July 31st to Aug 3rd - Quebec to Nova Scotia

July 31st - Thurs - Drummondville
Lots of rain, lightning and thunder last night.
We had another wonderful day with Claude & Val. I took enough time from reading a book to vacuum the floor before they picked us up to go to lunch. I wanted to try the dish “Poutine” which I mentioned in a previous blog so we went to the place where they make the cheese and also have a restaurant. I enjoyed the dish, Val loves a version with hamburger added and Terry liked the same version as Val but he got a larger size which turned out to be too rich & cheesy for him to finish.
Then we went for another sightseeing drive, this time ending up in Sherbrooke. I had mentioned that I was looking for a used poker to use on campfires so we used that as a thin excuse for the drive. We came across the most amazing junk collection that you have ever seen. It had bright advertising signs all over and stands with “merchandise” spread around a grassy area - as well as a rickety building with lots of paint, antiques, dust and cobwebs. I did not have my camera but Claude took some pictures which I have and will get posted sometime.
In Sherbrooke, we hunted down some incredible murals on the walls of buildings, viewed great old churches and other buildings and “took a load off” while we had a beer. The landscape is very picturesque in this area - rolling hills, lots of farms and lovely old brick houses.
Val had us over for dinner again and then we got to enjoy pictures of their trip to the Maritimes and received lots of tips on where to go and what to see.

Aug 1st - Fri - to Levis, QC
Short drive today to Levis, Quebec which is across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City. We arrived at the campground about 10:15 (without a reservation, of course) and they were pretty much booked up. They had one site but the previous occupant hadn’t left yet. So they parked us out of the way and I made breakfast while we waited. Still had time for a walk all around to roads of the park before our spot became available shortly before noon.
We set up quickly and went to catch the ferry to Quebec city. The ferry takes cars and passengers and right now runs every half hour. The actual trip across is 10 minutes and you end up in “Old Quebec”. We walked along the narrow streets with shops & restaurants in wonderful old buildings. Took the funicular (box on a rail as explained by Val!) up a steep hill to the walled portion with the Chateau de Frontenac, horse drawn carriages, a partially excavated ruin open to tours and many more stores and restaurants. We watched a street juggling/etc show before walking back down several sets of stairs to the lower level. We sat outside under awnings (it had started to rain) and had an early dinner before catching the ferry back.

Aug 2nd - Sat - to Charlo, New Brunswick
Long driving day today. We left about 8, drove along the St. Lawrence River and took the first main road to Edmunston, NB. From there we headed NE to the top NE corner of NB and ended up at Charlo which is not far from Campbellton if anyone is trying to find it on a map.
The weather continued gloomy and rainy all day. There were some steep hills (11%) through the wooded, unpopulated countryside that was most of the NB part. When we arrived in Charlo, the wind was really blowing so we did not even take advantage of the nice park to walk around.

Aug 3rd - Sun - to Pictou, NS
The wind and rain did not quit last night. We had a terrible night’s sleep. Terry took advantage of a lull in the rain to undo the power and water and we were on our way - didn’t even unhook the truck last night.
We started out in fog this morning so don’t know if we could have seen the ocean along the drive for a while. The fog cleared when it started to rain. We stopped at a pullout along the way so I could make lunch and then stopped for fuel and an ATM. It is so great that Wanda can find a Scotiabank ATM when we need one.
We left the main highway just south of Moncton to travel closer to the coast - MISTAKE! The road was very rough and probably not a lot more scenic than the main road would have been. We are in a PA park just out of Pictou. At this time of year the discount is 25% rather than 50% but it all helps. The park and manager are very casual. He walked us to our site on a corner and said we could park whichever way was best for us and then told us to set up and have a drink before coming over to pay. It is a large park and we took a nice walk before the rain interrupted a chat with a summer resident down the road. The rain continued to pour all evening. I took advantage of the “inside time” to phone brother Bob and friend Georgia. We have wifi at the site so Terry did some surfing while I was yapping.