Driving the Gaspé

The folks, their friends the Baxters & I took a four day trip to the Gaspé Peninsula this past weekend. The first day we made it as far as Bathurst, in northern New Brunswick. We pretty much drove straight through, except for picnic lunch & snack breaks, including a stop at Shediac, NB for ice cream at the foot of the giant lobster (my 2nd visit this year).

The giant lobster was not nearly as busy as the when I was there in July, so I had the chance to get some more interesting photos this time.

Looking out at the Shediac River

The next two days were spent driving around the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, and getting a chance to practice some of my very rusty French. Apparently all those years of French Immersion paid off, as I could make myself understood when ordering food and asking for directions. Of course I learned French from Les Quebecois(es), so I'll never be understood in France!

Sugarloaf in Cambellton, NB and the Restigouche River that runs between northern NB and the Gaspé Peninsula

The Gaspé is Beautiful, and I was astounded at how much parts of the scenery, small towns and landscape were like the Coromandel Peninsula & other parts of New Zealand - complete with the corrugated tin roofs! Parts of it were also like driving the Cabot trail in Cape Breton, and would be absolutely stunning when the leaves change. We only caught hints of colour on a few trees.

Approaching a small coastal town on the Gaspé

My parents are drive-by site seers, so we didn't stop much aside from food breaks. Though we did stop in Percé for a walk on the boardwalk to take in the Percé Rock. Later that day we stopped for the evening in the town of Gaspé and did a driving tour of the town after supper.

Percé Rock - From the lookoff and looking at the hole in the rock through the hole in the chair

Along the boardwalk in Percé (note the gannets painted on the chair at the top left)

In the town of Percé

The second day on the Gaspé we made very few stops, except for the usually food stops and a few photo ops (for me, as I was the chauffeur). We made back to Cambellton, NB for diner then found a wonderful B&B about 20-30 kms down the road for the evening. If you ever find yourself looking for a place to stay, or indeed a reason to visit the Bay of Chaleur in northern New Brunswick, you have to look up the Hayes House in Nash Creek, conveniently located on highway 134 next to an access road to the #11 highway. The century old home is huge, nicely furnished & each bedroom has it's own bathroom. The breakfast is Amazing! Definitely in the class of gourmet meals. The huge gourmet meal fueled our trip back home via a bit of Sunday shopping at the Truro mall and a steak dinner at Ponderosa in Bedford (near Halifax).

Day 2 on the Gaspé - the Saint Lawrence Seaway/River side
An interesting rock formation & a small town in the mist

Clearing out the cobwebs

This past week was entirely occupied with clearing out the attic and selling all the 'treasures' at a two day yard sale over the long weekend. My parents have accumulated a whopping pile of stuff over their 75 years! I swear the volume of their yard sale items is about the same as all the stuff I own! Makes me wonder how much stuff (aka junk) I would have now if I hadn't moved around the country. Anyway, the majority of Mom's attic downsizing is done, just have a few trunks of keepsakes to sort through now. And then it's on to Dad's workshop in the basement...sigh. The attic was easy, I or Mom knew what most of the stuff was and most of it wasn't too heavy. Dad's specialized tools, etc. are another story, but there's no point in keeping them since his Alzheimer's often won't let his brain co-ordinate with his motor these days. Both of my brothers followed him into heavy & light mechanics (as well as general Mr. Fixit tendancies) so they can sort through the stuff, but I still have to pack it up and carry (0r more likely drag) it somewhere. I hear my lower back screaming again. I get off pretty easy though - my brothers' chores include clearing out the 3-story garage (into which you can drive an 18-wheeler) and clearing the property of all the old cars, trucks, buses (yep, there are 2 as they are great for storing tonnes of car & other parts) and other machinery & parts.