Sorry this is a day late, but we had no internet access last night.

Day 13 wasn’t a bad day considering the crummy weather(the first of our trip).

We began with a delicious breakfast cooked by our hostess at the B&B.  We had fresh diced fruit, fresh orange juice, and french toast smothered with apple slices; pure maple syrup was available.  The best part of the breakfast was the guests gathered at the table with us.  When we arrived for breakfast, a couple was already there.  We quickly learned that they were Dutch and are visiting Canada at the urging of their son, who works in Canada and is married to a Canadian, so they can know their daughter-in-law’s country better.  They spoke excellent English.  Another couple soon joined us and greeted us in English.  They were Canadian from Kamloops, BC, and were on the way to Québec City where the wife will attend a national chamber of commerce conference.  They were a pleasant couple and we exchanged names and addresses.  He’s been in the area near our home before because he races dirt bikes and also attends moto-cross events, including one not an hour north of us.

We talked so much that we didn’t leave the table until 11:00 am, so Mom and I decided to visit the old Catholic church in Trois-Rivières before heading east toward Québec.  We easily found the church, got a few photos, and then searched for the local tourist information office.  Again easily found, so Mom got info on the local area as well as other places of interest along our route.  I noticed a Belgian pastry store next door to the information bureau, so when Mom returned I suggested we check it out.  We bought our daily baguette and a couple of nice pieces of pastry.

We then drove to a Canadian national historic area depicting the steel mills that once populated that particular area of Québec province. We had our daily picnic lunch while at the site before we visited the buildings and displays.  What a great visit.  Of course, Mom was quite interested because one of her ancestors was in that area in the late 1690s and she got info on the economy of the local area and the life style during that period.

We’d discovered a glitch in lodging arranagments, so Friday night Mom used the internet to search for and make reservations midway between Trois-Rivières and Québec.  It was a motel off the beaten path but on a major highway, so it wasn’t bad.  At least not as bad as the one where we stayed in Burlington, Vermont.  Wow, we even had TV and a telephone (which we hadn’t had for several nights while staying in the B&Bs)!  We got one American station, but it switched back and forth between networks; at least I caught some of Saturday’s college football scores.  There was a restaurant attached to the motel, so we dined there.  Again, tasty and filling food but nothing out of the ordinary.

Tomorrow we’re headed to Québec for some road touring before heading for our B&B and probably walking in the old part of the city.