First Moose Sighting

 Up, up, and away with an early breakfast in Utica at a downtown diner that’s been there forever (Golden’s). Everything homemade and good. Restroom only a block away and parking available free in a parking garage that was being demolished around us. A pretty exciting start!

   The Johns had chosen to take the scenic route through our beautiful Adirondacks. Quite frankly after seeing well over a million-trillion green trees, many many twists and turns, and sloooooow traffic all of us were very happy to finally reach the straight double highway leading north to Canada. In case you can’t quite make it out the first moose sighting was the weathervane on the building.

   Thanks to a welcoming border guard we were soon on our way to Montreal and points east. First transition to another country was we now have to think in terms of kilometers instead of miles. It only took us almost to Montreal to get the car so it read in km. Second transition is that all the signs are in French and even though we correctly turned on route 30, quest does not mean east. Let’s just say we added a couple of hours to today’s trip by taking a series of alternate side roads. Stopping for gas and a cup of tea, I discovered that Quebec really does have better marketing for cheese curd than NYS. I think Sarah & Kenny should start teaching their pig Ida to speak French.

The river drive we’d all envisioned along the St, Lawrence turned out instead to be more through the Kansas like flat fields of the valley intermixed with far glimpses of what must be small communities made up of a few houses and lots of big barns. It was interesting to note that none of their huge barn silos were taller than the steeples on their churches. Finally, however we arrive in Rivière du Loup at sunset. This is view from our hotel looking out over the St. Lawrence. It’s a BIG river!

And now for what you’ve all been waiting for… The exciting new Newfoundland word is a noun…

nunny-fudger - “a man who is thinking more of his dinner than of his work”