Day 28. Sept 3, 2013 Eating our way through PEiI!

I had no idea that Prince Edward Island was such a culinary destination!  We drove through New Brunswick  to PEI.  Just awful weather, so we found a little Mom and Pop motel with a kitchenette...the first night not camping.  First we went to downtown. We walked around and saw a huge cruise ship in town.  Also, I hadn't realized that the Irish had settled here.  They are famous for their potatoes.  There are a lot of Irish pubs with singing and dancing.  We went to a pub for lunch and had their fish cakes.  Delicious.  Made from halibut, cod, and potatoes.  Nice and cozy atmosphere.    PEI hosts the Culinary Institute of Canada.  The tourist brochures offer Clam digging events, lobster fishing dinners, and weekly.cooking classes on their farms featuring local seafood, beef, potatoes and cheese.  We bought PEI mussels which we will cook in our cottage tonight.  

We are in Atlantic Time Zone now, east of Eastern.  

Apparently this is a Mecca for Japanese tourists, as they like to visit the site of the book/TV show Anne of the Green Gables

Here I am in the kitchenette cooking up a storm, prepping for the week

Day 27. Sept 2, 2013. Au revoir, Quebec!

We drove along the coast, finishing the entire loop around Gaspe Peninsula.  Stopped in a museum that gave the history on the Acadians, and how many ended up in Louisiana.  They listed the most common Acadian names.  Among them are Hebert and Beaulieu.  Of course, I thought of my friends Kourtney and Angelique.

We crossed over to New Brunswick, and suddenly everything is in English again.  New Brunswick does  not seem too interesting.  We drove through miles with ever-increasing warning signs about moose, and followed miles of fencing to presumably keep them off the highway.  

We camped in a nice site on the bay.  It POURED all night long.  We stayed dry and safe.  

Day 26. sept 1 ...on Gaspe coast

Started the day by eating freshly-picked raspberries  (a la George) and yogurt.  Miserable weather...cold and misty.  Took a hike in Appalachian Trail foothills.  Had lunch In a seaside restaurant.  I had fisherman's stew, and George had cod cheeks and tongue.  A specialty here. 

I have stopped rating campsites in Quebec, as they are all good.  Nice dish-washing areas, wonderful bathrooms, well-kept sites.  George likes this  one  as there is   a brewpub adjacent.  I took a shower in the ladies' restroom. Cost 50 cents for 5minutes.  I came out of my stall (clothed) and much to my surprise, ran into a man!  He was taking a shower with a woman.  I ran back to the site to tell George.  He said the reverse was true for him... A woman was in the men's shower, showering with a guy.  Maybe the French are just trying to save 50 cents?

This town is famous for lobster and we watched scuba divers bring them in.  Here is a picture of perhaps the original Red Lobster?  That is the translation for Homard Rouge.

Day 25. August 31, 2013. At the beach in Gaspe' peninsula

Here are some photos of last night!s sunset.  We slept, listening to the waves lapping on the shore.   Big group of tourists taking photos of the sunset.  No other Americans.  

This AM, we had breakfast on the beach.... Gaspe freshly-picked raspberries in yogurt.  It is European style...so much better than what you can buy in USA.

Spent the day driving east along the St. Lawrence.  I think this is the 3rd day that we have gone straight east.  The brochures say that National Geographic Traveler magazine voted this area as one of the top 20 destinations in the world.  

We stopped midday at a lighthouse and had lunch.  I had some local cheese that had peppercorns in it.  What a treat!  As George was checking the car before we took off, he discovered that the spare tire was about to fall off, due to all the bumpy roads we have been on.  We stopped in a couple of garages, but there were no welders available, since it is Labor Day weekend.  We Jerry-rigged it with bungee cords and drove on.  We made it to the end of the peninsula, and now turned south and eventually west.  

We are in Perce, still in Gaspe Peninsula.  This area is famous for whale and seal-watching, and lobster fishing.  Unfortunately, the weather turned, and is foggy and misting.  Will stay here another night as to tomorrow is supposed to be nicer.

  

Day 24. August 30, 2013

We enjoyed the AM in the national park. We biked thousands (or so it felt) of miles on the forest  trails.  Took off along noon and followed the St. Lawrence River again.  Stopped in a river town and had lunch at a cute micro-brasserie.  Stopped at a creamery to buy some local cheese.  

We are in a campsite on the river.  Literally footsteps from the beach.  We walked to a fish shop to buy some fish to cook on the grill.  Their specialty is salmon.  I just couldn't eat more, so we bought turbot instead.  We will sauté it in butter and locally-grown green onions and unusual mushrooms.  Still cool...in the low 50s.

Pictures below are from yesterday's farm brewery visit 

Day 23. August 29, 2013

When we got back last night to the campsite, the weather turned blustery.  Gale-force winds.  Too windy to make a campfire, so we huddled inside.  We made pasta with tomato sauce which I thickened with a bit of cream cheese.  Since we don't want to get the camper greasy, I didn't want to sauté any veg.  We ate a tomato (delish) that we had bought at a roadside stand.

All through the night, the wind blew and blew.  I thought the camper would fly away!  Nervous about taking down the camper later this AM.

Later...taking down the camper wasn't so bad.  George moved is to be perpendicular to the wind.

Drove about 4 hours NE, following the St. Lawrence.  Beautiful views and homes. We stopped in a farmhouse brewery.  The wife was making bread as we arrived.  We had a beer and some of their cheese around a pond, sharing the sun with geese and ducks.  The wife then came outside and herded the sheep to another area.  Their speciality is smoked salmon, and they have a little smokehouse next to their 150+year old house.

We are at a beautiful national park tonight.  Right on a bay.  We rode bikes on their trails, scaring a fawn and red fox.  Quite chilly...in the 40s.  We had chile over the campfire.   

Day 22,...August 28, 2013

We decided to stay another night at our campsite and make a day trip.  We dove across the St. Lawrence River north circumventing Quebec City.  We just hate driving in traffic.  We were in the area called Charlevoix.  We hadn't plan to visit there, but it was a "must see" according to our book "1000 Places to See Before you Die".  We took the mountain route through farmland and hills, then dropped to the bay.  We ended the route in a resort area where the rich and famous used to go....President Taft, the Vanderbilts.  It is beautiful.  The saying is that the atmosphere is more intoxicating than champagne, and you don't get a hangover!

We decided to drive a bit farther and take a 1 1/2 hour ferry back across the river rather than backtrack.  

Now that we are away from Quebec City, fewer people can speak English.  We still get along ok.  All very friendly.  On the radio, we are hearing more Cajun-sounding music...like New Orleans.

Gas is $1.36 per liter which ends up being about $5.50 US per gallon.  It is our biggest expense.  Try to only fill the tank every other day.