We got ahead of the storm and it was sunny all day!
Mom took me out for a walk before breakfast. The nights are definitely getting colder because it was a little chilly this morning (49 degrees). We left the hotel and drove through the city before getting on the Trans Canadian Highway and crossing into Quebec. We went 40kM on the highway before getting off on provincial roads. Since we only had about 3 hours to get to our hotel for the night, we wanted to see some of the country side. We made out way up to QC 132 and followed the St Lawrence River for a scenic drive. We went through all kinds of small towns and almost all of them had big churches with at least one tall steeple. We stopped at multiples parcs for views of the river. One of them had a tower we could climb. I wasn't too sure about that at first, but since I got up there, I liked it. We may have missed other things we would have liked to see, but everything was in French, so we had no idea what the signs said. As we were going through the town of Riviere-du-Loup, Dashboard warning lights went off and the car started dinging. It said AWD system and to see the dealer. Mom called Dad and he said we need to pull the cable off the battery to reset it and we need to find a wrench. Fortunately, it was a good size town and there was a NAPA only a couple of km from us. We had to park on the street. Me-Maw and I stayed in the car while Mom went in to hopefully find someone who spoke English. Fortunately she did and he helped us. We did have to wait about 20 minutes for it to reset. Once Mom got us going again, it worked fine the rest of the day. We have the tool now in case it happens again. We continued on our way to Quebec. There was no traffic at all until we got to Levis, which is just across the river from Quebec City. It took a while to get through town and we finally took a scenic detour along the river to avoid so of the traffic. Once we got back on the highway, it wasn't bad until we got on the Autoroute that took us to the hotel. We had less than 2 km to our exit, so it didn't take too long. We are staying at the Le Dauphin for 2 nights. The room is nice and they had a dog bed, food bowl, and treats for me. I met a couple of people who wanted to pet me. We're going to spend the next couple of days exploring Old Quebec City and figure out where to go from here. After looking at the radar, we were definitely glad we decided not to go to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Pictures will be later.
0 Comments
This morning, we woke up to very foggy weather. We couldn't even see the highway which was less than a 1/4-mile from the hotel and couldn't see the harbor to tell if any of the ships were still there. We left St John and headed to Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick. We saw the capital building then went to Costco for gas. We were on the Trans Canadian Highway, but decided to take provincial roads instead. The sortie (exit) was for Nackawic where we saw the world's largest ax. It was soon after that we had gone far enough north that the rain finally stopped. By about 1230P, we actually had sun. We stopped at a park beside the river and I got to run around for a little bit. It was so nice to get out of the car without getting wet. Then we went to Hartland where we went across the world's longest covered bridge (1,282 feet) across the St John River. We stopped at a visitor center once we crossed the bridge and mom was talking to the lady who worked there. We found out about Noah's Ark and had to go see it. It wasn't too far from Hartland and looked like an ark. It used to be a school but is now a cafe and also a senior home. The last stop before the hotel in Edmundston was Grand Falls. They were pretty impressive and we stayed probably about 30 minutes. Our hotel for the night is just south of Edmundston and there is plenty of room for me to run around. It's a nice, quiet place with nothing else around. We went into town to find dinner and ended up going to Tim Horton's again. When we got back to the hotel, Mom ran me around outside for a while until I decide I was going back in. Tomorrow, I get to explore a new province...Quebec. In Virginia, we see deer crossing signs all the time. Up here, it's moose crossing. We haven't seen any moose yet though. I am officially an international traveler. We woke up this morning to fog and it stayed that way all day. We drove along the US 1 coastal route, but couldn't see much. We did manage to see the Quoddy Head Lighthouse. We went to Lupec which is the easternmost town in the US and saw the easternmost campground and the easternmost golf course. Before crossing the border, we stopped at the St Croix Island International Historic Site. A squirrel scared me. Mom had me on the long leash and I went to chase him. He ran up a tree, but I don't think he liked me very much. He started chattering at me and I ran fast back to Mom. We kept staring at each other and him chattering at me for several minutes until Mom made me walk away. About 1230P, we crossed into Canada. It wasn't raining at that time and the fog wasn't too bad. However, when we started toward St John, the fog got heavy and we went through some rain showers. We checked into the Holiday Inn Express in downtown St John, then we went to explore the city a little. We saw old churches, the Reversing Falls Rapids, and ate at Tim Horton's for dinner. It finally stopped raining around 5P and really started getting foggy. Mom had requested the top floor so we would have a view. When we checked in, we could see the harbor where there where 3 cruise ships docked (Emerald Princess, Oceania Vista, and Norwegian Escape). When we came back after 5, we could not see the ships at all. We could barely see the highway that runs beside the harbor. When Mom took me out a little later, I made some new friends and they said the cruise ships are being held here due to not knowing if Hurricane Lee is going to turn inland before it gets here. We looked them up and all 3 are headed back to New York City with stops in Bar Harbor and/or Boston or Newport, RI. We have no idea if they did stay or go ahead and leave. Here are our pictures from Acadia yesterday. These are today's pictures. We spent today driving around the island where Acadia National Park is. We went into Bar Harbor first, then into the park. We had tickets to go up Cadillac Mountain. The Park Ranger at the entrance gate gave me 4 treats and said I was the gentlest dog he had ever fed treats too.
At least it wasn't rainy, but it was very foggy at the top. We could see trees, but definitely not the ocean. As we drove on around the park, we stopped at various overlooks to see the waves crashing on the cliffs. At one stop, we walked down to the ocean. We could see an island in the distance that looked like it probably had the lighthouse on it. On a clear day, we should have been able to see the lighthouse. Our last stop in the park was to have been Jordan Pond Restaurant to get popovers. Me-Maw had been told that was a must. Evidently, everyone had the same idea. We did find one parking space in a far lot. I got lots of attention while Me-Maw went inside the find out the wait time. We did not get our popovers. When we left the island, we went to Ellsworth where we went to the LL Bean store. They loved me there and I got treats. We had dinner at Taco Bell. Mom tried to take me to a dog park, but we couldn't find one, so we stopped at Wal-Mart and came back to where we are spending the night. Pictures from today will be posted tomorrow. Hurricane Lee is headed straight for Nova Scotia, so have spent the evening rebooking and seeing where else we can go. We will no longer be going to Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island, but will be spending more time in Quebec City. I'm exhausted and ready for bed. Tomorrow, I become an international traveler! Day 3 started with no rain! We walked down the hill to the cafe where we had breakfast. I was great to get a little exercise and stay dry. After breakfast, I watched as Mom and Me-maw loaded the car. I got to meet our neighbor and get petted, but I didn't get to meet her dog. Soon, we headed toward Acadia National Park. After about 2 hours of riding, we were in New Hampshire. From there, it wasn't long before we were in Maine. We stayed on interstate most of the time, but we did get off and drive through Freeport. I liked when we got off interstate because we were going slow enough through towns that I got to put my head out the window. I forgot to mean yesterday that I was fascinated by a freight train. We were going to go in the LL Bean store, but we found out I was not allowed in the one in Freeport due to the cafe. It was crowded and we didn't really have time to stop anyway. We went on the Augusta where we got to walk around the state capitol complex. Mom gave me my find-a-treat puzzle when we left Augusta and that kept me busy for a little while. We arrived in Trenton around 3P. That's where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night. We went to Bass Harbor Light House before we checked in. That was a fun trip and I got lots of attention from all the tourists. We saw the lighthouse from the top of the cliffs then took a trail down to the bottom. We couldn't really see it from there without climbing on the rocks. I wanted to, but Mom wouldn't let me. It was getting foggier by the minute. We could hear a ferry blowing it's horn and a clanging buoy, but we couldn't see them. We also got a little break from the heat. It was 67 by the time we got to the light house. We were ready for dinner by the time we finished at the light house. We picked up dinner and brought it back to the AirBNB. I finished up Mom's broccoli and potatoes for her then she took me for a walk around the cottages. This AirBNB is made up of 1 building with 4 units (that's where we are), several small, individual cottages, and a house with common areas and a hot tub. Someone else from Virginia is also here. Tonight, Mom and Me-Maw planned our route for tomorrow, which includes the park and Bar Harbor. It sounds like I will get to be out of the car a lot. For now, it's bedtime! Here are today's pictures. Day 2 wasn't too fun. It started raining when we were loading the car to leave Fort Washington and rained ALL day. It didn't stop until we got to Sturbridge, MA, where we are staying tonight. We did go through some cool New England towns with town squares and old buildings. Most were established mid to early 1700s, but one was established in 1670. We didn't want to take I95 because we would have to deal with traffic in Philadelphia and New York City. Instead, we went north from Fort Washington and went through the Poconos. We took a side trip to New Jersey so Mom could show Me-maw how scenic is was along the Delaware River. We went to the first exit, then went back to Pennsylvania and took US 209 to Milford. We wanted to stop at some waterfalls in the Poconos, but it was raining. Mom and Me-maw shared their pizza from Joey's Pizza in Milford with me. From there, we went to New York, then into Connecticut near Danbury. Since it was still early, we stayed on state and US highways instead of interstate; arriving at Sturbridge about 5P. The only pictures today are from when we walked around the inn tonight. Mom found an awesome place for tonight. It has plenty of room for me to run around and a balcony. I want out, I want back in, I want back out.... This morning, we left for our big vacation. I have been to Maryland and Pennsylvania today. Between naps, I got lots of chin scratches. I got out of the car quite a few times, so it wasn't a bad trip. We went to Valley Forge this afternoon. Tonight, we are at a hotel in Fort Washington, PA.
Here I am at the National Memorial Arch. I didn't want to sit still for a photo at the Washington Memorial Chapel. We drove through the covered bridge. |