Sur la route à Quebec

September 17, 2008 by Barbara.

I usually call these travelogues “on the road” or something similar but since we have “La ville de Québec” as our destination, I’ll scatter some French here and there.

I’d packed some of the things Reid and I needed to bring but still had a bit to gather and pack when Uncle Dave brought us home from school Thursday night. I’m sure that Ken will be starting to think sympathetic thoughts for Uncle Dave since he has many memories of waiting for me to gather “a bit”. Uncle Dave was already worried by the pile of things that I pulled out of our car to be transferred to Grandma Joyce’s car. I love many things about our Caliber but the hatch is not so convenient when it comes to leaving luggage in plain sight while we play tourists after checking out of a hotel. I packed our duffle bag, the small backpack I got for free at Ontario Place that holds my electronics cables and a bag with some food. Reid had an old-style Tupperware serving dish with markers and a plush pig that walks and oinks (or would if we changed the batteries). She was also lobbying to bring a juice pitcher so that we could pour all of the juice pouches that Uncle Dave had brought together. I was a sneaky Mama and moved the Tupperware out of sight when Reid wasn’t looking. Uncle Dave still had to make a few trips to the car and then came in to say that we were starting to run out of space.

I made a coffee for me and a tea for Uncle Dave and we brought some water for Reid for the road and left about 7:00. Reid stayed awake longer than I’d planned but she is often having power naps at school during quiet time and so doesn’t go to sleep as early as I’d like. She stayed awake long enough to ask for the glass of water that we had lost track of in the process of packing the car.

Our drive was uneventful, even when we were driving through Montreal. The GPS lady recommended the route that Uncle Dave wanted rather than one with many off- and on-ramps as he’d expected. We easily found our Clarion hotel in the suburbs where the rooms were much more reasonably-priced and the parking was free. It’s indoor pool was the deal-maker, though. I’m not sure that Reid is aware that some hotels don’t have pools. Often the pool is the thing she cites as her favourite part of a trip.

By midnight we were all in our beds and ready for our vacation. Maybe not aware of all of the walking to come, but safe, comfortable and happy in our ignorance.

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