Today was another early morning; we pulled out at 8am. We took the 13km bridge off the island. One of the few places that actually posted prices in advance, and it was cheaper to tow than to drove separate. The roads in general leave much to be desired--bumpy (presumably due to winter rain and snow).
Here's a good day for some Canada facts (thank you Google):
-Slightly smaller population than the state of California.
-Second largest country by land mass.
-Winter sport: Ice Hockey. Summer sport: Lacrosse
-Two official languages: French & English
-Metric system (we had to put mph conversions on a sticky note next to speedometer)
-Maple Leaf symbol dates back to 18th century
-Capital is Ottowa
-Government is a "Federal Parliamentary state"
-10 provinces & 3 territories (the territories are big Northern ones)
-Became an independent nation in 1931, so they are not even 100 years old
-History: 4 provinces combined in 1867 to form its own government, parliament, and prime minister; the first settlers came 30,000 years ago across the land that joins Asia to North America, more Viking explorers on newfound (failed attempt to establish govt there); French and British settlers arrived in 16th century leading to land disputes between 1689-1763, ending with the French-Indian War leaving British in control yet with a strong French culture.
-Crown is the symbol of Canadian monarchy; Queen Elizabeth II, DC Regina on all coins
-Canadian paper money is colorful, has clear sections, and their money has braille on the top
-The current exchange rate is CAD dollar 1.32% of American dollar (we converted by x77%)
We'd better learn a few French words....
Hello & Goodbye: Bonjour, Au revoir
Please & Thank you: S'il vous plait, Merci
Yes & No: oui, non
North, South, East, West: Nord, Sud, Est, Ouest
("ou" followed by another vowel sound like a "w", so yes (oui) sounds like "wee" and
west (ouest) sounds the same in both languages)
At the border we gain an hour, back to Eastern time zone.
The temperature also dropped 20* this side of the mountain.
Realizing we might be able to see the church built by the cousin who became a saint, today was also a good day for some cousin research. I have tried my best to explain as simply as possible, but the chart is imperative to keep it straight:
-1st cousins share a grandparent (your grandchildren are all 1st cousins)
-2nd cousins share a great-grandparent (your great-grandchildren are either
2nd (or 1st) cousins to each other)
-3rd cousins share a great-great-grandparent, and so on.
If you are cousins but not the same generation, then the later generation becomes "removed" by the # of generations. The #x removed is # generations down from the original cousin. So, as my mom's child, I am 1st cousin once (1x) removed from any of her 1st cousins, and my kids are then 1st cousins twice (2x) removed from their grandparents' 1st cousins. We tend to call them great-aunts and such, but that's not accurate.
My grandfather's grandfather is 1st cousins with St. Andre, so that makes me (4 generations younger) a 1st cousin 4x removed from St. Andre, and my kids 1st cousin 5x removed.
Tonight we shall relax. It's been raining off and on, but the kids took their umbrellas to the small petting corral with 2 bunnies, 2 chickens, and 2 goats.
Chris made it stay in movie night and played the next Star Wars DVD in the series, but unfortunately it is taking a long time to watch because the disks apparently got scratched in transit. Totally a bummer that at the end in the most intense scene of the whole series "I am your Father", it kept pausing!
Piper worked on wiggling and pulling on her loose tooth.
**FRI 7/12 DRIVE 424 km (264 mi) to Montreal
The Canadian tooth fairy came last night for Piper. She probably didn't know whether she needed a dollar Canadian or a dollar American, so she left one of each. Piper was pretty excited.
Our first stop was for gas and it was unique because it was full service with old school pumps with dial numbers, not digital. It was all in French so we got "ordinaire" (87) grade. There was a fruit stand next door, so I sent the girls over there with $10 a Canadian bill and presuming that the attendant would not speak English. I thought it would be a fun challenge for them. Addisyn had to read the (strawberries) box to verify the price and do the math. When I went to check on them, they had made their purchase and it turns out the girl spoke very good English, but they didn't know that until they paid. They were happy to spend Canadian money and we said au revoir and merci on our way out.
Our next gas stop was at Costco. I am still amazed that the gas lines are nonexistent at virtually every Costco gas we've been to this trip, especially here where the price was at least 5 cents less per LITER. I went into the warehouse to compare stores here from at home--there are lots of the same items available, but some unique things too. I couldn't buy much--there's no room for cold stuff in the small RV fridge.
Our travels have turned westward. That realization makes me sad that the trip is almost over; I don't want to go back to reality. (It's different for Chris who has never escaped reality.)
The kids made friends at the campground playground. Chris is stuck in the MH doing homework. He is tired from driving, not sleeping well, and stepping in dog poop, listening to kids argue...but he is amazing and knows how to overcome. The kids are SO TIRED! We kept them up late on a day we gained an hour, and today they had a groggy morning, and all had their turn in tears at some point today.
**SAT 7/13 Montreal day
St. Joseph's Oratory is a very very very large church up at the top of a high mountain in the middle of the city. It was established by Brother Andre, who became Frere Andre, and later Saint Andre, who is Karen's 1st cousin 4x removed (on my mother's father's side).
We started at his statue and the original chapel with his room upstairs. We made a donation and let the girls light the electronic candles. We noticed all the plaques and tiny handwritten notes of prayer tucked in them. There were also lots of crutches lined up on both sides of the chapel. This is the chapel he built over the years without ever going into debt, saving money from donations to the St. Joseph statue he seemed to adore and haircuts. It started as a wood platform with no roof, and grew to the chapel which you can see in the photo, was clearly overflowing.
His story ...
-1845, born to a poor family, parents died by 12yrs, frail health (chronic stomach pains), no school
-1870 worked at College of Notre-Dame as doorkeeper (40 years), and takes vows of holy orders; during
that time he was a welcome ear to sick/injured people
-1896 the church purchased land on Mount Royal
-1904 building begins on small oratory; 1909 appointed guardian
-1915 small oratory moved and construction begins of the new one,
-1937 death, he never saw the finished basilica
-2010 Canonized into sainthood
I still don't know the difference between an oratory, basilica, church, or chapel, but it was well admired. The pipe organ was played while we were there and everyone seemed to stop entranced by the captivating sound.
St. Joseph is saint of happy death.
The remainder of the day was a bike ride exploration....
We parked at the pier and rode around the street fair type activities, and discovered working (operator controlled mechanical) locks. We parked our bikes outside a restaurant for lunch, and then took our bikes on the ferry and rode around the island. Buying ferry tickets was fun because they didn't speak English and we were *hoping* we got tickets to the right place (*ha!).
Addisyn made the connection btwn the fleur-de-lis on the Quebec flag to the fleurs in New Orleans, city of French influence.
I have now tried poutine for lunch twice, here and a couple days ago--it is a traditional Canadian/Québécois meal with fries, curd cheese, gravy base, and can be served with chicken or other meat/protein. A little heavy on the gravy at the bottom, but I liked it overall.
Tonight, Addisyn rose her little sister's bike around the campground in muddy puddles and had a blast she was so happy! I love seeing them get such joy around simple pleasures.
We have TIRED kids.
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