Pants checking in from Quebec, Canada, home sweet home for the next 4 months! Feel free to drop in on this thread to see how things are going!
How we got here is an interesting story.
If you recall, last summer we were in New Hampshire and we throughly enjoyed New England. During that time, we briefly explored Maine and Vermont and enjoyed that. Also, our son lives in Brooklyn, and he visited us 4 times last year, which we REALLy enjoyed. So for this summer, we thought that maybe Maine or Vermonth might work. Wrong - the ABBs in these areas were entirely too expensive, well outside of our budget.
So I was sharing my dilemma with a Canadian M/C buddy, and he asked me if I thought about Canada? Well... no, but you have my attention. One thing led to another, and Quebec started looking real interesting. There is plenty fo Pants to do (outdoor stuff - motorcycle, bicycle, hiking, kayak, etc), and the city of Quebec City looks to be a hoot for us to enjoy. Tammy and the kids all speak French fluently, so that certainly helped sell Quebec. Finally, with the money exchange, the ABBs were well within our budget.
And so, we booked it.
Different from last year is that this year, we are leaving for four months (3 last year). It's just getting too hot in June for us to stay home. Also different is that we have booked two seperate places to stay. For the next 10 weeks, we will be in a area 15 minutes north of Quebec City. Then at the end of August, we pack up and move 2 hours south to an area generally referred to as Magog. That area is more rural and wooded, and we hope to enjoy the same fall foliage colors there as we did last year in New England. We will be there for 7 weeks before heading home October 10.
It took us the better part of a week to pack up.
This is our 4th summer doing this. We have a very extensive spreadsheet that helps us remember what to bring, what to do to shut down our home, etc.
I bought new tires for the trailer this year. The old ones had plenty of tread left, and no signs of dry cracking, but they were 6 years old, and I didn't want to worry about it.
And so on June 10, the Cajun Hillbillies set out for adventure. Over the next 5 days and 2200 miles, we would see much of the eastern side of this country. I really enjoyed that show.
I imposed on friends to host us along the way. I'm always concerned about the security of my toys kept in an open trailer at a hotel parking lot. As expected, our friends accepted the imposition in spades.
First stop was Turk (Fjrbandit) and Jana's in Alabama. They have a new addition to the family (Hazel) - she's a real cutie!
We had grilled steaks and fixings, and they were delicious. My steak must have been well over a pound, and I'm ashamed to admit that I ate the WHOLE thing!
Day 2 brought us to Jim (Spklbuk) in Crawley, WV. This was our longest (mileage and timewise) day of the trip, and by the time we got to Jim's, we were whopped!
I throughly enjoyed waling Jim's property with him, particularly his garden. Almost Heaven, indeed!
Ms. Reese sure took a liking to Ms. Tammy!
Jim cooked some chicken and fresh from the garden brocolli for us and also cooked an interesting Tunisian breakfast dish as well.
Day 3 took us to Joyce and Eric's (not forum related) in the Philly area. Joyce prepared a wonderful assortment of "finger foods", and they invited a few of their friends to join us for a driveway party. We had a great time, but sadly, I took no pictures.
Day 4 brought us to a suburb of Boston. Although this was the shortest day distance wise, it was all day due to the heavier traffic in the big cities. I had to trick Google Maps into navigating me to select cities along the way, in order to avoid Washington DC, NYC, etc. At one point, as we changed roads, an electronic sign appeared saying "Low Bridge Ahead, all trucks MUST exit". When I didn't exit, Tammy asked me why, stating that "we have a truck". I told her that wouldn't apply to light duty pickup trucks. But then I got to thinking - the sign didn't say anything about the height clearance. What if I'm wrong? I pulled off at the exit (last chance) and found a place to stop. Then I asked Google "how high is the XXXXXX low bridge"? 6 feet, 11 inches! Holy crap - that would have been disasterous! The tops of our kayaks are over 8 feet high! We routed around the low clearance and in 15 minutes, we were on our way. Serena and Dan were happy to see us, and we went out to a local mexican grill restaurant, followed by a nice sampling of Serena's fine scotch whiskies at their home. This one was my favorite. I looked up the price - I won't be buying any of this any time soon!
Day 5 got us out early, as we were excited to get to our destination. The weather was perfect and we arrived at the border crossing about noon. The entry process took about 2 minutes, and we got across without any issue.
I set my instrument panel to metric. This is going to take some getting used to. I told Tammy that it didn't feel like I was going a hundred! She freaked out for a second - lol.
Three hours later, about 3 pm, we arrived at our ABB. It far and away exceeded all of our hopes and expectations. This is a very nice place located on a small private lake. We are extremely comfortable here.
I got the trailer and the truck unloaded yesterday, and we unpacked just enough to deal with what we really needed on morning (COFFEE!!!). The rest will take care of itself over the next day or so.
Last night we ate dinner at a good local restaurant. Tammy likes to try those Tootie Fruity drinks with a lot of words in the description. I'm more of a "local IPA" dude:
We bought groceries and called it a night. To be sure, it was 5 days on the road in a loaded truck pulling a trailer. Not exactly "relaxing", but we were not nearly as worn out as last year, although the trip was 1 day and 300 miles longer. Maybe we are getting used to it.
Our kids, along with our son's boyfriend and the dog, arrive in a week or so. Until then, Tammy and I will try to manage.
Stay thirsty, my friends....
