and he had to use French!
So, now, imagine: I drove down the road and pulled into a semi-parking lot (not really a parking lot, but not really the road), and mercilessly sent Isaiah out to get information. I armed him with the words: Petrol and Automobile - quite possibly not even French words, but I could not remember words at this moment! Minutes later, a man appeared near my van, and I tried to have him understand: “Petrol?” And he said, “Petro-Canada?” And I had to chuckle - how appropriate, that they would have a gas station named something both of us would understand! He sent me on my way, and I was very grateful to have full tank of gas again! At the gas station, mind you, I still had to use my limited French, as all the writing on the gas tanks was in French. I was quite impressed that I recognized enough to get myself through!
I was trying very hard to not take any main roads once we hit the 132 in Quebec, as I wanted to travel down the St. Lawrence River along the coastline. The villages were quaint and I absolutely loved the narrow streets and old houses that I passed by. There was a waterfall in one village, and I could not help but be a tad envious. I am a person that loves the old homes, and where I live is not old, but rather, cowboy and pioneer type history. I would much rather live where the houses are a couple hundred years old with low ceilings, narrow stairs, turrets, verandahs, secret rooms, front stoops, and such, rather than log cabins and ranches.
Traveling on down the road, we came across some apple orchards and pumpkin stands. I was looking forward to the idea of pumpkin patches and apples by the bushel, when I saw the sign “Cider”, and thought to myself, “I can buy myself a bottle of cider as a souvenir of Quebec!” How funny, after not seeing cider all of America, to find an actual orchard where it was made. So I went in and trying to appear French for as long as I could, I browsed the store, reading the labels of the bottles. There was apple juice and cranberry juice, and then different forms of cider. Finally, the woman said, “Bon jour,” so I had no choice but to speak, so I tried a simple, “Bon jour,” but that led into conversation and before you knew it, the lady knew I spoke no French. She spoke limited English, so we were a right pair!
We headed on out and eventually before us came the welcome words of “WALMART” right before us. I turned in and before we had a chance to park there were chimes of “Chocolate” and “Pop” from the back seat. Sadly, their French is no better than mine. The shops were not chocolate and pop shops, but rather clothing and shoe stores!
As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw two other RVs parked there, and right there in the window of one of them I saw a dog and I called out, “Brew!” and had to stop to take a picture. There before me was a dog that was the picture of my sister’s dog, Brew. The funny thing is that later, when I swung back around I found their curtains shut on the front of the trailer. I wonder if it was because of the creepy person taking pictures of their dog sitting in the front window. You have to watch out for those creepy people, you know!
.
We pulled in and all hopped out looking forward to this tour.
The following pictures show the process of making a potato chip in the "Kettle Method".
Quality Control - Picking Out Any Bad Ones
After we had completed our tour, we continued on our way and did eventually find the real covered bridge, but sadly, it was closed. I did read that it was closed, but I figured it was closed at the bridge and therefore, I drove down the steep incline with the intention of taking a left or right past the bridge, so that I could get a good picture. Not such a good idea. It turned out that there was no left or right. I crept down the hill and then did a ‘U” turn right there at the bottom and thankfully, I was able to make it! I took off up the hill leaving my scouts, Isaiah and Courage, on the side of the road to make their own way back up the hill, cause there was no way I was getting stuck rolling back down the hill as I waited for them to dive into the running vehicle. Poor boys got their exercise hiking up that steep hill.
The Original Covered Bridge
Gorgeous Fall Colours
It wasn’t long before we were entering Quebec, and the roads became a maze of confusion!! There was road construction everywhere, and Quebec road construction is something to observe! The roads are crazy in that they were taking two lanes of traffic from the left and doing a figure 8 and crossing those two lanes over to the right. I am still not certain why this was, as it had nothing to do with road construction, but instead was the finished result of the work! It was rather smooth, but the construction itself was not.
The Beginning of Road Construction and Confusion in French
As soon as I entered the country I realized how different it was going to be. I was used to traveling in Europe, but I had not thought about traveling in Canada through a foreign ‘country’! I had no clue what the signs on the road said, and I could only hope I was not breaking any laws!
The Beautiful Churches
It was rather humorous when I came to a sign saying something about $2 for camping and I said to the kids, “Oh that’s cheap for camping: $2”, and then I quickly realized it was for firewood for camping.
When we pulled into a little village, I desperately needed a bathroom, and so I told the kids they were to stay in the car, and I would go into the pharmacy and see if they could help me. I entered the store, and looked around a little. A girl was emptying boxes, so I approached her and said, “Toilet?” And she began leading me with a smile down an aisle. When I looked confused, she said, “Papier?” And I shook my head, “Non, I need a bathroom.” “Oh! You need to go.” “Oui!” (laugh) Once, I had that taken care of, I began to leave the shop, but before I did, I saw a card section, and I stopped to read some cards. I saw one that said, “Maman”, and I read it thinking of my own mother. I tried to read what it might say, and I could not, but I did see a big heart, so I figured it must say something kind. I then began looking for cards for husbands, but it was beginning to get confusing, so I put them aside thinking that I could find a card later, in another store.
Back on the road, I knew I had to find gas soon, as my tank was almost empty. Here I was in a part of the country that felt as removed as if I were in France, herself, and I had no way to really communicate. Traveling with a trailer is challenging enough, without adding a language barrier to the mix! That makes it so much more difficult!
Isaiah was sent in with instructions to try some French, but the little cop-out tried, "Do you speak English," instead! (laugh) and he got himself what he needed. I got him back; I sent him to another shop for directions and he had to use French!
So, now, imagine: I drove down the road and pulled into a semi-parking lot (not really a parking lot, but not really the road), and mercilessly sent Isaiah out to get information. I armed him with the words: Petrol and Automobile - quite possibly not even French words, but I could not remember words at this moment! Minutes later, a man appeared near my van, and I tried to have him understand: “Petrol?” And he said, “Petro-Canada?” And I had to chuckle - how appropriate, that they would have a gas station named something both of us would understand! He sent me on my way, and I was very grateful to have full tank of gas again! At the gas station, mind you, I still had to use my limited French, as all the writing on the gas tanks was in French. I was quite impressed that I recognized enough to get myself through!
I was trying very hard to not take any main roads once we hit the 132 in Quebec, as I wanted to travel down the St. Lawrence River along the coastline. The villages were quaint and I absolutely loved the narrow streets and old houses that I passed by. There was a waterfall in one village, and I could not help but be a tad envious. I am a person that loves the old homes, and where I live is not old, but rather, cowboy and pioneer type history. I would much rather live where the houses are a couple hundred years old with low ceilings, narrow stairs, turrets, verandahs, secret rooms, front stoops, and such, rather than log cabins and ranches.
Cranberry cider in hand I exited the shop, and the children and I continued on. I knew there would likely be a Walmart nearby, and we had already spent a few days camping the ‘expensive way’, so Walmart it would be. Not to mention the fact that I had heard I could ‘walk onto the ferry over to Old Quebec’, so I was gung-ho and ready for this!
We headed on out and eventually before us came the welcome words of “WALMART” right before us. I turned in and before we had a chance to park there were chimes of “Chocolate” and “Pop” from the back seat. Sadly, their French is no better than mine. The shops were not chocolate and pop shops, but rather clothing and shoe stores!
As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw two other RVs parked there, and right there in the window of one of them I saw a dog and I called out, “Brew!” and had to stop to take a picture. There before me was a dog that was the picture of my sister’s dog, Brew. The funny thing is that later, when I swung back around I found their curtains shut on the front of the trailer. I wonder if it was because of the creepy person taking pictures of their dog sitting in the front window. You have to watch out for those creepy people, you know!
"Brew! What you doing here?"
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