I told Dad that it was my turn to write, so today’s posting is from Mom.

Again, the weather could not have been more beautiful if we had ordered it ourselves. Our hostess at Gites sous les Frenes is so kind and gave us yet another interesting breakfast–an omelette with cheese and apples accompanied with toast, fresh fruit as yesterday and freshly squeezed orange juice. We decided to get up earlier so we could get an early start on the day, but it turned out to be a long day again. There just seems to be too much to see.

Just before leaving, we were able to speak with Elder Austin Knutson who is serving his mission in Quebec. He is near Trois-Rivieres, which is about halfway between here and Quebec City. We are planning to have lunch with him and his companion tomorrow.

We started our day by shopping at a patisserie–sorry, Mish, but I have to describe what we had to choose from. There were so many good choices. First, I bought a baguette for our ham sandwiches that we were planning to have for lunch. Then, it was time to choose dessert. Dad was waiting in the car. He bravely allowed me to choose for him. That turned out to be easy cuz I know he loves the tarts with fruit, so that was what I chose for him. But for me, things were a lot harder. There were milles feuilles, which I love, chocolate cakes, a small lemon merinque tarte, and almond tarte and just tons of other yummy stuff. I finally settled on a “Délice des fraises” which was a kind of cream puff with sliced strawberries on the whipped cream. When I ate it for lunch, there was also a tasty vanilla cream under the strawberries. YUMMY!

We began by crossing the St. Lawrence River with tons of other traffic but it was flowing quite well by this time. We avoid going out too early so as not to get caught in the traffic. Oh, how I hate traffic! And Quebeçois drivers are as bad as French drivers. There is a sign on the freeway that says, “Les autoroutes ne sont pas des pistes de courses.” [The freeways are not race courses.] I laughed when I first saw that sign upon entering Quebec, but after only one day driving in Quebec, I now know why the sign is there!

Getting to the north side of the river entails crossing one of four bridges or going under the St. Lawrence using the tunnel. We used the tunnel. This is NOT my favorite form of roadway and I prayed the whole time we were in it. I think I would rather take my chances with a bridge than a tunnel; being drowned by water or gas fumes doesn’t sound like a great way to go!

However, we managed to make it over and back and will have to again endure this horrible way to traverse the mighty St. Laurent tomorrow morning–the last time, thank goodness! Our first stop was Lachenaie but when we found the church, it was a thoroughly modern version of a Catholic Church and definitely not the church my ancestors would have known. So, disappointed, that I could not even see where they were married and baptized, we moved on to the next town. Unfortunately, Dad saw the signs differently than I did, so we went the wrong way. (I have learned, when he is driving, to just go along with what he thinks is the right way. More often than not, he is right, but there are times when I do get it right–this was one of those times!) We didn’t go far when we realized we had missed our turn. Fortunately for us, in turning around, we found a fromagerie so we decided to stop to get me some cheese for my sandwich for lunch.

Yummy! They had some nice cheeses and some yummy looking patisseries. But, since I had already bought some for today, we just drooled on the window and then left. Ahhhhh, to have a patisserie in the Tri-Cities, I would never again be able to visit Weight Watchers without paying.

Along this route, before turning around, we also saw a Wendy’s, a Costco, and plenty of other US establishments. Dad noted we had not really left the US, only changed languages. He is right plus prices seem higher than in the States.

After getting our directions straightened out, we were on our way to Repentigny. Because Lachenaie and Repentigny are so close to Montreal, they are almost more like suburbs with tons of traffic and business establishments. It kind of felt like we were driving down the road in Canon Beach or Long Beach. Not my kind of vacation driving and certainly not what I expected to find. I think I was looking for towns and villages similar to what we found in France and Germany, but here everything seems very very modern and it is difficult to find places that look older than the 1900s. Our B&B hosts assure us that the people have been very innovative in modernizing their homes. If that is so, they have done a very very good job, because the homes are very modern looking and actually very beautiful. Yesterday, we remarked, we had not found a house we did not like. But today we did. We took a picture of it and will eventually post it for you to see. You will recognize it right away!

We did find the church and cemetery this time and they were pretty old. I actually was able to enter into the church in Repentigny and it was beautiful inside although a bit garish. I just marvel though at the ability our ancestors had to create such masterpieces with their limited (or seemingly limited) tools.

We continued on up the road and finally began to leave the hustle and bustle of the big city behind. Finally, the countryside is so much more pleasant. In this case, too, the country was open and colorful. There was not as much corn growing as in the Montérégie Region, but there was still some. There were probably other plants growing as well, but not being very good in horticulture, I didn’t have a clue about what was being grown. Also, this region seemed to have less open fields and more trees. And, the trees were not so closely clumped together. The houses are nice, a bit smaller than ours, but could easily be picked up and dropped into one of our neighborhoods and would blend in just fine. The yards are clean, well-groomed and certainly very pleasant to look at. There does seem to be a pride in the people’s caring for their homes and yards which is truly appreciated as a visitor. We saw a few more cows and horses today but we don’t see many dogs or cats.

Joliette is a large town and sadly, the church, though still old, was not the original in which my ancestors were baptized and married. We never even found the cemetery but they are becoming less interesting because most of the tombstones are from 1900 onward, too new to have my family names on them. Tonight we were talking with our host and he informed us in order to have your tombstone remain in the cemetery, they have to be maintained by the family. Once the money runs out, they send a bill to the family. Unfortunately, the addresses are usually no longer valid, so the maintenance fee is left unpaid. The tombstone is then removed and the plot sold to a new family. Apparently, they just keep putting bodies in the same hole cuz I asked what happened to the bodies and they said there is a communal grave whatever that means.

By now, we were getting hungry so we began looking for a place to eat while heading toward Saint-Thomas. It was really hard to find a park with a picnic table or bench so we did not eat lunch until we got to Sainte-Elisabeth where I told Dad we were not going to look at any tombstones until we had eaten. Just around the corner from the cemetery was a park with picnic tables, so we stopped and ate. The baguette was nice and fresh and the patisseries were delicious! Tomorrow is another day for pastries!

We didn’t find much in Saint-Thomas because Dad discovered that my list of ancestors was messed up. Boy, was I ticked at myself after I thought I had done such a good job of preparing for the trip. But, not having much choice as to what to do since my computer was at the B&B and my pedigree charts and family group charts were there too, we just decided to go on.

In Sainte-Elisabeth, we found lots and lots of tomstones with FORGET and MASSé on them, so copied all of those. They were still quite late in the 19th and 20th centuries, but being Sainte-Elisabeth and the place where all my Forgets came from, we figured we would write them all down and then figure out who they are.

By now, we were getting very tired and I was somewhat discouraged. We did go to Berthierville, which used to be Berthier-en-Haut and where Sainte-Genevieve-de-Berthier Church is located. We found the church very easily but, sadly, the church was surrounded by scaffolding. Seems they are in the middle of a major renovation of the church. I did take pictures anyway but could not get inside to see the interior. According to a plaque on the outside, this is one of the most beautiful churches in Quebec and is on the list of national historic buildings. But, you couldn’t prove it by me since the scaffolding covered most of the church and it was locked to any visitors. Oh well, I know my relatives were here, so I took pictures and we moved on.

We were so tired by now, we decided to take the freeway home and skip the other places I had planned to visit. Since we know we will never find any tombstones for these people, it doesn’t seem as important to visit those places. Maybe another time.

On the way home, we decided to stop at WalMart and get a few things. We couldn’t find what we wanted and I couldn’t explain it well enough for the lady to understand. Guess it wasn’t that important to find–we will make do without. We also decided we should get something light to eat so stopped in to a place in the shopping center where we ordered a salad to share. Boy, that hit the spot!

So, now we are home and very very tired. I wanted to get this blog written before 11pm, and it is just after 11, so will say goodnight for now. I am a little behind on the pictures. Too bad my battery is too low to use the laptop in the car as we drive. I could then work on subtitling the pictures before I forget what they are.

Perhaps tomorrow evening, I will have time to do that.

Next time we bring two computers that way Dad can do the blog and I can work on the pictures at the same time.

Luv to all, Mom