Fast Forward

I left the blog in Quebec City...
oops, my bad.

Several long days of traveling later and we are back in Alberta (short version - Ottawa, very cool. Ontario is huge! It took three solid days of driving across it to finally reach Manitoba. A brief stop at Grand Beach and a visit with an old friend in Winnipeg, a couple days to visit with family in Saskatchewan, and then a long drive day into Alberta... I'll try to do the long versions of these at some point...)

We've come full circle, actually ending up in the same campground we started out in. Exact same camp site too.
Talk about deja vu.
So much is different and so much is the same.

This past week has been a whirlwind of craziness, frustration, and stress.

It seems like this is the end of our travels. That's what everyone around us assumes. That's what Bob is wanting.
It's also what I am not ready happy to accept. I had the next (at least) 6 months kinda planned out. I knew where I wanted to be, and how I was going to tackle homeschool with two kids, keeping track of other traveling families I wanted to catch up with, and all sorts of stuff.

Instead, here we are, trying to figure out where to live, what school the kids are going to go to (public school starts Sept 2nd!), jobs, what to do about (and with) the trailer, and all the myriad details that come with an abrupt transition to an entirely stationary and school/work scheduled life.

I'm having a lot of trouble wrapping my head around this. Especially since in my heart I really don't want to. I want to keep traveling and exploring the world. This past year has taught me I'm a gypsy at heart. Everywhere and nowhere is home, and I kind of like it that way.

But it's hard not to want the best for my family, when they are so enthusiastic for it. The kids were just so darned excited to be back in familiar territory, and see friends and family. They both asked repeatedly where we were (Are we in Alberta yet? Are we at Calgary yet? Where are we now?...), and if they thought Grandma would be excited to see them (the answer of course was Yes! I heard "How soon will we get to Grandma's?" a lot on our drive.).
No matter what I'd prefer, my family comes first.

And so, I'll deal with the stress, and frustration, and figure it all out.
I guess I'll be embarking on a slightly different adventure for the next while.
(But, I will always keep my plan B waiting in the wings.)

if you look back at last July's entries, this spot might look familiar

Only one day: Old Quebec City

Quebec City is a vibrant place, and really deserves more exploration time than just one day. But the McMillan’s are on the move, and so we focused our attention on the Old City. I had been here once for a conference many years ago, and loved the atmosphere of the city. I was excited to share it with the rest of the family.

The grand city did not disappoint. It was just as I remembered – vibrant, bustling, and alive with a European feel that is unlike anywhere else in North America (it’s also a UNESCO Heritage Site).  

The view from the Levis ferry (we stayed in Levis and took the ferry across the river) was beautiful. The Chateau Frontenac, a gigantic hotel, dominates the skyline.

So fun to run through

The family we had met in Amqui had told us about an art installation in the city. We found it right away, after departing the ferry, and had fun goofing around. It’s not every day you get to interact with the art! The installation actually consists of several pieces around the old city, and we discovered several during our explorations of the area.

my favorite installation

Like so many other places we have visited, Quebec has a long history of military importance and, and was protected by walls, bastions and an imposing cliff-top Citadel. These are all still in evidence today, but unlike many places, the Old City’s defensive walls are still fully intact. This makes the city feel just a little bit different than everywhere else we have been.

The city is divided by an imposing cliff into the Lower and Upper city. The lower is where Samuel de Champlain founded the city. You can stand in the spot where he established the settlement in 1608, where a bust of him commemorates the event (it is a lot farther away from the water’s edge now than it was in de Champlain’s time), and walk through the beautiful Notre-Dames-des-Victoires church in Place Royal (where the children were super quiet and respectful – Yay!)

We explored the streets of Old Quebec,

walked under the walls to stand by the fountain across the street from the beautiful National Assembly of Quebec and sat on the Plains of Abraham.

After seeing so many forts no one was all that keen to go in the fort, but we did walk along a portion of its wall, and the kids and I took the Governor’s Promenade back into the walled city (which is suspended along the river side of the fort - basically on the edge of the cliff), while Bob walked the other side.

The canons along the Terrasse Dufferin provided my monkeys a fun place to play, while I gazed across the St. Lawrence. What is it about a canon that encourages children to climb all over them?

The kids were thoroughly entertained by a street performer’s variety show, in front of the Statue of Samuel de Champlain (by the Chateau Frontenac). Morgan especially loves the Quebecois humor, which is full of gags and situational silliness (he loves watching Just for Laughs Gags on TV, which is produced in Quebec).

Joan d'Arc 

On my bucket list was a carriage ride around the old City, and so (with a little encouragement from Lily) we did. The guided tour was a great addition to our walking, as it took us past several areas that we hadn't managed to get to on foot, and provided an opportunity to learn more about the history, through statues, and landmarks. At the end of our ride, Lily thanked the horse by feeding it a couple of the carrots she had in our snack bag. Pretty sure the horse appreciated the treat, although Lily has pretty nervous having that big mouth envelop her hand! (sorry, no horsey pics)

After the carriage ride, we walked back down through the city (we started our tour near the gates) and then down the cliff (via staircase this time, rather than narrow winding street) to catch our ferry back to Levis. We had walked and walked, traversing the same streets over and over (the old city isn't that big, and there are only a few gates in the walls to go through), and yet, every time we found something new to see. As evening fell the city felt even more alive than during the daytime, but time was up and we had to go. The sun set while we were making our way down, and thunderclouds had rolled in.

The last image I have of the city is from the ferry, the buildings lit up for night, with lightning in the background.  It was a fitting departure. Goodbye Quebec! Perhaps someday I’ll get back to spend more time exploring.

Sometimes the unplanned stops are the best

Once we were finished at Baddeck it was time to put the pedal to the medal and say farewell to Nova Scotia. And New Brunswick. Goodbye Maritimes! You've been wonderful.

Next stop, Quebec City!

A couple issues with that…

Um… You can’t travel from Cape Breton Island to Quebec City in a day – especially when that driving day starts at two in the afternoon. (Well, you probably can if you get up really early, and don’t mind driving until really late, and don’t have a trailer to pull behind you.) Okay, whatever. We’d get there the next day. No big deal. We overnighted in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Miramichi, and then headed into Quebec via the edge of the Gaspe Peninsula. 

It was at this point we got the bright idea to actually call the campgrounds around Quebec City. They were all full. Apparently something about it being the weekend – and a long weekend in nearly every other province, to boot – and, you know, the people of Quebec like to camp. Oops! Not sure how we completely missed these facts, but it was a good thing we had called ahead. Apparently not being on any sort of schedule has made us totally lose track of things like days of the week, holidays, etc., etc. (Hmm, guess that’s going to have to stop soon!)

Time for plan number two! Quickly looking at campgrounds along our route, we opted to stop sooner rather than later and pulled into Camping Amqui, just outside of Amqui, QC, where they had one spot available for us. We had no idea what was in the area, or what the campground would really be like (because websites and reality don’t always mesh), but it turned out to be one of those gems you just happen upon once in a while.

We never left the campground – we didn't need to.
Shortly after arriving, Lily made friends with a bilingual family. The kids played, and learned some new French words (The little girl was adorable, speaking French at me – and fully expecting me to get it. Surprisingly enough, I could figure out what she generally was talking about – kids are easier to interpret than adults.) It was really nice to get in some adult conversation.We all kayaked along the edge of Matapedia Lake in the double kayaks that are available to rent, and later went swimming in the pool. The campground had activities during the day, and festivities complete with music, food and fireworks in the evening. A walk around the campground unveiled bushes and bushes of ripe saskatoons, ready for picking. It was obvious that no one knew what they were, and I had them all to myself. (Or would have if my two little locusts hadn't inhaled them all. I was going to make a pie – the berries never got that far.) Yummy! 

Their laundry was inexpensive and I took the opportunity to wash everything I could (I love cheap laundry! The semi-standard four dollars to wash and dry gets really painful on the pocketbook. Especially when you have children that just Refuse to Stay Clean.) Oh, yeah, and they had recycling bins that took everything (Have I said before I hate throwing out recyclables? So much waste already ends up where it shouldn't, I try to do a little bit to keep the world clean.We end up collecting bags and bags of them in the hope we’ll encounter a recycling bin somewhere).

In a nutshell, it was an ideal stop for us.

Munchie joined in Lily's tea party

We had only planned to spend a night, but ended up staying two (having to move campsites on day two, but ending up basically kitty corner to where we had been, which meant the kids were even closer to their new friends).

I love it when good things happen unexpectedly!

Fortress of Louisburg National Historical Site

Disembarking from our ferry at North Sydney, we then headed east to Louisburg, so we could visit the Fortress of Louisburg. The fortress is an 18^th century (large) French fortress, built back when the French and British were fighting for possession of eastern Canada. These two countries battled incessantly back and forth, and the fort changed hands twice before the French finally lost for good and the fortress was destroyed. The Fortress is an important part of Canadian history (or technically, pre-Canadian), and has been partially restored. It is now a National Historic Site, complete with costumed actors portraying both English and French soldiers and townsfolk, activities (both free and paid) for the kids, dancing, theatre, food, and interpretive information.  

We've been to quite a few Historic Sites, but this one is larger and definitely more entertaining than the rest. The employees here take their work both very seriously (stay in character) and also light heartedly, bringing a humour to the place that I haven’t encountered anywhere else.

Lily joined in the children’s dance.

We tried our hand at the geocaching, but just ended up turning in circles (is this a bad sign?).  That was okay, as it also allowed us to see more of the site that we might otherwise have.

Lily also signed up for the “Playing Hooky” kids tour, and learned about being a soldier (and muskets), gardening (and edible plants), got to feed the sheep, learned how to process cod (This was hilarious – there were stuffed cod (think soft plush toy) that came apart (head, spine, guts, and liver) and the kids practiced the steps in a production line (Why, oh why didn't I get a picture of this! Oh, right. I was too busy laughing.)) and heard some silly town gossip (did you hear the one about the lady who fell in the well? She got clean! The horror!).

Lily also played dress up. She made a cute little scullery maid! (are you noticing that this really seemed to be Lily’s day?)

We all watched a public disciplining (My bloodthirsty miss was yanking me down the hill to watch this!). The maid stole socks from her employer and was sentenced to stay in the neck iron for two hours and then be banished from the town. She explained that she only took them to give to the people who had no socks and would surely freeze come winter! (it was a hot day, and most of the tourists were wearing shorts and sandals). In light of this the mob (us) decided banishment was too harsh (although there was a portion that voted for hanging!) and she was then told she would have to work in the children’s theatre reading fairy tales. She begged for banishment, instead.

So off to the theatre she went, a crowd following behind. She and two others – a British captain, and a French merchant acted out two stories. The first was a Mi’kmaq legend, and the second, a unique telling of Little Red Riding Hood. They were hilarious!! I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in ages. The fellow playing the British officer took the part of Little Red, and he was so over the top I’m not sure how he managed it with a straight face (He named the wolf Cutie Frank, on the suggestions of the children in the audience, and then proclaimed him “The cutest doggie ever!”). It wasn't just his acting of the stories, but his acting of his British character that made him so fun to watch. (All the kids had so much fun trying to explain modern things, like the light bulbs in the ceiling, and he pretended to be baffled.)

View of the town from the walls

We didn't spend as much time around the Fortresses defensive walls, as we've seen A Lot of battlements lately and didn't really feel any need to examine more in detail. (On the flip side, my children now are extremely familiar with things like mortars, cannons, bastion designs, and many other 18^th and 19^th century military structures.) These are worthy of exploration though, if you are visiting the Fortress.

It was a great visit and everyone enjoyed themselves here. We easily spent the whole day, and then headed to our next destination, Baddeck. (There is ample RV parking near the Visitor Center, so we brought the trailer along, and then traveled on after we were finished sightseeing. This is a pattern that has worked well for us.)

Baddeck is home to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Alec (and family) built themselves a house (mansion more like!) on the shores of Bras d’Or Lakes, and Alec did much of his experimentation here. This lake is where the Silver Dart made history, becoming the first airplane to fly in Canada. The museum has timelines of his life and information about his experiments, and family life. We learned about the telephone (which most everyone should know Alec invented), hydrofoils, his experiments with kites (and tetrahedrons) and flight, and teaching the deaf to speak (which he described as his life’s work). It was quite interesting to get a more complete picture of the life of a man who is so much more than the inventions I know him best for.  

On the way to the Ferry

There is so much to see and do in Newfoundland, you just can’t see it all in two weeks. This is especially true when you have to cross all the way back to take the Ferry from Channel-Port aux Basque. (This is the main one, but a ferry does also cross from Argentia to North Sydney – it’s a 16 hour ride vs a 6 hour crossing. Yeah, not a good idea for seasick prone me.) 

We had a couple days to get there, so here’s a couple of the highlights of our return trip.

The Bonavista Peninsula: We had originally intended to go to Twillingate, but an hour out of St. John’s we changed our plans and went to the Peninsula (which sits just south of Terra Nova National Park). It was a great decision.

We walked around Trinity, a town steeped in history. The province, and the Historical Society have preserved and rebuilt many of the original buildings. Due to the history of the town and architectural controls on new buildings, the entire town looks like it is plucked straight from the past. The kids weren't interested in the history or buildings, but did have fun playing on the old style tire swing at the playground.

A walk along the fog shrouded Skerwink Trail. This trail is supposed to be one of the 35 best in North America and Europe (according to someone).  The trail follows the coastal cliffs, and usually provides spectacular vistas of the cliffs and ocean beyond. The fog (that rolled in and out) prevented us from seeing out to the ocean (and often down, which isn't such a bad thing!), but it did make for an interesting walk. The walk is 5.3 km long, and everyone did great – until Lily tripped on the second last step of the entire trail, and skinned her knees bloody. Even then, she was a trooper (after she got the blood-curdling screams out of her system – someday I really hope she will outgrow those!).

Visiting the puffin colony in Elliston. Some days the puffins fly over from their island to do some people watching (they come within a couple feet, if you're quiet), but they were too busy fishing to come for a visit while we were there. It was still really neat to see them so close. (We also saw our last iceberg of the trip.)

Eagles on the left, whale blows in the center

Happening upon humpbacks out in one of the bays south of Bonavista, while two bald eagles circled over the water. Wondering why the car coming down the hill toward us was going so slow I glanced out to the ocean and saw and enormous tail. Bob's quick reflexes got us safely stopped and off the highway at a perfect spot. There were at least four whales, maybe five. I pulled out the binoculars and watched them play. Knowing that we wouldn’t be near the ocean again (except on the ferry), it was a fitting goodbye.

              
      And perhaps, most surreal of all the things I've seen on our travels, the highway of frogs on the drive back to the campground in the pouring rain. The road was dark, the rain was pounding down ferociously, and the road was covered in frogs. I can only assume they were attracted onto the road by the heat being released from the wet pavement, but it was weird. (Poor froggies. They didn’t have a chance with our big dually tires.)

An overnight at Catamaran RV Park

                In the middle of not really anywhere, this place is a hotbed of activity. We arrived just in time for me to join Bingo night (a bit of silly entertainment – would have been nice to win some money too, but that was not to be). The kids thought the skate park was a fabulous addition to a campground, and spent much of the evening playing there. (Apparently the way to get them willingly off their electronics is to offer them a skate park. I will have to remember this!)

Fun times at Marble Mountain, near Corner Brook

The ski hill is (of course) closed for the season, but Marble Zip Tours runs both a zip line course and rope course during the summer months. (We had found this place on the day we entered NL, but the timing didn’t work that day, and so we promised the kids we would stop on the way back to the ferry. They looked forward to it the whole time we were on the island.) Bob traversed the 9 zip lines while Morgan ran the rope course (repeatedly). Lily turned out to be just a bit too short to join in. She was thoroughly unimpressed with that, and went off to sulk for a while (it’s no fun when you can’t do the same thing as your big brother), but then came back to cheer him on.   

After driving over 3400 km around Newfoundland, it was time to head back to the mainland. We overnighted at JT Cheeseman Provincial Park, near Channel-Port aux Basque for the night before boarding our ferry back to North Sydney, NS in the morning.

The Future

What are our plans for the future?

I keep getting asked variants of this question, and it's just stressing me out. 

Because I just can't answer. 

I feel like I'm getting pulled in multiple directions - torn apart by the needs and wants of different people. And we aren't of one mind.

Our future? Everything is up in the air. Kind of. We're headed back to Alberta - not at light speed, but much faster than we've traveled for a long time. Bob wants to be there in just over a week. I think that's ambitious - we're still nearly 4000km away! 

The decisions on what to do once we get there, are complicated. 

We haven't committed to continue traveling.

I haven't committed to resettling.

Morgan wants to go back to Ralph McCall for this upcoming school year (Lily wants to homeschool). Of all the things I could be afraid of, Morgan's schooling seems to be the one that stresses me out the most. Lily' will be fine anywhere - she's a social butterfly, and will catch up and settle in easily. Morgan, though, needs a school that can understand and nurture him. (mommy guilt runs rampant with this)

Or, I could just keep homeschooling (which is both a scary thought and a freeing one).

Bob's ex-coworkers keep letting him know about job opportunities in Calgary Bob could explore (I am trying to point out that his old employer is a horrible place to work - aside from the money). At the moment, it seems like he wants to go back to work and settle back in to the routine which the majority of the population leads. (Of course he never actually straight up says Anything, so I'm just guessing.)

It feels like we're about to fall right back into the life (and location we left). This past year, just a blip. And the thought of it is suffocating. I feel like I'm being stuffed back into that mold that never fit quite right. There are some serious benefits to staying still though - like actually being able to see friends and family regularly! 

I'd personally like to keep traveling - definitely not at the same pace we've set for this past year, and not roaming nearly as far. Constant movement is exhausting! It's also expensive - it's hard watching money bleed from the accounts and not have any come in to replace it. Those aside, it has been an amazing learning experience - history, geography, culture, meeting people and seeing what makes a place vibrant. It has made me realize that the world is both much larger and much smaller than I ever could have imagined. 

I don't know if continuing traveling is the best decision for the family, though. There's a lot of friction and stress that comes with it (at least for our family). 

Like I said, complicated. 

There has to be a happy ground everyone can live with!

From reading various sources (blogs, newspapers, magazines, internet) I know there are a million combinations and permutations to life. There has to be some combination that's going to work for us. 

But, it's really hard to figure things out when we are constantly on the move. There's just no time (and resources) to really figure things out. It feels like we're living in a bubble, somewhat isolated from the rest of the world. (It's amazing how much we rely on the internet for information! Whatever did people do before it was invented?).

Anyway, no matter what we decide, in a few weeks (at the most) we'll be back in our home province, and won't be going anywhere (far) for months.  

Westward focused

I knew this would happen.
The moment I reached the eastern edge of the continent every fiber of my being focused west (yeah, yeah. I can hear your eyes rolling!)
Of course it's all west from there! What I mean, though, is that every thought is now focused on Alberta. It's time to get back. There are so many things that need taking care of there. Things to finish up. Things to resolve. Things to decide.
There are family and friends who we haven't seen in a long time. I am excited to see everyone. And I know the grandparents are longing to see their little monkeys (who aren't nearly as little as they were when we first set out!).

Alberta is a long way from Newfoundland, though (over 6500 km).
Even driving all day, every day it will take some time to get there. And this journey isn't about going as far as fast as possible. We will be stopping to check out places that tug on our curiosity and stopping to take a breath here and there. But we will be passing by many things on our way.
It's okay. I'm okay with passing by, because it isn't a one time shot. I Can Come Back.

Nothing has been decided for the future. Other than the immediate future. And, right now, that will have to do. Now it's time to move.

Westward ho!