Day 21. August 27, 2013. Are we in France?

We realized that everyone in our campsite has bikes, which prompted me to look at our brochures about this area.  Apparently we are on one of the best bike paths in the world.  So, we got on the bikes and headed to the ferry.  The path follows the St. Lawrence River.  Old train bed.  It really is nice...divided into 2 lanes for bikes and another lane for walkers.  To get to the path, we had to ride about 1/2 mile on a busy highway.  It was a steep decline, so we were going fast.  I was scared.  I made it, then biked 8 kilometers to downtown.  It was mostly downhill, so easy.  I kept thinking about the return uphill trip, though.  

Made it to the ferry and crossed to old Quebec City.  The picture attached is a famous hotel that dominates the skyline.  When we disembarked, most people took the funicular, as the city is so steep. We, of course, claimed the steps instead, to save money and "to get exercise".  The city is just lovely.  You really think you are in Europe.  George found a brasserie where they make their own beer.  We walked up and down and around.  We tried to find a non-touristy lunch place, so we walked some more.  Found an alley with an outdoor terrace.  It was totally local and really neat.  A bunch of office workers had brought in food and were having a gay old time with lots of wine.  We whispered to the waiter about them not being back to work, and he winked and said they were government employees..  Unfortunately, they didn't serve food.  We had drinks and walked on.  We entered a small grocery and wandered around.  In the back, they had a deli.  We bought some pâté (had a choice of about 20 kinds) and a baguette, and ate it in a cemetery.  It was so good!  Only $4, as compared to expensive cafes.

Then, ferry back to this side of the river.  George wanted to stop at a brewpub that we had visited 2 years ago.  We sat at the bar, and this fellow switched from French to English and really bended our ear.  He is actually from Wales. He was planning a veterans' get-together and asked us to help him pick the beers to serve.  So, he ordered us a bunch of samples, and then bought George a beer and gave us a lot of history info.

 Then, the bike ride home.  The 8 kilometers were mostly uphill.  After all the walking, I about died.  But I made it!  I did give up, though, on the highway part of the trip.  George picked up the car and rescued me.

Back at the campsite....cooled off in the pool, and then relaxed in the hot tub!  Dinner is rice with some tandoori spices and canned chicken (still going through leftovers).  We are using our tripod grill since the fire ring doesn't have a grate

Day 20. August 26, 2013. St. Lawrence River

We spent some time doing repairs.  Since we are taking back roads, we are driving on some bad roads. The bikes are taking a beating.  George also had to check the camper  battery which seems to be dying.

All ok now.  

Again, took back roads  toward Quebec City, following the St. Lawrence River.  The towns look like they could be plucked out of rural France.  We stopped in Levis across the river from Quebec City.  We will go there tomorrow, but wanted to spend today on this side.  We explored and found a cute winery.  We were the only visitors, and the owner could speak pretty good English.  Interesting that the vintners here are familiar with MN since most of the cold-hardy wines up here were developed at Univ of Mn.  Interesting to hear their names....Pepin, St. Croix.   Quite nice visit

Dinner is potato soup with some cheese and bread from the region.  Our campsite has lots of seasonal campers, as they all seem to know each other.  They just finished a French happy hour.  Sante!

Day 19....August 25, 2013. Oh, Canada!

We have found the French-Canadians to be so nice.  I think since they speak French that some people think they are snooty.  As we left the campsite this AM, the "cork screw hunk" ( which is what we secretly called the god-like creature I mentioned yesterday), flagged us down and gave George a list of some micro-breweries in Quebec, since George had told him we are interested.  Then, after we sailed through immigration and customs, we stopped at the Quebec Welcome Center where the guy couldn't have been nicer.  I don't think he gets much business for English version of the brochures for remote areas.  He was thrilled to give us a lot of suggestions and loaded us up with a bagful of brochures and maps.  We went back to the car, and as we were checking everything, he came running out of the Center, giving us additional pamphlets on bike trails, since  he looked out of the window and saw our bikes.  We  took his advice and took the first exit off the highway to the Quebec Wine Trail.  We drove through lots of farmland.  Bought some blueberries and apples.  We stopped at one winery.  We were the only ones not speaking French.  I can get by pretty well as a lot of words are similar to Spanish.   There was a lot of road construction and detours, so we got lost again.  

We are in moose country,as per the highway sign.  Hope to see one.  Stopped in a nice campsite.  The Canadians rank theirs (like European hotels).  This is a 4-star.  I'll see how it fares on my rating system.  The Lake Placid one was a 3.3

We FINALLY finished the salmon.  We also ate some smoked salmon that Meredith gave us, left from one of her events.  We put it on crusty bread with cream cheese.  We had it for breakast and a picnic at lunch, in a lovely town called Venice-en-Quebec.   Meredith was able to sell most of hers through an

ad on Craigslist.  We are now trying to eat some of the canned goods we had leftover from home.  Tonight we are eating quesadillas.  Using some tortillas Meredith gave us, with some New York cheese, some grilled apple-smoked bacon, and charred red onion.....with a tasty side of pork & beans.   

Day18. August 24

We spent another day in Lake Placid region.  Most of the other campers are from Quebec.  Somehow it makes camping seem more sophisticated when you hear French rather than English and  hear wine bottles being uncorked instead of canned beers being opened.  This gorgeous French Canadian who looks like he could be on the cover of some steamy romance novel came by to borrow a corkscrew.  I about swooned.

We went into the nearby town of Saranac Lake.  Also very cute.  We visited their tiny brewery...in an old car wash.  Perfect to wash down everything.  Filled our growlers.  Traded ours from Town Hall Brewery in MSP for one of theirs.  We hope we can get it through customs.

The highlight of the day was a 3-hour train ride on the Scenic Adrironack Railroad.  We took the beer and wine evening trip.  It was really fun.  There was a DJ who played great fun music, many with a train theme.  

Day 17. August 23, 2013.....Lake Placid

We did touristy things today and loved it.  We went to High Falls Gorge and hiked around.  Beautiful.  We toured the Olympic Downhill Ski venue.  it is so high!  I can't imagine anyone having the nerve to do that.  We watched kids learning how to do to it ending  in a swimming pool.  Then we took a gondola up to the tower, and then elevator up 26 stories to where the skiers take off.     Amazing!

We drove through picturesque river-side roads.  We bought firewood...honor system, just like we've seen   all over, for veggies and flowers.

We had a picnic downtown.....leftover blackened salmon on French bread.  Then we took the free Lake Placid trolley 

around town, finally stopping downtown where we did window-shopping.  We sat in Adirondack chairs and relaxed along the shore.  Then to a bar that has a great craft beer selection.  For younger drinkers...PBRs for $1.  They specialize in BBQ so we bought some brisket to eat at the campsite with leftover salad. 

Day 16....August 22, 2013

Spent the day driving to Lake Placid.  Taking the back roads is so enjoyable....makes the trip part of the fun, not just getting from Point A to Point B.  Today's trip took about 6 hours.  We drove through the Adirondack Mts.  We ended  getting lost as the roads we were on were not on the map.  Finally we stopped for directions.  (Why do men hate doing that?!). We were instructed to take Moose Gulch Road.  Drove through miles of forests.  A few houses...I always wonder where they buy their groceries.  Finally arrived to civilization.  Then we drove through a stretch of about 30 miles, following a chain of lakes.  Lots of cute lake cottages.

Lake Placid is very touristy.  It is the home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics.  We watched people training in the skating rink.  All kinds of motels, fancy inns, restaurants.  We went to 2 brew pubs.  Both were very cozy.  I imagine even cozier in the winter.  Lots of skiing nearby.  The bartender in one pub used to work in St. Augustine at A1A brewery.  Thinks he knows my brother Ken.  

 We  drove through pouring pain.  Found a state park near Lake Placid.  Small, rustic sites.  Almost got stuck finding our site.  We ate leftover salmon chowder under the shelter.  We are going to stay here through Sunday AM as finding new campsites on weekends is hard.

We developed a rating system for campsites.  Criteria are: showers, flush toilets, pit toilets, price, mosquitoes, view, cleanliness, quality of fire pits, noise level, and quality of site.  On a scale of 0-5, the Allegheny National Forest was 4.4.  The Onieta Lake State Park was a 4.0.  I think this Lake Placid one will not fare as well 

Day 15......August 21, 2013

The day started at 2:00 AM. (We know, as George checked the clock in case we had to report this.). We awoke to a big crash when my kitchen box fell from the picnic table.  We jumped up and peeked out the window, assuming it was raccoons.  Saw nothing so George opened the camper door.  There was a big black bear eating something from a plastic bag.  George crept out of the camper, stark naked, and started running around our site with pots and pans clanging to scare it away.  The bear did mosey off, finally.  When we awoke later, we checked out what he got.  I didn't think there was any food in the box, but realized there was a Baggie with restaurant condiments, including a packet of honey he was after.  It was amazing how he must have gone through the box and touched nothing except that bag.  I just wish I had been able to get some photos....of the bear and of naked George!  We drove on through the Finger Lake region of NY, stopping at one winery for a tasting.  Tonight next to Lake Oneida north of Syracuse.  Watching the sunset with sailboats, yachts, and dinner over the fire.....blackened salmon wraps