PEI

After our adventures on Cape Breton, H and I headed to PEI for a little more civilized fun. We traded our tent for a room in a B&B, the middle of nowhere for the middle of a city.
First we had to get from Cape Breton to Charlottetown, PEI. Our initial plan called for a six hour drive and an hour ferry ride. Instead of following the GPS directions, however, we decided to take the scenic route. H wanted to check out a Celtic Music Museum and eat at a place called the Red Shoe. This added about an hour to our plan. We got stuck behind two asphalt trucks in the mountains. Then we got to the ferry and had to wait for an hour before we could board. We finally arrived at the B&B around 9 pm.
The Snapdragon B&B is a great little place in Charlottetown. We stayed in the Fitzroy Room on the second floor. It was a great room. The breakfasts were also top notch. We had pancakes twice. They were light and tasty.

Our first day on PEI was overcast and misty. We decided that we would do indoors activities. On the north western tip of the island there is a large wind farm that H wanted to check out. There is also a Seaweed Pie Cafe that sounded interesting. So, we got into the car and drove the hour and a half to Tignish.
The wind farm has a nice restaurant in the visitor center. I got an excellent burger. There is also a small, but informative, museum at the visitor center. We watched some seaweed farmers collect Irish moss.

After the wind farm, we drove to the Seaweed Pie Cafe. The Cafe is also a museum about Irish moss harvesting. Irish moss is a form of sea weed that is the primary source of carrageen. Carrageen is a food additive that is used to thicken and stabilize milk products like ice cream. As part of the "tour" we enjoyed a piece of Seaweed Pie - a sponge cake with a light green whipped topping made using Irish moss.
The second day in PEI was our big adventure day. A couple we ran into several times on Cape Breton told us that the section of the Confederation Trail (The Confederation Trail is a gravel paved bike trail that runs the length of PEI. The province recycled the defunct railway routes to make the trail.) along St. Peter's Bay was the prettiest part of the trail. We also wanted to see the parabolic dunes and the PEI Vodka distillery.
So, we drove about 45 minutes to the National Park HQ in Greenwich. From there we road our bikes along the road back into St. Peter's where we could pick up the Confederation Trail. From St. Peter's the trail follows St. Peter's Bay into Morell where there is supposedly a great bakery (which is closed on Sundays when H and I want to get pastry after a bike ride). The views along the trail are pure pastoral prettiness. It is the most scenic bike trial I've ever ridden. The ride to Morell and back was about 25 miles.

After finishing the bike ride, we had a quick lunch. Then we headed out to see the parabolic dunes. The trail is well marked and goes through a combination of forest, coastal beach, and marshland. It takes about an hour an a half to complete the walk, but it is worth it.
After getting back from our walk we hopped in the car and drove to Hermanville to tour the Prince Edward Distillery. It is the only Canadian distiller of potato vodka. It is a small place and the tour ($10 a person) is short. To make the price palatable, they offer tastings of the potato vodka and the blueberry rye vodka. Both are very good. The potato vodka has a smooth, creamy taste. The blueberry vodka has a hint of blueberry flavor.

On the way back to Charlottetown, we grabbed dinner at a gas station. The Sheltered Harbour Cafe in Fortune Bridge is part of a gas station. We were a little skeptical of stopping, but the parking lot was full. Once inside, we were glad we stopped. The food was excellent and reasonably priced.
Our final day on PEI was a lounging day. We spent the morning strolling around Charlottetown. It is a small city, so there is not much to see. The waterfront is nice and the mall is oddly happening. There are a bunch of little shops.
In the afternoon we headed out to Cardigan for another bike ride and to visit a little craft center. This offshoot of the Confederation trail is also scenic as it runs along the Brudnell River, but it is not as pretty as the section along St. Peter's Bay.

Cape North

I got up to use the outhouse around 5:30 and the rain was still falling. This was doubly sad: I was awake at 5:30am and rain meant that the paddle around Cape North was in jeapordy.
I woke up a few hours later and the sky was clear. The paddle was a go!
Mike, our guide from Eagle North Kayaking, wanted to get an early start, so we had to be quick about eating and gathering our gear. We were supposed to check in with him at 9am.
He drove by the camp site around 8:15 to tell us we would meet at Eagle North in a half hour. We scurried about and got down there in plenty of time.
We launched out of Bay St. Lawrence on the west side of Cape North. It is the only place after Pleasant Bay on the cape that offered reasonable kayak access. The next possible extraction point along the coast was our eventual take out 15 miles away. The coast between the two points offered a few pebbly beaches that could offer a respite in calm conditions and one haul out that was possible in rough conditions.
Fortunately, the weather looked like it would be kind to us. The ocean also looked kind.
Given the extreme exposure and possibility of nasty conditions, H decided to sit the paddle out and enjoy a placid, sunny day at camp. Mike tried to coax her into going along to offer some level of sanity to the group. I think we made him a little nervous. (As he later explained, he has seen plenty of paddlers show up with nice kayaks and big talk. Once he gets them out on the water he realizes that they can barely stay upright in ocean swells.) H was firm in her decision and decided to stay behind.
Once beyond the harbor sea wall, we were in the open ocean. The swells were not big, but they were powerful. It was perfect conditions.
The conditions also convinced me that H had made a good call. She could have handled the conditions with ease, but she would have been anxious the whole time. Based on Mike's description of the route, it would have been 15 miles of torture for her. For the rest of us (the crazy ones) it would be 15 miles of heaven.

The shoreline was tall rugged cliffs pocked with waterfalls. There were plenty of rocks to play in and plenty of swell to ride.
Over the course of the morning Mike seemed to relax and started playing more than guiding. That was perfect as far as I was concerned. We had hired him because we wanted his knowledge of the area, not because we needed to be babysat. Paddles are more fun when everyone is enjoying themselves.

We stopped for lunch just the main point on a beach that looked like it could offer some protection from a storm. It was a long hike over the mountains to get back to a road though. Mike told us that 30 odd years ago a freighter carrying dried peas floundered on this beach and as the sea water flooded the cargo hold, the peas expanded bursting the hull and turning the ocean green for many days. To lend credence to his story, the beach was littered with flotsam.

After lunch we explored a couple of large sea caves and played in the rocks some more. BH nearly died several times, but always made a beautiful escape.
I played a little bit. My mojo is still off this season though. Everything seemed to be slightly off. So I didn't push too hard.
It was an awesome trip. Mike did a fantastic job pointing out stuff to us and telling us stories about the area. I was glad he enjoyed himself. I definitely enjoyed the trip.

Rain Day

Our fourth day on Cape Breton was the worst. It started raining sometime over night so by the time we were ready for breakfast the camp site was already soggy. I was all for going out to get breakfast, but the rest of the group was hardier than I. H lit the stove and made us a nice meal. The big screen tent worked surprisingly well as a rain shelter for our meal.
Once we ate and cleaned up, we decided that we would drive over to Cheticamp and check out the scene. H's Lonely Planet guide made it sound pretty interesting.
The drive from Dingwall to Cheticamp is rough. The Cabot Trail, which is the only road, goes over two steep mountains. In good weather the drive is challenging due to the crazy switchbacks and lack of shoulder. In the wind and rain it is miserable.
I cannot imagine doing the same drive on a motorcycle or a bicycle. We did, however, see multiple people on motorcycles and bicycles. The bicyclists looked the most miserable pedalling like mad to drag all your clothes and camping gear over a mountain. We didn't see any bicyclists going down hill, but I imagine they changed from miserable to terrified as they careened down the switchbacks with water slicked brakes.
Cheticamp is a big town for Cape Breton. The main drag had a number of shops and restaurants. We ate at a traditional Acadian joint that doubled as a gift shop and a rug hooking museum. The food was good but did not make up for the wait.
On they way back to camp we stopped back at Eagle North for a weather check and to see if Cape North was a possibility for the next day. The forecast predicted that the rain would end over night and the winds would die down. Mike seemed pretty upbeat about our chances of doing the trip.
For dinner we drove over to Neil's Harbor to check out the Chowder House. H got a bowl of seafood chowder that earned rave reviews. The rest of us got fish and chips that were excellent. The fish was fresh and not too oily.
The day ended with a furious thunder storm. It was the rains final fury.

Whales!

On the advice of Jen at Eagle North Kayaking, we decided that our second kayaking trip in Cape Breton would be out of Pleasant Bay. This is where most of the whale boats launch because whales are most common along the eastern shore of Cape Breton. Most of the tours guarantee that passengers will see a whale.
Jen's advice to us about finding whales was to follow the whale tour boats.

The books say, and Jen concurred, that there is a launch fee to use the ramp at Pleasant Bay. However, there is no obvious place to pay the fee and nobody tries too hard to collect it. We used the ramp and the parking lot without any trouble or any fee. Since Pleasant Bay is a working harbor, we were advised to make sure our cars were parked out of the way. The lot is very large and it was not an issue to park off to the side. Besides we are used to being deferential to power boaters at the ramps back home.

Five minutes out of the harbor H spotted two pods of whales. The pods were a good distance off shore, but we didn't care about being too far off shore. We wanted to paddle with whales.
A whale tour was heading toward the whales. Whale fever was in control.

We reached the whales just after the tour boat, but in plenty of time to see the whales. I took out my camera and started just pointing and clicking without really paying much attention to what the camera picked up. I wanted to enjoy watching the whales, and figured if I took enough pictures I'd get at least one good one.
The pod breached all around us for a good five minutes. On several occasions they surfaced within feet of a kayak. The whole experience was indescribable.
Once the pod began moving out to deeper water, we decided it was time to let them be. We had our fun. We all joked that we could just paddle back to Pleasant Bay, break camp, and head home. Our vacation was complete.
We did begin paddling toward shore, but not in the direction of Pleasant Bay. Instead we continued down the coast toward Fishing Cove. The coastline was rugged cliffs that offered few places to land even in calm conditions. The few beaches we saw were steep, shallow patches of round pebbles with dumping surf. Storm swells-really any swell over two or three feet-would make landing difficult and staying dry impossible. The waves would cover the beaches and wash a camper out.
We did stop for lunch on the best beach we could find before Fishing Cove. It was deeper than the rest and sheltered slightly by some shallow rocks that broke up the surf. Still you could see that the sea frequently pounded the rocks. They were carved into round inverse wave patterns. One piece of granite had a perfect wave pattern etched into it's side where a harder white vein of rock held fast.
After lunch we headed a little further towards Fishing Cove. H was concerned that we might get back too late to discuss our Cape North trip with Mike at Eagle North if we continued, but the rest of us wanted to go around the next headland to see if we could find Fishing Cove.
Surprisingly enough, our navigation skills using a terrible map were spot on. Fishing Cove was just around the next headland. Fishing Cove is a tiny protected hamlet tucked into a notch among the mountains. You can either hike in from the Cabot Trail or kayak in from either Pleasant Bay or Cheticamp.
We didn't spend much time exploring the cove. H really wanted to get back. She did not want to get back to Eagle North, or camp, too late and it was already five in the afternoon. We had at least an hours return paddle and a thirty minute drive back to Eagle North.
We hightailed it back to Pleasant Bay. I think our average speed was close to four MPH.
Sadly, when we got to Eagle North Mike told us that the forecast for the next day called for high winds and rain. The trip around Cape North would have to wait at least one more day.

The Coastal Trail

On our second day in Cape Breton the group decided to hike. After much discussion we settled on doing the Coastal Trail. It is a 7km hike along the coast near Neil's Harbor. It also offers what looked like a few interesting side trips.
Getting to the trail turned into a mini adventure. The trail head is on the Cabot Trail, so it was easy enough to find. As we were donning our boots, I noticed a big hole in H's kayak. The rear hatch cover had blown off between the campground and the trail head. After a brief, but intense, moment of panic, we retraced our route. Fortunately, the cover was sitting in the road a few km away. BH ran into the road, and retrieved it.
With H's kayak back in one piece, we hit the trail. It starts off easy and leads down to a sandy beach. After the beach, however, it becomes more challenging. There is a section through woods that is steep. This is followed by a stretch along the shore that is broken up by round stone beaches.
The views along the shore are beautiful. The beaches are great for strengthening ankles and balance. The ocean has ground the rocks until they are rounded. Crossing the beaches are like an obstacle course out of ABC's Wipeout.
After the hike we found a local swimming hole a short distance from the trail head. Across from the actual trail head a path leads into the woods along a stream. A 100 meters up the path the stream runs through a rocky area and forms several big pools. We took advantage of this to cool down before driving back to camp.

Testing the Waters

Sunday morning we started scoping out paddle locations.
The campground owners told us about a put in adjacent to the campground that provided access to the Aspy River and Middle Harbor. The put in was a little rough and the road access was questionable. If we had a real 4x4 truck we could easily manage. With the Forester and the Box we'd be asking for a tow.
Our second stop was Eagle North Kayaking. Jen, the propriatress, gave us a few charts and enough information about the area to get in trouble. Eagle North also has a nice put in along South Harbor.
We decided that paddling out of Eagle North, through South Harbor, and along the coast heading north was a good first day outing. The probability of trouble was low. The entire trip is along sandy, surf-free beaches and ends at a waterfall. The only tricky part of the paddle was getting from the harbor to the ocean. The barrier beach is cut by a narrow, constantly shifting channel that is often choked with sand.
South Harbor was flat and uninteresting. We found the outlet without much trouble. There was a little surf, but nothing to worry about.
We paddled north along the beach at a slow pace and checked out the shore. There was a long beach that was split by a good sized cliff. After South Harbor was Middle Harbor, and then Dingwall Harbor.
Along the way we spotted a storm cloud of gannets flow out from the cliffs. They started circling about a half mile off shore. Suddenly a number of the birds fell out of the sky like darts. From our vantage it looked like a rain storm of gannets. The view was made even more spectacular by the a angle of the sun. It hit the diving birds such that their wings shimmered as they fell into the water.
We decided to lunch in Dingwall, so we slipped into the harbor through the stone breach way. We found a nice sandy beach and set up camp. H was starting to get a headache so she wanted to rest a bit. CC and BH hopped the causeway to look for sea glass. I started to get antsy.
Eventually, I roused H and convinced her to explore Dingwall with me. There is not much to see in Dingwall. It is a small fishing harbor lined with rundown buildings.
After out brief tour of Dingwall, we regrouped and headed home. Getting back into South Harbor was a little more tricky than getting out. The surf was still small, but it was pushy. CC found the narrow path through the surf. H got caught by a wave and was pushed into the beach. She did a great job riding the wave in and just carried over the beach.
Once back in South Harbor we were back on flat water. The paddle back to the put in was uneventful.
Back at Eagle North we talked to the Jen's husband, Mike, about doing a day tour around Cape North-the roughest portion of the coast. He was game to do it later in the week.

Late Night Dinning in Cape Breton

It was 7:30 before CC and BH had there tents set up and were ready to eat dinner. We were all hungry, but unwilling to drive very far. This meant that the larger towns like Neil's Harbor and Igonish were not an option.
The first place we saw was Angie's place. It was a small hole in the wall, but the menu looked fine. I was ready to grab a seat when H told me we were leaving. BH noticed that a number of people had that desperately waiting for food look.
So we set off down the road to Dingwall. We came across the Celtic Lodge pizza place but decided against stopping. Celtic and pizza don't sound like a good combination. Dingwall also has a nice fried fish and ice cream shack that is open late. The desolate parking lot where the shack sits scared us a little bit.
Eventually we ended up back at Angie's. It is the only place open past nine in the Dingwall area. As it turned out the food was pretty good and the service was fairly prompt. It would be decent even if it wasn't the only game in town.

Oh, Canada

Since January, H & I, along with PB, LB, RB, BH, MA, CC, have been planning a trip to Northern Quebec to paddle in the St. Lawrence water way and see whales. We'd planned out meals, driving arrangements, and a number of other details. The anticipation built up to a point where all other events paled in comparison. I was a little worried that the vacation could never live up to the hype.
On Thursday night, H & I loaded most of our stuff into the egg. We packed it to the gills: Two tents, a screen house, kayaking gear (including drysuits), biking gear, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, a gigantic cooler... We left the food and our clothes for Friday. H figured that she'd have plenty of time to finish off the packing while I was at work....
Friday morning I got a call from a man interested in purchasing my old kayak and was en-route to our house. We figured it would be a quick transaction. Most people don't fit into the cockpit and leave. The good news was that the guy fit and shelled over cash. The bad news was that it took more than an hour out of H's day.... So instead of leaving at 4pm we got on the road closer to 6pm.
Friday night we drove to Franconia, NH and stayed at the Stoneybrook Motel. Sat. we got up early and planned to hit the road early. We stopped in Littleton for a quick breakfast at Talk of the Town. We ate a good meal and then decided to walk it off a bit by exploring the strip. H wanted to look for a headlamp and see if we could get a French reference.
At 11:30 we headed north towards Canada. The drive to Quebec City was easy. The only excitement was the Canadian road signs. Their deer crossing signs had a stylish flying deer. The beware of deer sign showed the deer crossing sign colliding with a car sign with some blood spatter.
Quebec City seemed small as we zipped through on the highway. However, when we exited onto Rt. 138 the sprawl surrounding Quebec City seemed endless. It was a little like driving on Rt. 1 coming out of Boston. Miles and miles of sprawl.
We did see one interesting thing - the Cyclorama. I thought it might be a cycling track (a velodrome). I was excited, but a quick check of the guide book proved I was wrong. It is a circular mural depicting the Jerusalem when Christ was killed. We skipped it.
Once beyond the sprawl of Quebec City the mountains start. We started seeing signs indicating 8% inclines at regular intervals. The poor egg, loaded to the gills and covered in gear, performed admirably, but was clearly suffering. Not having a lot of practice with crazy hill driving, I was not shifting efficiently which didn't help the egg. We even saw some 10% grades.
The final leg of the drive on Sat. was crazy. A worker at the rest area in Baie-Saint-Paul gave us directions to our hotel that took us down a little side road and was very direct. The road was a 20% downhill grade with a number of switchbacks. To take some of the heat off the breaks, I put the egg in third . Even with that, the breaks stank when we reached the bottom of the hill.
On Saturday night we were staying in a little town called St. Joseph-de-lla Rive at L'auberge Beauséjour. We knew that PB and LB were also staying at the same hotel, so we figured we could plan our mission to secure camp sites the next day. The camp ground was another 3 hours and camp sites were first come first serve. We decided that the best balance between getting up too early and getting to the camp ground too late was to shoot for getting to the camp ground around noon.
We got a happy surprise at dinner. Through the windows we say a skulking figure looming on the porch that looked suspiciously like BH... The RI cars (BH, CC, MA, and RB) were also staying at L'auberge Beauséjour. They had been driving longer than H & I or PB & LB. MA was suffering from sever jet lag. She arrived home from China the day before. So, the H, PB, LB, and I told them to sleep in and that we would secure the campsites.
We rose early and embarked on the 3+ hour drive to Paradis Marin. The road was a scenic winding affair with more killer hills. The egg was definitely earning its keep. The drive was bisected by a short ferry ride across the Sangueny River. The ferries cross the river like clock work as it is one of the few points it is possible to get a car across the river. The first bridge is an hour plus inland.
The camp site we secured was perfect. It was large enough to hold all of our collective stuff-6 tents, a screen house, eight kayaks, eight camp chairs, and seven bikes-with ease. It was spitting distance from the kayak launch. It had a clear, omnipresent view of the water. It was next to the showers, bathrooms, and the laundry room. It was also next to the Cafe Blue - which served fantastic coffee.
Once camp was set up, most of the group went for a bike rides. PB is a speed demon on his bike, so he went off to get his ya-yas out while the rest of us went for a relaxing bike ride. According to our rough translation of the list of nearby recreational facilities, there was supposed to be a paved bike path that ran past the entrance to Paradis Marin. We found a bike path, but it was not paved. Fortunately, we all had suitable bikes for off road riding.
The bike trail heading west was lovely. It was was well packed and went through some nice woods. There was one treacherous, steep, and long hill that was fun to go down. Coming back up nearly killed all of us.
For evening fun the boys did a short kayak trip to see whales. While dinner was being prepped, whales were spotted just off the shore of the campground. We were in our drysuits and on the water in a flash. (We didn't bring a lot of safety gear with us, but we weren't going very far.) Once on the water, we discovered that the water is freezing. The temperature just a few yards off shore was noticeably cooler. We also discovered that it was harder to spot whales from a kayak than it is from land.
Fortunately, there was a Minke whale that was willing to oblige us. It surfaced a number of times where we could see it. RB was the only one who got within 50 yards or so of the whale, but it was nice for the first day. It convinced us that over the course of the week we'd be paddling in a sea of whales.
Day two of camping started off cool, windy, and foggy. We were not going to get the kayaks in the water early. So, after breakfast, we walked to a nearby whale observatory.
The observatory juts out into the river and is made up of large rocks. Once we found spots that were out of the wind and provided an excellent view, we settled in and started searching the water. Whale watching involves a lot of watching and very few whales... I spotted what looked like a Minke with a giant blow. It turned out that I spotted a Fin whale.
After lunch, several of us went back into Tadoussac to explore. After taking a breif stroll through the town, we found a walking path that took us out along the mouth of the fjord. The path was nice and offered us a spectacular view of a Minke whale and a Minke calf feeding. We even got to see the calf show us its pink belly.
Before dinner, the four boys took another quick spin in the kayaks hoping to spot whales. We were skunked this time out.
Day three was windy, but not foggy. The river looked a little choppy, but nothing worse than we encounter in the Bay. We decided to paddle and see what we could find. After about an hour on the water we'd seen some birds, a seal, and a few porpoise. Given that it was windy and choppy and we weren't seeing any whales, we called it a day and headed home.
After lunch the rest of the group decided to head back to Tadoussac and hike along the fjord. I decided that I would stay behind and catch some alone time. I enjoyed a great cafe mocha from the cafe next to our camp site and read a little. After the caffeine infusion, I set out for a bike ride to Les Escoumins.
Les Escoumins is a town at the eastern end of the bike path running through Paradis Marin. The ride was great. The bike path mostly winds through the woods running along Rt. 138 and is pretty well maintained. The last 1/4 of the trail, however, is terrible. It is so sandy that it is largely impassable. Riding along Rt. 138 is terrifying. The cars, and large trucks, whiz by at high speed and the gutter is mostly dirt.
The town of Les Escoumins is nondescript. Along 138 is a small downtown area. The town also has a first nation reservation that looked pretty run down. I didn't hang out for long.
I arrived back at the camp site in time to catch the beginning of the nightly Beluga march. For an hour each night you could watch the Belugas head south towards the Fjord. They are easy to spot in the evening light. Their white body's seem to glow.
That evening the Cafe had some live music. Every year a couple comes to Paradis Marin for vacation and play music at the cafe. They had met the singer that day, but managed to play excellent music.
The forecast for day four was ominous. The winds were supposed to be moderate in the morning and ferocious in the afternoon. Given the forecast, we decided to do a short paddle in the morning. It was a nice paddle, but paddling for whales involves a lot of drifting. You paddle and watch; paddle and watch; paddle and watch. It is also very hard to spot whales from a kayak. You're POV is narrow and low to the water.
After lunch we waited for the weather to turn and planned to tackle the bike path once again. The weather held and the terrible winds never materialized. That was OK though. Our bike ride was the better for the pleasant weather.
Day five it rained. We had a great breakfast at a restaurant in Les Escoumins. They struggled to find us a waitress whose English was up to dealing with our French. The menu was extensive and we spent a lot of time eying other people's food.
After breakfast, PB, LB, RB, BH, and I went to the geologic museum in Les Bergeron. It was the worst museum I have ever seen. It was so bad, they should pay people to go. We spent an hour there only because PB, RB, and I got sucked into a C-list movie about the evolution of man. The movie was so bad it was hypnotic....
Once we escaped from the movie, we went to Tadoussac to meet the rest of the group. We grabbed some lunch at a little internet cafe and then people headed off to do some more hiking. I decided to relax at the cafe, drink coffee, and read. It was a very good time. I even caught up on my e-mail.
Day six we decided to paddle in the fjord. It was a spectacular place to paddle. The high, tree covered shores reminded me of Alaska. We did spot some Belugas from shore. By the time we scrambled to our kayaks, they were gone. People were so mesmerized though that the group drifted apart. Half wound up paddling along one shore of the fjord and the other half paddled along the other. Paddling back to the put in offered the most exciting paddling of the whole trip. The currents and the winds conspired to give us some nice following seas. Even H got into the action.
Day six was our last day at Paradis Marin. We needed to check out by noon. It was also a beautiful paddling day.... So, we packed up camp first thing in the morning and then went kayaking. We were still hoping to paddle with whales, but were prepared to be skunked once again. We could not spot any whales, but made up for it by enjoying the nice weather and the paddling.
PB and LB had fortuitously, headed back to camp before the rest of the group. After dropping LB off on shore, PB headed out to catch some waves. Meanwhile on shore, H spotted a Minke whale heading right towards PB. H yelled her head off to get PB's attention. When he finally spotted her, he reacted immediately. The whale surfaced right in front of him. It was perfect. PB had put a lot of effort into making the trip happen and he definitely deserved to see a whale close up.
After we got off the water, the group, minus LB and PB, headed to Quebec City for the night. We stayed at one of the universities. The accommodations were "dorm room" sheik, but the price was right. The university was also directly on the bus route to the old city. We wandered around the old city for the evening and saw they Silo exhibit. It was a nice way to end the vacation.