6/27/25
Today, our children came to visit. Our daughter, who lives in the same city as we do, flew to NYC earlier in the week to spend a few days with her brother. Today the both of them, along with our son's boyfriend and dog, came up to see us. They rented a car (10 hr drive) and picked it up a day early so that they could leave at 3 am and avoid all NYC traffic. They arrived safely about 2 pm and we were real excited to see them.
Tammy prepared one of her famous charcuterie boards.
After snacks, we walked to the dock and enjoyed the lake together.
Joe told me that he wanted to do a hike today, and so about 3:30, we took off for the National Park. Joe and Mario have been seeing each other for about 8 months now, but this is Tammy and I's first chance to meet him. He's a nice, intelligent, worldly man, and right off we knew what our son sees in him.
It's kind of quiet on this Friday afternoon.
Meeko is always up for a walk in the woods.
Nice views here.
Joe's 30th birthday isn't until July 26, but mom insisted we do something on this visit. She ordered a delicious almond/chocolate/macraroon cake at the local bakery.
I lit a small fire and we had a good time chit chatting in the evening.
6/28/25
I got up early as usual, but everyone else slept in, understandably. Today's forecast is rain, all day. So after late breakfast, we decided to drive into Quebec City and find something "inside" to do. Parking my full-sized pickup truck was challenging, but we did find some University campus parking 3 blocks from the heart of Old Town for $14 CAD - pretty good score there.
Tammy and I love the archetecture in the Old Town.
It's raining moderately, but we are making the best of it.
We ended up at this place:
This is a well done museum, with something for everyone to enjoy. Our daughter, the School teacher, enjoyed some of the high-tech displays on the dynamics of crowd control and mass communications. Personally, I tought the exhibit on the indigenous peoples of Quebec was awesome.
The workmanship on these 400 year old bowls is incredible.
An open water kayak skinned in seal hides.
I learned all about snow shoes - something I'll likely never need to know, but it was interesting.
This canoe was absolutely stunning.
Thankfully the placards were written in both French and English. But the oral presentations were only spoken in french. Joe and Mario have no trouble understanding the presenter.
There was an exhibit on the migration of a Bangladeshian refugee to Quebec, narrated by himself. That was interesting.
And finally, there was an extensive exhibit on the history, culture, and lifestyle of the Quebecois people. We learned a TON about this area we are living in for this summer.
Apparently, this is the predesessor to the snowmobile as we know it.
A rather elaborate hearst, if I don't say.
Now late in the afternoon, we walked a bit in the Old Town.
It reminds us a lot of Europe, France in particular.
I suppose it's 5 o'clock somewhere!
We drove back to the ABB and I cooked Shrimp Fajatias for dinner.
6/29/25
The weather moved on last night and today looks to be very nice. Again the kids asked us what we wanted to do and the reply was the same: whatever ya'll want is good with us. So they devised a plan and off we go.
First stop, Montmorency Falls! This was on Tammy and I's list for sure, and we were glad to be able to enjoy it with the kids. Joe, Mario, and I took the walk from the top down. The girls took the cable car instead.
This is a nice suspension bridge that goes over the falls.
From up here, we can see across the St. Lawrence River to the Isle D'Orleans.
Making memories!
Meeko doesn't like water much.
And this is a LOT of water!
We took our time walking down to the bottom.
I wanted to get close at the bottom to feel the rage of the fall. Don't let that jacket fool you - I got SOAKING wet!
The girls were waiting for us at the bottom.
We all walked along the river to catch another view.
Proud Mama and Papa here!
We've lost track of time. By the time we got back to the top, it was 3:00 - late lunch, I suppose.
Nobody's going hungry!
Next, we drove across the St. Lawrence River to the Il d'Orleans. First stop, winery!
I'm not a wine drinker, but our daughter LOVES wine, so this was her jam!
Cheers!
I will say - this Rose' was very pleasant.
What a great day!
Some things speak for themselves....
We get in the truck and run about 6 minutes to a U-pick it strawberry farm, and the fruit is in season!
Joe, Mario, and I each picked 2 quarts of strawberries. The plants are beautiful!
I really enjoyed this.
As a bonus, at the farm store, they sell homemade .... well..... IYKYK....
How freaking good is my life right now? I can't even describe it.....
Tammy and I really like the vibe on this island. We will be back frequently.
We drove back to the ABB for a little rest before one last activity tonight.
The Wendake people, a sub-tribe of the Huron people, have a reserve (Canadian for Reservation) right outside of Quebec City. On their land, they offer a unique experience.
It's a walk through the woods (about 1.5 km) with interactive and interpretive stations that utilize light, laser, video, and other technology to tell you the story of their people.
You use a phone app to read information about each station and go at your own pace. It was so cool!
This must be the future of museum tourism.
We all really enjoyed this.
6/30/25
Another good weather day in the forecast. It's gonna be hard to beat yesterday, but we'll give it a shot.
Mom and Taylor want to go shopping today. So me and the boys will go back to the park and take another walk.
No objection from Meeko.
It's a great day to be alive!
I sure do love my grand pup! That's my buddy right there!
It warmed up today to about 82 degrees, so when we got back to the ABB, everyone wanted to cool off!
Except Meeko - he doesn't like the water, so Paw Paw sat in the kayak instead.
Priceless.
I grilled some shrimp and fixings for the crew!
Love my peeps!
The kids wanted to make smores, and so who was I to argue? I'll take my treat in liquid form, thank you.
What an absolutely terrific 4 days! Tomorrow, the boys will drive Taylor to the Montreal airport for her to catch a flight home. Then they are going to stay in Montreal and play a couple days. Meeko stays with us (yeah!!!).
Life sure is good.
Stay thirsty, my friends......
