Hey, Abbot!

No one name Lou or Bud were involved.

We left Boothbay Harbor and headed towards Quebec, Canada. We stopped for a couple of days in Abbot, Maine. It's a rural area, but pretty. The campground was a KOA and our site was located close to the pool, which was pretty cool. We were amazed at the number of ATV's that occupied the park campsites, but saw them everywhere; it's an outdoor persons heaven... fishing, hiking, kayaking, trail riding, canoeing and the like. If you love the outdoors, this is the place, however we saw no whales or dolphins. So much for lobsters.

Time to Make the Donuts!

Abbot is a very small town, but boasts a bakery and cafe. Located in Abbot Village (nothing else is there, it's such a small town), but this is a destination. They make donuts all the time and they're utterly delicious. Each of us had too many baked goods, but since we're retired, we get to do stuff like this once and awhile and save the guilt for another day.

Moosehead Lake

As the largest lake in Maine and also the largest completely contained in New England, we spent an afternoon on the southern shore. The Katahdin offers steamship tours of the lake, but the day we were there, it was sold out for a group event and Julie didn't volunteer to rent and row boat to cover the 40 x 10 mile area. We saw deer, but no moose.

Dudley Doo Right isn't coming, Nell...

We decided that visiting Quebec for a second time was warranted. After all, we planned to Honeymoon there after we married. The honeymoon was in New York City and Quebec had to wait a year because the ever astute Thomass didn't ensure his passport was valid. But a year later we visited and had an incredible time. So sure, going back was a great idea, as we saw some places we'd visited before and saw some very cool new things.

Parc-Chaudière is located on the southern border of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Chaudière Falls. The park has a lot of hiking trails where you can cross the river Chaudière on a suspension bridge. The bridge was originally built as a wooden arch and collapsed because of ice flows in 1836. The suspension bridge replaced the wooden arch in 1843, but was rebuilt again in 1889, as the crossing was important. It's about 370 long and approximately 75 feet above the river; higher when the river flows slowly.

In previous blogs, we've spent time describing our fear of heights. And this adventure was no exception. Julie is pictured with a woman who spoke no English and we couldn't speak whatever language was hers. She was standing at the entrance to the bridge, looking it over carefully and Julie realized the woman was afraid to step onto and over the bridge. Somehow, they communicated and Julie said she'd be with her every step of the way; together, they'd cross the bridge. And they did just that, while I was behind them scared of the prospect of the bridge collapsing (its happened before, right?), and I would plummet to the rocky river and never get a plate of Poutine. The picture of them together is after they made their way across to the other side. Hugs were had, as were emotions exchanged without any words. It was a pretty heartwarming moment.

We stayed at a KOA just south of the city. The campground was large, sites were tight and muddy because it rained... actually poured. Still, we enjoyed the surroundings, people and Quebec. Actually it was relaxing.

The campground runs a shuttle twice a day. We opted for the afternoon run and spent the rest of the day revisiting some of the places we visited before, while exploring new sights. We had drinks and apps at the Frontenac, then over at Le Continental, which was just as good as the first time. Dinner that night was a bust, as I chose the venue. McDonalds would have been an upgrade. Julie was unhappy with my choice, but thankfully, no one got sick.

One of neighbors in the campground was from New Hampshire. Julie struck up a conversation about living and working there. It turns out this man knew Julie's brother and had worked with him years earlier. As more conversation unfolded, he knew a lot off the same people she/we knew and the world seemed smaller. I can't be certain, but I suspect the convo began with her traveling gardens...

Montreal

KOA's have been getting our business so far on our journey through Maine and Canada, so Montreal got their chance to impress us and both of us and we would revisit the campground without hesitation. The site was wide, offered a private parking space and featured a very large patio with flower island, swinging chaise and a pretty cool fire pit.

Years earlier we spent a week in Montreal on the northern side of the St. Lawrence. We brought our bicycles and biked for miles next to the river. But now we're on the southern side, but were told there is a bike path there too. This time was a little different, as the path takes you alongside busy streets and towards a marina. We started in a beautiful park and as we headed over towards the marina, we ran into cloud storms of tiny gnat like creatures that obscured our vision, violated our nostrils and tried to build nests in our eyes. That's when we thought it was a good time to turn around and head back. Just a tad different from our first experience.

We drove into the city over the Longueuil Bridge and found parking easy, however driving a dually was a bit of a challenge on narrow streets and crazy drivers. We tried to visit Notre Dame Cathedral, but they were closed. So we walked around Old Montreal, visiting places we'd been before and had cocktails at the Gray Hotel Rooftop Terrace, which offers good views of the river and Ferris Wheel. A popular place, reservations are required. While we thought about having dinner there, they could not accommodate us. Dinner was at Old Port Steak House where we had rack of lamb. A really relaxed atmosphere and the meal was superb. We were seated in an old garden and agreed that another return would make future agendas.

How to Make a Fog Machine

Renfrew was a stop along the way. The campground was in a very rural setting. The staff was friendly and helpful. Most of the sites were seasonal and the add-on features turned it into a resort like atmosphere. But... They sold wet wood and nothing could get the logs to catch fire. So a smoke out was the thing. I think Julie was seated across from me, but I'm not sure I saw her. We did play miniature golf, where Julie kicked my rear end. I got a letter from the PGA saying maybe next year.

Kingston, 1,000 Islands

There were two more stops before leaving Canada for Port Huron, Michigan. Kingston was the destination, although we didn't know what to expect, as we hadn't read a lot about the area before hand. The campground was fine - electric, water and sewer were all good, but internet was sketchy.

The ticket was for a 3 hour brunch tour aboard the

Island Queen that took us out to the Admiralty Islands, an archipelago on the St Lawrence. We were on the second of three decks, seated next to large windows at a linen covered table and excellent wait service. The cruise isn't inexpensive, but well worth the experience, as the tour guide was a wealth of knowledge. She knew a lot of the early history that spanned from the colonial days of French and English settlers, through prohibition and the present day. To be considered an island, it can be tiny, really tiny, where there is land mass above the water line 365 consecutive days and has a living tree on it. Otherwise, it's a pile of rocks. We saw some that a person could occupy, but not much else. We also saw some huge islands and others with small houses and still others with mansions. The guy who invented the pine tree air freshener you see on rearview mirrors in cars has a summer home on one of the islands. His air freshener story goes back to the milk man days, when the milk would sour on the trucks and the odor was horrible - so, that's how it started. His home? The boat garage challenges a McMansion - over $25 million.

Kingston was the former seat for the Ontario province. However, Ottowa was Canada's capital, chosen by Queen Victoria in 1867. Kingston was the original capital of Canada through 1841. Bustling with commerce, limestone structures are everywhere, many of them built by prisoners. The picture below is from the old parliament building across from the wharf area.

We visited the prison and learned that the warden was a hard ass, instituting the "silent" code. It meant no speaking, no head nods or direct eye contact or any way communication could exist between two prisoners. So, to get away from the prison, building other sites was a form of freedom where communication took place. Make no mistake, Kingston makes our list of places to revisit, as there's so much to see do, learn and yes, eat!

There's a lot of restaurant choices and we chose a French restaurant, Chez Piggy, which was situated in an old horse stable. It was late afternoon, so we opted for apps and signature cocktails and they were terrific, although not quite French. Julie noticed the dinner menu, which had French offerings. One of the things that makes this venue special is that it was opened by two people, one of which was a founding member of the Lovin' Spoonful rock group, Zal Yanovsky, lead singer and guitarist. A very laid back vibe and the service was attentive. A lot to enjoy.

Milton

We stopped in Milton for one night, our last in Canada before coming back to the USA. It's an industrial town, but the campground was clean, good services and friendly, helpful staff. "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." That night, we went out for dinner and went to Wimpy's Diner. Not quite a Popeye thing, but they had Poutine, which was good.

And for breakfast? Yeah, we did.

And the best part of our campground?

Next stop, The United States of America...