Bill and Diane are joining us for 2 weeks in the north - away from the 90+ degree days in Atlanta.
A McDonald's kiosk for ordering.
Sunday - Diane had researched our area and found a park for us. It was beautiful. The day was sunny and about 75 degrees. We walked across 3 suspension bridges, watched rappelling, photographed waterfalls, and had a picnic lunch by the river.
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| The waterfalls create rainbows. |
Next we headed to Ile d'Orleans. Another fabulous adventure! The island had several places to stop and pick strawberries, but we got ours later at the grocery store! We stopped for ice cream/chocolate croissant (Alan got a white chocolate with maple topping), a walk along the river, cheese shopping, and wine tasting.
The tide came in after we walked by the river and this whole area was covered in water.
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| Gotta have cheese! |
A view from the island toward the mainland - boat, falls, bridge! The falls are Montmorency Falls.
Monday - It's the 4th of July! We started our day with breakfast that included strawberries from Ile d'Orleans purchased at the IGA. They are delicious! WOW. What a difference from what we are used to.
Moving on - Alan and I wore our patriotic shirts (thank you, Gina) and were ready for the day. We started today's adventure by visiting the Ste. Anne's Cathedral. It is gorgeous. You could spend a whole day in it.
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| We found a "30" picture frame. Our 30th anniversary is in a few weeks. |
We then drove in to Quebec City. We ate lunch at Place Royale and then walked - uphill - a lot!
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| Our outdoor cafe for lunch. |
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| A mural on a concrete pillar for the highway. Art instead of graffiti! |
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| The mural in Place de Royal. We were here last year on the cruise with Austin and Amanda. |
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| Old Navy has Canada Day (July 1st) shirts on sale. We now have souvenirs for all. |
Tuesday - Diane and I signed up for a tour of Quebec. The boys had a day for hiking.
The girls' day - We were the first to be picked up so we each took a front seat on the cold bus. We had those same seats all day. They had the best views! We picked up one other group from condos nearby and headed to Hotel Frontenac for the rest of the group. After everyone was on board, we couldn't leave because a tourist was leaning against our bus to take photos of the hotel. After he was peeled off the bus, our tour began. Our first stop was the Plains of Abraham. We then went all over Old Quebec. Some streets we went down multiple times with a different fact each time. We finished our tour and had several hours on our own before our return trip. We walked from the Hotel Frontenac to the Parc de l'Esplanade down to the waterfront farmer's market (Marche du Vieux-Port) and back up to the Place de Royal for lunch. We felt like we were in Europe. We visited a glass maker's shop, found another mural, and found another café to sit and enjoy the view. From our spot, we could see a church, tents of wares for sale, street performers, and tourists. We returned to the Hotel Frontenac to catch the bus for our return trip. When we got back to the condo, the boys were at the pool.
The boys' day - The boys climbed the slopes at Mont-Sainte-Anne. It was a great day for the hike. Alan trotted up with little difficulty, but Bill struggled a little. From the tale we were told, the trail was straight up and loooooonnngggg. The brown recluse spiders were everywhere. But somehow, they made it and rewarded themselves with a meal at A & W.
Wednesday - We got up early and headed into Old Quebec to visit the Citadelle and see the Changing of the Guard. We arrived with time to take a tour of the grounds first. After the tour, we watched the Changing of the Guard which includes a Royal Goat. Who knew? Next, we toured the home of the Governor General of Canada. His family has gorgeous views of the St. Lawrence River and Old Quebec from their back terrace. Then, as we self toured in the exhibition hall, we learned that the one lane entrance that we took is the same one taken by Churchill and Roosevelt during WWII!
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| The views from the Citadelle to the Old City below were amazing. |
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| Tourist photo |
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| Tourists taking photos. |
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| The Royal Goat |
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| The one lane entrance to the Citadelle. |
We continued our history lesson by going to the Parliament Building and taking their free tour. Bill may or may not have dozed off.
For lunch, we ate a rotating roof top lunch at Vous etes au Ciel.
On our way back to the condo, we took the historic route parallel to our regular route, but at a higher elevation. Since we had time, we decided to also return to Ile d'Orleans to buy more cheese, take pictures of homes, and visit another winery. At this ciderie/winery, there were 35 items to taste: mustards, preserves, and wine. We left with several bottles of "cider".
Thursday - It was a rainy, cloudy day and we took a road trip. We stopped for a wonderful breakfast on the road and then journeyed on to La Malbaie. We made our way to the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu. The boys went to the casino while the girls sat in front of a fire. A fire in July! We are really enjoying the cooler weather.
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| Yes, we are sitting with the little old ladies in front of the fire. |
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| Another cheese/ice cream stop! |
Friday - We are leaving today to head to New Hampshire. The first thing we do is lock the keys in the trunk! The first locksmith couldn't get the keys out, but the second one was successful and we were off! A six hour drive took us to our next leg of the journey. When we exited the highway to head to our condo, we recognized the exit (Tilton) as the same one we stopped at for dinner at Wendy's on the day we landed.
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| Trying a plunger - a youtube suggestion |
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| 1st locksmith |
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| 2nd locksmith |
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| Success! |
Saturday - We started off with a great breakfast at the Heritage Farm. We were greeted with "Is this welcome or welcome back?" The food was great and we loved the animals. Diane wants a chicken! It is cool, cloudy, rainy day. Our only other excursions for the day were to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and a visit to the outlet mall. Bill got new shoes.
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| Rock fences are everywhere. |
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| We have seen lots of "moose crossing" signs, but the only moose we've seen has been at the outlet mall. |
Sunday - We have another rainy, cool, cloudy day. Alan watched Wimbledon. We made chili. In the evening, Alan and Bill went to a Tilton park and listened to music. They enjoyed watching others dance. Diane and I went to the pool and had quiet time. It's all good.
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| The boys enjoyed music in the park and they got free beads. Good times! |
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| Turkey |
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| Banded cows. We see the animals almost everyday going to and from the condo. |
Monday - Today we took a road trip to Maine. We drove up the coast from Kittery to Kennebunkport and then went to Portland. It was another great vacation day.
Nubble Light was the first lighthouse we visited. It is separated from the mainland by a channel of water.
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| We viewed the home of former President George W. H. Bush from a distance. |
The Portland Head light was the last lighthouse of the day.
Tuesday - We visited Castle in the Clouds today. The hikes we went on were easy, the house was beautiful, and the views were amazing.
The "pebble" on the route to the castle.
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| A short hike to a waterfall on the property. |
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| What a view. |
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| We rode the trolley from the parking lot area to the house. |
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| The fence rails were held by stone planters. Gorgeous view from the backyard of the castle. |
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| The view from lunch. Wow. |
Wednesday - We drove north to Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountains. We hiked to Flume Gorge. It was uphill both ways! Today was a warmer day and went you got too far away from the water, you could tell a difference in the temperature. Just before we finished the hike, a small black bear ran across the path in front of us.
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| Diane and I rode the van to the covered bridge. Alan and Bill saw a deer when walking to the bridge. |
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| Another covered bridge in the park. |
We then headed south, ate lunch, and took Bill and Diane to the airport to head home. It took them almost 24 hours to get home - Manchester, Baltimore, Dallas, New Orleans, and finally Atlanta.
Thursday - Today we rode the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad from Meredith through Weirs Beach to Lakeport. It was a hour to go one way and then an hour to return. When we got on board, everyone took a seat in the first car. We walked to the second car and had it all to ourselves until our next stop.
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| Our stop in Meredith. |
The McDonald's in the area had lobster rolls for $8.99. I tried one. It wasn't the best I'd ever had, but it was pretty good! I'd do it again.
Friday - It's our last day. We packed up and toured the area one last time. We went into Concord and toured the capital building.
We continued our history lesson by going to the Parliament Building and taking their free tour. Bill may or may not have dozed off.
