Notre-Dame-Des-Bois of the Eastern Townships

May 30 - June 1, 2012
Gabby, our GPS, decided a tour of the areas dirt roads would be a good idea.  After calling Frances, she said most GPS's wanted to go that way, so we carried on back to a paved road. 

The view from our spot which Jean took us to between the Catholic Church and the school.  Mont Megantic is a National Park with a huge observatory on top.  Only open on weekends as yet so we didn't get to see the stars in this area which has a limitation on lights.

Jean and Frances' house in Notre-Dame-des-Bois.  Beautifully restored by Jean.  All the trees and gardens were planted by the two of them.


Our 2nd and 3rd nights we stayed across the street at Pasquel's.  We finally met him the night before we left.  He works at a place where trout are raised and then taken to streams and lakes. 

Mont Megantic and a gorgeous rainstorm.

What can I say, perfection!

The roads can be straight, but are definitely up and down.  N.D-des-Bois is a town in the shape of a cross.  Only two streets in the village of 1200.  Every one was very friendly and almost everyone we spoke with had some English. 

We parked between the church and the school the first night.  In the morning the kids were amazed to see us and stood in a line to wave at us.  We're sure the news of tourists by the church swept through the village very quickly.  The whole town knew we were there!







Some of the screen doors that Jean makes.  He's a real craftsman. 











Our first poutine!  Delicious with way too many calories, but would love to have it again sometime.  Made with home cut fries and topped with Quebec cheese curds and the best gravy!















One of those straight roads!

















Jean gave Gord all these plates.  Two are very special, Expo 67 and a confederation plate.














In the village of Lac Megantic we bought our poutine and then went around the corner to a park on the lake.  Toured around and enjoyed a great day in the sunshine.

First views of Quebec

To avoid the student problems in Montreal and also all of the road repairs we decided on a route proposed by our friends Jean and Frances who we were seeing in the village of Notre-Dame-des-Bois.  From Morrisburg we drove from Morrisburg to Hawksbury then St. Jerome, Joliette, Berthierville, a 10 minute ferry to Sorel-Tracey, on through Drummondville, Sherbrooke and finally, Notre-Dame-des-Bois. 








Can you see us at the back?  The fee was a total of $19.00. 

Every village and town could be seen from miles away because of church spires in each town.  The churches were quite large in order to have a bigger better church than the next town! 

Road to Morrisburg and Upper Canada Village

May 29, 2012.  Some of the amazing scenery between Kingston and Morrisburg.

Every little island has a cottage or house on it. 

Upper Canada Village.  One of the first things we see is a reward poster for one Jeremiah French - a relative?

Must have been a good guy.

A waterwheel runs this sawmill with a system of levers that ran the bandsaw.  Took 15 minutes to cut a slab 14' long, reset and moved it 2" to cut a plank. 

Wheat was ground in this mill then taken to the on site bakery and turned into bread.  We bought one whole wheat loaf which was delicious and heavy, but costly at $5.25.   We definitely paid for the milling of the wheat as well.  A cheesemaker is onsite as well and everything is done as from the 1850's.  900 pounds of milk made 90 pounds of cheddar cheese.  Delicious as well.




The Methodist Church where a melodian was being played.  Loved the sound of the keys as well as the music from this very old instrument.









Two to four horses walked in circles to run a system of gears which turned a shaft and the shaft in turn moved another set of gears which operated a bell crank that moved the sawblade back and forth horizonally.  They use the wood for firewood within Upper Canada Village.

Loved this place.  A storm finally drove us away, but we saw most of the displays.  This should be a must for every Canadian as well.

Kingston and Fort Henry

May 26 - 28, 2012  Not only is their lots of interesting Canadian history in Kingston, but lots of our family history is here as well.  A busy city with lots of traffic though.

Our friends John and Jen let us camp in their very large 2 acre park! 

The Alexander Henry and the Kingston Maritime Museum were very interesting.  The A.Henry is now a B&B, but we decided it was smelly and dirty and not for us!  I'm sure they would provide clean sheets for those very uncomfortable looking beds though.

Part of the display at the Penitentiary Museum.  A crossbow made of toothbrushes. 











Another interesting prison invention - a toaster!













All types of prison manufactured weapons that were confiscated over the years in the Kingston Pen.

Masters of John and Jen's house!

Good friends and good hosts.  We had a great time renewing our friendship. 


Royal Military College of Kingston where John was head of the chemistry dept and prof before retirement.

The gates of Fort Henry.  The musician is playing a fife.  The soldiers carried heavy rifles from the 1850's and 1860's.










Grade 7's getting an education in soldiering of the 1800's.  They stayed overnight and were expected to be from the 1800's.  They apparently were to sleep on straw mattresses that night. 





About to fire the cannon - and yes, it missed the guards who didn't flinch one bit.

After precision marching we were entertained with precision firing.  The marching wasn't so precise and the soldiers were critisized on the parade square.  They are University students who apply for these jobs and then wear these hot woolen uniforms and then are expected to be nice to the tourists.  Not many of us here today, but lots of students.  The current goat mascot is David the 10th.

Trenton Air Force Museum

 May 26, 20112
One of the few Brit cars we saw on our trip so far.  A great day for a drive.  He was in front of us on our way to Trenton.

This Museum was an amazing place and extremely well done. 












The National Air Force Museum in Trenton, ON is a must see even if you are not interested in planes.  Our military history is well displayed with lots of personal items from soldiers right back to the first planes in the early 19th century.  Very moving and informative.








Much to our surprise their was a group of Plymouth's from 1927 to 1932 visiting the A.F. museum as well.  Bonus!




A part of our Air Force from 1914 or so!  Didn't last long apparently.








Names of men and women who have or are serving in the Canadian Air Force today.  Lots of women are named as pilots who transported planes to Europe.  There were thousands of these on the ground around the entire site.









?  We've forgotten








An F86 Sabre - Part of an acrobatic team called the Golden Hawks prior to Snowbirds.








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