Ferry across the Saguenay River

Much to our surprise the road came to an end at the Saguenay fjord and the only option to go further north east is to take a free ferry. The map just shows a continuous road! A very efficient and frequent ferry service across the mile wide estuary with swiftly running currents. Long enough to exercise legs, swop drivers, breathe in some sea air and visit our private restroom!

Lobster Heaven!

Yesterday we arrived at Capitaine Homard "Captain Lobster" (a campground and a restaurant - perfect combo) in St-Flavie on the St Lawrence estuary ... a real treat for us as we had been putting off eating any lobsters till we got here. Well worth the wait!

Hot hot hot Virginia!

My motto is never be in Virginia July and August! Well I still act as PIO for our county EMS so today I posted a weather alert for this coming weekend which also happens to be the annual Airstream gathering in Doswell VA - some 800 Airstreamers. So very very glad I can do this remotely from a location 1,000 miles much further north in Quebec!

Mussels for dinner

A stick of butter, 1/4 lb of shallots, 1/2 bottle of dry wine, 2 lb of mussels, steam them up for 6 to 8 minutes, serve mussels, add sour cream to shallot wine sauce and simmer, pour over mussels, eat mussels, drink shallot wine soup! Classic dish we have prepared ever since we sailed into Normandy and Brittany harbors back in the 70's...

Lunch Quebecois

Lunched at the Bistro Saint-Malo and had fish soup with mussels and croutons followed with a hearty duck leg and Toulouse sausage cassoulet! Stuff of long ago life memories! Now for a nap....

Forbidden literature

The Ursulines Monastery is the oldest teaching and boarding school for girls in North America founded in 1639! Amazing breadth and range of what was on their Vatican decreed list of banned books!

Old Quebec City

Always enjoy a walkabout in Quebec City! Must be our fifth visit in 40 years! We love getting back into the French culture, lifestyle and food of this town. Our campground is south of town across the river so we walk on the boat ferry and use the funicular to reach the Chateau Frontenac terrace, Place d'Armes and the artists in the Rue du Tresor. We walked to the Augustines convent and the Ursulines chapel and museum, got lunch in lower town, checked out the craft fair, and visited the Fort Museum with its diorama and movie of the history of French and English struggle for Quebec. A most enjoyable day!

A bit of Proust!

Memories from childhood or adolescence come flooding back as I indulged in a black pudding lunch at Rioux & Pettigrew in Quebec old city. Boudin noir is not approved by the FDA as I discovered recently in Louisiana! Baked and served with mushy peas and real peas, fingerlings, and a nettle family vegetable!

Supermarket selection!

I was like a kid in a candy store....

Gourgane Beans

The broad bean or fava bean goes by the name "gourgane" in the Charlevoix and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean regions. This bean has a long history, and was once a common staple in the diet of the inhabitants of New France. Long associated almost exclusively with the Charlevoix region, especially since the late 19th century, it has been virtually forgotten elsewhere, except in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. It was introduced there by settlers from Charlevoix starting in 1838 and is now grown as a commercial crop. Despite the legume's remarkable nutritional value, it is rare in the diet of Quebecois today. It is primarily known for its use in "soupe aux gourganes" (gourgane soup), a regional dish featured in traditional cooking in the Charlevoix, Saguenay, and Lac-Saint-Jean regions.

La fève des marais est connue sous le nom de gourgane dans les régions de Charlevoix et du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. D'origine très ancienne, elle faisait autrefois partie de l'alimentation courante des habitants de la Nouvelle-France. La culture de la gourgane, surtout après le XIXe siècle, sera longtemps identifiée presque exclusivement à la région de Charlevoix où sa présence se maintient, alors qu'ailleurs elle paraît négligée ou même oubliée. Par le biais de l'immigration des Charlevoisiens vers le Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean à compter de 1838, la gourgane s'implante aussi dans cette région et y devient une production agricole reconnue. Toutefois, malgré ses grandes qualités nutritionnelles, cette légumineuse occupe une place marginale dans l'alimentation des Québécois d'aujourd'hui. Elle demeure principalement associée à la fameuse soupe aux gourganes, un mets régional typique du patrimoine alimentaire charlevoisien, saguenéen et jeannois.

 (From the encyclopedia of French Cultural Heritage in North America)

Dinner time!

We had three dinners with our Quebecois Airstream group... "Diner Communautaire" where everyone brings their own food, "Souper Saguenéen", an elegant four course local fare meal featuring pate de champagne, next a favs or broad bean gourgane soup which gave rise to my table calling me David Gourganes, and then the main course a local game and potato pie dish Tourtiere followed by individual blueberry tarts. The last dinner was on our way to the theatre and we all dived in to an excellent and varied Chinese buffet in Saguenay for a couple of hours!

View from my bed!

Waking up and pulling the curtains aside, open the window and breath in the fresh marine breeze.... then my cup of coffee arrives and I catch up on my phone with what's happening in the world. Saguenay River Baie-Saint-Jean has a 10 foot tide and over a week my morning view changes from high water almost lapping at the Airstream and kayakers paddling by to a view of a distant craggy rocky shoreline with low water half a mile away.

Bistro de l’Anse

Bistro and micro brewery in the garden next to the camp ground where we enjoyed our July 4th dinner with local venison burger and fish and chips. Returned there another day for salmon tartare and a selection of brews!

The Fabulous History of a Kingdom

The Théâtre du Palais Municipal in La Baie  is the home for 6 weeks to the annual "Fabulous History of a Kingdom" put on by over 150 local family members who freely perform a continuing family tradition lasting over 30 years. We quickly understood that the show was composed of some two dozen action tableau of the history of the Saguenay Lac St. Jean Kingdom, from 1603 to the present. It began with over 50 actors moving about, wearing first nation costumes and climbing upward through rock filled terrain. The immensity and logistics of the project was awesome, complex and well executed. As scenes changed we saw the introduction of early explorers, French King's disinterest in Canada, early settlers, logging, trapping, priests and entrepreneurs, world wars, flooding, tourism, music influences and extolling the beauty of the region in many tableaux.

In one scene the French king is advised of the wealth and promise of this new land but he is too involved with fighting the Spanish in Europe to spend time or money on the New Frontiers adventure. 

In another scene, six horses fill the stage as they battle each other. Six horses, on stage... and galloping along with another 30 or more actors on foot sword fighting. Another historical tableau was the arrival of the first families of settlers dubbed the 21, les vingt-et-un, whose family names still resound throughout the Saguenay. Forest fires later destroy the community with live flames in many parts of the stage and somewhat scary stage production!

Later the farmer settlers sowed seeds in a dance format and tufts of green plants grew up through the front area of the stage. A large menagerie of farm animals parades across stage including several geese, a cow, a pig along with children aged three or more performed to perfection. An exceptional show that we were lucky to visit on the first night of the 2019 season and performed to a packed theater! 

Trip down the fjord

A trip down the Saguenay fjord to see the statue of Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay built some 500 ft above sea level on a rocky outcrop as a gesture of thankfulness by early settlers. Weighs 3-1/2 tons and 23 feet high and had to be cut into 14 pieces to get it to the site from the boat delivery point. Made out of pine and covered in thin lead!

Walking tour of Anse-Saint-Jean

Historical walking tour of the of the small village of Anse-Saint-Jean on the Saguenay River led by local historian, Eric Tremblay - one of the original 21 family names that settled the area in the 1700's. The Fabulous History show a couple of days later put the whole region's history into context. Very interesting walk and great commentary by Eric. The interior of the covered bridge featured a dozen or so paintings that illustrated local life through the seasons. The Quebec Airstream unit 125 members are taking a break inside the covered bridge because it was one of the hotest days this summer!

Visite historique à pieds du village de l'Anse-St-Jean commentée par Eric Tremblay, historien de la region du Saguenay.... cette presentation suivi par la Fabuleuse Histoire d'un Royaume nous eclaircie vraiement la perspective! Bravo!

Local Quebec produce.....

A little shopping trip to pick up a few supplies always favors local fruit and veg stands and local cheese makers. Quebec is full of artisans striving to make extra income from local produce - strawberries, dried blueberries, onion and pork sausages, two different kinds of semi soft cheeses, and of course the local baguette baker!

L’Anse-Saint-Jean

About 25 miles up the Saguenay River north-west from the St Lawrence lies the Saguenay Fjords National Park. We are located in a spectacular shoreline spot with a strong easterly breeze coming towards us and blowing all those pesky mosquitoes away! We await the arrival of some twenty Québécois Airstream families for a few days of fun!

Chute a l’Ours

About as far north in the Saguenay region the discoverers of the early 1600's found it really hard work going up the Ashuapmushuan river encountering rapid after rapid and making portage necessary. The missionaries were really exhausted according to their journal! Chute a l'Ours translates to Falls with Bears so that would be just one more obstacle!

Storrs Pond

More water and pine trees, plus a hiking trail around the pond and lots of kids camps in this peaceful county recreation area on the edge of Hanover, NH. We enjoyed 3 very quiet nights and easy access back to King Arthur, covered bridges, and necessary supplies. David's looking out over the pond.

Vermont style convenience store

Open all day and no one in sight! Pick out your goodies (ice cream, eggs, milk, steak, cakes, sodas, bread, soups, snacks) and just drop the cash in the slot! High level of community trust!

Vermont garden

Yes you are allowed to grow your own! You can smoke it, give it away but not sell it!

King Arthur Flour bakery school

On our way north to Quebec through Vermont we stopped at King Arthur's Flour store and baking school and signed up for Middle Eastern flatbreads. Had a lot of fun and gained lots of new skills making Syrian pita breads, Lebanese Talame bi Za'atar using lots of olive oil to make it crispy at the edges. Next time I'll leave it a tad longer on the oven! And an Armenian Tahini roll - a bit too sweet - I'm much more a savory kind of baker!

Vermont

A sunny hilltop, sweeping views, birdsong in the morning, and good friends, just the way to enjoy Vermont!  Rick and Lois were boarding school people, and now we're all enjoying retirement, with travels to our grown children and stories of the lives we used to lead.

Rick guided us around his alma mater, Dartmouth, in Hanover, NH, then detoured to cross one of the areas many covered bridges on our way home.  We cooked more crab cakes!

Friends!

Quimby and I have been friends since high school in Hinsdale, Illinois.  We were maids of honor for each other's weddings- hers to Mark in 1970 and mine to David in Brighton, England in 1971.  They settled on Cape Cod, while we moved from England to Virginia.  We've all spent plenty of time on sailboats!  Mark built theirs- a real beauty!

Now, in retirement, we're enjoying all we've shared and catching up on all we missed.  What a special visit- meeting the neighbors, walking their land, unending stories!  They sent us off with unexpected treats- their own honey, a neighbor's maple syrup, and elk steak from another neighbor's annual hunting trip to Wyoming!  We brought Chesapeake Bay crab, Virginia peanuts, and almond cookies.  We'll be back next year!

Three hops north

A new route for us, up I81! We decided on three short rather than two long days to get to upper NY state. Two commercial sites and one state park- a full range of camping possibilities from a crowded family weekend scene complete with river for float tubes and waterfall to a manicured site in the PA mountains and finally a spot near the Hudson River with playful neighbors hopping in the open spaces. Easy days, peaceful nights. It's good to be 'home' again!